Talk of the Nation on KCCU

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

On March 16, 1966, a potentially fatal problem gripped the Gemini 8 space capsule. Orbiting high above the Earth, it began spinning out of control. Spiraling towards unconsciousness and, perhaps, death, Neil Armstrong shut down the malfunctioning thrusters and wrestled Gemini back to stability. This was neither the first nor the last time that Neil Armstrong had escaped disaster. As an Naval pilot in Korea, he managed to guide a bullet-ridden aircraft, missing three feet of wing, back to friendly territory.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Up next, the brains behind "Bones." If you go to the beach this weekend and check out what the other sunbathers are reading, there's a good chance you'll come across someone deep into a Temperance Brennan crime novel. Brennan is a forensic anthropologist, the person the police call when they find human remains that are, well, past their prime, if we say.

Matt Bissonnette wrote No Easy Day under the pseudonym Mark Owen. He has drawn criticism for publishing details of the Osama bin Laden mission without Pentagon approval. Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt, says this account of the raid fits almost exactly with his understanding of the operation.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Like John Kennedy before him, Mitt Romney faces questions about his faith, as well as politics. And like Roman Catholics in 1960 and African-Americans in 2008, Mormons find themselves in an unaccustomed spotlight.

The Syrian crisis continues to deepen as the conflict rages on. And pressure grows on the international community as refugees stream out. NPR foreign correspondent Kelly McEvers, former ambassador to Syria Edward Djerejian and Washington Post columnist David Ignatius discuss diplomatic options.