Talk of the Nation

Each year, some 2,000 heart transplants are performed in the U.S., and the number of people on the waiting list is even larger. Between finding the perfect donor to worrying about insurance, the wait can be grueling, but heart transplant social workers are here to help.

After his comments about rape caused an uproar, Republican Rep. Todd Akin says he's staying in the Missouri Senate race. NPR's Neal Conan and Politico's Charlie Mahtesian discuss the fallout. Politix editor David Mark also joins in for an examination of negative campaign tactics.

Paul Ryan's controversial plan to reshape Medicare has provoked conversation, some of it confusing, about entitlement reform. Traditionally a campaign rallying cry for Democrats, Republicans seem to be putting President Obama on the defensive about Medicare and the new health law.

After Rep. Todd Akin's remarks about rape, the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus posed a question: "Is it any wonder Americans hate politics?" Republicans, she says, reacted just strongly enough to serve their own interests. And Democrats, Marcus argues, do their own part by driving voter cynicism.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments about mental health professionals and their "duty to warn," and about what we know about hate groups. And we remember comedian Phyllis Diller who died Monday at her home in Los Angeles.

From heavy course loads to parental expectations, the pressure to succeed can be daunting for college students. And the gloomy economy often makes things worse. Paying for college can be stressful, and many students worry about choosing majors that will give them better chances at landing jobs.

The Olympic motto says it all. It translates to: "Faster, Higher, Stronger." But as athletes come up against the limits of human potential, writer Emily Sohn wondered, how do they continue to improve? The answer, she found, has to do with technology, psychology and access to a range of sports.

More people are getting their exercise by walking, according to a new study by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The health benefits are clear: Walkers generally have a lower risk of heart disease and diabetes. If walking is your form of exercise, why does it work for you?

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder has focused attention on the shame that sometimes accompanies mental health diagnoses in the African-American community. Psychiatrist William Lawson joins NPR's John Donvan to discuss why such a stigma exists.

Syria's civil war erupted again on Monday, just one day after the U.N. ended its monitoring mission in the country. Reporter Jon Lee Anderson joins NPR's John Donvan to discuss the different factions that are rising up amid the current confusion.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, former Major League Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent describes incidences of clubs, offices and public spaces posing obstacles for him and his wheelchair. He joins NPR's John Donvan to discuss the places where those in wheelchairs still don't feel welcome.

A typical American family uses 400 gallons of water a day. But the pipes that ferry that water are bursting faster than they can be replaced. George Hawkins, general manager of DC Water, and environmental historian Martin Melosi discuss past and present issues with pumping water into cities.

The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge asked engineers to dream up a replacement for the antiquated flush toilet. Michael Hoffmann and his team at Caltech responded with a solar-powered toilet that disinfects waste and reuses wastewater to flush. Better yet, it pumps out hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells.

Each year, you need a new influenza vaccination to protect against the ever-changing seasonal flu virus. Then there's more exotic influenza variants such as swine flu and avian flu. Gary Nabel, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the NIH, discusses the ongoing quest to develop one vaccine that could protect against all influenza variants at once.

Maria Popova, editor of brainpickings.org (and the über tweeter behind @brainpicker), describes herself as an "interestingness hunter-gatherer obsessed with combinatorial creativity." Popova discusses her work, and explains why she thinks the blogosphere needs a "curators' code."