Talk of the Nation

BASE is an acronym for the objects the practitioners of the sport jump from: Buildings, Antenna, Span, Earth. Wingsuits are sometimes involved; parachutes, always. Avid BASE-jumper Luke Hively shares his experiences in the air and Science Friday investigates the physics and neuroscience of the sport.

An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to contaminated steroids that were injected into an estimated 14,000 people. Two dozen people have died, from fungal meningitis or strokes. It raises questions about where our drugs come from and which organizations oversee their production.

Many scientists expressed outrage after an Italian court convicted six earthquake experts of manslaughter for not doing enough to warn the public before a 2009 quake that killed more than 300 people. NPR foreign correspondent Sylvia Poggioli talks about the trial and other recent events in Italy.

A group of respected world leaders who call themselves "The Elders" have made it their goal to find solutions for a host of intractable global problems. Two members, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson discuss their accomplishments and ongoing projects.

Vaccination campaigns have erased polio in almost every country in the world, but the disease persists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. Obstacles in each country, including religious extremism, difficult terrain and transient populations, make eradication efforts difficult.

On the heels of the final presidential debate and with less than two weeks until Election Day, both President Obama and Mitt Romney are sprinting to the finish. Political Junkie Ken Rudin talks about the takeaways from the debates and the challenges facing each campaign in the homestretch.

Inspired by a fellow referee who was sick with cancer, high school football ref Mike Wilmoth dropped 25 pounds, ignored the naysayers, and was picked to officiate a total of six NFL games. Wilmoth talks about making it to the big leagues and the challenges of working as a replacement ref.

Freezing women's eggs to treat infertility is no longer an experimental procedure, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Still, the procedure remains costly and controversial and many questions remain about the effectiveness and safety of using long-term egg-freezing.

Classroom lectures can be long, boring and ineffective, and Khan Academy founder Salman Khan says they have no place in the education. He points to research that shows that most students get bored and distracted after about 15 minutes, and suggests alternative methods of instruction.

The raid that killed Osama bin Laden continues to come up in the presidential campaign. Though generally seen as a success, controversy remains over the decision, the raid and whether the administration later leaked classified details. Mark Bowden of Atlantic Magazine fact checks the debate.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, foodborne illnesses kill some 3,000 people in the U.S. each year. Often, the job of keeping America's food supply safe falls to for-profit companies with connections to the food producers they're supposed to inspect.

When we think of family caregivers, we often think of adults caring for aging parents. But more than 1.3 million young people in the U.S. between the ages of 8 and 18 care for sick or disabled family members. Caregiving is emotionally taxing for people of any age, but can be especially so for teens.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener feedback on previous show topics including elderly drivers and giving up the keys, and the doping scandal that stripped Lance Armstrong of his Tour de France victories and forced him to resign from his position as chairman of the Livestrong Foundation.

When Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich used the word "slacks" in a recent column, a reader commented: "Slacks? How old are you?" It got Schmich thinking about the words we choose and how much those choices can reveal about our age. Tell us: What are the words you use that date you?

Former South Dakota Sen. George McGovern died Sunday at the age of 90. A liberal icon, he made two failed bids for president, but remained active and worked for several organizations battling world hunger. NPR's Ron Elving and Jill Callison of The Argus Leader discuss McGovern's politics and legacy.