Renee Landers, professor of law at Suffolk University in Massachusetts and faculty director for the health and biomedical concentration there, shares her knowledge about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Massachusetts and how it compares to the health reforms that took place back in 2006.

The immigrant experience has long been part and parcel of the American literary tradition."Americanah," the new novel by celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, explores the immigrant experience through Nigerian eyes. Her story follows a young couple, Ifemelu and Obinze, high school sweethearts in Lagos who find very different paths to adulthood.

Sixteen years ago, producer Joe Richman gave group of teenagers tape recorders and asked them to report on their own lives. Armed with recording equipment, they told their stories, and "Teenage Diaries" -- compelling radio that gave listeners an unexpected lens into the lives of ordinary teens -- was born.

An organization in Eugene, Oregon is trying to get pregnant women to stop smoking by paying them in the form of a department store gift cards. Will it be effective? Kristian Foden-Vencil of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.

A longtime proponent of stricter gun laws, New York Representative Carolyn McCarthy considers how the effort to push for tougher gun regulations is likely to move forward, after the Senate defeated several proposed gun control measures earlier this month.

We've been talking this week about the importance of getting to know your neighbors. Why is it important to know our neighbors? And how does it help us become a better society? Peter Lovenheim, author of the book "In the Neighborhood," set out to answer those questions in an intensive study of his own neighborhood.

There's a push to make this Saturday "Neighbor Day." The campaign started here in the US and began long before the Boston bombings. But perhaps now “Neighbor Day” demands closer attention? All this week, we're asking for and sharing stories about your neighbors.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, analyzed by Takeaway partner The New York Times, finds the rate of A.D.H.D. diagnosis has exploded over the last decade.

We're usually completely focused on the details of a prescription for a healthy life — an apple a day, eight hours of sleep, etc. But what if you started with the big-picture instead — like, your purpose in life?

For a period of time after December's elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Americans felt a collective sense of outrage that something had to be done about gun violence in this country. But that support appears to have waned. Joe Nocera, author of the the Gun Report in The New York Times, explains why.

While gays and lesbians fight for the right to marry, increasingly, straight women are delaying marriage or avoiding it altogether. Your stories illustrated many changing views of marriage.

As an aspiring singer, Tyler Ford became the first transgender contestant on the Glee Project, the reality show where real people can audition to appear on Glee. Tyler was born female, but never took on that identity, and decided as a young adult to make the transition to become male.

It might surprise you to learn that today, 48 percent of first-time mothers are unmarried. This figure is not about a rise in teen pregnancy, though. It's about a different demographic shift.

A retrial has been ordered in Italy for Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, who were accused of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher. Nina Burleigh, a columnist for the New York Observer, has followed the developments with the Knox case for many years.

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear two cases on same-sex marriage, Sarah Gogin, Malina Simhard-Halm, and Kevin Gibson Weinberger talk about their experiences growing up with gay parents and how their notions of family have evolved over time.

Single mothers are often left out of the media's discussion of work-life balance, yet as Anne Desjardins explains, they often face the most difficulties when it comes to juggling career and family.

We continue our thread on gender roles, work, and home life with a look at educated, independent women who choose to leave the workforce to raise their children. Self-proclaimed feminist stay-at-home moms, these women face a whole new set of challenges — and judgments — as they make parenting their primary job.

For working parents, achieving this balance means finding the time — and energy — to spend with their children after work. But what if caring for children is a part of your day job?

Continuing our thread this week about the changing American workplace, here's a fact about the changing American workforce: it's getting older. But the current workplace isn't set up for that kind of longevity, so workers are forced to negotiate that terrain by themselves. Susan Damour tried retiring at age 64, but less than two years later she was back in her office at the General Services Administration of the federal government. Laura Carstensen is a professor of psychology and director of the Stanford Center on Longevitiy, and she has been studying the physical and mental health benefits of working longer and retiring later. 

Pope Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was formally installed as pope today. The Argentine pope was elected last week; today tens of thousands of people greeted him for his inaugural mass at the Vatican. Rachel Donadio, the Rome bureau chief for our partner, The New York Times, has been reporting on Pope Francis's inauguration.