Talk of the Nation from NPR

New Year's resolutions have notoriously short lifetimes, but for a blogger in Pittsburgh named Laurie Woodward, a promise to herself became an Internet sensation.

Woodward was inspired to bake one recipe each week from Dorie Greenspan's popular cookbook Baking From My Home To Yours. And she found plenty of company — more than 100 bakers decided to take up the challenge with her. Every week, they made a recipe and posted their cooking stories to the online community Tuesdays with Dorie.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show segments, including responses to a conversation about independent voters, and a video depicting U.S. Marines desecrating the bodies of Taliban fighters.

Five more bodies were recovered Tuesday from the Italian cruise ship that ran aground off the shore of Tuscany. Prosecutors have accused Capt. Francesco Schettino of manslaughter for abandoning the ship before evacuation was complete. Maritime law professor Bob Jarvis offers insight into the responsibilities of ship captains.

U.S. plans for sanctions on Iran are escalating what some analysts call a covert war between the two countries. Patrick Clawson, director of the Washington Institute's Iran Security Initiative, and Columbia University's Gary Sick discuss how the Obama administration should deal with Iran.

The Supreme Court's 2010 Citizen's United ruling loosened campaign finance restrictions, enabling corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on elections. As a result, super PACs — political action committees — can solicit large corporate contributions and produce a plethora of attack ad campaigns.

As nations tighten economic sanctions and Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz, tensions between U.S. and Iran are mounting. Former Ambassador and trustee of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy Thomas Pickering argues that military action isn't the solution in Iran.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that binge drinking, usually associated with young people, seems to be an issue among adults as well. And the University of Connecticut recently found Dr. Dipak Das, who studied on an ingredient in red wine, had falsified data on its benefits.

The nation celebrates the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday. As millions honor his legacy with a national day of service, we take a moment to reflect on his legacy with the original "I Have a Dream" speech, delivered on August 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Welcome to SCIENCE FRIDAY. I'm Ira Flatow. Thinking about a tattoo? Well, forget butterflies, unicorns or mom. Tattoos have gone geek. No more of those blurry anchors and pinup girls. We've got molecules, double-helix strands, mathematical equations all showing up on biceps and other places.