The Progressive Prosecutor

More than two-thirds of the inmates in California's state prisons are Latino or African American, according to the most recent census. More than 1,000…

According to a recent study from the US Department of Education, only 4% of elementary schools provide any kind of theater arts instruction. This is down…

With songs like "Suzanne," "Bird on a Wire," "So Long, Marianne" and "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye," singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen created his own brand of folk-rock art music. Listeners discovered Cohen's songs in the mid-'60s when Judy Collins recorded "Suzanne," and Cohen followed that by recording his own album of his songs. Cohen discusses his career with Terry Gross.

Lukas Foss is a pianist, a conductor and, perhaps most notably, a composer. Foss was born in Germany and was fifteen when his family immigrated to this country in 1937. Even before that he'd begun his prolific output as a composer and was recognized as a child prodigy on the piano.

Over the years, composer, conductor and performer Lukas Foss has been one of America's most committed champions of new music. As a composer, he's been identified with serialism, improvisation and chance processes. In an interview with Terry Gross, he discusses his life and work.

The itinerant troubadour, composer and performer of "Suzanne," "Sisters of Mercy" and "Bird on a Wire" has a growl of a singing voice that seems to simmer and grumble up through the chords, almost like an earthquake. His new album, I'm Your Man, has already sold a quarter of a million copies in Europe.

In July 1957, Buddy Holly left Texas with only one record climbing the charts. Five months later, sporting capped teeth, a sharp suit, and horn-rimmed glasses, Holly debuted live on The Ed Sullivan Show. Like Elvis Presley only a year before, Holly had made it to prime time TV.

After nearly 20 years without recording for a major U.S. label, jazz singer Abbey Lincoln has a new album, World is Falling Down.

It was 33 years ago today a light plane crashed near the Iowa-Minnesota border, killing Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, better known as The Big Bopper. They had just finished playing the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Blossom Dearie — that's her real name — has been a fixture on the New York nightclub scene for decades. The singer and pianist is known for her quiet voice, unusual choice of material and jazz-influenced style of singing.