Talk of the Nation on 89.5-1

In January, a group of residents in Duluth, Minn., launched an anti-racism effort called the Un-Fair Campaign. They created ads, posters and billboards aimed to raise awareness about racial injustice and asking white people to recognize institutional racism.

The posters have prompted thoughtful discussion in some circles and backlash in others.

The organizers are also planning other events — a series of discussion, speeches and films, around the city.

'Cool' is a word that has come to mean so much more than just a temperature. It can be an attitude, a style or a sound. The word continues to evolve and has a variety of meanings.

In a new collection of essays, Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness, writers explore the definition of coolness within African-American culture. Writer Rebecca Walker edited the book and compiled a series of essays aimed to build a "periodic table of Black Cool, element by element," to explain the myriad meanings of blackness in the United States today.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan, in Washington. Last Friday, President Obama came up a compromise: Catholic and other religious institutions would not have to provide contraception coverage for their employees directly, but the wider goal of women's health would be met because their insurance companies would have to do it.

A medical study published in Science finds that an FDA-approved skin cancer drug can reduce Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice. It is unclear if the drug, marketed as Targretin, will have the same effect on humans. Some researchers want to begin testing the drug for its efficacy in treating Alzheimer's patients.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

Egypt is set to start rewriting its constitution in March, a year after the fall of president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. During a visit to Egypt, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she "would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012."

Grammy Award-winning pop diva Whitney Houston died Saturday at the age of 48. Her voice inspired a generation of musicians. Houston's musical director and friend Michael Baker and bass player Matthew Garrison, who played on Houston's 2009-2010 final tour, share memories.

The achievement gap between black and white students has narrowed significantly over the past 50 years. The gulf between rich and poor students, however, has widened dramatically. Several studies suggest that family income serves as a better predictor of school success.

In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Georgetown professor Daniel Byman says U.S. policy focuses too much on removing the dictator and not on filling the void left behind. He says that to help in Syria, the U.S. and its allies should train the rebels and use "tough love to cajole and reward the opposition."

NYU psychology professor Gary Marcus took up guitar at the relatively ancient age of 38, by starting with the video game Guitar Hero. Marcus shares his experiences and insights on the science of learning, which he's gathered in a new book Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning.