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Early polling can do much to shape political campaigns, but for voters who are just trying to follow the debate, polls and surveys can seem contradictory and confusing. Host Scott Simon talks with Michael Dimock of Pew Research Center and J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer and Company, about how to make sense of polling this election season.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jennifer Egan tweeted a science fiction story from the New Yorker fiction Twitter account (@NYerFiction) this week. In the story, Egan takes a character from her novel, A Visit From the Goon Squad, and sets her in a futuristic world in which she is a female spy. Host Scott Simon talks with Egan about the first time The New Yorker has serialized fiction on Twitter.

After years struggling to make it in New York, the folk group left everything behind and settled in Denver. The band released its self-titled debut album this spring.

Jake Foushee was 14 when he posted a YouTube video showing off his "movie trailer voice" for friends. When the video went viral, Jake found himself on national television. The next stop might be the big screen itself.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Vincent Gray was elected to office on a platform of anti-corruption. But just two years into his term, a federal investigation has left two former aides pleading guilty to misdeeds during the 2010 election. Gray has denied any wrongdoing. Host Guy Raz talks about D.C. politics with Washington Post reporter Nikita Stewart.

Tyrese Graham is a second-year science teacher at John Marshall Metropolitan High School on the West Side of Chicago. When he started teaching, Marshall was among the worst public schools in the city.

The Exergy Tour began Thursday night in Boise, Idaho. It's the largest women's five-day stage race in North America. It's also the last major race before cycling teams are chosen for the Olympics in London. This Tour is meant to raise the bar for women's cycling but as Sadie Babits reports, the race began with a major upset.

Throughout our show this Memorial Day weekend, we're hearing from members of the 182nd Infantry Regiment of the Army National Guard. In this installment, Spc. Michael Cella remembers a close call while on patrol.

With pride and sadness, writer David Freed watched his son go off to the war in Afghanistan. In the Los Angeles Times, Freed suggests that politicians who vote or make orders to deploy service members don't understand what it means to have a loved one serve. Originally broadcast April 4, 2012.

Linguist David Crystal believes every word has a story to tell, even the ones as commonplace as "and." In The Story of English in 100 Words, he compiles a collection of words — classic words like "tea" and new words like "app" — that explain how the English language has evolved.