Last October, Nathan Schram was giddy with anticipation. He was only a year out of Indiana University and he'd just joined a prestigious program, designed to help classical musicians like himself take on the challenges of building a 21st-century career.

He did it through The Academy, a program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education

Compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide in collaboration with the American Booksellers Association. This list reflects sales ending May 29.

Compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide in collaboration with the American Booksellers Association. This list reflects sales ending May 29.

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Compiled from weekly surveys of close to 500 independent bookstores nationwide in collaboration with the American Booksellers Association. This list reflects sales ending May 29.

The nature-versus-nurture debate is an old one. It stands to reason that extremism on either side is likely to be misguided. The mind is not a blank slate. But nor are we born with fully intact cognitive, linguistic and social capacities. What we do, as individuals, and as members of society, depends on our make up. But it also depends on the landscapes where we find ourselves and the resources available. What is striking is the remarkable degree to which we — all living beings — make it so.

This is a couple of days old and it escaped us somehow. But it struck our curiosity so that we'll share it anyway: This past Wednesday, the far northern latitudes saw a rare solar eclipse at midnight. Here's how Wired explains it:

FRANKFORT — Officials from the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Friday announced that six additional Kentucky counties have qualified for Disaster Unemployment Assistance, bringing the total to 17 counties. Kentuckians in Ballard, Daviess, Henderson, Lawrence, McLean and Pike counties who have lost work or whose businesses were damaged due to severe weather that occurred beginning April 22 may be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

FRANKFORT – After aerial spraying successfully reduced high mosquito populations in flooded areas of Western Kentucky, the state will launch the second part of its mosquito abatement initiative. Beginning Monday, crews will target mosquito larvae in standing flood waters. Professional contractors conducted aerial spraying of more than 700,000 acres across Western Kentucky last week.

FRANKFORT - Gov. Steve Beshear Friday announced funding for water supply projects in several Eastern Kentucky counties. Residents living along or in KY HWY 476 (Breathitt), Mudlick/Franks Creek (Johnson), Paintsville Lake area (Johnson), Dry Creek/Clear Creek (Knott), Treadway Road (Lee/Owsley), Trace Fork/Spicy Ridge (Martin), Whoopflarea (Owsley/Perry), South Perry (Perry) and Vicco (Perry/Letcher) should be noticing the construction of a water supply project funded by the Division of Abandoned Mine Lands in their communities.

FRANKFORT – The state announced Friday the awarding of nearly $75 million in highway projects. They include funding for bridge deck repair, road maintenance, highway safety improvements and a new, state-of-the-art “double crossover diamond” interchange in Fayette County. All the contracts were awarded on the basis of competitive bidding. The Transportation Cabinet received and announced the bids on May 20, according to a press release.