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ONCE WERE WARRIORS director LEE TAMAHORI (TOM-a-hore-ee) and it's star RENA(Rain-a) OWEN. This critically acclaimed new film takes a front-line look at an urban Maori(MOW-er-ee) family plagued by poverty, violence and alcoholism. The movie recently became the top grossing film in New Zealand history

Fresh Air's resident rock historian remembers soul singer Lorraine Ellison, who recorded a handful of albums and dozens of singles in the '60s and '70s; though she charted a few R&B hits, she never quite broke through to stardom. Her biggest success was with the string-saturated ballad "Stay With Me," which topped out at No. 11 on the R&B charts and has since been covered by everyone from Bette Midler to teenybopper idol Rex Smith.

Forty years ago, Allan Sherman topped the pop charts by replacing the lyrics of folk songs with satires of Jewish American life. And in doing that, he offered a perfect snapshot of what it meant to assimilate.

Christopher O'Riley, host of NPR's From the Top, considers Elliott Smith to be one America's greatest songwriters. Smith died in 2003 before ever achieving massive fame. O'Riley's latest release, Home to Oblivion, is a classical translation of Smith's work.

For America's daily papers, the news hasn't been good: For nearly two decades, newspapers have been losing paid subscribers. And a new report illustrates that circulation is now dropping more quickly than ever.

In 1959, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck topped the pop charts and shook up the notion of rhythm in jazz with an odd-metered song called "Take Five." On the occasion of its golden anniversary and a new reissue of Time Out, Brubeck explains why it was such a hit.

"Colors" is the buoy that floats to the top of Smith's new record: It's an up-tempo jaunt that illustrates one side of a long-distance relationship, not lamenting the isolation but instead looking fixedly to the future. Both a plea for the separation to end and a promise to remain steadfast, "Colors" is at least as much a ballad of heartfelt yearning as it is a stomp-and-swagger jam.

At first, "Roll Your Dice" sounds like a typical Top 40 song of longing. Then comes a sound infrequently heard in popular music: a percussive arpeggio on a 36-string Veracruz harp. The stringed instrument serves as the centerpiece of "Roll Your Dice," by the multicultural quartet Rey Fresco — Spanish for "King Cool."

For all its success, Death Cab for Cutie hasn't lost track of the accessible emotions that first attracted a devoted following. Ben Gibbard's vocals, always faintly familiar in a boy-next-door way, observe love and life with a resigned delicacy, and the band's songs are poetic and yearning but never over-the-top. Hear the band perform a session on World Cafe.

Twenty-four albums into her career, Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Carly Simon remains a venerable and popular icon. Opener Yael Naim, fresh off a prominent appearance in a commercial, just became the first Israeli-born solo singer to chart in the Top 10. Hear them perform a concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live.

The Donkeys' lazy, country-tinged Americana sound is a perfect match for the band's San Diego home. The group's second album, Living on the Other Side, is a simple and soothing summer set — music for driving with the top down, sunbathing in the sand and napping in a hammock.

President Bush's top getaway, his ranch in Crawford, Texas, is also the place where Laura Bush seems to find the most solace. NPR's Ketzel Levine gets a rare tour of the ranch with the first lady, who discusses her efforts to restore native grasses and plants to the 1,600-acre property. See photos of wildflowers at the Bush ranch.

Judi Dench has won major acting awards on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Oscar, the Tony and six Oliviers (England's top theatrical honor). The British actress is famous for Shakespearean roles, but she's also played spy chief M in James Bond films and currently appears in the Vin Diesel science fiction action flick The Chronicles of Riddick. NPR's Susan Stamberg interviews Dench about the art of acting.

Folk artist Mose Tolliver's subjects were nature, people and animals. His medium was house paint. His canvasses were cabinet doors and discarded table tops. His paintings put him at the forefront of the Outsider Art movement.

http://66.225.205.104/LM20100902.mp3Charlotte Jewish Day School is in a tight race for a $500,000 contribution from the department store Kohl's. Kohl's…

http://66.225.205.104/JR20110308.mp3As Duke Energy digs deeper into its email archive, it has uncovered more evidence that its top executives were having…

Hear McMurtry's take on the overall improvements in Top 40 music and how Beyonce's ground-breaking album Lemonade gave him partial inspiration to write a song on his latest album.

More conservative federal judges and a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage top the agenda for President Bush's second term, according to a conservative author. NPR's Renee Montagne speaks to Richard Viguerie, co-author of America's Right Turn.

Vice President Gore today asserted that he remains optimistic as his appeal of a Florida circuit court ruling goes forward. The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of yesterday's lower court ruling that rejected Gore's call for hand counts of ballots in key counties. The court said it would take written briefs from the lawyers on both sides on Wednesday and hear oral arguments on Thursday. While Florida's top court hears that case, it has also been asked by the U.S. Supreme Court to explain its decision extending a deadline for counties to submit their vote tallies to the state for certification. That decision allowed hand counting to go forward in several Florida counties, counting that cut into the election lead held by Texas Governor George W. Bush. Robert talks to NPR's Melissa Block about the issues before the Florida Supreme Court.

The Buffalo Police Department has released its official list of victims in Saturday's shooting at Tops Friendly Markets.