Talk of the Nation

Zack Kopplin has been fighting to have the "Louisiana Science Education Act" overturned since it was first passed in 2008, and he was in high school. Critics of the SLEA say it's used to introduce creationism and other non-scientific theories into public school science class. Kopplin, now at Rice University discusses his continuing campaign against the act.

Presidential elections are on the horizon for Venezuela and Pakistan, and with them could come big changes. Venezuelans vote Sunday, their second time at the polls in the last year, and Pakistan's general election will be held on May 11.

Since 2006, Dr. Celine Gounder has responded to on-board medical emergencies five times. Three of them were true emergencies for which the available resources aboard the airplane were inadequate. Gounder explains the unique challenges of providing medical care in the air.

Many parents agonize over the dreaded sex talk. Recent rape cases in Steubenville, Ohio, India and Nova Scotia have garnered international attention and spurred conversations about how parents should talk to their children about sexual assault and the meaning of consent.

In his new one-man show, American Utopias, award-winning monologist Mike Daisey ties together three unlikely places: Disney World, Zuccotti Park — the home base of the Occupy Wall Street movement — and the annual arts event Burning Man. He talks the production and his search for his own utopia.

President Obama unveiled his fifth annual budget proposal to Congress Wednesday, offering a mix of tax increases and spending cuts. The newest changes include cuts to Medicare and Social Security benefits. Across the country, some are only beginning to feel the affects of sequestration.

In the 1950s, 20 percent of marriages in the U.S. were interfaith unions. By the first decade of the 21st century, the rate increased to 45 percent. While the decision is common, it comes with a unique set of challenges. In Til Faith Do Us Part, Naomi Schaefer Riley explains the risks and benefits.

Names are possessions that we carry with us all our lives. But we seldom think about what goes into choosing the right one. At 24, Silas Hansen decided to change his birth name — Lindsay — as he told his family and friends that he's transgender.

A bipartisan group of senators announced an agreement Wednesday on gun legislation. If passed by Congress, the agreement would require all buyers, even those at gun shows, to pass a check by a federally licensed dealer. The Senate's bipartisan Gang of Eight is also nearing a deal on immigration.

"Accidental Racist," the new collaboration between country singer Brad Paisley and rapper LL Cool J, has set off a firestorm. Paisley sings about the dilemma of balancing Southern pride without projecting a racist attitude. The artists have called the widely-panned tune a conversation-starter.

Members of white supremacist prison gangs are among the suspects in the killings of law enforcement officials in Texas and Colorado, putting a spotlight on the organization and other prison gangs. The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas is known for organizing crimes from inside prison walls.

Host Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show topics, including living with adult ADHD, political redemption, and the effects of isolation.

In an essay for Sports Blog Nation, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Stephen Dunn reflects on his path from college basketball player to poet. "What basketball and poetry have in common," he writes, "is that they each provide opportunities to be better than yourself — opportunities for transcendence."

The widespread cheating in Atlanta schools and Lance Armstrong's doping are two examples of cases where a moral wrong became an everyday normality. In a piece in the Christian Science Monitor, Courtney Martin explains how to realign your moral compass once wires get crossed.

Britain's first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, died Monday following a stroke at the age of 87. Thatcher served for 11 years and was a highly divisive leader. She is remembered for implementing sweeping reforms of Britain's economy and for her key role in the demise of the Soviet Union.