Talk of the Nation on WAMC HD2

Retailers are under pressure after a building collapse killed more than 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh. But global demand for inexpensive clothing shows no sign of abating. The New York Times' Steven Greenhouse and Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, unravel the prospects for improved safety in the garment industry.

David Matsumoto, a psychology professor at San Francisco State University, trains national security officials and police officers to recognize "microexpressions"--fleeting, split-second flashes of emotion across someone's face. Matsumoto says those subtle cues may reveal how an interview subject is feeling, helping officials to hone their line of questioning.

How long can you go without checking email, or glancing at your smartphone? Clifford Nass, a psychology professor at Stanford University, says today's nonstop multitasking actually wastes more time than it saves--and he says there's evidence it may be killing our concentration and creativity too.

Saul Perlmutter shared the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics for his discovery that the universe was expanding at an accelerating rate. Perlmutter explains how supernovae and other astronomical artifacts are used to measure the expansion rate, and explains what physicists are learning about "dark energy" — the mysterious entity thought to be driving the acceleration.

Buzz Aldrin's name is practically synonymous with space exploration. As one of only 12 people to ever set foot on the moon, the former astronaut is a pioneer in the field.

Today, Aldrin continues to advocate for what he considers the next phase of space discovery — putting humans on the red planet. Host Neal Conan talks with Aldrin about his experience as an astronaut, his new book, Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration and his ideas for the future on Mars.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan.

This week, the country celebrated the story of three women liberated 10 years after they were kidnapped and held all that time in a house in Cleveland. But there's another person in this story who made headlines: Charles Ramsey. He's the animated neighbor who helped rescue Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED INTERVIEW)

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. At the beginning of this week, as we absorb news of Israeli air strikes outside Damascus and questions about nerve gas and red lines, there was a report that a Shiite shrine near the Syrian capital had been ransacked by Sunni extremists and the body of a Shia holy man exhumed and hidden away.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

Between the ages of 36 and 38, Sarah Elizabeth Richards spent $50,000 to have her eggs frozen. That wiped out her savings and the money her parents had set aside for a wedding, and she writes, it was the best investment I ever made. Improved technology gives women the choice to freeze their eggs when they're younger and schedule motherhood when they're ready. The experimental status of this procedure was lifted last year.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

Randy Newman never considered himself a rock star. He's had his hits like, "I Love LA" and "Short People," but may be better known for his work in TV show themes and film scores. His unmistakable voice has graced the soundtracks of dozens of films, including the Toy Story films, A Bug's Life and Monsters, Inc.

When the singer and composer got a call saying he'd be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was shocked. He told Rolling Stone, "I really thought maybe I'd have to die first."