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Three years ago, journalist Steve Lopez met a homeless musician on skid row in Los Angeles. He soon learned that the man, Nathaniel Ayers, had once been a promising violinist, and that he had left the Juilliard School because of his struggle with mental illness. Ayers is the subject of Lopez's new book, The Soloist.

Intelligence officials Thursday showed members of Congress videotape and other evidence to support their case that Syria was building a nuclear reactor with help from North Korea. The site was bombed by Israeli planes last year.

Lincoln Chafee, former U.S. senator from Rhode Island, was often called the most liberal Republican in the Senate. In office, he bucked his party on a number of hot-button issues, including same-sex marriage and the war in Iraq. His book Against the Tide challenges the Republican Party on its rightward drift.

Paul Polak, founder of the nonprofit International Development Enterprises, has spent 25 years working to eradicate poverty. In Out of Poverty, he says simple technologies and a willingness to listen are key — and that government subsidies can do more harm than good.

Pope Benedict XIV meets behind closed doors with at least two victims of the clergy sex-abuse scandal. The meeting took place after the public Mass on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Angela Maske of Advocates for Youth about the FDA's approval of Opill, the first over-the-counter birth control pill.

The most prestigious tennis championship is about to come to a close. NPR's A Martinez talks to Sports Illustrated journalist Jon Wertheim, who's covering the tournament in England.

Tuesday night saw the end to a dramatic six-week competition for the Democratic presidential candidates to secure Pennsylvania votes. Renee Montagne talks with NPR National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson about what Hillary Clinton's win in the Pennsylvania primary might mean for Barack Obama's campaign.

In his new book, Charles Barber argues that Americans are over-prescribed antidepressants. Biological psychiatry, says Barber, is no substitute for psychotherapy.

Sen. John McCain has proposed a gas-tax holiday for the summer driving season. Paul Roberts, author of The End of Oil, speaks with John Ydstie about whether such a short-term tax cut would help the economy, trim oil prices, drive up demand for oil, or encourage the development of more renewable fuel sources.