Melissa Block talks with Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser about residents how in that area of Louisiana are recovering from Hurricane Isaac.

The space shuttle Endeavour will make its final trip next month, to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. But while most South L.A. residents are excited to have a piece of history nearby, many are also upset that the shuttle's 12-mile transit is forcing the city to cut down about 400 trees.

On Monday, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan told a campaign rally audience in North Carolina that "the president can say a lot of things, but he can't tell you you are better off." Later that day in Detroit, Vice President Joe Biden responded "America is better off today than they left us."

New York Times Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt argues that both Ryan and Biden are right: It's partly semantics.

Zadie Smith wrote her last novel On Beauty seven years ago — a long time in the anxious world of publishing. Her new novel NW was released in the U.S. on Monday. Critic Maureen Corrigan asks: Was it worth the wait?

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Singer Jean Redpath first travelled from Scotland to the United States in 1961 and was soon immersed in the American folk scene. Since then, she has performed throughout the world, released over forty recordings, and won the hearts of public radio listeners through her many appearances on A Prairie Home Companion. Host Fiona Ritchie met up with Redpath to reminisce about five decades of sharing song.

Whitney Houston's 1992 Bodyguard soundtrack was a huge hit. Huge! It sold more than 45 million copies worldwide. Remember "I Will Always Love You"? It's from that record. But according to last week's poll, a staggering 90 percent of you either don't like it or haven't heard it.

Many people buy and eat organic food because they believe it's more nutritious. A new study suggests that may not be the case. But with a vast number of influences and variables, from the ripeness of produce to the length of the studies, researchers note that more research is needed.

In this week's On Point, Chancellor Kent Hance discusses political campaigns.