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Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Mara Liasson about whether the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans can find some common ground and overcome the political gridlock that characterized much of the president's first term.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography, My Beloved World, debuted this week, and NPR's Nina Totenberg sat down with her to talk about her youth and schooling and career. Sotomayor discusses the role that books played in her life, from Nancy Drew to Shakespeare.

Almost the entire country has signed onto the Common Core Standards Initiative. The standards incorporate more nonfiction texts across all subjects to improve reading scores. But some fear the push for nonfiction reading could lead students away from passionate engagement with literature.

President Obama will be sworn in publicly for his second term on Monday. Michigan musician and storyteller Allison Downey remembers the President's first

Like his father, John, Lennon prefers collaboration. That spirit comes through in his two new albums — one improvisational and the other a film soundtrack. Long resistant to the idea, Lennon is becoming more like his parents in another way: He's taken up a cause.

The Smithsonian recently uncovered the menu from Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural ball, and it provides an interesting look at how different the celebrations were just 148 years ago.

For years, British environmental activist Mark Lynas vandalized genetically modified food crops. Then, he had a change of heart. He went in front of the world to reverse his position, telling the anti-GMO lobby to "get out of the way and let the rest of us get on with feeding the world sustainably."

One of the chief expectations of those who voted for President Obama is that he moves assertively to pass climate change legislation, whatever the political climate in Washington. But that won't be easy given the polarization in Washington.

George Saunders has long been praised in literary circles for his short stories that deftly combine the absurd with the mundane. But now the author has caught mainstream attention with his newest collection, Tenth of December.

After George Washington took his oath of office he was joined by a procession made up of local militias as he made his way from Mount Vernon to New York City. These days, the parade is a colorful blend of marching bands, floats and different organizations — led by ceremonial military regiments.