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March 16, 2013 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.

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On Weekend Edition SaturdayPlaylist

March 16, 2013 It looks part shrew, part squirrel, part fox and part rat. But this animal is an act of edited, elegant imagination. And it needs a name. So we're turning to you.

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March 16, 2013 A state judge upended New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. Randy Bish thinks the mayor's defeat was richly deserved, while Signe Wilkinson sees no real victors.

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March 15, 2013 Cold War tensions and the sexual revolution artfully frame Sally Potter's thoughtful historical drama Ginger & Rosa. With plenty of room for its two young leads to stretch, the film takes a careful look at coming-of-age crises in a time of epic change.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

• Whatever Happened To The Real Gingers And Rosas?

March 15, 2013 Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa and Cristian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills are wildly different films, yet they share a common impulse: to demonstrate indelibly how for girls, behaving outrageously is still a political act.

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

March 15, 2013 Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is the new pope. Dave Granlund celebrates the geography of the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church, while Steve Sack looks at the daunting tasks ahead.

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March 15, 2013 Tim Harris had wanted to open a restaurant for as long as he could remember. In 2004, with help from his father, Tim, who has Down syndrome, opened Tim's Place in Albuquerque, N.M. He calls it the world's friendliest restaurant, and doles out hugs to customers six days a week.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

March 14, 2013 A bizarre mashup of different types of cinematic excess, The Call largely wastes its taut and tensely paced middle section with its stuffed and overtly explicit bookends. Already stretching disbelief, this film's sloppy storytelling wears thin long before the end.

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March 14, 2013 Today is March 14, or "3/14," the first three digits of Pi. It's a day celebrated around the (geek) world as "Pi Day." So here's the pie version of Pi, the down, dirty and baked goods approach, illustrated by Brady Haran, a video journalist who loves numbers.

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March 14, 2013 There's not much by way of new material in the PBS Masters documentary Phillip Roth: Unmasked. Still, the clever, controversial novelist proves to be a worthy subject for nearly 90 minutes of unfussy commentary. (Recommended)

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March 14, 2013 In Virginia last month, a transgendered person was made to leave a sex-segregated public bath because of customer complaints. Commentator Barbara J. King sees this discriminatory act as another example of the "born male-born female" dichotomy ingrained in our culture.

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March 14, 2013 In Republicans' latest budget proposal, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan calls for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. Steve Sack sees little chance for success, while Nate Beeler sees a bleak future if "Obamacare" continues on to full implementation.

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March 13, 2013 Is math a truth or a human invention? In this age-old question lies an interesting analogy with sports, and perhaps a resolution to the conundrum. Updated with sources for further reading on the math as invention vs. discovery controversy.

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