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Because of fears that lab-altered bird flu viruses could cause a deadly pandemic if they ever escaped the lab, scientists agreed to a moratorium on mutant H5N1 flu research eight months ago. Now top scientists in the field continue the debate about the work, publishing six commentaries for and against the end of the moratorium.

Affirmative action is back before the U.S. Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the justices hear arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin. Abigail Fisher says she was denied admission to the school four years ago because she's white. Host Michel Martin discusses the upcoming arguments with Associated Press reporter Justin Pope.

While Merkel met with the Greek prime minister, protesters — some in Nazi costumes — gathered outside.

When she rose to address the opposition leader this week, Australia's leader tore into him.

Sesame Workshop asked President Obama's campaign to take down an anti-Mitt Romney ad featuring Big Bird. Since the first presidential debate, Obama has used a remark Romney made about the Sesame Street character to mock Romney.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments about previous Talk of the Nation show topics, including Governor Arnold Schwarznegger on his autobiography, and how to help kids with the grieving process.

In recent years, several states have banned schools from using racial and ethnic preferences. Instead, many have created alternatives to give low-income and working-class students of all races more opportunities to enroll. But those alternatives have fierce critics, on both sides of the debate.

A Scottish sailor set a Guinness World Record this year when he found a 98-year-old message in a bottle. Capt. Sean Bercaw has sent hundreds of his own messages in bottles and received dozens of responses. He explains why he's doing it and what kinds of responses he's gotten to his project.

Swiss musician Gregoire Maret has redefined the role of the harmonica in modern jazz. After cutting his teeth as a sideman, he's now taken center stage as a bandleader. Here, Maret discusses his self-titled debut album and his pursuit of a following for the jazz harmonica.

The number of atheists, agnostics and the religiously unaffiliated is on the rise, and they could eventually reshape the political landscape.