Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, host:

Most of the men in Roddy Doyle's new collection of short stories are lads. They're Irish guys who lift a pint, tell jokes, and watch football in packs, as they did when they were in their late teens. And yet, they're men confronting all the issues of middle-age - hair where they don't want it, children who leave home, wives who've heard all of their jokes, and the mounting realization that some things they'll just never get around to.

A rich, new production of Follies has opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with the original orchestrations. Bernadette Peters is playing the lead, and when she sings 'Broadway Baby,' it could be a kind of anthem. Host Scott Simon speaks with Peters about her new role in Stephen Sondheim's award-winning musical.

He's listed officially at 6 feet, but hardly anyone believes it. What's undisputable is that J.J. Barea, the diminutive point guard of the Dallas Mavericks, is tearing up the NBA playoffs. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

The high-school prom is a costly American rite of passage. Most kids consider it a must, but prom is out of reach for many students from poor families. Recently, the Assistance League of Los Angeles held its annual prom dress giveaway, a reward to girls from poor or homeless families for their high academic achievement despite the odds. It's not the apex of their lives; it's a payoff for their hard work and a gentle encouragement to stick to their goals. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates attended the giveaway.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is under house arrest in a New York apartment this weekend. On Thursday, the former head of the International Monetary Fund was indicted on seven criminal charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault on a maid in his New York hotel room last Saturday. Host Scott Simon talks to New York Times Paris Correspondent Elaine Sciolino about reaction in France to the sexual assault scandal surrounding Strauss-Kahn.

Flood waters are heading towards the small community of Butte La Rose, La., and the parish government there has ordered residents to evacuate. Host Scott Simon talks with Tucker Friedman, owner of Turtle's Bar in Butte La Rose, on his plans to stay behind.

The Mississippi River floods continue to inundate the Delta region. Tributaries are backing up, spilling record levels of water and leaving severe damage in their wake. Host Scott Simon speaks with Garret Graves of the Louisiana State Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority about the economic impact of the Mississippi River floods on the region.

Some Christians believe that Saturday is Judgment Day, the day that catastrophe strikes the earth, true believers ascend to heaven and others are left to a terrible fate. Host Scott Simon talks to NPR's Barbara Bradley-Hagerty about the May 21 believers and other doomsday movements.

The revelation this week by the president and CEO of the Phoenix Suns that he is gay comes in the midst of what seems to be a movement in pro sports to confront homophobia head-on. Remarks that were often dismissed as the kind of trash talk that's acceptable in sports are being challenged by a few of the stars on the court. Host Scott Simon talks with Grant Hill of the Phoenix Suns, who has joined a campaign to fight homophobia in sports.

President Obama's speech on Middle East issues earlier this week drew a lukewarm response from Israel; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly rejected some of the president's proposals. Is there any common ground left on which the U.S. and Israel can build a dialogue? Host Scott Simon speaks with Dr. Marc Lynch, director of the Institute for Middle East Studies and of the Project on Middle East Political Science at George Washington University.