National and World News from NPR

Lehman Bros., the Wall Street giant, collapsed in September 2008 in the nation's largest bankruptcy and arguably kicked off a financial meltdown that helped drag the economy into the Great Recession.

If you want to eat well, find out where the chefs go after they clock out.

If you're wondering how to deal with a health problem, ask your doctor what she'd do for her mom.

And if you're puzzling over which insurance plan to pick, take a look at how some health economists size them up.

Clever journalist Dinah Wisenberg Brin got some big names in the world of health economics to reveal details about their insurance status. And you might learn a thing or two from their thinking.

In an explosive interview with CBS' 60 Minutes, the former chief of the CIA's clandestine service describes waterboarding Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. (A Warning: The interview contains some offensive language.)

Mechanical engineer Maurizio Porfiri, of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, designs robot fish. A few years ago, he found that real fish would mill about his aquatic robot, and now he's trying to understand why. His research suggests that it has less to do with how the robot looks, than how it makes fish feel.

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IRA FLATOW, HOST:

A private company has unveiled plans to mine precious metals and water from nearby asteroids. Planetary Resources co-founder Eric Anderson discusses the various stages of the mining process and how the excavated minerals could impact future space exploration and innovation on Earth.

A blind Chinese activist, one of the country's most prominent, has made an audacious escape from house arrest and is safe from Chinese authorities, according to his supporters.

Yet days after Chen Guangchen fled his home, it's not clear exactly where he is. A diplomatic source indicates that he is inside the U.S. embassy, but this has not been confirmed officially.

Chen has attracted international attention with his efforts to prevent forced illegal abortions in China. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spoken out in support of him.

Can the repeated brain injuries suffered by some athletes cause problems with brain function later in life? A new play, Headstrong, opening next week in New York, looks at athletes and head trauma, and the high price some athletes end up paying for playing the game.

In The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation, Jon Gertner writes of the legendary innovations developed at AT&T's Bell Labs, from lasers and transistors to solar cells and cell phones, and discusses how the lab became a hotbed for new ideas.