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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.

The SciFri Book Club is touring the solar system, with Dava Sobel's 2005 The Planets. Call in with a review of the book. Plus Jim Green, director of planetary science at NASA, joins the club to give an update on what's happened planet-wise since the book was published.

President Obama and others remember the Senate's most senior member for his long public service and dedication during a funeral service Friday in Washington, D.C.

The Republicans' blowup leaves the path to avoiding automatic tax hikes and spending cuts in the new year unclear. Leaders seem to agree that a bipartisan solution is the only way — but, as House Speaker John Boehner said, "How we get there, God only knows."

On Thursday night, a vote on the Republican plan for avoiding the "fiscal cliff" was canceled in the House of Representatives. Apparently Speaker John Boehner didn't have enough GOP votes to pass his so-called "Plan B". Melissa Block talks with Republican Congressman Steve LaTourette of Ohio. He would have supported plan and is disappointed it failed.

Robert Siegel talks to sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about playoffs in the National Football League.

Japan's economy was a world beater in the 1980s. But the country has now gone through two tough decades and there's no end in sight. What lessons might it hold for the U.S. as it confronts the "fiscal cliff"?

Some politicians believed the mass shooting in Newtown would be a tipping point leading to new gun restrictions. That may still happen, but the NRA and other groups have made clear their belief that guns aren't the problem.

When the rhesus macaque turned up in the parking lot of a Toronto store earlier this month, photos and video of him in his little shearling coat went viral. He was placed in a sanctuary and his owner wants him back. But a court has said that won't happen just yet.

Many Staten Island residents are still not back in their homes since Sandy washed ashore. Local volunteers have opened a toy store where FEMA-registered families with children can pick up donated toys, holiday decorations and stocking stuffers. Thus far, the shop has given away more than 2,000 toys.