Talk of the Nation

Monday- Friday, 1:00- 3:00pm
Neal Conan

Monday through Thursday, host Neal Conan invites callers to discuss areas of topical interest, including politics and public service, education, religion, music, and healthcare. Talk of the Nation goes behind the headlines with decision-makers, authors, thinkers, artists, and listeners around the world, who become part of the conversation by calling 1-800-989-TALK.

Each Friday, journalist Ira Flatow is joined by listeners and studio guests to explore science-related topics -- from subatomic particles and the human genome to the Internet and earthquakes. Flatow offers in-depth discussion with scientists and others from all walks of life, giving listeners the chance to hear from the people whose work influences their daily lives.

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Asia
3:05 pm
Tue June 5, 2012

Ties Strengthening Between Vietnam And The U.S.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

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NPR Story
2:23 pm
Tue June 5, 2012

The Day Buddy Guy 'Left Home,' Bound For The Blues

Credit Paul Natkin /
"I didn't learn nothing from a book," Buddy Guy tells NPR's Neal Conan. "I learned by ... being quiet, keep your ears open and listen."

Originally published on Wed June 6, 2012 9:21 am

Guitar legend Buddy Guy has been called the bridge between the blues and rock 'n' roll, as well as one of the most influential blues musicians in the world. Guitar icons like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and countless others use words like "legend," "master" and "greatest of all time" to describe him.

In his new memoir, When I Left Home, Guy describes what he calls his second birthday: the day he left his home of Louisiana for Chicago, the blues capital of the world.

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Around the Nation
1:43 pm
Tue June 5, 2012

A Plan To Reform Immigration Policy, DIY-Style

Originally published on Tue June 5, 2012 3:05 pm

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

Immigration remains an intense political issue in this country and a point of contention between Mexico and the United States. In an op-ed published on Saturday in The New York Times, Jorge Castaneda, Mexico's former foreign minister, and Douglas S. Massey, founder and co-director of the Mexican Migration Project, argue that in the shadow of that gargantuan debate, time and commonsense decisions by Mexican migrants have brought us nearly everything immigration reform was supposed to achieve.

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Around the Nation
1:41 pm
Tue June 5, 2012

Giant Tankers Battle Wildfires From The Sky

Originally published on Tue June 5, 2012 3:05 pm

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. We're still weeks away from the hottest and driest part of the year, and fire season is already well underway: Colorado, Nevada, Utah, California, Arizona, New Mexico. In a few minutes, we'll talk with a meteorologist who tries to forecast fire conditions, and we'll focus on the pilots who swoop through smoke and turbulence to drop retardant on wildfires. Two of them died in the crash of an elderly plane in Utah on Sunday.

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Politics
3:24 pm
Mon June 4, 2012

Wisconsin Recall: What's At Stake For Unions?

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

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NPR Story
1:04 pm
Mon June 4, 2012

President Obama's Unpalatable Options In Syria

Originally published on Mon June 4, 2012 3:01 pm

Syrian President Bashar Assad denied responsibility for the massacre that left more than 100 people dead in Houla in May. Pressure mounts on the Obama administration to consider a more aggressive response to the violence that has plagued Syria for more than a year.

NPR Story
1:04 pm
Mon June 4, 2012

Lessons Learned From The John Edwards Trial

Originally published on Mon June 4, 2012 3:04 pm

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

After nine days of deliberations, a jury in North Carolina found John Edwards not guilty on one count of campaign finance fraud, and a federal judge declared a mistrial after they failed to reach a verdict on five more. Afterwards, the former presidential candidate said he'd committed no crimes but admitted to what he called awful wrongs for which he could only blame himself. Observers think it's highly unlikely the Justice Department will seek a retrial.

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NPR Story
1:04 pm
Mon June 4, 2012

Making Summer Jobs Work For Teens

Originally published on Mon June 4, 2012 2:20 pm

A report by Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies finds that less than 30 percent of U.S. teens had jobs in the summers of 2010 and 2011. Though the employment outlook is bleak, there are some strategies for navigating the summer job market.

Health Care
12:35 pm
Fri June 1, 2012

Can Technology Deliver Better Health Care?

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. If you have trouble sleeping, your doctor might send you to a sleep lab and spend $3,000 a night to chart your sleep cycle, or you could do the same thing at home with a commercially available headband, which wirelessly transmits your sleep data to your smartphone for under 100 bucks.

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Science
12:29 pm
Fri June 1, 2012

Lightning Bug Of A Different Color

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

And now for our Video Pick of the Week. Flora's still here and positioned perfectly to take us on a safari.

FLORA LICHTMAN, BYLINE: We're still on safari.

FLATOW: We're still on safari.

LICHTMAN: The safari continues, this time to slightly larger organisms. See if you can see with your naked eye, and maybe in your own backyard. These guys are glow-in-the-dark - I have you already, don't I?

FLATOW: Yeah.

LICHTMAN: Millipedes - which, I didn't know - let me - can I tell you the story of how this came about?

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Pages

Podcasts

  • Wednesday, June 19, 2013 12:36pm
    Author Lemony Snicket is known for his dry wit and matter-of-fact take on the mysterious and macabre. He is best known for tales of dastardly villains, clever orphans, and low-ranking members of secret organizations. In his latest children's book, he takes on the dark itself.
  • Wednesday, June 19, 2013 12:00pm
    Ken Rudin recaps the week in politics. Boston Globe political reporter Jim O'Sullivan previews the special election between Mass. Senate candidates Edward Markey and Gabriel Gomez on June 25. NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving looks to the future of Congress.
  • Wednesday, June 19, 2013 12:00pm
    A New York Federal District Court judge ruled that Fox Searchlight Pictures broke the law by not paying two interns for work on the film Black Swan. As a result, private employers may be considering revising their internship programs, or scrapping them altogether.
  • Wednesday, June 19, 2013 12:00pm
    NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show topics, including research into rare diseases and the joys and myths of having an only child.
  • Tuesday, June 18, 2013 12:00pm
    Twelve years after the war began, Afghanistan's president announced Tuesday that Afghan forces officially assumed control of security for the country. U.S. and NATO troops will remain until the 2014 deadline, but the Afghan military is now expected to fight without NATO support.