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NASCAR's fan base is about 60 percent male and 80 percent white. In an effort to embrace the country's rapidly changing demographics, the sport is pushing hard to diversify its lineup of crews, drivers and fans.

Reporter Anne Barnard writes about Damascus in the March issue of National Geographic. She tells NPR's Arun Rath there's a lot to learn from life in the capital about the future of the Syrian state.

Life is still anything but normal for some 300,000 people around Charleston, W.V. It's been more than a month since a leak from chemical storage tanks polluted the water supply. And many are still relying on bottled water to drink. Others have gone to lengths to avoid using the water at all. (This story originally aired on All Things Considered on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014.)

Father Greg Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, talks with NPR's Arun Rath about his organization's mission and financial struggles. The nonprofit, which is going into its 26th year, is the largest gang-intervention program in the country.

Under Olympic rules, only official sponsors are allowed to sell coffee at the Winter Games in Sochi. Starbucks isn't one of them. But NBC, the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the Games, found a loophole and constructed a secret Starbucks in its media center.

Federal authorities have arrested a Chinese national who is accused of trying to buy accelerometers from a company in suburban Seattle. Certain kinds of accelerometers are subject to export controls, because they're used to guide missiles and spacecraft. The U.S. has been trying to keep accelerometer technology under wraps for half a century. Even as some accelerometers were used to guide Cold War missiles into space and around the world, today's technological descendents allow you to play racing games on your iPhone.

Bobsled used to be an all-male sport until 2002. Even now, the women only race two-man, not four-man bobsled. Team USA features 2 summer Olympians as brakemen. Lauren Williams is a gold and silver medalist in the sprint. Lolo Jones did the hurdles in Bejing and London.

A United Nations panel accuses the North Korean regime of rape, forced abortions, intentional starvation and slavery. David Greene talks to retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, chairman of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in North Korea.

After a very long hiatus, the members of the infectious alternative rock crew are back with a new album. The musicians discuss how everyday life inspired the band's first new record in 14 years.

The last issue of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics came out a decade ago. Now, the author returns to Dream's world with a prequel series, The Sandman: Overture. Gaiman speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about the freedom of starting something new and why he, like all writers, is a Sandman himself.