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On this week's show, we talk about a sprawling story of hobbits and a sprawling problem of how cultural stuff builds up on the shelves and in the closets of the people who love it. All that, and what's making us happy this week.

As news spread that the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel was billowing white smoke to signal the election of a new pope, anticipation began to build for the new pontiff's first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. Here's a quick rundown of what happens after cardinal electors choose a pope.

Singer-songwriter Sam Beam -- who's better known by his musical persona Iron & Wine -- performed at the Boston Public Library as part of a new music series at WBUR called "Off the Record."

The task force said the construction needs to withstand storms made stronger by climate change. It also recommends new standards for flood protection.

Syrian rebels claim responsibility for a bomb that went off near the hotel used by the United Nations observer team. None of the UN staffers was hurt.

President Obama answered questions from voters at a town-hall-style campaign event in Cincinnati on Monday. Meanwhile, his rival Mitt Romney suggested in a Fox News interview that the president's record should be subjected to greater scrutiny. The Romney campaign has spent the past several days responding to conflicting reports about when the former Massachusetts governor left the private equity firm Bain Capital.

One of the most recognizable symbols of the Olympics is invisible to all but a relative few.

Less than a week old, the cub died on Sunday at Washington's National Zoo. Preliminary examinations indicate that some of its liver had hardened and that it had a build-up of fluid in the abdomen. Also, officials believe it was likely a female.

For the first time since 2007, the United States saw a rise in government restrictions on religion.

Protesters in Kiev tried to storm a cultural center where hundreds of riot police were deployed Sunday, a day after the government of Viktor Yanukovych offered top posts to the opposition in a failed effort to defuse tensions.