NPR's Ari Shapiro joins host Scott Simon to talk about the Obama administration's week. The president was buffeted by revelations that the IRS had targeted Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status and that the Justice Department had subpoenaed reporter phone records. On top of that, Republicans continue to allege that the White House engaged in a cover-up of talking points about the attack in Benghazi, Libya.

Hadfield just spent 146 days up at the International Space Station, during which time he performed rock concerts and shared his dazzling photographs with nearly a million Twitter followers.

Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton about Zimbabwe's upcoming presidential election and efforts to alleviate its international isolation.

Host Scott Simon talks to NPR's David Folkenflik about the Justice Department's seizure of phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors, and Bloomberg's secret monitoring of its sources' and customers' activities.

Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Tom Goldman about the week's sports news, including the NBA basketball playoffs and the death this week of Olympic gold medal sailor Andrew "Bart" Simpson while training for the America's Cup.

NPR's congressional correspondent David Welna speaks with host Scott Simon about the flurry of last-minute amendments, most from conservative Republicans, to alter the bipartisan immigration legislation.

Syrian rebels are on the defensive these days, losing ground to new offensives by government troops. Western diplomats are hopeful the rebel losses will persuade their leaders to attend an international conference being organized by the U.S. and Russia to chart a path to peace in the blood-soaked country. Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Deb Amos.

Mothers know us better — sometimes better than we know ourselves. As any child will tell you, they really do have eyes in the back of their heads. When times are tough, they also have our back.

Host Scott Simon is convinced that mothers come equipped with magical powers: specifically, eyes in the back of their head. They know what you're up to, even when they can't see you.

Pakistanis go to the polls Saturday in parliamentary elections after one of the bloodiest campaigns in the nation's history. In the early hours, there were already reports of bombings. NPR's Julie McCarthy tells host Scott Simon that militants killed dozens during the pre-election campaign, forcing the cancellation of many political rallies around the country.

This week, an Apple fan blog leaked word that the company will declare its first-generation iPhone "obsolete," just six years after it was introduced. Host Scott Simon contrasts that with the world's longest known ongoing experiment in a bell jar in an Australian lab.

The bombing attack at the Boston Marathon Monday could have caused scrambling and panic. Instead, the tragedy revealed the city's character as people rushed to help each other.

Starting this year, competitors in the National Spelling Bee will not only have to know how to spell a word, but they'll also have to know what it means.

Winters was best known for creating a repertory company of characters that he carried around in his head. In 2000, he told NPR's Scott Simon how he built that cast, after taking some advice from another performer.

Roger Ebert wrote simply, abundantly, gorgeously — and on deadline for 46 years at the Chicago Sun-Times. Over the years, his work reminded us that empathy is the grace note of a good life, not just great art.

Pope Francis surprised many this week by washing the feet of young inmates in prison instead of priests in a grand basilica. The ceremony emulates the way Jesus washed the feet of his 12 disciples. On this Easter weekend, we consider the meaning behind Pope Francis' break with tradition.

This week scientists announced they have reproduced the genome of an extinct amphibian, the gastric brooding frog. But animals are more than just their genomes, so NPR's Scott Simon wonders if it's necessary — or kind — to bring them back.

Knowing his son was gay prompted Republican Sen. Rob Portman to reconsider his position on same-sex marriage. NPR's Scott Simon reflects on how children can cause their parents to see issues in a new light.

After Snowquester fizzled, Scott Simon muses that snow forecasts falling so flat is a sound reminder, during a time of national debate, that experts can be wrong.

Host Scott Simon reflects on the "snowquester," the end of the winter season snow storm that wasn't.