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Some critics say President Obama and Mitt Romney are avoiding big problems like economic growth, energy and immigration to focus on relatively minor issues in their campaigns. The strategy may make sense, but then how does one govern after running on a platform of political small ball?

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show topics including the difficulties young people face as they try to leave home and why it's easier to make lasting friendships when you're younger.

When the temperature rises in Afghanistan, so does the insurgency. Every summer the Taliban's tactics, targets and intensity are a little different. This year, IEDs are in season, attacks are up, and Afghan forces are suffering more casualties.

Stripping naked is a good way to cool off on a steamy day. But that won't pass muster on the street. Scientists say light-colored, lightweight clothing is the next best thing.

Over the past two decades, the landlocked city of Brownsville, Texas, has become the hub of the U.S. ship recycling industry. Ships from tankers to aircraft carriers are dismantled and stripped of reusable metals. And despite the world economic slowdown, it's still a highly lucrative business.

To Olympians, food is fuel, and mileage may vary. Depending on their sport, contenders need to consume anywhere between 1,200 to 8,000 calories before competing.

"What's in a name?" William Shakespeare once wrote in Romeo and Juliet, long before the Olympics ever came to London. It turns out that some Olympic names herald the greatness athletes seek — and the events they enter — while some bear monikers better suited for others.

The Boy Scouts of America recently reaffirmed its longtime policy of excluding openly gay members. While some praised the group, a growing number of adult Eagle Scouts are returning their badges in protest of the policy, including Kelsey Timmerman, who worries about the moral integrity of the BSA.

The government forecasts food prices will go up as much as 3.5 percent this year; meat prices will rise as much as 4.5 percent. If the drought continues, prices may go up even more. "Until we get that first heavy rain, we're not going to know for sure" just where prices will end up, a USDA economist says.

A pair of NASA satellite images taken just four days apart tells a potentially worrying story of melting ice in the polar summer.