A collision between reproductive technology and child custody laws led to a legal battle back in the 1980s that got the attention of the world. It's the case of "Baby M," an infant who sparked one of the earliest legal struggles over surrogacy. The surrogacy business has grown, but the law has not kept up. And that’s created a lot of confusion as well as a lot of families. Jill Rosenbaum, Retro Report producer, explains.

This week, we're taking a close-up look to see how learning actually happens in real schools across the nation. Today we go to Earl Boyles Elementary School in Portland Oregon—a school that's been experimenting with how to teach young students with poor English language skills how to read and write proficiently. Oregon Public Radio reporter Rob Manning provides a glimpse inside the classrooms of Earl Boyles.

It’s college admissions season and high school seniors are figuring out which schools they want to attend—and if they can afford to go to them. What students can do to improve their financial literacy and limit their debt.

All this week, The Takeaway is getting a close-up look at classrooms around the U.S. Today, we head to Monroe Middle School in Tampa, FL. Like many schools around the country, Monroe is adopting the curriculum called Common Core—a shift to a more structured, discussion, and logic-oriented approach to teaching writing and math. John O’Connor covers education for StateImpact Florida and WUSF in Tampa. He says that the Common Core seems to be a good fit for Monroe.

As science enables humans in today's world to live longer, how do we assess the value of years we weren't otherwise prepared to live out?

Would you want to live to be 100-years-old, or even older? And if everyone could, what excites or worries you about what the future has in store? S. Jay Olshansky, a professor in the school of public health the University of Illinois at Chicago, knows a lot about human aging through the centuries and what society stands to gain—or lose—from having a much larger, older human population. He joins The Takeaway to discuss the history of life expectancy.

Yesterday President Barack Obama announced a new initiative designed to help young men of color. The program, called "My Brother's Keeper," is aimed at cultivating the kind of mentoring that the president believes helped him and will help other young men of color. Lester Spence is a professor of political science and Africana studies at Johns Hopkins University. He says that he appreciates the gesture, but believes the president should be pushing policy to help young men of color—not mentorship.

For 500 years, the Catholic Church denied communion to parishioners who divorce and remarry. But this week, Pope Francis may chart a new course, breaking ranks with his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who refused to allow for pastoral discretion on the issue. James Carroll is the author of "An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War that Came Between Us" and "Toward A New Catholic Church: The Promise of Reform." He examines the choices facing Pope Francis regarding marriage and the future of the Catholic Church. 

After generations of Evangelical Christians moving further towards the right, many found that their partisan politics were pushing people away. Now, a new generation of young leaders are calling for change and more moderation. Brandan Robertson, founder of The Revangelical Movement, an organization that promotes an alternative Evangelical perspective and Krista Tippett, host of On Being, join us to discuss the changing face of Evangelicals. 

This week, just nine months after the Boy Scouts of America lifted their longtime ban on openly gay scouts, 17-year old Pascal Tessier became the first openly gay member to be officially recognized as an Eagle Scout. But in six months, Pascal will no longer be allowed to be a part of the Boy Scouts of America. That’s because he’ll be turning 18, and according to the BSA guidelines, openly gay adults are not welcome.

Last year, more than 5 billion school lunches were served to over 30 million students across the country through The National School Lunch Program. In total, more than 224 billion lunches have been served since the program’s start. But with every lunch comes new criticism of the program. Marion Nestle, professor of Nutrition and Food Studies and Public Health at New York University, has given this issue much thought. She joins The Takeaway to discuss the main obstacles to better lunches and what the lunch program of the future should look like.

As the controversy around Woody Allen and Dylan Farrow continues, it's hard to determine the facts in any particular case of sexual assault. What we know for certain is that many cases of sexual abuse go unreported and un-prosecuted. Sasha Weiss, an editor at NewYorker.com, and Dr. Margaret Moon, Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Clinical Medical Ethics at Johns Hopkins University discuss what the Farrow-Allen case has to teach us about the boundaries between private life and politics.

The drugstore chain will stop selling cigarettes and all tobacco products at its more than 7,600 stores nationwide by October 1, 2014.

Facing a losing battle in the United States, evangelical advocates are seizing the opportunity to spread their mission abroad in countries like Belize, Nigeria and Russia, where receptive audiences are latching on to anti-gay sentiments. Political correspondent Alex Seitz-Wald reported on the efforts to undo gay rights overseas in a new piece out in the National Journal. He joins The Takeaway to discuss the strategy for appealing to anti-LGBT audiences abroad.

Last week, we discussed this piece of common advice given to young people: "Do what you love." It sounds very simple: Follow your passion, and the money will follow. But is that always the case? Our conversation about following your dreams sparked a lot of discussion. To explore this issue in greater depth, The Takeaway hears from Jey Born and his wife Betsy Thorleifson. Together they discuss how they are making a team effort as a couple to do what they love.

It's become popular to insist that the key to a successful career is to simply "follow your bliss" straight into a profession that you're truly passionate about. For most people, is it really practical to do what you love? And if it's not, why are we giving this advice to our young people? Miya Tokumitsu, holds a Ph.D in art history. Her recent essay in Jacobin magazine breaks down why being told to "do what you love" isn't necessarily sound advice.

At the end of last year as the federal government allowed long-term unemployment benefits to expire for 1.3 million Americans, and North Carolina led the way in also reducing benefits. Paul Tine is a North Carolina state representative that voted for the unemployment cuts. Jaslyn Roberts is the career center director for Charlotte Works, a job training organization. Together they explain how things have changed in the state since benefits have been cut.

Though heavy snowfalls can conjure feelings of frustration for commuters, a bed of freshly packed snow can also bring back memories of days passed when thick snow meant a day at home from school. Todd Zwillich, Takeaway Washington Correspondent, gives us some of his best snow day memories. Lester Laminack is the author of the children's book "Snow Day!" When he's not writing books he's a professor of education at Western Carolina University. He joins The Takeaway to explain how snow days bring back childhood memories.

Wealth can be a tool for investment, for development and even for change. But wealth can also be an end in itself—becoming an addiction. That was the case for Sam Polk, a former hedge fund manager. In his last year on Wall Street, Polk earned a $3.6 million bonus. He felt it wasn't enough. Today, Polk explores why Americans love and possibly have an addiction to money.