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In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the last major overhaul of the U.S. tax code. This election year, both President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney say they are committed to serious tax reform, which would include simplifying the code and reducing middle-class tax rates. Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks with New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, who takes a look back at the historic 1986 reform and finds the required elements of that deal missing in the current political climate.

Taxidermists, muralists and a crew of others have spent years sprucing up the Hall of North American Mammals at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. On Saturday, the hall reopens to the public. Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks with curator Ross MacPhee about the project.

It was a big week for Microsoft. The company introduced its new operating system — Windows 8 — and stepped into the ever-expanding tablet market. These are major steps for a company that has been perceived as lagging behind Apple and Google in innovation. For more, Weekend Edition host Scott Simon is joined by NPR's Steve Henn.

Are you prepared for some unorthodox audio from an ink-stained wretch still working on the transition to online journalism from print? If so, click through to listen to Shots, the podcast. This episode covers multivitamins and cancer, health report cards and how Americans feel about retail health clinics.

Rowan got his start performing with the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe. In the '70s, he formed the band Old and in the Way with Jerry Garcia. In 2010, he joined his group for an in-studio session and interview on Fresh Air.

Weekend Edition host Scott Simon talks to Mort Berkowitz, who has been making political buttons since 1976. He shares some of his favorites with host Scott Simon.

Eight thousand flights have been cancelled and the subway systems in New York, Washington, D.C. and Boston have been shutdown.

At a time when both presidential campaigns would typically be hitting all the swing states, some were off limits owing to Hurricane Sandy. Still, with only a week left before the election, the campaigns both had to find ways to continue their efforts while heeding Hurricane Katrina's lessons.

Bans on smoking in bars and workplaces appear to reduce heart attacks and deaths within months. The savings on health care spending were significant, too. Researchers say the findings provide strong support for limits on smoking indoors.

Economists will need many days — maybe weeks or months — to assess the financial harm being done by Hurricane Sandy. But whatever the final figure, it will be huge — well into the tens of billions of dollars — after everything from property damage to lost sales is tallied up.