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Being relatively inexpensive, relatively easy to play and extremely portable, the harmonica has long been the perfect instrument for a nation on the move. Its popularity has waxed and waned, and it's most often heard in blues music today. But every now and again, the harmonica crosses over to jazz.

Throughout the '80s and early '90s, John Zorn and Bill Laswell were at the epicenter of extreme music. Hear five bands that take the ferocity of '60s free jazz and match it with pummeling death metal.

The standards singer's new solo album, Strictly Romancin', explores the ups and downs of love. Russell sings several tracks from the record during this interview and performance.

Mohammed Amer has spoken about his family's experience as Palestinian refugees in standup comedy. He spent nearly a decade turning it into a television series, which is arriving on Netflix this week.

Walter Jacobs, aka "Little Walter," was a harmonica virtuoso whose life was consumed by blues music. A new five-disc Hip-O Select re-release of Walter's complete recordings for the record label Chess is on shelves now.

Common ground is the main theme of Maalouf's new album, which features a wide array of vocalists from across the pop music spectrum. Maalouf also recently revived an international trumpet competition.

Atypical of inspirational weight-loss books, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom by Rabia Chaudry — an advocate of Serial podcast subject Adnan Syed — is a love letter to the author's native cuisine.

As the social media platform struggles to find a way forward, NPR surveys key moments in its history.

BBC music broadcaster Stephen Johnson's remarkably diverse aesthetic and personal sensitivity are on full display in his new book on the Russian composer's music — and his own personal struggles.

Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton previously had a job working with foster children at a group home. He believes that work — listening, understanding, communicating — helped prepare him for directing.