Talk of the Nation on 89.5-1

In the documentary If A Tree Falls, director Marshall Curry tells the story of the rise and fall of the Earth Liberation Front, a group that the FBI once described as America's number one domestic terrorism threat. The film has been nominated for an Academy Award.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show topics including the concept of "black cool," Jeremy Lin and "Linsanity," and which country's constitution Egypt should use as an example.

The visit of Chinese Vice President and heir apparent Xi Jingping to the United States, raised questions about internal Chinese politics — from human rights to technological development — and how the country will be governed in the future.

Virginia state legislators passed a bill requiring women to receive an ultrasound — which is conducted via transvaginal probe in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy — before having an abortion. Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor for Slate magazine, calls the proposed law "an abomination."

Americans have tended to save more and spend less in the years since the economic downturn in 2008. But according to a survey from BankRate.com, only 54 percent of Americans have more emergency savings than credit card debt.

Stories about life on Native American reservations often focus on the hardships — alcoholism, drugs, violence and poverty. In Rez Life: An Indian's Journey Through Reservation Life, Ojibwe writer David Treuer strives to capture stories about the beauty of life on Indian reservations.

Photojournalist Danfung Dennis has captured the brutalities of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for major publications, including The New York Times, Time magazine, The Guardian and The Washington Post.

Inspired by these experiences, Dennis embedded with the U.S. Marines Echo Company in Afghanistan and created the documentary Hell And Back Again.

While Western officials believe Iran is seeking to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon, Iran's leaders contend it is for peaceful purposes only. NPR's Mike Shuster discusses Iran's regional, diplomatic and nuclear goals.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will review the case of Xavier Alvarez — one of the first people to be convicted under the Stolen Valor Act. In a The Washington Post op-ed, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, argues that stolen valor should not be criminalized.

Two studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggest short and long-term exposure to air pollution can increase the risk of stroke and cognitive declines. Study author Jennifer Weuve discusses the results, and why particulate matter and gases like ozone may harm the body.