As the debate over gun control is relaunched in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, there is another conversation taking place over the mental health resources available to troubled youth like the shooter, Adam Lanza. Rick Moody is someone who has thought a lot about access to mental health services. He's the author of "The Ice Storm," and he recalls being a "troubled kid in Connecticut."

Politicians across the political spectrum have proposed new gun control measures since the Newtown shooting, but how would the ideas on the table fit into Supreme Court decisions regarding the Second Amendment? Adam Liptak, Supreme Court reporter for Takeaway partner The New York Times, says, "The main obstacles to the passage of such measures is likely to be politics, not constitutional law."

Katherine Bigelowe’s latest film "Zero Dark Thirty" comes out in limited release this week, but critics have already honed in on what’s become the film’s most controversial talking point: its depiction of torture. Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School and editor of “The Torture Papers," explains.

Following the murders of two additional vaccine workers in Pakistan, the United Nations has announced that they will suspend the program. Declan Walsh has been following the story for The New York Times.

As part of our Remixing the Holidays series, we invited John Schaefer, host of WNYC's Soundcheck to give us a playlist of holiday songs. He recently asked his audience to name their top picks, but he didn't ask for just their favorite feel-good tunes.

Underwater noise pollution is taking a toll on marine life, and the clamor is entirely human-made. It’s the whine of ship engines, the searing blasts of military exercises, and the thunderous booms of air guns searching for oil and gas. Dr. Leila Hatch, NOAA Ocean Noise Specialist, explains.

The firearm manufacturer Freedom Group produced some of the weapons used by the Washington, D.C. sniper in 2002, by James Holmes in Aurora Colorado, and by Adam Lanza in Newtown Connecticut last Friday. Who is behind this company? New York Times reporter Peter Lattman profiles the organization, and explains what the company's future might hold.