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One of the last novelty-item factories in the country, the S.S. Adams Company in Neptune, New Jersey, manufactures joy buzzers, whoopee cushions, and cans of jumping snakes. Mark Newgarden, author of Cheap Laffs: The Art of the Novelty Item, and NPR's Petra Mayer take a tour.

With guidance from his mother and grandmother, chef Alton Brown developed an flair in the kitchen early. In the final installment of our holiday baking series, he offers some last-minute tips. And NPR's Jennifer Ludden gets some kitchen wisdom from her own grandmother, Marion Otte.

Dozens of Arabic language interpreters working with U.S. forces in Iraq have been killed over the course of the war. NPR's Philip Reeves profiles one translator who feels like a constant target.

Why do some cakes seem to go so well on the way into the oven, but come out as disastrous sinkholes? The Food Network's Alton Brown solves the mysteries of cake-baking in the second of our series of holiday baking tips. He talks with NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

The roots of gospel music are not well-documented. Early recordings were lost. Stories behind the songs weren't written down. A new book recounts the history of the beloved American art form. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Robert Darden, author of People Get Ready!.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan gives us her picks for the best holiday books of 2004. Her choices range from literary thrillers to a new biography of Ben Franklin.

Lemony Snicket, a.k.a. Daniel Handler, gained a dedicated following of young readers with his darkly funny A Series of Unfortunate Events books. Now the Baudelaire orphans have made the big screen. Handler tells NPR's Michele Norris about his own childhood fears and adult apprehensions.

Richard Viguerie is considered the "funding father" of the conservative movement. In the 1970s and 80s he pioneered direct mail political fundraising. He is a co-author of America's Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media to Take Power. He now heads the organization American Target Advertising Inc.

Director John Waters, known for making art from sleaze, has a new CD for the season, A John Waters Christmas. It includes such songs as "Here Comes Fatty Claus" and "Little Mary Christmas" — all from the man once crowned the "Pope of Trash" by William Burroughs.

Reviewer Alan Cheuse offers his annual recommendations for holiday gift-giving. This year's list includes novels of travel on Earth and in space, new versions of tales from the Bible, Africa and Mesopotamia, and collections of poetry and song.