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Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) held the Senate floor for more than 12 hours on Wednesday in protest of the White House drone policy. His action delayed the vote on the confirmation of John Brennan as CIA director. NPR's Ken Rudin discusses the use of the filibuster throughout history.

Pianist and composer Jon Batiste was nominated in 11 categories, including Album of the Year. Read the full list of 2022 nominees.

This special summer festival episode features a clever synthesis of hip-hop, R&B and soul, recorded live across two music festivals in New York City.

South African journalist JOHN MATISONN. MATISONN is white and grew up in the suburbs in Johannesburg. (His grandparents emigrated to South Africa at the turn of the century). To N-P-R listeners he's best known for his coverage from South Africa from 1986 to 1991. MATISONN also worked in Washington, D.C. He's now the head of elections for the South Africa Broadcasting Company, S-A-B-C, (which before the end of apartheid, broadcast purely government propoganda). He also co-founded the P-B-I, Public Broadcasting Initiative, to train and recruit South African journalists for the SABC to teach them about balance and fairness in the media.

Filmmaker KEN BURNS is the director of "The Civil War" and "Baseball," the hit documentaries on PBS. The former was the network's highest rated series. BURNS' other documentaries include "The Brooklyn Bridge," "The Statue of Liberty," and "Empire of the Air," about the early history of radio. (This interview was recorded in front of an audience at the Flynn Theater on October 27, in a benefit for Vermont Public R

2: Mystery writer WALTER MOSLEY. He is known for his series about gumshoe hero Easy Rawlins. Mosley gained public attention when then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton said that Mosley was his favorite mystery writer. His new book R.L.'s Dream will be released in August.Probation officer for Los Angeles County. JIM GALIPEAU. He works with gangs and older gang members in Los Angeles. Galipeau has been a probation officer for over 27 years. He's a Vietnam vet and when he was a teenager he was a street fighter and drug addict.

Go-go is an offshoot of funk that combines elements of R&B, hip-hop and blues. Rare Essence, the Washington D.C. pioneers of go-go, bring the get-down to World Cafe.

Veteran broadcaster Robert Trout recalls when the tide of the Battle of Britain turned. The aerial bombardment of London by Germany during World War Two -- known as the Blitz -- was thought to be a prelude to Nazi invasion. After the war, it was learned that on this date Adolf Hitler decided to abandon plans to take over England. Trout narrates a story about anchoring CBS Radio Network News during this period. We hear his colleague in London, Edward R. Murrow reporting on the air raids, Trout's own broadcasts, and the voice of Winston Churchill after the war. Trout tells how the addition of an evening newscast in radio prime time angered advertisers.

Robert talks to Jacob Weisberg, Chief Political Correspondent for the on-line magazine Slate, about political advertising throughout the campaign, and the BIGGEST political ad of them all, the four-day convention. This year's GOP convention has been highlighted by music and video and packaged presentations. There's been a look and sound from the stage unlike any other GOP event before, with lots of minorities. And Weisberg notes the inclusion of performers like Brian McKnight, an R&B artist, whose song Monday night seem to baffle a lot of the audience who weren't used to hip-hop at a GOP event. There have also been video presentations of past Republican presidents. Another recurring theme: the live feed of the candidate, George W Bush from the campaign trail every night, making his way to Philadelphia.

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a hallenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is from Ann Arbor, Michigan. JONATHAN HAAR: National Book Award finalist Jonathan Haar speaks with Liane ansen about the legal case behind his book, "A Civil Action." (Random House). t is the story of a lawsuit brought by eight working-class families in Woburn, assachusetts who suffered an environmental catastrophe at the hands of W.R. race and Beatrice Foods. The book, which was nominated for a 1994 National Book ward, follows attorney Jan Schlichtman over the course of nine years as he ought the corporations.

Guest film critic STEPHEN VINEBERG reviews the new film, "Devil With a Blue Dress." REV. :Critic MILO MILES reviews the newest book by Walter Mosely. It''s not an Easy Rawlins book. It''s R.L.''S Dream, (Norton) a book about the blues told in the voice of down and out, country-blues musician Soupspoon.REV. : Commentator DAGOBERTO GILB wonders why he keeps returning to the bullfights.

Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University MARY JO WEAVER. Her previous book is "Springs of Water in a Dry Land: Spiritual Survival for Catholic Women Today," (Beacon) about women who are Catholic and feminist. Her book, "New Catholic Women: A Contemporary Challenge to Traditional Religious Authority," (Indiana University Press) has a new 10th anniversary edition. WEAVER's latest book (edited with R. Scott Appleby) "Being Right: Conservative Catholics in America" is a collection of essays (Indiana University Press).

2: Film director JOHN SCHLESINGER. He started his career directing publicity films on the making of "The Guns of Navarone"; his first feature film was "Terminus," a documentary on 24 hours in the life of the enormous Waterloo train station. His films include "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "The Day of the Locust," "Marathon Man," and "Madame Sousatzka." His first American film was "Midnight Cowboy" which was first given an X rating when it opened in 1969, later that was scaled to an R after it won the Oscar for best picture; SCHLESINGER was awarded the Best Director Award for the film. "Midnight Cowboy" has been rereleased in New York to mark its Twenty-Fifth Anniversary. (Rebroadcast from 10-5-88).

A sound montage of some of the voices in this past week's news, including former Senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), discussing a raid he led, 32 years ago, in which about 13 Vietnamese civillians were killed; Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joseph Allbaugh and Davenport, Iowa, Mayor Phil Yerington; Representatives Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) and Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.); Admiral Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, on the Navy's decision not to seek a court-martial of Commander Scott Waddle; Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Quiye, speaking through a translator, and President George W. Bush.

Jamie Lidell sees no boundaries between the most vintage R&B influence and a futuristic loop or techno treatment. He channels his background in electronic music to produce a neo-soul brew that touches upon the best of Otis Redding, Prince and Sly Stone.

President Bush appears before a joint session of Congress Tuesday to deliver his annual State of the Union Address. Liane Hansen speaks with two lawmakers who will be in the House Chamber for the speech: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Craig Thomas (R-WY).

As an artist, Michael Franti has run the gamut from politically conscious hip-hop to a passionate blend of soul, hip-hop and R&B. But what his music has lost in harsh intensity, it has gained in emotional compassion.

Over the course of 70 years, more than 60 albums and four Grammys, The Blind Boys of Alabama's members become synonymous with gospel soul. The innovation never ends, however, as they infuse their new album, Down in New Orleans, with Dixieland jazz, funk and R&B.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says U.S. military commanders should have requested more troops for Iraq two months ago, "when conditions were far more ripe for democratization." But McCain says the U.S. should adhere to a June 30 deadline to transfer power to Iraqis, arguing a delay would worsen the security situation. McCain speaks with NPR's Juan Williams.

The police officer violated an apartment complex's parking rules. Instead of paying a $10 fine, the officer gave the girl a Toys R Us gift card instead.