5 opera scenes to sweep you off your feet
On World Opera Day, watch scenes that will make you fall in love with the art form — from a crazy day at Mozart's diner to a trippy trip to China with Richard Nixon.
Music
Janis Ian, 'I'm Still Standing'
Good-humored and unsparing, Janis Ian's "I'm Still Standing" answers "At Seventeen" from life's other side, celebrating every line and rough patch on an older woman's face.
Circuit des Yeux: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert
In Circuit des Yeux's Tiny Desk (home) concert — recorded at Chicago's historic May Chapel — Haley Fohr's operatic, four-octave vibrato contains a wondrous terror, but also an illumination of being.
Jay Black, lead singer of pop group The Americans, dies at 82
The singer of Jay and the Americans was known as the voice in 1960s hits including "This Magic Moment" and "Come a Little Bit Closer."
In 'Dreaming of You,' poet Melissa Lozada-Oliva reimagines Selena's legacy
Author Melissa Lozada-Oliva's new novel in verse, Dreaming of You, is about a heartbroken poet who brings Selena Quintanilla back from the dead.
On 'Weight of the World,' Maxo Kream's world expands amid personal tragedy
"I always try to honor my family in my music," Maxo Kream says. On his third album, the rapper balances contemplations of newfound family responsibilities with a sense of charisma and triumph.
Composer Huang Ruo gives voice to the dark history of Angel Island
Chinese-American composer Huang Ruo has teamed up with the Del Sol Quartet and vocal ensemble Volti to explore the struggles of Chinese immigrants detained at Angel Island in the early 1900s.
How Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats became the loudest, unlikeliest duo in rap
Rico Nasty and producer Kenny Beats explain how the vital collaboration that culminated in their joint 2019 mixtape Anger Management traces back to a single scream during an impromptu studio session.
The Jubilee Singers, HBCU Fisk University's a cappella ensemble, celebrate 150 years
NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Paul Kwami, director of Fisk University's Jubilee Singers, and pianist Nina Kennedy on the 150 commemoration of the Jubilee Singers Fundraising tour.
Lenny Kravitz's memoir, 'Let Love Rule,' chronicles the making of a rock star
Kravitz's memoir follows his childhood and early career. Still touring in his 50s, Kravitz says, "I'm going to continue doing this as long as I can." Originally broadcast Oct. 6, 2020.