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Walter Mosley has written more than two dozen books featuring unforgettable black characters as lovers, thugs, bad guys, good guys — and guys who are a little of each. Mosley is now lending his voice to an effort by the American Library Association to introduce young people to books with diverse authors and characters.

Andrew Bird makes the kind of music that leaves critics groping for labels. A classically trained violinist, former swing jazz musician and now art rock virtuoso, Bird is one of the most imaginative and distinctive voices making music today. Hear Bird in a full concert, recorded live from Washington, D.C.

Film critic Roger Ebert is famous for arguing about movies on TV with Gene Siskel. Now that cancer surgeries have left him without the ability to speak, Ebert has found a new voice online. Melissa Block visits him at his Chicago home to talk about his memoir, Life Itself.

Author Hortense Calisher once called the short story "an apocalypse in a teacup." Critic Jane Ciabattari presents her favorite mini-apocalypses of 2012, from veteran authors like Sherman Alexie to newcomer Claire Vaye Watkins, who combines a unique voice and a shadowed family history in her debut collection.

Literary theorist Stanley Fish is obsessed with Frank Sinatra — and he's not afraid to admit it. For his Ol' Blue Eyes fix, Fish reads James Kaplan's lengthy biography Frank: The Voice. The story isn't new, but he can't resist imagining himself in the high-flying world of the legendary crooner.

If classic jazz has a contemporary voice, it's that of guitarist, vocalist and bandleader John Pizzarelli. He's fashioned an ultra-cool style that's both modern and rooted in the jazz tradition. Here, the John Pizzarelli Trio swings on "Here Comes the Sun" before Pizzarelli and McPartland perform "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning."

The great Les McCann is a veteran entertainer who's spent many years in jazz clubs, making sly humor of hard work. The gravel in his voice pairs sweetly with Javon Jackson's smooth tenor, as they revisit McCann's history-making LP Swiss Movement — celebrating its 40th anniversary this year — and more.

Gabriel Sherman traces the beginning of Fox News' success back to its wall-to-wall coverage of Monica Lewinsky. He says, "Ratings during the Lewinsky scandal exploded more than 400 percent, so you saw instantly that there was a market for this type of ... television." Sherman's book is called The Loudest Voice In The Room.

Long before he became a mega-star in the 1950s, Nat King Cole's velvety voice was captivating audiences as part of the Nat King Cole Trio. Formed in 1937 after an inn manager needed a club act, the group went on to stardom, ranking No. 1 on the first ever Billboard album chart.

Julie Doiron's recent collaborator, Phil Elverum of the band Mount Eerie, calls Canadian singer-songwriter the "keeper of the world's greatest and saddest voice." But these days, Doiron sings a more optimistic tune. She even describes her latest album, I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day as "positive and uplifting."

Robert talks with retired Lieutenant General Tom Kelley about the crisis in Iraq. Kelley was "the voice of the Pentagon" during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He says that the only solution to the continuing problems with Iraq's compliance with the United Nations' mandates is to attack presidential palaces and the Republican Guard, and to go after Saddam Hussein.

With contemporary singers paying less attention to Brahms, it's a pleasure to turn the clock back to the 1960s to hear mezzo-soprano Janet Baker sing an album of his songs. Baker has a voice of deep purple velvet, as well as intelligence and a sense of detail that can make each song seem like a miniature opera.

NPR's Dan Charles reports on a congressional hearing held today on airplane safety inspections. During the hearing, an Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector testified from behind a screen, with his voice distorted, that FAA safety inspections are inadequate. The FAA defended its inspections, saying the agency was doing the best it could with limited resources.

Secretary of State Colin Powell voiced concern today about North Korea's "huge army" and told Senators the United States might try to negotiate a reduction in the size of that army. Powell's testimony came as some senators began to question whether the newly installed Bush administration is being as tough as it promised to be on North Korea and Iraq.

Noah Adams interviews Mason Jennings, a singer-songwriter from Minneapolis. Jennings' main instruments are his guitar and his voice. His sound is simple and folksy and his songs often tell stories drawn from real-life experiences. Jennings talks about how he writes and performs some of his music.

Linda talks with Mary Leigh Stahl, a member of Actors Equity, and an original cast member of Phantom of the Opera, to talk about fog machines. Stahl says the special effect used in live stage performers seems to aggravate respiratory problems. Performers cough more often. They get sore throats. They have trouble projecting their voices.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. For most Israelis and for many Jews around the world, it marks a time of celebration. But for many Palestinians, it was the 60th year of Naqbeh, also known as "the catastrophe". A new book, Sixty Years, Sixty Voices: Israeli and Palestinian Women highlights the struggle for peace in the words of women.

Linda talks with Andy Bey, a singer and piano player. Bey has been singing and playing boogie-woogie since he was a child. He became known for his powerful voice and piano work with Horace Silver and Max Roach. After a 20 year absence from recording, he has released a CD of ballads and standards.

Two Arab TV stations broadcast audiotapes they say are by Saddam Hussein. The voice on the tapes calls for resistance to U.S.-led forces. U.S. officials say the perception that Saddam is alive and plotting a return to power may be fueling recent attacks on foreign troops. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten and NPR's Guy Raz.

Jazz singer Rene Marie decided not to perform "The Star Spangled Banner" at a Denver civic event, and instead sang "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing," known as the black national anthem. And that decision has been met with widespread scorn. Marie explains the fallout and why she doesn't regret her decision.