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Singer-songwriter Greg Laswell recently released a new CD called Through Toledo. Music critic Christian Bordal talks with Laswell about the painful events that inspired his songs.

Musician Ralph Towner performs in NPR's Studio 4A. His career spans more than 30 years, from the Paul Winter Consort to the group Oregon. Today he remains a prolific solo artist on the acoustic guitar, with a new CD: Time Line.

Blanche depending on the kindness of strangers; Maggie and Brick trying to get on Big Daddy's good side. Those moments and others are now available in a DVD box set of films based on the plays of Tennessee Williams.

Unearthed shortly after Johnny Cash's death, a batch of recordings marked "Personal File" turned out to contain an assortment of unreleased songs — including a standout moment in which Cash reads the riveting, darkly funny Robert W. Service poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee."

Peggy Lee's most memorable tune was "Fever." A biography borrows the title of the 1958 hit, which encapsulated what many remember about the singer: her playful delivery, charisma and sexuality.

Filmmaker Liz Mermin talks about her documentary, The Beauty Academy of Kabul, which looks at the opening of a beauty academy by a group of Western women in Afghanistan.

The image of a potential moviegoer downloading full-length movies from the Internet and burning them to a DVD is one that gives many Hollywood studio chiefs fits. But for executives in the adult-movie industry, the process is the key to a new business model.

Kurdish culture is experiencing a Renaissance in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's overthrow -- and Kurdish cinema in particular is enjoying new attention. Ivan Watson reports on how Kurdish filmmakers are flourishing in northern Iraq.

Back in the 1980s, a public-access TV channel in New York City aired Stairway to Stardom, an amateur talent show some see as a low-rent precursor to American Idol. Thanks to the dedication of a few die-hard fans, the show has now become an Internet cult hit.

Heather Headley won a Tony Award for her work on Broadway. The star of Aida and The Lion King is also seeing success in the R&B world. She's now touring to support her second CD, In My Mind.