Consider This: Nuclear energy, circumcision, world's best school systems

SHOULD THE FUTURE RUN ON NUCLEAR POWER?

Today, the head of Japan's nuclear authority said the Fukushima power plant could have further leaks. Also today, a nuclear power plant in southern New Jersey was shut down after officials determined there was a leak in its containment building. Michael Shellenberger, the president of the Breakthrough Institute, Diane D’Arrigo, the radioactive waste project director of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, and Michael Madsen, the director of the documentary film "Into Eternity," will discuss this topic.

IS CIRCUMCISION WORTHWHILE?

The national rate of circumcision for newborn boys fell roughly 10 percent between 1979 and 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The procedure is required by some religions and cultures, but is it medically necessary? Lloyd Schofield, the leader of a movement to ban circumcision in San Francisco, and Dr. Nina Radcliff, a practicing physician and anesthesiologist, will join the conversation.

WHY IS THE US FALLING BEHIND GLOBALLY IN EDUCATION?

The Obama administration and the American Federation of Teachers support the Common Core, a new set of standards for K-12 education that has been adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Yet the U.S. educational system is trailing behind those of South Korea and Finland, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment. Amanda Ripley, author of the book "The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way," will discuss.