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Wednesday

How Endangered Species Are Faring In The Gulf

Plaquemines Parish coastal zone director P.J. Hahn lifts an oil-covered pelican, which was stuck in oil at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay, just off the Gulf of Mexico, in early June. Gerald Herbert/AP Photo hide caption

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Gerald Herbert/AP Photo

Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

How Endangered Species Are Faring In The Gulf

Fresh Air

Doug Inkley, the senior scientist at the National Wildlife Federation, says the population of sea turtles and brown pelicans in the Gulf is being decimated. Inkley details the ongoing efforts to save two of the most visible species affected by the BP oil spill.

How Endangered Species Are Faring In The Gulf

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Michael Klare: Grappling With The Age Of 'Tough Oil'

Children play on a Nigerian oil-flow station in 2007. Nigeria, a major oil source for the United States, is riddled with ancient pipes and constant spills. That, plus the geopolitical challenges involved, is why much of Nigeria's crude is the kind of "tough oil" that author Michael Klare describes. George Osodi/AP hide caption

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George Osodi/AP

Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

Michael Klare: Grappling With The Age Of 'Tough Oil'

Fresh Air

Journalist Michael Klare says we've used up what he calls the "easy oil" on Earth. What's left is "tough oil" — deep underground, far offshore or in complex geological formations. Klare details the hazards of drilling in these environmentally hazardous areas in his book, Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet.

Michael Klare: Grappling With The Age Of 'Tough Oil'

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Inside The Criminal Brain

Inside A Psychopath's Brain: The Sentencing Debate

Brian Dugan pleaded guilty last year to raping and murdering 10-year-old Jeanine Nicarico in 1983, and he was put on trial to determine whether he should be executed. Neuroscientist Kent Kiehl testified that Dugan could not help his neurological makeup.

Inside A Psychopath's Brain: The Sentencing Debate

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Tuesday

A Neuroscientist Uncovers A Dark Secret

Fallon's brain (on the right) has dark patches in the orbital cortex, the area just behind the eyes. This is the area that Fallon and other scientists say is involved with ethical behavior, moral decision-making and impulse control. The normal scan on the left is his son's. Courtesy of Jim Fallon hide caption

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Courtesy of Jim Fallon

Inside The Criminal Brain

A Neuroscientist Uncovers A Dark Secret

For nearly 20 years, neuroscientist Jim Fallon has studied the brains of psychopaths. After learning that his ancestry included alleged murderers, he decided to study his own brain. He was shocked at what he discovered.

A Neuroscientist Uncovers A Dark Secret

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Diabetes Drug Poses Safety Test For FDA

In this photo illustration, bottles of Avandia diabetes medication are seen at Jack's Pharmacy on May 21, 2007, in San Anselmo, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Medical Treatments

Diabetes Drug Poses Safety Test For FDA

The diabetes drug Avandia used to be a $3.4 billion-a-year blockbuster. Then some studies strongly suggested that people taking it have a higher risk of heart attacks. Two new studies, one from the FDA, nail down the risk -- just as the FDA is getting ready to decide whether Avandia should be taken off the market.

Diabetes Drug Poses Safety Test For FDA

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Monday

Stormy Weather Could Delay Oil Spill Cleanup Efforts

The looming storm could postpone BP's plans to double the amount of oil they capture from the spill. Here, a boat uses a boom and absorbent material to soak up oil on the surface of the water near Grand Isle, La., on Monday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

Stormy Weather Could Delay Oil Spill Cleanup Efforts

A tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico is threatening to become a hurricane, but at this point it doesn't appear to be headed toward the blown-out oil well off Louisiana's coast. Still, BP says high seas will probably delay for a week the company's efforts to improve its oil-collection systems.

Stormy Weather Could Delay Oil Spill Cleanup Efforts

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Immortality Explored In 'Long For This World'

Human life expectancy increases at a rate of about two years per decade — or roughly five hours a day. Some scientists think it's possible to live for 500 or even 1,000 years. But if we could live that long, would we want to? In his book, Long For This World, Jonathan Weiner explores the possibilities.

Immortality Explored In 'Long For This World'

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Technology

Forget Hybrids; Make Your Own Electric Car

KAZU

With hybrid cars multiplying and all-electric vehicles on the way, a California auto shop says: Do it yourself. Electro Automotive has been teaching people how to convert gas guzzlers into electric rides for 30 years.

Forget Hybrids; Make Your Own Electric Car

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Nervous About Alzheimer's? Coffee May Help

Mary VanDam pours coffee for patron Jim Brumm at Mr. B's Pancake House in Laketon Township, Mich. Cory Morse/Muskegon Chronicle via AP hide caption

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Cory Morse/Muskegon Chronicle via AP

Your Health

Nervous About Alzheimer's? Coffee May Help

Studies suggest that a daily caffeine habit may help protect against Alzheimer's disease. But, new research indicates that the cup or two a day that most Americans drink probably isn't enough to give any benefits. And even if you're buzzing on coffee, researchers say a person's Alzheimer's risk is largely determined by genes.

Nervous About Alzheimer's? Coffee May Help

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Sunday

Booms Delay The Inevitable; Cleanup Efforts Struggle

Oil-soaked booms sit on top of a marsh in Barataria Bay. Brian Naylor/NPR hide caption

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Brian Naylor/NPR

Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

Booms Delay The Inevitable; Cleanup Efforts Struggle

The oil spill's effects are readily apparent even where cleanup efforts have been most intensive. South of New Orleans, Barataria Bay is a natural treasure, full of shrimp, fish, birds and mammals -- and these days, oil. When these vulnerable sites will be out of danger is anyone's guess.

Booms Delay The Inevitable; Cleanup Efforts Struggle

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Saturday

Space

New SETI Chief On Search For Extraterrestrials

The SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Life) Institute has a new director of its Carl Sagan Center for Study of Life in the Universe. Dr. David Morrison will take the reigns from his predecessor, Frank Drake, who pioneered the famous Drake Equation. Host Guy Raz speaks to Morrison about the ongoing search for intelligent life in the universe.

New SETI Chief On Search For Extraterrestrials

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Pop Culture

Magic Tricks Amuse Even In Extraordinary Times

We live in a time where we expect to see amazing things before our eyes, like space ships streaking between stars. Dinosaurs returning to life. Whole planets blossoming with beautiful blue people. So how do you expect to impress people just by sawing someone in half or picking the ace of spades out of a deck of cards? Host Scott Simon visits the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York to talk with director and magician William Kalush.

Magic Tricks Amuse Even In Extraordinary Times

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On The Gulf, Oily Ships Cleaned One At A Time

A shrimp-trawler gets a high-powered spray wash after spending a day skimming oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard has set up dozens of offshore decontamination stations like this one south of Mobile Bay. Debbie Elliot/NPR hide caption

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Debbie Elliot/NPR

Gulf Oil Spill: Containment And Clean Up

On The Gulf, Oily Ships Cleaned One At A Time

Just south of Mobile, Ala., Resolute, a seagoing tug, is positioned near the entrance of a ship channel. The 100-foot tug has been converted into a floating decontamination station. Oily ships can stop and get a wash before they come into port.

On The Gulf, Oily Ships Cleaned One At A Time

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Friday

Medical Treatments

Should Joints Be In The Medicine Cabinet?

Fourteen states now allow marijuana smoking for medical purposes, and more states are deciding whether or not to do the same. Ira Flatow and guests look at the research on inhaled marijuana as a medication and discuss whether or not doctors should be prescribing pot smoking.

Should Joints Be In The Medicine Cabinet?

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