All Things Considered

Dick Cheney, 71, was in a Virginia hospital following a heart transplant Saturday. Host Laura Sullivan talks with NPR's Rob Stein about the former vice president's health.

In Round 8 of our Three-Minute Fiction contest, listeners were given this challenge: Begin a story with this sentence: "She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally decided to walk through the door." And, as always, the story must be 600 words or less. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET Sunday.

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum released what may be the hardest-hitting ad of the 2012 campaign. "Welcome to Obamaville," shot and scored like a trailer for a Hollywood horror film, features a split-second flash of President Obama's face superimposed over the image of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Guest host Laura Sullivan speaks to NPR's David Folkenflik about the ad.

The MF Life is the second album by R&B singer Melanie Fiona, released this past week. The two-time Grammy winner says the title has sparked a lot of discussion.

"It gets people talking to each other," Fiona says. "I wanted it to be a collection of music and songs that make people think about the things that we actually go through and feel, and to acknowledge that — to know that there's someone out there singing their story, as well."