NPR News

Things that most people take for granted in surgery — the use of anesthesia, for example, or the way surgical tools are cleaned — were once cutting-edge discoveries in the profession. Dr. Atul Gawande and Dr. Sherwin Nuland discuss the changes they've seen over their long careers as surgeons.

Paul Katz bought two tickets — one for himself and one for his cello — in the cabin of a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles. But the captain told him his centuries-old cello had to fly as checked baggage. After an agonizing flight, Katz cried when the captain returned his cello, unharmed.

With a bang of his supersized gavel, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus just opened the 2012 GOP convention.

And moments later with another bang of the gavel he declared it in recess.

As we've reported, tropical storm Isaac convinced Republicans to delay the real start of their convention until Tuesday.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, died Saturday. He was 82. Armstrong solidified his place in history on July 20, 1969 when he left the first human footprint on the surface of the moon. NPR's Neal Conan remembers the man his family called a "reluctant hero."

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

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

When former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens returned to civilian life, he heard his fellow veterans asked the same question over and over: What do I do now? Part of the problem is the economy. Veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq face unemployment rates even higher than that in the general population. Part of it's mutual incomprehension. Vets say employers don't understand how the skills they learned in the military can translate.

I don't typically expect to read stories about classical music on iO9, the Gawker-owned website dedicated to science and science fiction. After all, their tagline is WE COME FROM THE FUTURE.

Republicans have their former Democratic star at their convention this week in Artur Davis — and now Democrats have their answer in Charlie Crist.

The former governor and former Republican will speak next week at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, the party confirmed this morning. "I'm very pleased, at least in a small way, to try to help the president," Crist told NPR.

Tax rates have been a constant theme of this election cycle. Mostly, it's because Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is one of the wealthiest men to run for president and the rate at which he has paid federal taxes has been the subject of much discussion.

With nearly 700 food carts licensed last year, Portland, Ore., is arguable a leader in the mobile food revolution. Lucky residents can choose between Iraqi-Jewish sabich, yeasted Belgian liege waffles, or Indonesian rendang, all served out of a friendly window on the sidewalk. But all of these mobile meals come with a downside — namely, trash.