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Maya Angelou spent much of her childhood being raised by her grandmother in Arkansas, but as a young teenager, she returned to live with her mother, Vivian Baxter. Angelou's Mom & Me & Mom looks back on the long process of reconciliation with the woman who sent her away.

Jay McShann, nicknamed "Hootie," helped define the Kansas City style of jazz, which mixed blues and boogie woogie. In this program from 1980, McShann talks about those early days in Kansas City and meeting a young sax player named Charlie Parker.

In James' Portrait of a Lady, Isabel Archer is wise enough to understand that if you're not happy without a man, you certainly won't be happy with one. Writer Rhoda Janzen loves the book because it shows what a woman does once she acknowledges her own complicity in the life she has chosen.

Bridget Jones hasn't aged well. At 51, she's the "geriatric mum" of two small children, and finds herself yearning to plunge back into dating. Critic Maureen Corrigan says if you're looking for jolly feminist cultural commentary, you'd be better off reading a witty "encyclopedia of lady things" from the creators of the website Jezebel.

The 15-year-old's shooting death became a rallying cry for gun control advocates. Senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will also attend the funeral.

Lady Gaga's rebellious personality, outrageous fashion sense and outsize way with a chorus have earned her a huge and diverse fan base. Last week, she played three sold-out hometown shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. Critic Will Hermes recently took his niece to one of the concerts.

She's only 23, but the British rapper has already lived a lifetime in the music business. After entering the scene as a teenager, enjoying a No. 1 single and ultimately parting ways with Def Jam Records, she's now issued her sophomore release.

For more than 15 years, the Canadian pop-rock band Barenaked Ladies has spread its wry, playful pop sound across North America and beyond, in the process attracting a devoted fan base, releasing seven studio albums, selling out tours and even launching an independent record label.

A self-professed science geek is the best-selling British male artist in the United States since Elton John. His latest album, and first U.S. release, is called All or Nothing. It features big name collaborations with artists including Lil Wayne, Lil John, Sean Paul and Mary J. Blige.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, is the first democratically elected woman leader in Africa. Since taking office in 2006, Johnson Sirleaf has fought to reconstruct the state and rescue Liberia's failing economy.

Jay Farrar has been in two bands — Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt — popular for mixing rock and country music. Now Jay Farrar has a solo recording that continues to explore the alternative country sound. Reviewer Meredith Ochs says the new CD, Sebastopol, combines some rock music studio tricks with lyrics that take a microscope to the roadsides of America. (4:30) The CD is Sebastopol by Jay Farrar, on Artemis Records. See http://www.artemisrecords.com and http://www.jayfarrar.net.

In the 1930s and '40s, band singers were mostly blond, sophisticated and attractive. Ella Fitzgerald was awkward, gawky and even a bit chubby by comparison — but could she sing.