Talk of the Nation

On May Day, the Occupy Wall Street movement re-emerged to try to reestablish its message and place in the national conversation. Thousands marched in New York City, Oakland and other cities, then quickly faded from national view. Guests consider what sustains social movements, and why some fail.

Men dealing with male pattern baldness have decisions to make — go with a comb over, take medication, get hair plugs or a toupee, or do nothing at all.

When New York Times contributing editor Daniel Jones started losing his hair, he chose what he considers a "cooler alternative" — head shaving.

"Losing your hair," he tells NPR's Neal Conan, "is a little bit like a girlfriend who's sort of drifting away, and you're clinging to her as she goes off and sees other people. ... It gets worse and worse. So it's better to take some sort of pre-emptive move."

Mitt Romney, the presumed GOP presidential candidate, continues to try out potential running mates, though most deny any interest in the job. Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Paul Ryan, Sen. Rob Portman, Gov. Chris Christie and others have all made high-profile comments in recent days.

Every spring, new graduates sit through commencement addresses full of advice to seize the day, dream big and make the world a better place.

Budget cuts in many school districts have some parents and teachers questioning whether they have the resources to support their students. NPR education correspondent Claudio Sanchez and Thomas Hehir of Harvard University talk about how to integrate special needs students into mainstream classrooms.

As childhood obesity rates continue to rise, schools and parents look for ways to get kids off the couch. But the number of students who walk or ride their bikes to school has dropped from 48% in 1969 to just 13% in 2009. David Darlington talks about his Bicycling article, "Why Johnny Can't Ride."

Feminist literary scholar Susan Gubar was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in November 2008. She then began her emigration "from the world of the healthy to the domain of the ill," she writes in her book, Memoir of a Debulked Woman.

Ovarian cancer often goes undetected until it has spread throughout the abdomen, and is typically fatal. To slow the spread of the disease, Gubar underwent a procedure known as the mother of all surgeries — a radical debulking operation in which her ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, appendix and parts of her intestine were removed.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous Talk of the Nation show topics including the outlook for new graduates and jobs, guns and "Stand Your Ground" laws, and violinist Joshua Bell's new job.

Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's China visit comes at a fragile moment in diplomatic relations. Some analysts describe the Chen Guangcheng and Bo Xilai incidents as a "perfect storm" that will test the relationship between the U.S. and China.