Talk of the Nation

Topics from the Most Recent Show

• Tired Of Commuting By Car? Try An Electric Bike
  Tens of millions of Chinese commuters ride electric bicycles to work. But will car-centric Americans give them a whirl? Edward Benjamin, chairman of the Light Electric Vehicle Association, and Bert Cebular, founder of NYCeWheels, discuss the safety and environmental impact of the bikes, and how culture influences their adoption.
• Fingertips Leave A Bacterial Fingerprint
  Researchers studying the microbes that inhabit human skin say the bacteria left behind when an object is touched can be used to identify who did the touching. Microbe researcher Rob Knight explains how these bacterial "fingerprints" could one day be used in solving crimes.
• Scientists Study Dancing Babies ... Enough Said?
  In perhaps the cutest study published in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,</em> psychologist Marcel Zentner and Tuomas Eerola found that babies will spontaneously groove to music. While babies are not great dancers, they smile more when they do hit the beat.
• Taking 3-D To TV
  Movie theaters are full of 3-D flicks, but now the technology is moving to television. When can viewers expect to watch the Super Bowl in 3-D on a flat screen? Ira Flatow and guests discuss the frontier of this technology, and what it might look like when it hits the market.
• Keeping The Russian Revolution Alive
  When Vladimir Lenin &mdash; leader of the Russian Revolution &mdash; died, Stalin hired two scientists to preserve his body. A new play called <em>Lenin's Embalmers</em> explores the story. Stuart Firestein and Vern Thiessen explain how the play brings together science, politics and, strangely enough, humor.
• High School Scientist Develops Spacecraft Software
  New Mexico high school student Erika DeBenedictis took first place in this year's Intel Science Talent Search. DeBenedictis discusses how she won $100,000 in prize money by designing a software system to guide spacecraft along the most fuel-efficient route to Venus.
• Tough Talk Between U.S. And Israel
  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the relationship between the U.S. and Israel as "unshakeable." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the bond as "special." But lately, a series of escalating events &mdash; and tough talk &mdash; has led to rising tensions.
• Professor Calls For Balance In Textbooks
  Conservatives on the Texas school board argue that changes they've proposed to the social studies curriculum will provide "balance" to a "liberal paradigm." Jonathan Zimmerman says conservatives are correct &mdash; many history books lean left. So he proposes a middle ground.
• Negative Images 'Brainwash' African Americans
  Ad man Tom Burrell calls out negative images of African Americans in the media for perpetuating the myth of black inferiority. In <em>Brainwashed,</em> he examines the history of the myth and how contemporary culture reinforces it.
• Working Hard, Or Watching The NCAA Tournament?
  Duke University professor Charles Clotfelter heard a rumor that a law firm cut off online access to live streaming during March, because employees were watching too many basketball games. So he decided to measure the NCAA basketball tournament's effect on productivity.
• Fighting Floods From Sandbag Central
  Weekend storms overwhelmed much of the Northeast, flooding roads and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. In the plains, towns along the Red River are bracing for the river to crest soon. Cindy Miller is in "sandbag central" in Fargo, North Dakota, helping the city prepare.
• Meager Savings Set Up Not-So Golden Years
  The 2010 survey on retirement confidence from the Employee Benefit Research Institute indicates many working Americans have less than $1,000 set aside for retirement. And fewer than half of workers have tried to calculate how much they'll need to retire comfortably.
• New Rules Take NASCAR Back To Its Roots
  Most NASCAR crashes are accidents, but when Carl Edwards sent Brad Keselowski's car flying into a wall, it was payback. Daniel Pierce argues new rules encouraging aggressive racing are taking the sport back to its roots.
• Pulling Out The Stops For Health Care Bill
  On Capitol Hill, the Democratic leadership is deploying every resource to gain approval for the president's health care plan. And with the 2010 elections approaching, undecided representatives are worried about how their votes will play back home.
• Texas Textbook Tussle Could Have National Impact
  The Texas Board of Education approved social studies curriculum guidelines that incorporate socially conservative ideas into American history. The new guidelines could ultimately reshape history and economics textbooks for Texas and, potentially, much of the nation.