In the same month that the debt supercommittee failed to rise above partisanship for the sake of America's economy, a hyper-partisan House of Representatives managed a landslide victory. The crowdfunding bill it passed last week could be a big break for entrepreneurs — but does it put investors at risk?

In addition to coming up with a deficit reduction plan, the Congressional supercommittee was also charged with handling so many unrelated tasks that its failure last week has left Congress with a sizeable workload in its remaining weeks this year. NPR congressional correspondent David Welna joins host Audie Cornish to set the stage for December.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the conditions in California's overcrowded prisons violated the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Host Audie Cornish hears more from Ohio State law professor Douglas Berman, who says the popular "tough on crime" mantra helps explain why so many American prisons are over-capacity.

As the presidential candidates grip and grin their way across the early primary states, many voters are tuning in online to get the latest information on their policies and plans. But sifting through the muck of rumor, fact and fiction online isn't easy, so MIT grad student Dan Schultz came up with an idea to help: "Truth Goggles." He shares his creation with host Audie Cornish.

Performance artist Robert Karimi has made it his mission to fight Type 2 Diabetes by making healthy cooking the basis for his performance art installations. Karimi takes his show on the road to the unlikeliest places to show his audience that healthy cooking can be exotic and fun. Yowei Shaw reports.

Occupy demonstrators in Fairbanks, Alaska, are maintaining their encampment despite frigid temperatures. The local government wants the protesters to remove their tents, citing a no-camping law. Occupiers claim the tents are essential shelter, given the extreme cold.