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Nearly 40 years ago, funny, smart, neurotic Alexander Portnoy burst onto the public stage. Philip Roth's fictional hero was racked by guilt — promoted by an over-protective, self-sacrificing mother and by an obsession with, er, loving himself too much.

Comedian Marc Maron has built a very popular podcast on long, searching discussions with personalities from the world of comedy. Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz talks to Maron about the dark side of comedy, how he started his podcast, and the dying art of conversation.

The National Theatre on the South Bank in London is broadcasting its first live play out to the world from Iceland to South Africa. Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren stars in the 17th century play Phedre, written in Alexandrine verse. At an ordinary movie theatre in the London suburb of Brixton, locals give their thoughts on the play.

IBM has unveiled a computer that will match its wits against human contestants on the TV quiz show Jeopardy. David Ferrucci, an artificial intelligence researcher for IBM and project director of "Watson," the system that will compete on the popular game show, says "Watson" is "pretty close" to being competitive with Jeopardy's grand champions.

Eric Orner's book isn't just a great story, it's an enveloping visual experience crafted by a terrific artist; even if one paged through it without looking at the words, it would be a good read.

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, about how highly educated Syrians are leaving their country.

It's been 60 years since the Japanese musician moved to the U.S., changed the sound of the big band, and counted Oscar Peterson and Charles Mingus among her fans. It wasn't an easy road.

Melissa Block talks to Michael Parmly, former Chief of Mission for the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, about the U.S.' new relationship with Cuba.

To mark International Women's Day, the Vatican is opening its doors to a group of women pushing for a greater role in the Catholic Church. The organizers hope to raise issues of church inequality.

St. Louis is fighting to keep its NFL team from bolting to Los Angeles. Proponents see an economic benefit to keeping the team, and they fear losing of the Rams will hurt the city's prestige.