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NPR's Gerry Hadden reports that a traditional game of deliberately submitting to electric shocks is still being played in Mexico as well as Central and South America. Practitioners approach people, often in bars, and for a small fee, attach them to a device that applies an electric shock, which intensifies until the client can no longer take it. People who play call it say it's a fun game of endurance. But some American doctors question the safety of the practice, especially for people who have undiscovered heart problems.

Commentator Edward Wheatley says 600 years after Chaucer's death, the father of English poetry is still having an effect on the lives of people who don't even know his name. Words that he was the first to use are still part of the language.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Jerusalem reports Israel's symphony orchestra played the music of Richard Wagner in concert Friday, the first time the orchestra has ever presented works by Hitler's favorite composer.

Companies are recalling foods containing genetically modified corn that has not been approved for human consumption. But as NPR's John Nielsen reports, government officials are still struggling to determine whether the corn presents a health hazard.

NPR's Richard Knox looks at how doctors in Maine have turned against their long-time allies, the pharmaceutical companies. At issue are high drug prices that the companies now charge. Doctors say prices have reached a level where many patients can't afford to take the drugs they need, severely affecting not only the patients, but also their ability to practice good medicine. Three major pharmaceutical companies stopped shipping their drugs to Maine in reaction to the state's drug price-control law, which most doctors support. The pullout has only escalated tensions between the once-friendly groups.

Linda talks to Dennis Boroczk, who is overseeing a project to retrofit a Boeing 747 airplane with an infrared telescope and doors that can open to allow the telescope to be used during flight at an altitude of 41-thousand feet. Boroczk is Program Manager at the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy at Raytheon Labs. The high-flying telescope will allow scientists to make infrared measurements of a variety of heavenly objects, such as stars, galaxies, and quasars. The effort is a joint project of between NASA and the German Aerospace Center, with Raytheon making the modifications.

Scott speaks with NPR's Brian Naylor about how Republican leaders and the President are odds over a tax and spending bill right before the election.

Commentator Lenore Skenazy says Halloween has taken on the commercial importance of Christmas, much to her chagrin. It used to be a relatively unadorned festival. Now it's full of lawn ornaments, lights and plastic tchotchke.

Noah talks to sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about the latest pro-basketball news, in advance of the National Basketball Association's new season, which starts next week. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been fined three-point-five million dollars and stripped of their next five first-round draft picks. The league says the Timberwolves violated the salary cap by making an under-the-table deal with player Joe Smith.

Half of New York City woke up happy today, and the other half depressed. NPR's Margot Adler reports on the aftermath of the "Subway Series."