Talk of the Nation

According to 2010 Census data, more than half of all Americans live within 50 miles of the coast, and still more live by rivers and lakes. Living by water can present a danger, but for many who choose to live there, the draw of the water outweighs the perceived risks.

Since 2001, more than 1.9 million sons and daughters have been deployed to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. For many young veterans, homecoming can be a time of mixed emotions and changing family dynamics after a life-changing experience at war.

Writer Barbara Kingsolver is one of a handful of novelists with a science background, and she puts it to use in her new novel Flight Behavior. Kingsolver discusses the book and why she chose to look at the the issue of climate change in a fictional work set in rural Tennessee.

In his latest book Hallucinations, neurologist Oliver Sacks collects stories of individuals who can see, hear and smell things that aren't really there--such as strange voices, or collages of unrecognizable faces--and explores the disorders and drugs that can produce such illusions.

Reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Tomás G. Villa and colleagues devised a recipe for improving beer foam. They identified a gene in brewer's yeast that prolongs beer foam lifespan by making a protein that protects the bubbles. They say they've brewed beers with heads that stay frothy for several hours.

Hurricane Sandy battered cities along the East Coast last week, and scientists at New York University were left reeling after thousands of lab mice at a research facility drowned due to flooding from the storm. How will the loss of these animals impact scientific research?

Did you know that Earth's solid exterior can move around over its core, causing the planet's poles to wander back and forth? Adam Maloof, associate professor of geosciences at Princeton University, discusses the consequences of these shifts, and what may be causing them.

If Congress fails to act, some $15 billion will be cut from science funding in January 2013. Physics professor and Beltway insider Michael Lubell talks about how science can escape that "fiscal cliff," and what to expect for climate change, healthcare and space under four more years of President Obama.

Since the end of the Cold War, many Americans have largely dismissed the threat of nuclear war. But Paul Bracken warns Americans feel a misguided sense of calm. In The Second Nuclear Age, he argues that the second age of nuclear politics has arrived and the U.S. must face a new nuclear reality.

The handover, only the second orderly transition of power in China under communist rule, began Thursday. Party leaders kicked off a weeklong congress that will end with President Hu Jintao handing power to Xi Jinping. NPR's Shanghai correspondent Frank Langfitt talks about China's new leaders.

Combined spending in the 2012 federal election cycle could top a record six billion dollars, according to a recent estimate. Guests also discuss how newly drawn districts altered the dynamics of several congressional races across the country, particularly in California.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener feedback on previous show topics including the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. He also reads updates from listeners on the winter storm that added to the problems across the mid-Atlantic and northeast United States.

In a piece in Wired magazine, Steven Johnson argues that incentivized competitions such as that for the X Prize are the key to spurring innovation in just about every field. Johnson, author of Future Perfect, talks about where the X Prize model could be applied.

Key demographic groups, particularly women and Latino voters, gave President Obama the lead in toss-up states such as Ohio and Virginia, and carried him to re-election over Republican candidate Mitt Romney. The result confirmed much of the polling predictions from the past few months.

President Obama was the headliner Tuesday night, but most members of Congress also faced elections. Democrats retained control of the Senate while Republicans held on to control of the House. Now both sides of the divided Congress face significant challenges addressing the nation's fiscal problems.