NPR News

Apple is holding one of its attention-getting launch events on Tuesday, and many believe they will unveil a new, smaller version of their best-selling iPad. All Things Considered host Melissa Block talks to NPR's Laura Sydell about the launch of what's being dubbed the iPad mini.

For the first time, the nation's pediatricians are wading into the controversy over whether organic food is better for you – and they're coming down on the side of parents who say it is, at least in part.

The Libertad, a ship owned by the Argentine Navy, set sail across the Atlantic a few months ago. It was being tracked, via the Internet, by a U.S.-based hedge fund called NML Capital.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan, in Washington. The Middle East presents a series of challenges for whomever wins on November 6th: immediate problems in Libya and Syria, a seemingly eternal problem with Israel and the Palestinians, but maybe the biggest problem: the looming crisis with Iran.

When Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich used the word "slacks" in a recent column, a reader commented: "Slacks? How old are you?"

"I was describing a young man, a college guy," Schmich tells NPR's Neal Conan. "I was trying to point out that he wasn't wearing jeans, that he wasn't sloppy, that he wasn't inordinately well-dressed for a guy in college," she says. "And so I used the word 'slacks.' "

Former South Dakota Sen. George McGovern died Sunday at the age of 90. A liberal icon, he made two failed bids for president, but remained active and worked for several organizations battling world hunger. NPR's Ron Elving and Jill Callison of The Argus Leader discuss McGovern's politics and legacy.

The American Psychiatric Association defines a psychiatrist as a medical doctor who conducts psychotherapy and prescribes medications and other medical treatments. With recent developments in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, the definition of the practice appears to be shifting.