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The idea behind Small Business Saturday is to direct consumers to mom-and-pop stores that probably didn't get swamped by the Black Friday bonanza. These small businesses might not have the best deal on a TV, but experts say they are an important factor in overall economic recovery.

For more than 150 years, a charity auction has kicked off the wine season in France's Burgundy grape-growing region. It's turned into an A-list rendezvous for international industry players — this year attracting former supermodel and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and record prices.

In the first of a series of Weekend Edition conversations, host Scott Simon speaks to Joshua Chaffin, a reporter for The Financial Times, about how people across the European Union view the fiscal cliff negotiations.

From "King Herod's Song" to Ben Folds Five, Stephen Colbert talks about some of his favorite music. America's Test Kitchen experts Jack Bishop and Bridget Lancaster join Fresh Air to explain what makes a great marinade. And critic David Edelstein reviews Life of Pi.

Growing up blond-haired and blue-eyed in Southern California, Joe Mozingo always thought his family name was Italian. In his book Fiddler on Pantico Run, he tells the family's secret, buried in 300 years of American history.

Dr. Najeeb Hanoudi, an Iraqi ophthalmologist, befriended the Desert Rogues, an infantry unit, in 2003. Even his son's tragic shooting at the hands of an American soldier never broke his bonds with his "brothers."

Those opposed to taxes and big government are putting their money where their mouths are in the state. A food drive there was put together by libertarians and anarchists, and they say they privately funded, voluntary charity is superior to the welfare system.

An update on Sunday's election in one of Spain's most prosperous regions, Catalonia, which many view as a referendum on independence.

It's an old saying in retail: "The customer is always right." But many companies that sell online or through catalogs have moved away from that motto — making customers pay to return merchandise. Sellers think it's a fair policy. Consumers don't see it that way, and a new study suggests that firms would be far better off in the long run footing the bill for returns.

Known as "Dollar Bill" Jefferson after $90,000 was found in his freezer, the Louisiana Democrat is now set to stay in jail until 2023. He was convicted on corruption charges in 2009.