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WNYC reporter Alex Goldmark discusses the abandoned bicycles commonly found around NYC, and the Transportation Nation project to map them.

Subway ridership rose 2.3 percent in 2011. New Yorkers and city visitors took 1.64 billion trips, the most in any year since 1950.

WNYC reporter Alex Goldmark details police procedures following cyclist fatalities and why so few drivers face charges.

Last year, 21 cyclists were struck and killed but only two drivers were arrested. And about 40 percent of the time a driver is involved in a fatality – a pedestrian, cyclist, other motorist or themselves – not even a ticket is issued.

According to a spokesman for UN envoy Kofi Annan, Syria has accepted a United Nations plan to end bloodshed in the country. The plan includes a daily two-hour ceasefire by Syrian security forces to evacuate the injured and provide humanitarian aid. This plan comes as President Bashar al-Assad has traveled to the besieged Baba Amr neighborhood to inspect conditions. Michael Bristow is a correspondent for our partner the BBC.

Politicians from both sides of the Irish border will be in Washington tomorrow to help President Obama celebrate a belated St Patrick's Day. A symbol of the progress since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, but back home divisions still run deep. Few are willing to confess the role they might have played in past violence. But former Loyalist and Republican paramilitaries are looking for a way forward, a journey that's taken them to the townships of South Africa. 

John Hockenberry joins us from London, where people are talking about fitness for police officers. After a survey found that 53 percent of officers were overweight and one in 100 was morbidly obese, new proposal in England and Wales would require officers to undergo an annual fitness test. Penalties could include paycuts for those who repeatedly fail -- all as a way to reportedly "rid the service of fat officers". 

The Godfather defined a movie genre and defined the mafia criminal enterprise headed by a godfather who ruled like a pharoah, murdered his enemies and was a gentle grandpa to his family. That movie premiered 40 years ago today in New York, the city where it is largely set. From London John Hockenberry spoke with Federico Varese, professor of Criminology at Oxford University and author of "Mafia on the Move," about the accuracy of the mafia portrayal in the classic film.

After 244 years, the oldest continually published encyclopedia in the English language, the Encyclopedia Britannica, is going out of print. The encyclopedia will now be focused on its online edition and educational curricula for schools. John Hockenberry reports from London, where he spoke with the encyclopedia's managing editor Ian Grant.

John Hockenberry reports from London, where he visited the UK's National Design Museum to view the "design of the year" nominations on display. With more than 80 entries in seven categories, the designs included a life-size paper hearse and a plan for a hospital in Rwanda that benefits the community.

The head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wants to use the agency's clout as landlord to get more dock workers of color hired.

About a quarter of employees who work in area airports — including some who have jobs in security — make wages that are below the poverty line, according to a new study released Wednesday.

The City Council is holding a joint hearing Wednesday to determine if the NYPD is thoroughly investigating traffic crashes following a number of high profile cases involving cyclists being killed or injured by vehicles that did not result in criminal charges.

A year ago President Obama announced his plans for high speed rail lines and other cutting edge transportation for the nation. But after many defeats in Congress, including the de-funding of high-speed rail, the President’s transportation initiative suddenly seems less futuristic and more focused on rebuilding the old highways of the past. 

Andrea Bernstein, director of the public radio Transportation Nation project and senior correspondent for WNYC, looks at the ups and downs of transit and infrastructure politics through a chart of presidential word usage with WNYC reporter Alex Goldmark. 

Thursday marks the two-year anniversary of Haiti’s January 2010 earthquake. The 7.0 magnitude quake devastated the capital city, Port-au-Prince, and Haiti’s government estimates the death toll was more than 316,000 people. An international outpouring of support followed, with NGOs, human rights organizations, and the first mass text-based fundraising campaign bolstering the island nation. A little less than a year after the earthquake, an outbreak of cholera further devastated the country and set back relief efforts. So what has and hasn't been accomplished in the time since?

Govenor Andrew Cuomo signed a law creating a new legal category of company in New York late Monday night: a Benefit Corporation. The companies that incorporate under the new law must prove they have social and environmental impact.

The MTA has launched a contest for software applications that help riders get around by subway, bus or train. It's a sign of how the MTA has become better about sharing data, but the authority is still keeping some important information to itself.

Anti-Wall Street protesters want shoppers to occupy something besides big box stores this Black Friday.

A low-salt brine for kosher turkeys and a French oyster stuffing recipe are just some of the tips and recipes that came in from WNYC listeners this Thanksgiving.