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Helen Hartness Flanders spent 35 years preserving Vermont's vanishing folk songs. She eventually collected more than 4,000 songs by carrying sound equipment to remote corners of the state -- and by charming residents into singing for her.

In commemoration of National Poetry Month, 12-year-old poet Lorenzo Arce talks about expressing his feelings through poetry, and how his dad inspires him.

Rivalries are taking center stage at the Olympics, but they're also playing out in the race for the presidency here in the United States. And on the heels of a trip abroad by Republican Mitt Romney, a new poll gives the advantage to President Obama. Host Michel Martin talks political news with Gabriel Sanchez, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico, and Mario Loyola, a contributor to the National Review.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent describes incidences of clubs, offices and public spaces posing obstacles for him and his wheelchair. He joins NPR's John Donvan to discuss the places where those in wheelchairs still don't feel welcome.

Movies about artists can be like watching paint dry — but not this French import, which explores the real-life story of Seraphine de Senlis, an untutored painter whose stunning canvases caught the eye of a prominent critic.

Wil Haygood talks to Steve Inskeep about the life and career of Sugar Ray Robinson, including his many fights against rival boxer Jake LaMotta. Haygood is the author of a new biography of Robinson called Sweet Thunder.

The new documentary, West of Memphis, delves into the controversial case of three Arkansas teens who were convicted of murder in 1994. Host Michel Martin speaks with Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson and Damien Echols, one of men convicted in the case.

A genre of fiction known variously as "street lit," "ghetto lit," "urban lit" or "hip-hop lit" has begun registering impressive sales, catching the attention of the publishing industry. Previously sold as typewritten photocopies on street corners, these pulp-fiction books now appear in slick paperbacks available in bookstores and online. Karen Michel reports.

Washington's National Mall will regain a star attraction Friday, when the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History reopens after a two-year renovation. It took $85 million and a horde of curators, builders, architects and advisers to reframe space for the museum's 3 million historic objects.

Economist Sonali Deraniyagala lost her husband, parents and two sons in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. Wave is her searing, unflinching account of learning to live with that loss, and of allowing herself to remember the life that she lost.

One of the most promising sights in jazz is Paquito D'Rivera, coming your way with his clarinet bag over his shoulder, smiling and looking to spread his goodwill. Still, as joyful and funny as he is, D'Rivera takes his hard-won musical freedom seriously. The clarinetist's quintet takes a trip around Latin America in a concert from >>>JazzSet.

Gay marriage is back in the headlines: President Obama followed Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan in expressing support for same-sex marriage this week. Meanwhile, voters in North Carolina passed an amendment to their constitution that defines marriage as between a man and a woman only. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks with two supporters of the amendment, Tami Fitzgerald of Vote for Marriage North Carolina and Pastor Patrick Wooden. He also speaks with Richard Tafel, founder of Log Cabin Republicans, a group that advocates for the rights of gays and lesbians.