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There aren't all that many shows on television that are nice to nerds. But Parks And Recreation embraces its grown-up enthusiasts, whether they're into board games, Game Of Thrones, or dressing like Batman.

Some Navajo activists want to overturn a tribal law banning same-sex marriages. They say the law contradicts Navajo values because it disrupts harmony. Host Michel Martin talks with people on both sides of the debate: Deswood Tome of the Navajo Nation Council and Alray Nelson of the Coalition for Navajo Equality.

The former New Jersey poet laureate, born LeRoi Jones, has died at 79. Much of his work reflected a commitment to Black Nationalist ideals. He co-founded the Black Arts movement and his poems were as controversial as they were influential.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says he's "embarrassed and humiliated" by a traffic jam scandal involving his office. But is it enough to stall a 2016 presidential bid? Host Michel Martin hears from the barbershop guys on that and other news of the week.

McPartland and guest host Elvis Costello stroll down memory lane as she discusses her favorite moments from more than 700 episodes of Piano Jazz. Costello serenades McPartland with a moving version of "P.S. I Love You" and introduces a new song, "You Hung the Moon."

A new film explores the affair between Dickens and a young actress for whom he left his wife, but who for years never showed up in biographies of Dickens. It's the second film directed by Ralph Fiennes, who also plays Dickens.

Critics say former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' new book takes shots at President Obama and other members of his cabinet. The Washington Post's Greg Jaffe tells host Michel Martin more about the book and its fallout.

After devoting the past several years to theater acting, Cate Blanchett starred this past summer in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, for which she's been nominated for a Golden Globe. She spoke with NPR's Robert Siegel about the similarities between theater and film — and the need for lightness in even the darkest drama.

The composer and bandleader made his first recordings in the late 1940s. In the decades since, Heath has played with and written for everyone from Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to Miles Davis and Milt Jackson.

E.L. Doctorow's new novel goes inside the brain of a neuroscientist trying to outrun his memories of disaster and the daughter he gave up. He tells NPR's Scott Simon that Andrew's Brain was inspired by his own memories, and by a recurring idea of a little girl hiding her colored-pencil drawings from adult eyes.