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"I Wonder Why" made Stigers a star all the way back in 1991. Now, he revisits it from the perspective of a fiftysomething who's learned how to best harness his own talents.

As a singer, rapper, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Aloe Blacc is a remarkably inventive experimenter, defying easy categorization on "Nascimento (Birth)," which begins as an aria and concludes as broken-beat hip-hop.

Hurricane Katrina scattered New Orleans musicians — leaving many without home or income. A few players from the Crescent City, including Rock and Roll Hall of famer Allan Toussaint, perform live in NPR's Washington, D.C. studios.

Mark Englehart plays the puzzle with puzzlemaster Will Shortz and NPR's Ayesha Rascoe.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is working to clarify what the U.S. does, and does not do, with its prisoners. In Europe Wednesday, she said U.N. rules against torture apply to Americans even if they are outside the United States. Rice spoke amid allegations about secret U.S. prisons -- and the grabbing of suspects abroad.

NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Stephen Grady from Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He listens to Weekend Edition on member station WSCL in Salisbury, Md.

Members of Congress hope to block a deal that would place control of several U.S. ports in foreign hands. Dubai Ports World has agreed to buy a company that operates six major seaports. Federal officials insist the purchase does not pose a security risk.

Senate leaders from both parties agree on a plan that should allow a long-delayed immigration bill to proceed. But the fate of the underlying legislation, which would strengthen the borders but provide a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants, must still be determined in the Senate next week.

Bettye LaVette is currently celebrating her 60th birthday, and her latest album, I've Got My Own Hell to Raise. And as she's done for four decades, she's still raising hell on the concert circuit.

The Army interrogation manual, which was supposed to be released in May 2005, will set the standard for all services and include a classified annex with approved interrogation techniques. Sources say that the White House and Pentagon would like to have a two-track process with the techniques, one for legal combatants and another for illegal combatants. The latter would presumably be more "strenuous."

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is facing more allegations of unethical conduct, detailed in competing front-page stories in this morning's New York Times and Washington Post. DeLay said, "This is just another seedy attempt by the liberal media to embarrass me."

NPR's Puzzlemaster Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Marge Civil from Colorado Springs, Colo. She listens to Weekend Edition on member station KRCC in Colorado Springs.

The official explanation of Harriet Miers' withdrawal is the irreconcilable conflict between the Senate's demand for documents covering her service as White House counsel, and the president's right to consult his lawyer in confidence. Few will believe it. Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court faltered at the start, and never gained momentum.

Ed Gordon talks with singer, songwriter and pastor Donnie McClurkin about fame, his troubled past, his bright future and reaching out to an international audience through gospel music.

The onetime professional boxer turned singer-songwriter has an innate gift for storytelling, and on his fifth album, the tales range from drugs, to murder, to lust. It's an Americana delight, mixing blues, rock, and soul with Thorn's characteristic deadpan humor.

It's been a good couple of years for producers like Mark Ronson and Timbaland to step out from the boards and record their own music. Raphael Saadiq has helmed recordings for John Legend and Joss Stone, but just made a standout solo soul album. Hear a session from WXPN.

We listen back to excerpts of interviews with and concerts by singer and guitarist Richard Thompson. A new box set collects more than 40 years of his work.

The xx, featuring four 20-year-olds from South London, has stormed the indie-pop scene with its dark, '80s-style new-wave sound. After meeting in London's Elliot School, which claims alumni such as Four Tet, Burial and Hot Chip, the band began toying around with what would become its critically acclaimed debut album.

On the group's third album, Made in the Dark, Hot Chip adds distortion to the mix. Exploding with background synths, soul influences, and Alexis Taylor's airy vocals, the band moves into ballad territory more than before. Hear an interview and performance from WXPN.

If you've never heard of Bettye LaVette, the soul singer who belted out "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi at the Inauguration Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on Jan 18., you may be wondering why.