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Legendary Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully is widely considered the greatest sportscaster of all time. He's certainly the longest-tenured — he turns 86 in November — and yet, by all accounts he still has his fastball. He recently announced that he would return for a 65th season next year, in part because he's energized by the success of the team. With the Dodgers in the playoffs for the first time in four years, many fans will be muting the TV so they can hear Scully, who will only be calling games in his one-man booth on the radio.

Steve Inskeep talks to Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, about the U.S. role in Syria. Smith, who recently visited Syrian refugees in Jordan, is urging the administration to step up aid to moderate opposition forces, but he has reservations about U.S. military action.

Oil development is significantly straining communities across the Great Plains. In small Sidney, Mont., a steady stream of big rigs pounds the streets as a rapidly increasing population stretches the town's sewer system to its limit. As Dan Boyce reports, the mayor says the town has nowhere near enough money to pay for all of its infrastructure needs.

This year, Susan Stamberg brings her mother-in-law's famous cranberry relish recipe to two veteran White House chefs. They say it reminds them of the infamous "cheddar cheese ring" from the Carter administration.

The former House speaker began his career as a history professor at West Georgia College. "He thought he could have some kind of impact, to get kids to think," says a friend and former colleague. "But he really wanted to get into politics."

A new U.N. report presents more evidence than ever before that Iran's nuclear program is geared toward military purposes. Yet the country has been hampered by both regional rivalries and its own economic and political problems.

Some experts see parallels to the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church. "Sometimes it's very difficult for individuals in power to accept that a person they may know personally, or as part of the faculty or church, could be committing these very serious crimes," one psychologist said.

The U.S. State Department says it's urging the government of the Persian Gulf kingdom of Bahrain to act on the findings of a major human rights report that has just been issued. That report details the abuses that took place during and after a mass uprising in Bahrain that was styled after movements in Tunisia and Egypt. The report was commissioned by the government itself and assembled by a team of international legal experts. But it remains to be seen whether it will lead to real reform and dialogue between the ruling Sunni monarchy and the Shiite majority.

The supercommittee, charged with cutting federal deficits by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade, is down to the final days before its Nov. 23 deadline, and the group appears to be at an impasse. NPR's Tamara Keith and Mara Liasson talk with host Audie Cornish to explain both the economic and political consequences of supercommittee success or failure.

Passing along a book that no one has heard of is like telling a really good secret. NPR's Barrie Hardymon recommends a hot Southern thriller, a scathing evisceration of the newspaper biz, a slightly ridiculous, totally gratifying romance, and one extra gem that's been hiding in plain sight.