Talk of the Nation

In The Generals, Thomas Ricks examines U.S. military leadership from World War Two to the present day. He concludes that the mistakes in Iraq and Afghanistan can be traced to the Army's inability to come to terms with all the lessons of Vietnam.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show topics, including segments about the benefits of Advanced Placement classes and the ethical controversy surrounding the New York Post's decision to publish a photo of man caught on a New York subway track.

The Supreme Court has chosen to hear two cases relating to same-sex marriage that would judge the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California's Proposition 8. Washington Post opinion writer Jonathan Capehart argues that this is not the best time for a marriage equality ruling.

The Michigan House approved two measures that would make the state the 24th in the nation to enact right-to-work legislation. Protesters continue to gather at the State Capitol in opposition to legislation that will likely weaken unions in the home of the United Auto Workers.

In an effort to be more precise, accurate and neutral, the Associated Press decided to remove several words, including "Islamophobia" and "homophobia", from the 2013 edition of the AP Stylebook. Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page calls the move "a linguistic blow for blandness."

Somali-born rap artist K'naan is known for telling gritty stories about his childhood in war-ridden Mogadishu through hip-hop music. In his album, Country, God, Or the Girl, the edginess of past songs has been replaced with a polished pop sound.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi authorized the military to secure the country ahead of a controversial referendum on a draft constitution — a move that some compared to martial law. The opposition is split over what to do — vote down the constitution or boycott the vote altogether.

The infant daughter of Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher will eventually learn that her father killed her mother and then himself. When children learn about the actions of notorious parents, the news is often life altering.

Reporting in the journal Biology Letters, Jeremy Goldbogen and colleagues say blue whales perform underwater acrobatics when they're eating: they rotate 360 degrees while they gulp krill. Reaching 90 feet in length, blue whales are the largest animals on the planet. Goldbogen is studying their dining habits to understand what fuels their growth.

It has been an exciting week for planetary scientists, ranging from the discovery of water ice on Mercury to the announcement of a new Mars rover mission in 2020. Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, and scientist Matthew Siegler discuss the latest news.

In Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare", director Matthew Heineman exposes what he sees as flaws in the U.S. healthcare system, such as a doctor who can spend just minutes with her patients to a soldier addicted to painkillers. Colonel Chester 'Trip' Buckenmaier III, of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, describes the military's efforts to swap pain pills for alternative therapies, like acupuncture and yoga.

For the latest in our "Ask an Expert" series, current NASA astronaut Donald Pettit and former astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman chat about their spaceflight experiences. From brushing your teeth to weightless dreams, the astronauts discuss the many curiosities of living in space.

Why Even Tragedy Gets A Laugh — When comedian Tig Notaro found out she had breast cancer, she incorporated the grim news into her stand-up routine--and got quite a few laughs from the audience. Notaro and neuroscientist Robert Provine discuss the origins of laughter, what separates the amusing from the truly funny, and why even tragedy sometimes gets a laugh.

What does life truly need to survive? Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Alison Murray and colleagues describe a community of unusual bacteria that survive under 20 meters of ice in the dark, salty, sub-freezing waters of Lake Vida, Antarctica.

Hypothermia kills an estimated 700 people experiencing, or at-risk of homelessness each year, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Every day, street outreach workers in cities across the nation go out into communities to encourage people on the street to take shelter, but many homeless people refuse.