Death is painfully human, strangely ordinary, and universal. It causes us pain, it requires planning, and it requires final decisions. But here in America, in most cases, it doesn't require one thing: personally handling the dead. But more and more often, Americans are deciding to do things differently.

The Takeaway and our Movie Date team are asking you to help us create the ultimate audio movie trailer, using your real life stories. All we need is for you to give us a sentence or two — a dramatic sentence, or a strange sentence, or a comedic sentence — about your life.

President Obama has proposed a brain mapping project to help us understand a bit better what's going on inside our noggins. Dr. Rafael Yuste is a neuroscientist at Columbia University and one of the coordinators of the Obama administration's new Brain Mapping Project. But how can it be done? And are there any real-world benefits to doing it? Gary Marcus is someone who understands the challenges and possibilities that spring from these kinds of projects. He's a cognitive psychologist at NYU and blogger for the New Yorker. 

Before he was our sixteenth president and the man who kept our union together, Abraham Lincoln was sort of a regular guy who made mistakes and had ambitions. In honor of President’s Day, we’re looking at that other Lincoln, that not-yet-famous Lincoln, with Chris DeRose, author of “Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America’s Greatest President.”

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Kristen and Rafer debate whether today is, in fact, a good day to die hard, or merely a fine one. They also discuss the merits of cuddling, creamy white stationary, witchcraft, and weird sexual hang-ups. It's all in honor of this week's releases: "Safe Haven," "Beautiful Creatures," and "A Good Day to Die Hard." Warning: if you don't know what plushies are now, you might after this podcast. Also, if you haven't already, check out this very special Valentine to Rafer, on Babes of NPR.

We’re only a week away from the Oscars, but it doesn’t feel like award season on the big screen. This week, three movies open, none of which are likely to win any awards: "Beautiful Creatures," "Safe Haven," and "A Good Day to Die Hard."

It’s been a poetic, lovelorn, literary week at the Takeaway. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked you to share your stories of love and loss, and to do so in exactly six words. These are our favorites.

The season is here. The time is now. When the top dogs are separated from the under dogs and only one canine wins best in show. Last night was the finale of the 137th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. And of 2,700 entrants, an affenpinscher named Banana Joe was deemed the best.

The love story can be epic in nature. It can inspire thousand-page Russian novels and three hour movies and mini-series that stretch out on television for days. But the love story can — with some effort — also be told more succinctly, in a haiku or even in something smaller.

In this week's Movie Date podcast, Rafer and Kristen compare notes on their favorite pharmaceutical drug names. They also ask some big questions, including: Does volleyball really need to be seen in 3D? Should Steven Soderbergh retire? And if the only good part of a date is the kissing at the end...is it really a good date? It's all in honor of this week's big releases: "Top Gun 3D," "Side Effects," and "Identity Thief."

Every Friday, The Takeaway’s Movie Date team, Rafer Guzman and Kristen Meinzer, weigh in on the weekend's film releases. This week, there are three: the crime drama “Side Effects,” the vigilante road trip movie “Identity Theft,” and the 3D re-release of the eighties action classic, “Top Gun.”

As more of us rely on email, texting, and Skype to communicate, the art of letter writing has gradually been coming to an end. But with the death of letters, are we losing something else as well? It’s a question that Martha Tuck Rozett has seriously considered. Martha is an English professor at the University of Albany and author of "When People Wrote Letters: A Family Chronicle."

Many people know Muzak as a catch-all for plain background music, but it's actually the name of a brand and a company. And this week, the company that owns Muzak - Mood Media - had decided to retire the Muzak brand name for good.

Long before Richard Nixon was president or he and Dwight D. Eisenhower were in-laws, the two were allies and adversaries. Their relationship lasted for 20 years, and brought out both the best and worst in each other. The story of their complicated relationship is told in the new book, "Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage." The author, Jeffrey Frank, is former senior editor of The New Yorker.

The Super Bowl may be the most watched television event of the year, but that doesn’t mean that other networks don’t try their best to lure viewers. The most talked-about counter programming to the Super Bowl last night, the ninth Animal Planet Puppy Bowl, garnered millions of viewers.

In this week's podcast, Rafer and Kristen play a game of would you rather involving racist hitmen versus zombie kidnappers. Will Rafer choose to be kidnapped? Will Kristen decide on racism? Find out, and along the way, get their thoughts on "Stand Up Guys," "Warm Bodies," and "Bullet to the Head."

Friday is movie day on the Takeaway, when we talk about the weekend’s big releases. This week, there are three: the teen zombie romance, "Warm Bodies"; the Sylvester Stallone buddy shoot-em-up, "Bullet to the Head"; and "Stand up Guys," a crime comedy starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken. and Alan Arkin.

This weekend, two football teams go head-to-head in the biggest sports event on the American calendar. But this year, the Superbowl isn’t just about two teams. It’s also about two brothers: Jim Harbaugh, head coach the San Francisco 49ers and John Harbaugh, head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.

The National Football League is at the center of a legal case being brought by 4,000 former football players and their wives. The claim? That the N.F.L. covered up life-altering brain injuries. Paul Barrett is covering the case, and the attorney who's arguing it, for Bloomberg Businessweek.

Yesterday a new day dawned on Massachusetts, as John Kerry bid farewell to his post as U.S. senator. His replacement, William "Mo" Cowan, will serve until a permanent successor is chosen in the June 25th special election. Callie Crossley, host of Boston Public Radio, shares more about Cowan and his selection.