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Americans are some of the fattest people in the world -- and McDonald's often serves as the fast-food scapegoat for the country's super-sized bodies. One filmmaker decided to eat nothing but McDonald's for 30 days -- and film it all. The result is Super Size Me. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Morgan Spurlock, the star, director and producer of the film.

Jim Fusilli reviews Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava's latest CD Easy Living, which he says blends elements of traditional American jazz with a unique Italian touch.

Actor Tony Randall, best known for his role as the fusspot Felix Unger in the 1970s TV sitcom The Odd Couple, died Monday night of complications from a long illness. He was 84. Randall began working in radio in the 1940s but spent most of his career in film and the theater. NPR's Steve Inskeep has a remembrance.

After more than 40 years, one of the most beloved and acclaimed children's stories is coming to the small screen. Madeleine L'Engle's Newbery Award-winning book A Wrinkle in Time is part science fiction, part coming-of-age novel. And it's been made into a TV movie which airs on ABC Monday night. NPR's Susan Stone reports.

Ancient Rome and Greece seem to be the hot topics for major motion pictures once again. Troy, with Brad Pitt as Achilles, opens in theaters next weekend. Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone, opens this summer. Pat Dowell reports on why filmmakers find the ancient venues so appealing.

Miracle -- a film about the 1980 American Olympic hockey victory over a powerhouse Soviet team -- opens in theaters. Hear NPR's Scott Simon, Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Ron Rapoport and New York Times entertainment critic Elvis Mitchell.

Fiction and historical distance can sometimes allow us to examine our current worries in a different light. Ann-Marie MacDonald sets her second novel The Way the Crow Flies at the height of the Cold War. She uses the tensions generated by the U.S.-Soviet arms race to explore a contemporary issue: governmental secrecy. Martha Woodroof reports.

Researcher Dan Starer provides bestselling authors with all manner of background information for their novels. Starer has dug up historical and scientific tidbits to give the ring of truth to more than 100 bestsellers. He speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Viktor Krauss, a bassist of choice in Nashville, has issued his first album as a group leader. The new recording, Far From Enough, doesn't showcase Krauss's bass. Instead, it places him in the more traditional role of bringing out the best in his colleagues. Critic Jim Fusilli has a review.

NPR's Michele Keleman talks to author Cormac O'Brien, whose book Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents details some great and some not-so-great background stories of America's presidents.