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This year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature will be announced Thursday by the Swedish Academy. NPR's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg talks with Michael Gorra, professor of English at Smith College. Gorra theorizes that Nobel Prizes for Literature are given in cycles to vary those of different genres, abilities and geographical areas.

Photographer Frederic Brenner spent 25 years documenting Jewish communities in more than 40 countries on five continents. The results are the subject of an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and a new book, Diaspora: Homelands in Exile. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Brenner about his art and the state of the diaspora.

For the first time in history, all 10 acts on the "Billboard Top 10" are black. Nine of the 10 are rap acts, and the top spot is held by Pop/R&B songstress Beyonce and Dancehall Reggae star Sean Paul.

Fred Rogers often spoke of kindness, thoughtfulness -- and of course neighborliness -- on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the children's show he hosted for over 30 years. NPR's Susan Stamberg interviews his widow, Joanne Rogers, about a new book of his sayings and advice. Read excerpts from The World According to Mister Rogers.

Woody Allen's recent movies have met with tepid reviews and disappointing box office receipts. NPR's Scott Simon and Weekend Edition entertainment critic Elvis Mitchell revisit some great moments from the Woody Allen canon and discuss whether the writer/director has lost his touch.

At his death in 1829, English scientist James Smithson left half a million dollars for the establishment of an institution in Washington, D.C. He'd never set foot in the city -- or in the United States. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Nina Burleigh, author of The Stranger and the Statesman, a new book about the mysterious benefactor of the Smithsonian Institution.

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Daniel Pinkwater, the Weekend Edition Saturday ambassador to the world of children's literature. This time, they discuss one of Pinkwater's own books: The Picture of Morty and Ray, illustrated by Jack E. Davis.

Flow is a tale of storytellers in an urban neighborhood. It's written and performed by actor-rapper Will Powers. NPR's Verta Mae Grosvenor reports.

Filmmaker Ric Burns' new documentary is a history of the World Trade Center. The Center of the World airs Monday, Sept. 8, as part of the American Experience series on PBS. It's the final episode in Burns' New York: A Documentary Film. Burns speaks with NPR's Scott Simon.

Elia Kazan, director of the original Broadway productions of Death of a Salesman and A Streetcar Named Desire, dies at the age of 94. Kazan also won Oscars for his film-directing work, including On the Waterfront. But he was villified by many of his colleagues for 1952 congressional testimony that identified Hollywood figures as communist sympathizers.