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The National Visionary Leadership Project tells the stories of some of the most prolific people in African-American history. Renowned painter David Driskell shares stories of his life's journey with project co-founder Renee Poussaint.

Musician Lenny Kaye is perhaps best known as Patti Smith's guitarist. But he's also a music writer, whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Creem. His new book, You Call it Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon, chronicles the male singers of the 1930s known for their suave, sophisticated and romantic interpretations of song: Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee and Russ Columbo.

The Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia's leading indigenous dance company, performed Bush at New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music. NPR's Allison Keyes talks with the company's choreographer, Stephen Page.

k.d. lang performs songs from her latest CD, Hymns of the 49th Parallel. The disc is a tribute to Canadian songwriters from Leonard Cohen and Neil Young to Bruce Cockburn and Jane Siberry.

Audiences for Pixar Animation's hit movie The Incredibles get an unexpected treat before that film begins -- an equally entertaining short film called Boundin'. Day to Day animation critic Charles Solomon says Pixar's short films continue a tradition started in the golden age of Disney animation.

In this two-hour live recording, The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson plays his most ambitious album, Smile, at Carnegie Hall. Released almost four decades after its creation, the album has been reconstructed and reworked from original tapes and new recordings. Listen to songs from Smile, Beach Boys favorites, and excerpts from recording sessions in this Creator's at Carnegie special.

NPR's Liane Hansen speaks with acoustic guitarist Kaki King, who performs selections for us in our studio. The 25-year-old guitar whiz honed her unusual fingerstyle technique playing in New York City subway stations. Her new CD is Legs to Make Us Longer.

When legendary bluesman John Lee Hooker died in 2001, he was working on songs for what would be his last recording, Face to Face. His daughter, Zakiya Hooker, produced the album after his death and talks with NPR's Jennifer Ludden about his musical legacy.

In the fall of 2002, the late Mario Puzo's publisher held a contest to choose Puzo's successor. The winner was Mark Winegardner, who tells NPR's Scott Simon about the process of writing The Godfather Returns.

A new photo book chronicles Paul McCartney's recent world tour, through memories and photographs. The singer-songwriter dusted off some Beatles tunes for the concerts, including many that had never been performed on stage. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Sir Paul.