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As the NFL regular season opens this weekend, place-kicker Jason Hanson is preparing for his 21st consecutive season with the Detroit Lions. That's a record in the league — no small feat in an industry where a missed kick can cost you your career.

Are you better off than you were four years ago? That's the question first posed by Ronald Reagan in 1980, and one that Republicans are again using as one of their main arguments against the re-election of President Obama. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz puts the question to two economists, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum. NPR's Don Gonyea also has the latest from the campaign trail in Florida.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which reportedly killed at least six people, including children.

After the terror attacks on 9/11, a public opinion survey by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs showed widespread support for increased spending on national security and counterterrorism. A decade later, a new survey shows that "Americans have become increasingly selective about how and where to engage in the world."

Franciscan University of Steubenville's description of a social work course on deviant behavior says it examines "murder, rape, robbery, prostitution, homosexuality, mental illness and drug use." Gay alumni want the description changed, and the program's accreditation is being questioned.

All Things Considered and author/blogger Lenore Skenazy offer a weekly on-air puzzle to test your cleverness skills. The "Another Thing" contest takes a trend in the news and challenges you to help us satirize it with a song title, a movie name or something else wacky.

"Mockbusters" are straight-to-video knockoffs of Hollywood hits. They've got a long and glorious history stretching back to '50s B-movies, and NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports they're having a mini-renaissance in the age of SyFy and Netflix streaming.

Teachers unions were once a dominant force in American politics and education policy. While still major players, they are rapidly losing strength and having a harder time finding reliable allies.

There are several daytime talk shows starting up, featuring Katie Couric, Steve Harvey and Ricki Lake, among others. TV critic Eric Deggans says they are all still jockeying to be the next Oprah — but there probably won't be another Oprah.

As the U.S. military steps up training of Afghan troops in preparation for the U.S. withdrawal in 2014, it has also ratcheted up its efforts to train U.S. soldiers in Afghan language and customs. This year, the Army has more than doubled the number of soldiers trained in Pashto and Dari.