Every fall, birds head south and, around Sept. 11, New York sends two beams into the sky. When birds and lights collide, that could mean trouble — but New York is surprisingly gentle.

On the radio this week: mystery, intrigue, and a goat standing on top of a cow. Listen to Detective Stories on a station near you. 

 I am made of atoms — 7,000 trillion trillion of them. How did I teach them to tie my shoes? Or did they teach me?

In Detective Stories, Jad digs into an ancient trash heap that has reshaped our understanding of history. Now, you can help decode more secrets -- by transcribing scraps of papyrus.

You look. You gape. You can't believe your eyes. Well, take a peek at this image and ask yourself, 'How did they do this?'

 Look up at the night sky and ask, "Anybody there?" Then consider this answer (from the 1830s): There are 22 trillion individuals in our solar system.

You don't get to see this too often: a man (in this case, a very talented man) totally possessed by his muse. Watch pianist Glenn Gould deep in what psychologists call "a flow state."

Suppose two Chinese parents get on an Australian airplane and, while flying over U.S. territory, they have a baby on the plane. Can that baby be an American citizen?

Check out Jad and Robert on The Colbert Report.