Search results for

Commentator Cornel West celebrates the 100th birthday of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

Filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 arrives in U.S. theaters, after winning the top prize at the Cannes film festival and being shelved by the Disney Co., its original backer. The film, which criticizes President Bush's response to the attacks of Sept. 11, is being released independently. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

One night 35 years ago, the Stonewall Inn was the scene for protests against police harassment that sparked the gay rights movement. Until now, the story of Stonewall has never been told from the point of view of the street cops. Now those men have held a reunion, and retired officer Frank Toscano has also written a screenplay about that night. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

The new musical Cookin' at the Cookery tells the tale of blues singer Alberta Hunter's career and her comeback after 50 years at age 82. NPR's Tony Cox speaks with the show's writer, as well as its lead actress, Tony Award-winning Ann Duquesnay.

The artistic Renaissance of singer Mariam Makeba — "Mama Africa" to her millions of fans.

American music legend Ray Charles died Thursday of complications from liver disease. He was 73. Blind since age 7, the man known as "The Genius" built a career that defied genre, lending his soulful, bluesy stylings to jazz, pop, country and R&B. Ashley Kahn has a remembrance.

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. (This week's winner is Gary Levin from Bedminster, N.J. He listens to Weekend Edition Sunday on member station WHYY in Philadelphia.)

The collaboration of guitarist Phil Wandscher and singer Jesse Sykes started from the ashes of broken bands. Wandscher had been fired from the legendary alternative country band Whiskeytown, which he started with Ryan Adams. Jesse Sykes' band Hominy had dissolved around the same time her marriage came to an end. Now the two are featuring Wandscher's lyrical guitar style and Sykes' smoke-tinged voice. Critic Meredith Ochs reviews their CD, from Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter called Oh, My Girl.

The idea of reading for pleasure during the summer doesn't have to apply to adults only. NPR's Michele Norris talks with three booksellers about their summer reading recommendations for children.

A new documentary from filmmakers Lorca Shepperd and Cabot Philbrick follows nine people who collect lost and discarded photographs of strangers. From beefcake to family snapshots, these abandoned photos can sometimes bring in hundreds of dollars a piece.