Talk of the Nation

A pair of Canadian skyscrapers have been dubbed the "Marilyn Monroe" towers due to their shapely form. In Abu Dhabi, twin towers are shielded from the sun by computer-controlled shading screens. Architect Antony Wood discusses features of some tall buildings that make them standouts across the world.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Thirty-five years ago, NASA launched a pair of spacecraft called Voyager 1 and 2 in hopes of learning more about the outer planets of solar system, those big gas giants. The Voyagers beamed back dazzling close-ups of the big red spot on Jupiter and the rings of Saturn, but scientists wanted to see even more of what's out there, see how far the Voyagers could go before running out of fuel.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. Last week, China launched its Shenzhou spacecraft into orbit, carrying three taikonauts, one of whom was a woman, China's first female astronaut. A few days later, the spaceship crept up on the Tiangong space lab in orbit and docked with it, making China one of only three countries to have pulled off such a feat after the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

What if you needed a new toothbrush and all you had to do was hit print? What if doctors could print out transplantable organs and pastry chefs turned to a printer, not a kitchen, for their next creation? Ira Flatow and a panel of guests discuss 3D printing technology, how far it's come and what a 3D-printed-future could look like.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Philadelphia's Mütter Museum has a lot of heart, and other organs too. Items in this collection of medical specimens include a gangrenous hand, a wallet made of human flesh, and a colon the size of a medium suitcase. And that's just the stuff on display, imagine what's in the basement.

When Ugandan lawmakers introduced an anti-homosexuality bill in 2009, it called for the death penalty for "serial offenders." That legislation failed, but a new version was reintroduced in 2012 in an effort to further criminalize same-sex relations in a country where homosexuality is already illegal. The bills have drawn loud and widespread condemnation from much of the international community, particularly after the brutal death of openly gay activist Davdi Kato.

A lawsuit alleges severe abuse of federal prisoners at ADX-Florence in Colorado, what's known as a supermax facility where many inmates are housed in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. It charges the government violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

The operation was run by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 2009-10. NPR's Ted Robbins and Michel Marizco of the Fronteras Desk talk about the intent of Fast and Furious, why the operation failed, and solutions to curb gun-running on the U.S.-Mexican border.

In 1989, Reginald Daniel began teaching a university course on multiracial identity called Betwixt and Between. It remains the longest-running college course addressing the multiracial experience. For his continuing studies and research on multiraciality, Daniel received the Loving Prize.