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Fourteen-year-old Doug Swieteck has the weight of the world upon him — no friends, an alcoholic father and a brother who has just been injured in Vietnam. But the protagonist of this NPR Backseat Book Club book finds solace in an unlikely place — the pages of Audubon's Birds of America.

Pope Benedict XVI leaves the church in the midst of change: American Catholics' social views tend to diverge from the Vatican's, and the church now sees much of its support in South America and Africa. One former member of the College of Cardinals says the next pope will have to be aware of the church's needs in South America.

In a new novel, the 1920s writer known for her sharp wit becomes resident ghost and adviser to a modern woman struggling to find her own voice. And the two women — spirit and flesh — come to depend on each other.

This year, statisticians are hoping to predict who will win big at the Oscars by using the same methods they used to predict the 2012 presidential election. Host Jacki Lyden gets the latest number-crunching Oscar predictions from Conor Gaughan from Farsite.com. We'll also hear from David Rothschild from Microsoft Research and Joel Windels of Brandwatch.

As sequestration looms over Washington, D.C., it seems to have transformed from dire threat to foregone conclusion. Host Jacki Lyden speaks with James Fallows of The Atlantic about how lawmakers are bracing for what feels like the inevitable.

The art of sabrage, or knocking open a bottle of Champagne with a sword, probably started during the time of Napoleon. A sword is handy but not necessary; a kitchen knife can also work, according to a Champagne expert.

In the new memoir The Soundtrack of My Life, the legendary record producer and industry executive shares stories from his more than four-decade career.

The former Smiths guitarist says he's always jumped at whatever situation will draw the best music out of him.

Melissa Block speaks with Dan Friedman, who covers Washington for the New York Daily News, about how a question he asked of a source on Capitol Hill became the centerpiece for an explosive story spread by conservative media. Friedman says that in asking whether Chuck Hagel, who's been nominated to be secretary of defense, had received speaking fees from controversial groups, he made up the name "Friends of Hamas" as a farcical example. That name later surfaced on Breitbart.com, despite the fact that the group does not exist.

It all started with mummies and a basketball tournament, depending on whom you ask.