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Newly disclosed court opinions and statements from the Obama administration raise big questions about whether the National Security Agency's surveillance programs are too complicated for anyone to understand or oversee. Self-policing comes with big challenges. Is it possible to control the vast spy agency?

The economy adds a decent number of jobs every month but there are big questions about the quality of some of those jobs. Many people getting hired these days do not have anything resembling a regular schedule and work fragmented and unpredictable hours.

American 15-year-olds scored below average in math among the world's most-developed countries, according to rankings released every three years. They were close to average in science and reading.

Long before becoming the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis worked some odd jobs. At a church in Rome over the weekend, the pope talked about sweeping floors, working in a chemical lab and teaching in high school. And at one time, he kicked troublemakers out of clubs.

NPR messed up Wednesday, saying that Ernie Banks had played for the Chicago White Sox. Boy, did we hear from listeners about that. Banks was known for saying, "Let's play two," but he only ever played for one major league team.

Arne Duncan has expressed regret for his dismissive comment about the opposition of "white suburban moms" to Common Core standards, but the flap won't soon be forgotten.

Public disapproval of the Affordable Care Act has pushed President Obama to his lowest ratings yet, according to a new poll. But does it matter? And how will the Cheney sisters' disagreement over gay marriage play out in the polls? Host Michel Martin asks journalists Callie Crossley and Keli Goff.

The federal government is struggling to figure out how to fit fish farms into the National Organic Program, which regulates organic land-based farms. Environmentalists argue that fish farms shouldn't quality for an organic label if they don't use organic feed.

In an attempt to turn a page on rampant literary piracy in Russia, one Moscow-based company created a subscription e-book service that it hopes will decrease the incentive for free, illegal downloads.

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele each have a white mother and black father, and a lot of the jokes on their Comedy Central show are about race. Peele tells Fresh Air that their backgrounds allow them to do characters others would feel uncomfortable doing.