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Record producer Gregory Page was sitting in the back office of an Ocean Beach coffee shop called Java Joe's on an open-mic night when he heard what he thought was a female singer with a beautiful voice. He went into the shop and discovered that the voice belonged to a man: a folk singer and songwriter named Tom Brosseau.

The soundtrack to the film The Da Vinci Code is filled with celestial voices, high and eerie wails that appear on many film tracks. So what do celestial voices sound like when they talk? Renee Montagne finds out in an interview with Hila Plitmann, the classically trained performer who sings the celestial solos in The Da Vinci Code.

President Trump landed in Texas Friday to visit areas ravaged by floods. NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Dianna Bryant about the challenges rural areas face in preparing for and responding to disasters.

The New York duo plays spiky, dense and danceable pop-rock songs with an electronic pulse. Voices is the sound of a band at ease and assured in its moment, as it seizes every scrap of momentum it's created for itself.

The memories of those who survived Chernobyl were collected in the book Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of the Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich. We hear some of their stories.

Some of the first truly American music was created by Black voices. In this playlist, pianist Lara Downes offers a broad range of songs that speak to the irrepressible, irresistible sound of hope.

Renee Montagne talks to Louisiana bluesman Tab Benoit about his new CD, Voice of the Wetlands. Benoit and an all-star group of Louisiana musicians recorded the album in January to call attention to the state's vanishing wetlands.

For those who rely on technology to speak, there are a limited number of voices. "Perfect Paul" sounds robotic, and "Heather" can seem too old for some. Now, a researcher is using sound samples from people who have never been able to speak to create new, personalized voices for them.

June Foray voiced many cartoon characters but she was best known as the voice of Rocky the flying squirrel and Natasha Fatale in Rocky and His Friends, a TV series that ran from 1959 through 1964.

Africa and the world grieved earlier this year when South African Miriam Makeba died. She was 76. She campaigned tirelessly against apartheid, becoming one of the voices of Africa — and of conscience.

{LOST AND FOUND SOUND: "VOICES OF THE DUSTBOWL"} -- Today we hear the latest installment the "Lost and Found Sound," series: "Voices of the Dustbowl." In the 1930s, hundreds of thousands of people from Oklahoma and Arkansas traveled to California, in search of better living. Depression-related poverty and a massive drought and subsequent dust storms had made life impossible for them back home. There were no jobs, and the fields were fallow. California held the promise of work and wages, harvesting fruit and vegetables year-round. Sixty years ago, in the summer of 1940, Charles Todd was hired by the Library of Congress to visit the federal camps where many of these migrants lived, to create an audio oral history of their stories, and to document the success of the camp program to the Roosevelt administration back in Washington. Todd carried a 50-pound Presto recorder from camp to camp that summer, interviewing the migrant workers. He made hundreds of hours of recordings on acetate and cardboard discs. Todd was there at the same time that writer John Steinbeck was interviewing many of the same people in these camps, for research on a new novel called "The Grapes of Wrath." Producer Barrett Golding went though this massive collection of Todd's recordings. Together, they bring us this story, narrated by Charles Todd.

The late scientist's voice will be "beamed toward the nearest black hole," his daughter tells the British press. Hawking is being interred at Westminster Abbey on Friday.

Vin Scully, the "Voice of the Dodgers," died this week at the age of 94. Scott Simon reflects on the announcer's skill calling games for MLB's Los Angeles team.

Even by the band's own standards of ornate beauty, "Hurry Home Dark Cloud" sounds especially striking. Singer Darren Richard's voice swoops and swoons elegantly, even operatically, making it the key instrument in a mix rife with strings, organs, and bells.

She had the musical chops of Ella Fitzgerald, the public persona of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis Presley. More than 30 years after Umm Kulthum's death, Egyptians young and old still celebrate the voice of their country's greatest singer.

A commission charged with mapping out plans to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina recommends that reconstruction be allowed in all areas of the city. Residents of heavily damaged areas will be given four months to prove they are viable. Mayor Ray Nagin still must approve the plan.

Members of the a cappella septet Naturally 7 use their voices to mimic the sounds of musical instruments. The group has entertained Prince Charles and Quincy Jones and has toured with Canadian singer Michael Buble.

Since his debut in 1951, Holden Caulfield — the funny, complex, wry protagonist of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye — has given voice to generations of teens caught between youth and adulthood.

Gospel great Marion Williams is not a household name, but she inspired many blues and rock singers. Little Richard's signature wail was all Williams. Her wide-ranging voice gave recording engineers fits, her long-time producer says.

Marianne Faithfull, 58, talks about her new CD Before the Poison. It's bolstered by collaborations with PJ Harvey and Nick Cave. Faithfull supplies lyrics and a voice that has turned into a husky growl.