MC Frontalot, aka Damian Hess, makes a living rapping about data encryption, rare diseases, video games and the nerd life. He describes Nerdcore, his name for the genre, as "the inversion of the shame of geekery... into pride." Frontalot joins Ira Flatow and Flora Lichtman to chat about the intersection of nerdiness and hip-hop and shares some of his songs.
Dan Brown, author of the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, is back with his first novel in four years. Inferno follows academic hero Robert Langdon on a chase through Italy as he attempts to avert a biological catastrophe.
Designer Katie Shelly's upcoming cookbook offers 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from simple snacks to more hefty dishes like eggplant Parmesan. She hopes they'll inspire any level of cook to improvise in the kitchen.
NPR's Peter Overby reports on the Congressional testimony of IRS officials in response to the scandal over special scrutiny of tea party groups. Underneath all the politics, there's a policy question that hasn't been addressed.