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Some of the most beloved nature writers of all time, Henry David Thoreau and Aldo Leopold, are helping scientists learn how global warming will affect spring. Using historical records, the scientists are able to predict when flowers will bloom during especially hot years.

New technology is getting us closer and closer to the point where cars will drive themselves. Automakers are testing and refining systems that will make this happen. But our love for control may keep us from riding in these cars anytime soon.

Morning Edition wraps up its weeklong look at the growing number of people who say they do not identify with a religion. In the final conversation, two religious leaders describe what they do to attract young people to the church.

The owner of the local gold shop told the Herald newspaper that if the anonymous prospector was "silly enough to melt it down," it would be worth nearly $300,000. Unlikely, since its size and shape make it so rare.

The Inquisition revolutionized record-keeping and surveillance techniques that are still used today, says Cullen Murphy. His book God's Jury draws parallels between some of the interrogation techniques used in previous centuries with the ones used today.

As part of a research initiative on how to harness off-grid energy for low-power electronics, a pair of U.K.-based designers created a lamp that uses gravity to generate light. Martin Riddiford, co-inventor of the GravityLight, talks about plans for the innovative project.

This poppy folk band brings a fresh perspective to the Memphis music scene. Listen to a performance and interview with the group, recorded at Ardent Studios.

After 10 years between albums, the soul singer made a triumphant comeback with Landing on a Hundred. Watch ChesnuTT perform one of that record's catchiest and most poignant songs, "That's Still Mama."

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography, My Beloved World, debuted this week, and NPR's Nina Totenberg sat down with her to talk about her youth and schooling and career. Sotomayor discusses the role that books played in her life, from Nancy Drew to Shakespeare.

Almost the entire country has signed onto the Common Core Standards Initiative. The standards incorporate more nonfiction texts across all subjects to improve reading scores. But some fear the push for nonfiction reading could lead students away from passionate engagement with literature.