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December 8, 2012 The U.S. has again warned Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime not to use chemical weapons against its people. In August, Olle Johansson thought President Obama's admonition might preclude their use, while Jeff Danziger was less optimistic.

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December 7, 2012 We are fascinated by pictures of the brain produced by new imaging technologies. Alva Noë reminds us that these pictures are not images of the brain in action; they are not pictures of the mind at work. They are bits of theory.

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December 7, 2012 The urgency of taking action on climate change couldn't be higher, according to commentators Asim Zia and Stuart Kauffman. New laws and incentives at all governance levels, however, could trigger an economic transformation that would ensure climate security.

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December 7, 2012 At the U.N. climate conference, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged wealthier nations to "take leadership" in fighting climate change. But will enough be done to combat effects such as accelerating polar ice cap melts? Sue Dewar and Joel Pett look at the possible consequences of inaction.

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December 7, 2012 In a visit to StoryCorps, Sarah Avant and her 12-year-old son discuss how his life was changed by his parents' divorce in 2009. Anand Hernandez admits that the stress was hard on him. But lately, things have been looking up, he says.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

December 6, 2012 When her blog posts are contested and corrected, this evokes gratitude in commentator Barbara J. King. Fresh from an anthropology conference presentation on "co-constructing knowledge through blogging," King says it's the blogger-reader connection that brings her writing alive.

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December 6, 2012 Judd Apatow draws on his own experiences as a husband and father in a new comedy that explores the ups and downs of family life. The film stays close to home, literally and figuratively. It stars his wife, Leslie Mann, as well as their two daughters, and was filmed a few doors down from his house.

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

December 6, 2012 The duke and duchess of Cambridge, aka William and Kate, are expecting a baby. Aislin is also expecting ... a media meltdown, while Mike Graston thinks that even round-the-clock coverage will leave some royals watchers feeling shortchanged.

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December 6, 2012 To bring the past to life and make it matter, historical fiction must do more than conjure up an exotic backdrop for a conventional story. These six books challenge our preconceptions and help show how the past shaped the world we live in today.

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December 5, 2012 Can scientists create universes in the lab? Although that may not be possible, physicists can recreate the young universe in high energy particle collisions. Recent results indicate that the young universe may be stranger than anticipated.

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December 5, 2012 When it was released 32 years ago, Michael Cimino's revisionist Western was considered one of the most colossal flops in Hollywood history. Critic John Powers takes a second look at the film and concludes that it's clearly "the work of one man and ... he wanted you to remember it forever."

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

December 5, 2012 The new album It's Okay To Do Stuff pays tribute — sort of — to the 40-year-old Free To Be ... You And Me.

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December 5, 2012 It's a tombstone like no other. A rough, clumpy hunk of granite, carried across Europe on a sea of ice, dumped in a valley, shipped across the Atlantic, lugged to Massachusetts — all to honor a restless man.

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December 5, 2012 Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and Mariah Carey perform a stripped-down holiday standard.

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