Talk of The Nation on WRVO-1: NPR News

In Here Comes Trouble: Stories From My Life, the filmmaker behind Roger & Me and Fahrenheit 9/11 shares vignettes from throughout his life — from his flirtation with becoming a Catholic priest and his days as a young Richard Nixon supporter, to his transformation into a star provocateur.

NPR's Neal Conan reads listener comments on previous segments. Many responded to an interview with poet Philip Schultz about living, undiagnosed, with dyslexia. Others wrote in about our conversation on reviving home economics in high schools.

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Twenty years ago, Angels In America made its world premiere on a stage in San Francisco. In the years since, the groundbreaking duet of plays has been performed all over the world, turned into an opera and a miniseries, and racked up numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize.

Israel diplomats have fled Egypt after an attack on their embassy in Cairo and were forced to leave Turkey after a diplomatic row. As Israel appears to lose its Muslim allies, many worry about possible repercussions on the peace process, Israel's security and the U.S. role in the region.

Gym junkies can tell you the right routine and equipment is important — and so is the right music. Sports psychologist Costas Karageorghis argues the tempo and pacing of the music you listen to while working out can have a big effect on athletic performance.

Supporters of the America Invents Act say it will streamline the currently backlogged patenting process, spark innovation and create jobs. Critics are concerned the overhaul, if enacted, will unfairly advantage large companies over small inventors.

A slate of 2011 shows feature men who are unemployed or underemployed and spend lots of time playing video games. These characters aren't necessarily new, but the twist this season is that they are juxtaposed with women who are running laps around them.

In 2010, the Tea Party proved an influential player in American politics, helping Republicans regain a majority in the House. As the organization Tea Party Express co-hosts a GOP debate with CNN Monday, some now wonder if the movement can help a conservative candidate win the White House.

The Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center opened to the public the day after the 10th anniversary of the attacks. Art historian Simon Schama explores the purpose of public memorials, what makes one successful and what many memorial designers get wrong.

Several papers published this week in the journal Science look at fossilized bones from the hands, feet, pelvis, and other parts of the prehistoric hominid Australopithecus sediba. Paleoanthropologists Lee Berger and Bernard Wood discuss what the research means for our understanding of the human family tree.

How would you deflect an asteroid if it were hurtling towards Earth? A competition run by the Space Generation Advisory Council asks students and young professionals to submit their ideas. Competition winner Alison Gibbings shares her idea for a 'smart cloud' that would slow down an asteroid.

Immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks, many first responders and other victims received psychological care. Ira Flatow and guests look at the psychological effects of 9/11, and what researchers have learned since then about caring for victims of psychological trauma.

When infected by a virus known as baculovirus, gypsy moth caterpillars mysteriously climb for the treetops. They then die and scatter viral particles, infecting their comrades below. Entomologist Kelli Hoover discusses the insects' behavioral change and the benefits to the virus.

With record-breaking rainfall in the northeast in the last few weeks, mycologists say that mushroom numbers seem to be up this year. Wet weather is prime for mushroom emergence because the fruits of fungi form through a hydraulic process, says Nicholas Money of Miami University in Ohio.

Data from the Pew Research Center shows that 55 percent of Muslim Americans believe that it is harder to be a Muslim in the United States since the September 11th attacks, and 60 percent are concerned about the possible rise of Islamic extremism in the U.S.

Many colleges and universities have adopted a freshman common read program, where first year students read the same book during the summer and then discuss it when they get to campus. Jared Diamond, author of the popular pick Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Society, talks about what his book can offer young readers.

President Barack Obama will lay out his plan to create jobs on Thursday, just days after GOP candidates Mitt Romney and John Huntsman proposed their own jobs plans. But can any federal government policy change spur employers to hire new workers?

A growing body of evidence shows that concussions and other head inquires can lead to brain damage and the early onset of dementia. The NFL hopes new rules for the 2011-2012 season will help reduce those injuries, but many fans argue that violence is just part of the game.

President Obama is under fire from many in the Democratic base, from environmentalists to big labor. Jonathan Chait, senior editor of The New Republic, argues that many of the president's concessions to Republicans were paired with programs actually supported by the left.

Protests against Syrian President Bashir al-Assad have rocked Syria for months. The United Nations reports that more than 2,000 people have died, many in the city of Homs. Imad Moustapha, the Syrian Ambassador to the United States, continues to show support for the Assad regime.

Children who were bullied — or bullied others — often carry those memories for years. In Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories, writers who once endured taunts share their own experiences, with the benefit of hindsight. Co-editor Carrie Jones and contributors Eric Luper and Carolyn Mackler talk about what they've taken away from those difficult years.

In the 1950s, Keith Tantlinger built a better box and forever changed the way global business operates. His take on the shipping container made it easier to send and store all kinds of products all around the word. Tantlinger died on August 27th, 2011, at the age of 92.

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NEAL CONAN, host: Once a staple of public education, home economics was pretty much laughed out of many schools' curricula. In Helen Zoe Veit's words from The New York Times today, home ec became stereotyped as bland food, bad sewing and self-righteous fussiness. In her op-ed piece, Veit argues that a return to the roots of home economics could go someway to address the growing obesity problem. More on that in a moment. But we'd like to hear from you. What did you learn in home economics? 800-989-8255. Email us, talk@npr.org.

As a child, Philip Schultz didn't understand why he couldn't learn. He was held back twice and both his classmates and teachers ignored him. When he revealed that he wanted to be a writer, he was ridiculed.

Schultz went on to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. But it wasn't until his young son was diagnosed with dyslexia that Schultz, then 58, had a name for the disorder that had plagued him his entire life.

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NEAL CONAN, host: We'll be hearing ground zero a lot in specific reference to the spot where disaster struck New York 10 years ago. In the weeks and months after 9/11, it seems like the phrase might become permanently affixed to the tragedy at the World Trade Center. But in a piece to be published this weekend in the Boston Globe, Ben Zimmer notes that it's reentered popular usage. Ben Zimmer is executive producer of Visual Thesaurus and Vocabulary.com, and he joins us from our bureau in New York. Nice to have you back the program.

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NEAL CONAN, host: It's Tuesday, and time to read from your comments.

Our conversation with presidential hopeful Ron Paul brought this comment from Michael Cullen(ph) in Berlin, Germany. Too bad nobody had the gumption to ask Ron Paul about how to get America back to work and reduce the unemployment rate. He wrote, that is the biggest problem in the U.S. Whoever solves it saves America and also reduces the deficit.

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NEAL CONAN, host: This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Winds are calmer today, but wildfires continue to sweep across central Texas. Over 1,000 homes destroyed so far, 5,000 people evacuated. The governor says 100,000 acres burned, and the forecast doesn't offer much in the way of relief anytime soon.