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In the second of a two-part performance chat, NPR's Bob Edwards talks to songwriter and pianist Randy Newman, who plays and sings some of his kinder, gentler compositions.

Marking the start of the World Series -- and a heartbreaking week for fans of the Boston Red Sox -- NPR's Steve Inskeep reads selected baseball prose.

The new film Pieces of April stars Katie Holmes as a young woman living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, who invites her suburban family over for Thanksgiving dinner. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

In Lucky Girls, a debut collection of short stories by Nell Freudenberger, readers follow young women from India to Vietnam and beyond. In long, complex stories, Freudenberger's characters negotiate confusion, ignorance and loss as they come of age in exotic locales. Alan Cheuse critiques the latest effort from a writer whose career began just two years ago.

An exhibit called "Petra, Lost City of Stone" is opening at the American Museum of Natural History. The city of Petra, cut into the cliffs of what is now Jordan, was a great trading crossroads of the ancient world. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Craig Morris, co-curator of an exhibit.

New York University professor Neil Postman dies at the age of 72. Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, is known for his criticism of the news media. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards.

Molly Ivins has often poked fun at President Bush for his manner of speaking, or "Bushisms." In her new book, Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America, the syndicated columnist, fellow Texan and long-time Bush critic takes on his dealings and policies, and what she says are their underreported effects on average Americans. Hear Bob Edwards' extended interview with Ivins.

Avenue Q, a sexually explicit puppet stage show, is bringing normally musical-resistant 20-somethings into the theater. The small show featuring some very adult felt characters has moved from an off-Broadway theater to Broadway, thanks to rave reviews. NPR's Jeff Lunden reports.

The family and record company of the late poet-songwriter Jacques Brel release five previously unpublished songs. The music appears on a commemorative set issued to mark the 25-year anniversary of Brel's death. Fans and purists are dismayed over the release of the music that Brel asked never be published. NPR's Nick Spicer reports.

Writer and editor George Plimpton dies in Manhattan. He was 76. Plimpton was best known for his self-deprecating "participatory" sports writing, in which he boxed with Archie Moore and played pre-season quarterback for the Detroit Lions. As editor of the The Paris Review, Plimpton helped promote some of the world's most important authors. Hear a remembrance from Paris Review co-founder Peter Mattiessen.