Today, flying is like riding a bus. But it wasn't always that way. Vaulted from the sands of Kitty Hawk and freed from military exigencies by the end of World War I, aviation soared into the 1920s and '30s on a direct course to tomorrow. Here are three flyers who not only helped open the skies, but also brought literary gems back from the cutting edge of progress, from a time when flying was the most exciting thing in the world.

Poor Rutherford B. Hayes. It wasn't bad enough that the 19th president, a Republican, was called "His Fraudulency" by Democrats during his one term in office (1877-1881) because of the unusual circumstances of how he "won."

Now, the current occupant of the White House, President Obama, was spreading a most assuredly inaccurate story, according to experts, about Hayes' reaction to an early telephone.

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Louis Pasteur joined The Clancy Brothers? Or if The Chieftains were more nerdy and less talented? Well, wonder no longer!

I wrote this song about the science of beer last year and the folks at The Salt asked me to dust it off in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

In a vaguely Irish style, the song salutes that hero of beer production, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and explains the biochemistry of inebriation.

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block. The NCAA tournament is in full swing, another six team games today full of victory and celebration, despair and defeat. And, for every losing team, there's a pack of opposing fans convinced that their jeers contributed to missed free throws and flat jumpers.

NPR's fearless Mike Pesca has been spending time with the hecklers.

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Time now for your letters and this correction. Yesterday, we aired a story about a Department of Agriculture decision on a product known as lean finely textured beef, or to its detractors - pink slime. It's made from leftover meat trimmings treated with ammonia and then added to hamburger. Well, the USDA is now allowing the school cafeterias to order beef that is pink slime-free.

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Just a few years ago, not many people outside North Carolina knew of a small start-up called Public Policy Polling. It was founded by a Democratic businessman with no political experience. These days, PPP is one of the most prolific polling companies in the country, along with Gallup and Rasmussen.

From North Carolina Public Radio, Jessica Jones has the story of a political start-up turned success story.

JESSICA JONES, BYLINE: If you're a news junkie, you've probably already heard of Public Policy Polling.

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MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

We're going to follow the money now with our regular Friday political commentators, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and David Brooks of the New York Times. Welcome back to you both.

DAVID BROOKS: Good to be here.

E.J. DIONNE: Good to be with you.

BLOCK: And I want to start with a hypothetical question. What would this primary contest, do you think, have looked like without superPACs and without the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision? David Brooks, a very different race?

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that it will make available same-day audio of upcoming oral arguments later this month, arguments that could determine the fate of the Obama health care overhaul.

A highly popular episode of This American Life in which monologuist Mike Daisey tells of the abuses at factories that make Apple products in China contained "significant fabrications," the show said today.

The Shins are a dream-pop outfit from Portland, Ore. Arising as a side project while singer/songwriter James Mercer lived in New Mexico, the band took on a life of its own after a number of singles such as "New Slang" were featured in films, pulling the young indie rock group into the national spotlight.