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Fifty years ago, the first consumer color TV sets started rolling off the assembly line. It took more than a decade for color television to become a household fixture. NPR's Lynn Neary reports on the early days of color TV, and the way today's new technology is similarly transforming home entertainment.

Young Adam and Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself are both Scottish films starring male leads obsessed with death. But the two movies are really quite different. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a comparison.

An exhibition called "The Gates" opened at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art Tuesday. The exhibit includes drawings, plans and mockups of the 7,500 saffron-colored, nylon fabric "gates" that famed conceptual artist Christo and his wife, Jeanne Claude, want to install along Central Park's walkways. NPR's David D'Arcy reports.

Daniel Robinson is a young artist based in the small town of Fossil, Oregon. His paintings, often depicting idealized industrial and rural landscapes, recall the social realist images of the 1930s and '40s. A new exhibition of Robinson's paintings, titled In Oregon, opens at Boston's Mercury Gallery on April 1. NPR's Howard Berkes speaks with Robinson.

For its first 24 years, the Pritzker Architectural Prize was awarded only to men. This year, Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi-born Briton who has pushed the boundaries of design for a quarter-century, becomes the first woman to receive the prestigious honor.

The Library of Congress unites the legendary folklorist's recordings of world cultures with the documentaries he and his father made of the American South. NPR's Felix Contreras reports.

Walter Mosley tells NPR's Cheryl Corley about his latest novel, The Man in My Basement. The best-selling author examines race, freedom and power in a book that chronicles an unusual relationship between two men -- one black, one white.

A century ago, an abandoned young woman took the stage at La Scala in Milan, Italy, and the world met Madame Butterfly, Giacomo Puccini's most famous opera heroine. Her story, set in Japan around 1900, is a tragic one of innocence betrayed. But as NPR's Ketzel Levine reports, Madame Butterfly lives on through an immortal musical score.

The recording industry gathers in Los Angeles for the 46th annual Grammy Awards Sunday. R&B and hip-hop artists dominate this year's nominees for record of the year... and a win often translates into record sales and prestige. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports.

Pixar Animation and the Walt Disney Co. announce they will end the 12-year partnership that has produced such hit movies as Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo. The two firms failed to agree to the terms of a new contract. Analysts see the split as a blow to Disney, which has struggled recently with its own animated films. Hear NPR's Kim Masters.

Tom Moon reviews music from British hip-hop sensation Dizzee Rascal. Moon says that no British hip-hop import has had much success in the states, but Dizzee may be the one to break through, with his CD Boy In Da Corner.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. But in 1961, he was a student at Saint Paul's prep school in New Hampshire, where he played bass guitar for a band called the Electras. A copy of the band's album sold on eBay this week for more than $2,500. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards.

Jenny Toomey came out of Georgetown with a degree in philosophy and a punk rock band. She's also pressing the FCC to create more access on local radio stations for independent musicians. NPR's Neda Ulaby profiles Toomey.

A judge rules the Barnes Foundation's art collection should not be moved from suburban Philadelphia, unless trustees can provide hard data to support the move. The world-renowned art is worth $20 billion, but the foundation says it needs to relocate downtown to avoid bankruptcy. Joel Rose of member station WHYY reports.

An artist in Cologne, Germany, is working to memorialize individual victims of the Nazis. He's embedding thousands of small concrete blocks, each topped by a brass plate, in sidewalks across the country. Each of these so-called "stumbling blocks" bears the name, and fate, of one person killed by Adolph Hitler's regime. Kyle James reports.

The Return of the King, the last film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, leads the Academy Awards race with 11 nominations, including best picture and best director. Master and Commander gets 10 Oscar nods. With her film Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola becomes the first American woman to be nominated for best director. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and reporter Pat Dowell.

Simon & Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Elton John, KISS, Aerosmith, Cher -- some of the biggest names in music are raking in the money on tour. Music critic Christian Bordal reports on why musicians are earning more money, even though fewer people are coming to see them.

Robert Plant's fascination with the blues goes back to his early days as lead singer for Led Zeppelin. Plant says the roots of that uniquely American art form may be traced to the deserts of Western Africa. He tells NPR's Renee Montagne about the connection he discovered at the Festival in the Desert, a gathering of nomads and musicians in Mali. Hear an extended interview and songs from the 2003 festival CD.

Bob Seger was a legend on Main Street before he hit the national scene in the 1970s. Now he's out with a second greatest hits compilation, and he's heading to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. NPR's Bob Edwards caught up with the rocker on songs past and present.

The Iraqi National Orchestra performs with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. The visit is financed by the U.S. Department of State, and President George Bush is expected to attend. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

Farnsworth House, a tiny glass pavilion designed by the late modernist master Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, goes on the auction block Friday. Preservationists worry that the new buyer will move the structure from its current site on the banks of the Fox River in Illinois. They say that would destroy its artistic integrity. Chicago Public Radio's Edward Lifson reports.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy has swamped popular culture, winning acclaim from critics and movie fans alike. But for some die-hard fans of science fiction, the original Star Wars films remain the definitive fantasy trilogy. Christian Bordal reports.

The bipartisan announcement comes after months of negotiations in the chamber. The legislation offers resources for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

House of Sand and Fog is the first feature film from director and screenwriter Vadim Perelman. Though inexperienced, Perelman was able to persuade the author of the novel -- Andre Dubus III -- to sell him the rights by telling Dubus the story of his own emigration from the Soviet Union. Perelman speaks with NPR's Michele Norris.

The film House of Sand and Fog tells the story of an Iranian immigrant whose legal struggle over a home purchase escalates into tragedy. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.