NPR Staff

Lawrence Cumberbatch was only 16 when he trekked, on foot, from New York City to Washington, D.C., to join the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Lawrence, now 66, was the youngest person on the march with the Brooklyn branch of the Congress of Racial Equality.

His parents thought ...

Actress Ziyi Zhang is probably best known for her roles in the Oscar-winning films Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Memoirs of a Geisha. Now she co-stars in a new film, The Grandmaster, where she plays a fierce martial artist who stops at nothing to protect her family's legacy. But she ...

"I think he was looking for good musicians, and he knew quite a few. He sees the heart of a person."

That's how Cynthia Robinson, founding member of Sly & The Family Stone, characterizes the charismatic frontman's choice of backing players. The band, which pioneered a blend of ...

When you watch a DVD these days, there's a whole array of extras waiting for you after the movie — commentaries, deleted scenes, special re-creations that add to the experience.

But what if you are a novelist and want to do the same? Could you? Should you?

In her new ...

Teshima Walker Izrael was the executive producer of Tell Me More. She came to the end of a long battle with cancer on Friday at the age of 44. Tributes and tweets are coming in from all over the country with #TeamTeshima.

Tell Me More thought it would be fitting ...

One of the most intriguing figures of 20th-century warfare is T.E. Lawrence, the British army officer who immersed himself in the culture of the Arabian Peninsula's Bedouin tribes and played a key role in the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Turks during World War I. He became a well-known and ...

The suburbs can be a creepy place. And they are at their creepiest in Patrick Flanery's new novel, Fallen Land. Set outside an unnamed American city, this dark and complex thriller plays out in a half-built subdivision where construction ground to a halt during the housing crisis.

The warped, broken ...

Almost as soon as they started rolling off the assembly lines, automobiles became synonymous with freedom. And in the post-World War II boom our relationship with cars intensified.

It was about horsepower, status, being American, and for young people: rebellion. For generations cars inspired countless songs, books and movies. But ...

Vince Gill has been making records since he was a teenager. Paul Franklin plays pedal-steel guitar like few others have. The two country legends have a new album together titled Bakersfield.

It's a tribute to a particular kind of country music that came out of Bakersfield, Calif., and was created ...

Each week, Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin brings listeners an unexpected side of the news by talking with someone personally affected by the stories making headlines.

Sister Maxyne Schneider became a Catholic nun when she was still a teenager. Now, more than 50 years later, she's president of the ...

Singer Susan Tedeschi and guitarist Derek Trucks met and fell in love in New Orleans. They got married and started a family, but pursued their music careers separately — until 2010, when the two combined forces and gathered some of their favorite players to form the Tedeschi Trucks Band. A ...

"There is no question that there is a civil war that is waging within the party."

That Republican conflict, political science professor David Cohen adds, isn't between just two sides, but among a number of factions, including libertarians.

One of the most public battles has involved national security and civil ...

Tales of Jesse James's exploits have grown to almost mythological proportions since the actual man and his gang galloped over the plains stealing horses, holding up trains, and robbing banks in the years after the Civil War. Shot All To Hell: Jesse James, The Northfield Raid, and the Wild West's ...

If you live outside of Los Angeles, you might not have heard of singer Irene Diaz. The 26-year-old L.A. native stunned concertgoers at the Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York City last month with her powerful, silky voice and heartfelt lyrics. She's just released her first EP, I Love ...

If the past few months have taught us anything, it's that everything we do online leaves a digital trail. While it may seem like there's not much we can do about it, there are some tech companies that are working to obscure that trail a little bit, with a process ...

When Dylan Dethier graduated from high school a few years ago, he didn't go on to the local college, join the Army or hitchhike cross-country. He hit golf courses, on a trip across America to play a round of golf in each of the Lower 48 states.

He played the ...

Before abolitionist and Harpers Ferry raider John Brown became a hymn, he was a flesh and blood human being: Bible-thumping, rifle-toting, heroic and maybe more than a little unhinged.

A portrait of Brown and Frederick Douglass is at the heart of James McBride's The Good Lord Bird, a new ...

Bikers may have a tough image, but Happy Dodson, Taz Roman and other members of Bikers Against Child Abuse have a soft spot for kids. The international nonprofit accepts referrals fro...

Werner Herzog's latest project is a slight departure for the acclaimed filmmaker: a 35-minute public service announcement on the dangers of texting and driving. Yes, it's long, he say...

There's no shame in admitting it: Mid-August may be the point in the summer when you throw up your hands when it comes to zucchini. The vegetable is both the joy and bane of gardeners and cooks. Joy because there are so many possibilities — bread, fritters, stuffed blossoms and ...