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Andy Ricker spent years eating in roadside restaurants, noodle stands and home kitchens across Thailand before opening his first restaurant, Pok Pok, in Portland, Ore. But he avoids using words like "traditional" and "authentic" when talking about this food. He'd rather call it "accurate."

Perry is among the world's biggest pop singers, but fans know her current career is actually a second take. She speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about failing to break out as a Christian artist, and how she rose again as the star we know today.

The new book Wheelmen exposes doping culture and the Lance Armstrong conspiracy. Critic Maureen Corrigan says if you're looking to read "lady things," choose Jezebel over Bridget Jones. And director Steve McQueen and actor Chiwetel Ejiofor talk about the new film 12 Years a Slave.

In his graphic novel adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein, illustrator Gris Grimly says he wants to make the story more accessible. "The first time I tried to read Frankenstein, I didn't get through it," he says.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is rejecting calls for her resignation, saying, "I don't work for" those calling the loudest for her to step down. And the government official who has become the face of the disastrous rollout of the Obamacare website says she has promised the president she'll get things straightened out.

Daniel Alarcon's new novel is set in an unnamed, war-scarred Latin American country. The protagonist, Nelson, is an aspiring playwright — though he doesn't pursue his dreams with much diligence. Alarcon discusses his own views on working as an artist and his creative process.

Leading Oscar contenders are under fire as award season approaches. Journalist Scott Feinberg recently wrote in The Hollywood Reporter about the trash-talking that spreads before the Oscars to take down perceived front-runners. He talks to NPR's Arun Rath about a campaign against Captain Phillips and why such efforts often backfire.

Humans and other primates have really good vision. One scientist thinks that ability evolved in part to help monkeys and humans quickly recognize venomous snakes. When monkeys see photos of snakes, neurons in a specific part of the brain light up. The neurons respond to photos of the reptiles more than to monkey faces.

Latin America has some of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the world. Many countries in the region have a total ban. In Brazil, abortion is illegal, but there are some exceptions. A new bill is trying to roll those exceptions back.