Talk of the Nation

FBI bomb experts continue to study the device involved in the latest al-Qaida plot to bring down a U.S.-bound airliner. U.S. officials say the explosive is a more advanced version of the underwear bomb that malfunctioned aboard a jet in 2009.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and a number of Greek incumbents in parliament became the latest victims of growing frustration among voters across Europe over the ongoing debt crisis and widespread austerity measures. President-elect Francois Hollande has promised France a "fresh start."

The White House played down Vice President Joe Biden's comments that he is "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples who marry having the same rights and liberties as heterosexual couples. Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart says President Obama should follow the vice president's lead.

Teresa MacBain was pastor of a United Methodist church. In March, she made a confession: She is now an atheist. MacBain, NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty and Jerry DeWitt, executive director of Recovering from Religion talk about how losing faith changes lives and communities.

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Depending on how old you are, you may know my next guest as the girl who played the young Bette Midler in "Beaches" or as the star of the '90s sit-down "Blossom," sitcom "Blossom" or as Amy Farrah Fowler, Sheldon Cooper's sort-of girlfriend on "The Big Bang Theory." Or maybe you know her as all three.

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

One of the newer buzzwords coming out - buzz phrase, actually, has to do with the working in the cloud. Do you work in the cloud? Do you ever hear about it? You store your files, your movies, your music, maybe your office documents, even your word processor can be up there in the Cloud. What's this all about? Do you want to get involved? Are you wondering whether you should do that? That's what we're going to be talking about for the rest of the hour with two folks who write about technology and think about how it works.

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. Stroke, kidney failure, seizures are some of the devastating effects of a cocaine overdose that kill thousands of people each year. But new research has created hope that a cocaine overdose antidote may soon be available for doctors who administer in emergency situations.

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. What if there was a nuclear reactor that was meltdown safe, generated power inexpensively, created no weapons-grade byproducts and burnt up existing nuclear waste stockpiled? Sound too good to be true?