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On Second Stage, All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton profiles the best of music's great unknowns. He chooses the best outsider artists of 2007: musicians who made remarkable recordings that were largely overlooked, led by Le Loup.

As a member of Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore has not only been influential to others, but he's also been instrumental in sharing his musical loves. Moore has always had an ear for challenging sounds; here, he shares his favorite acoustic guitarists on World Cafe.

From French electronica and melancholy songwriters to worldly, eccentric indie-rock, here are 10 of this year's best debut albums, as chosen by Bruce Warren, executive producer of WXPN's World Cafe.

Poet Tracy K. Smith's three favorite poems of 2011 blur the private and public, the personal and political, and will refresh how you look at language and the world.

Don't Tap the Glass is a bit of a left turn: a hyperkinetic, summertime LP with an urgent appeal to move the masses.

Vivian Salama of the Associated Press joins Melissa Block to talk about the latest developments in Iraq — including a power struggle in Baghdad and the U.S. response to dangers facing Kurdish and Yazidi peoples.

Heidi Brown's Army uniform is decorated with one small star, which marks her as a brigadier general. But at this point in her career, "gender now shuts the door for me," she says.

Ann Powers' favorite songs and albums of the year combined hooks, innovation, back story and individuality.

First rule of smörgåsbord: Pace yourself. You've got to make your way through dozens of dishes — fish courses, ham, cheeses, warm entrees. And don't forget dessert. Or should we say desserts?

For the seventh year in a row, Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France. And this was a victory lap of sorts. Armstrong will retire at 33. Racing fans will miss him, but look forward to new competition.

Essence might be the longest-running magazine for black women, but the authors of a new book, The Man From Essence, say that the road to building the brand had many twists and turns.

If you're searching for music off the beaten path, here's the list for you. NPR Music's Tiny Desk editor and resident Viking scours the corners of the music world to find his favorite records of 2025.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine sorted through 10,000 studies to determine the good and bad health effects of marijuana. Tight drug restrictions impede research, they say.

Every January, we hear some of the world's tastiest acts at a one-night showcase in Manhattan. From Korean folk songs spun into glam-rock glitter to blazing Cuban brass, this year was no exception.

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Cecilia Rouse, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, about Biden's State of the Union address and the impact of the war in Ukraine on the U.S. economy.

NPR's pop critic and correspondent shares her favorite albums of this year.

NPR Music's pop critic says her favorite albums of this tumultuous year demonstrated the value of embracing fragility and vulnerability.

The NPR Music critic and All Songs Considered contributor's favorite records of the year include the best of British rap, whimsical and melancholy electronic experiments and spellbinding dreampop.

In our time, it's easy to shut your mind, driven by fear or misinformation. This year, NPR Music's pop critic found the antidote in music that encouraged exploring.

Mayawati Kumari is the chief minister of one of India's largest and poorest states. She's also the richest woman in India and one of the best known. Now there's talk about her possibly becoming the country's next prime minister.