Potholes on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive, one of which is about half-a-car-length long and at least a foot deep. The city of Chicago says it has filled an estimated 240,000 potholes this winter, 100,000 more than last winter, at a cost of more than $2.8 million. David Schaper/NPR hide caption

Drilling companies have new interest in southern Florida's Big Cypress preserve. The prospect of large-scale operations and possibly fracking worries environmentalists and residents. Sue Cocking/MCT/Landov hide caption

In addition to Blood Will Out, Walter Kirn is the author of four works of fiction and one other work of nonfiction. Beowulf Sheehan/Courtesy of Liveright Publishing hide caption

Jim Yong Kim joined the World Bank as president in 2012. Michel Euler/AP hide caption

As one listener points out, we might not have carrot cake today if Germans weren't forced to bake with ersatz materials during World War I. This little girl might have had to settle for chocolate instead. Fox Photos/Getty Images hide caption

From the botanical to the economic, spring's iconic vegetable still harbors surprises. Sharon Mollerus/Flickr hide caption

Target missed security warnings about a data breach, which resulted in 40 million customer credit and debit cards numbers being stolen. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

At the UK Independence Party's recent national convention Torquay, England, vendors sell tote bags printed with leader Nigel Farage's face in bright purple ink. Ari Shapiro/NPR hide caption