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In the new movie The Night Listener, Robin Williams plays a radio personality who starts to believe he's being scammed. The drama revolves around a radio show that is based on a memoir; the film itself is based on Armistead Maupin's novel -- which in turn was based on a real event.

Thursday begins the five-day Indian festival Durga Puja, the largest annual celebration for Bengali Hindus. Commentator Sandip Roy contrasts celebrating the holiday as a child in Calcutta and as an adult in California.

In her poems, Margaret Robison describes her recovery from stroke and the time she spent in a psychiatric hospital. But it's her son Augustin Burroughs' words in his memoir Running with Scissors that have defined her.

Some new anti-drug public service commercials are using a subtle tone and message. Slate critic Seth Stevenson says the ads portray realistic tales of casual drug users, instead of using a "this is your brain on drugs" type of shock value.

Forest Whitaker's portrayal of brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin ranges from subtle charm to murderous fury. It's a challenge for any actor to portray a character who is both loved and feared, and Whitaker's performance is already drawing Oscar buzz.

Our television critic reviews the new drama series Brothers & Sisters, which airs on Sunday night in the ABC time slot previously occupied by Grey's Anatomy.

There's rock music -- you know, the kind inaugurated by Chuck Berry in the 1950s -- and then there's the real rock music, which started out on actual rocks in England in the 1800s. Paul Collins has written about the phenomenon of early rock bands in The Believer magazine, and talks about his findings.

The Lewis and Clark National Bicentennial Exhibition makes its final stop this summer at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural History Museum. Author Landon Jones says Lewis gets the most attention, but Clark shaped the voyage... and the West.

Director Ron Howard's adaptation of the book by Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code walks a careful line. On one side lies world-famous art and shadowy figures. On the other is Howard, attempting to bring a unique interpretation to light.

Kevin Bacon makes his directorial debut on the big screen with Loverboy. The film stars his real-life wife, Kyra Sedgwick, as an obsessed mother who refuses to allow her son exposure to the outside world.

John Amatore Hughes brings design principles of chaos and disorder to home design in his new book Punk Shui: Home Design for Anarchists.

Our TV critic and (guest host for this show) previews the third season premiere of the HBO series Deadwood. The show returns to the air this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET.

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is one of the best known regional theaters in the country. It has been home to such legendary actors as Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy and has won a Tony Award. Now, after 40 years, the theater company is moving to a new high profile home on the other side of town.

Friday marks the release of a new documentary by filmmaker Ward Merrill called The Heart of the Game. The film follows the Roosevelt Roughriders, a high school girls' basketball team from Seattle, over a seven-year period.

It's been 25 years since Jacques Cousteau unveiled an undersea adventure on network TV. Now comes a bit of drama from the great adventurer's grandson: Shark: Mind of a Demon with Fabian Cousteau. It's a CBS special. Andrew Wallenstein has a review.

Syracuse English professor Mary Karr is the author of two bestselling memoirs, The Liars' Club and Cherry. She has won Pushcart prizes for both her poetry and essays. Her new book of poems is Sinners Welcome.

Tony Award nominee Corey Reynolds is also the co-star of the TNT crime drama The Closer. Reynolds talks with Farai Chideya about his TV role, and whether he misses the stage. He was nominated three years ago for his starring role as Seaweed J. Stubbs in the enduring Broadway smash Hairspray.

Few directors working in Hollywood hold as much industry sway as M. Night Shyamalan. From The Sixth Sense to The Village, his films have earned billions worldwide. Still, Shyamalan has a lot riding on his latest effort, Lady in the Water. Renee Montagne talks to Scott Foundas, film editor for LA Weekly about Shyamalan's career.

The new movie The Devil Wears Prada is set in the fashion world and features Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway. However, NPR's Bob Mondello says it wears a little thin.

Emmy Award winner Brian Cox will be appearing on the HBO series Deadwood this season. Cox has been in more than 100 films and TV shows over the past 40 years.

Morning Edition and Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan gives his take on the new Superman movie, Superman Returns. Turan likes the action, but he says the characters and plot are not made of steel.

Novelist Terry McMillan has a new passion: textile design. Starting Tuesday, her works will be on display in New York's Central Park. The exhibit benefits Harlem Textile Works, a non-profit organization dedicated to exposing kids to textile design.

The movie version of the controversial book The Yacoubian Building premiered this week in Cairo. The all-star production, the most expensive film ever in Egypt, touches on topics that are often taboo, such as Islamic extremism and homosexuality. It's opening at a time when the Egyptian government is taking a hard line on most expressions of dissent.

The movie Half Nelson, starring Ryan Gosling as a crack-addicted schoolteacher, turned heads at the Sundance Film Festival. It seems like a film that could jump-start the careers of everyone involved.

Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza was only 23 years old when he was excommunicated from the Spanish-Portugese Jewish community of Amsterdam. That was 350 years ago, but author Rebecca Newberger Goldstein says that his thoughts are still important today.