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Poet Tracy K. Smith's three favorite poems of 2011 blur the private and public, the personal and political, and will refresh how you look at language and the world.

An Arab League monitoring mission is visiting Homs and Hama, major centers of Syria's anti-government uprising, and witnessed violence firsthand. Activists say at least 40 protesters were killed by security forces Thursday. The presence of the monitors has emboldened the protesters, who are chronicling their struggle in videos.

NPR Music presents 12 titles that range from the art of album covers to disco to Def Jam to metal to MTV. Our favorite music reads were mostly revealing biographies and wide-spanning analyses.

To celebrate the new year, Sasa Woodruff's mom bakes a punch torte, a tradition started in her family back in the former Czechoslovakia. Her mom was born during World War II and food was scarce, but thanks to her family's chickens, the 16 eggs the cake calls for were a luxury they could afford.

Here, the recipe for punch torte, a pink-glazed sponge cake with layers soaked in a rum and citrus syrup.

As North Korea prepares for a new leader, China, South Korea and the other nations are recalibrating their policies and weighing new security concerns. The job is difficult because so little is known about Kim Jong Un, the son and presumed successor to Kim Jong Il.

Over the last year, many dictators have fallen from power. To name a few: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was killed, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died. Linda Wertheimer talks to Susan Glasser, with Foreign Policy magazine, about the year that was and which of the world's remaining strongmen need to worry about what 2012 has to offer.

Corporations use data all the time when they consider whether to move. So, researchers at the University of Toronto took into account Santa's undesirable location, his brutal commute and "extreme isolation" and asked: What location makes better sense for Santa?

Time is running out for Christmas shoppers, but even more so for those who need to ship those presents. UPS hired about 55,000 seasonal workers around the world to help handle the holiday volume, including 800 at the air hub in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Texas congressman's message appeals to more than just the typical Republican caucus-goer. His strong poll numbers may come at the right time for the Iowa caucuses, but he can't seem to shake concerns over a so-called "isolationist" foreign policy position and controversial newsletters that bore his name.