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Scientists in Britain have been trying to determine whether the shape of a ponytail can be deduced from the properties of a single hair. Host Scott Simon talks with Weekend Edition Math Guy Keith Devlin about a new, soon-to-be-published study that has the answer.

The seemingly accidental death of a troubled starlet is the catalyst for events in a new thriller that takes the reader from Dublin to New York to the Congo. "It's an exploration ... of the power dynamics that go on" between executive boardrooms and warlords, author Alan Glynn says.

In a victory for the White House, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed an extension of the payroll tax cut on Friday after weeks of refusal. Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with James Fallows of The Atlantic about the political reasoning behind the vote.

The market for children's books is huge: Consumers buy $3.1 billion children's books annually. Now, with e-books and apps taking off, there are new opportunities to turn traditional story books into interactive experiences. Guest host Mary Louise Kelly talks with Dan Poynter, consultant and publisher at Para Publishing, and Roxie Munro, an author and illustrator of more than 30 children's books, about where children's books are headed.

The U.S. is determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, saying ominously that "all options are on the table." But just what are those options? Are any of them up to the task of stopping Iran from getting the bomb?

Senegal's capital of Dakar remains jittery, with demonstrators and police locked in running street battles. Some of the protests have been led by rap artists, who are mobilizing the youth and putting pressure on Senegal's leader to step down.

Reporting from Libya, NPR's Andy Carvin pays his respects to a friend he knew only through the Internet.

NBA supernova Jeremy Lin reportedly slept on one before the Knicks' winning streak. And Steve Jobs obsessed over finding the perfect specimen for his living room. During many periods of our lives, the sofa is at the epicenter. It is home base, North Star, study carrel, dining booth and royal throne rolled into one.

Among the thousands of U.S. military men and women still fighting in Afghanistan, many will have their missions cut short by serious injury. Quickly airlifting them out of the war zone requires teams of specially trained medical personnel. Cheri Lawson of WNKU spent the day at a Cincinnati, Ohio, hospital where the rigorous training takes place.

Sunday the world lost a man who elevated a simple arcade game into an American obsession. Steve Kordek was Mr. Pinball. National Pinball Museum founder David Silverman talks to guest host Mary Louise Kelly Kordek and his legacy.