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Uncertainty may be the path to freedom, but that path is laced with thorny vines and booby-trapped with regret. On her sophomore album, On A Clear Night, Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins addresses that bittersweet quandary in "Where I Stood."

On Fast Computers' "Sweden Hasn't Changed, You Have," a minimal, pinball-like loop explodes into a swirl of carnival-esque synth washes evocative of Low-era Bowie. The melody is powerful, haunting and stark, but it also seems organic and natural.

DeVotchKa's sound is a surprisingly potent potpourri of cabaret, spaghetti Western, and Eastern European Gypsy songs. In "Head Honcho," Nick Urata's gorgeous voice holds the melting pot together as a lone accordion intrudes upon his reverie, insistent and beautiful.

The rich, celebratory "Red Travellin' Socks" takes an endearing and poetic angle on the typical road-trip anthem. Sure, there are plenty of odes to travelin' shoes, but what about the layer in between? Without comfortable, worn-in socks, the cold functionality of shoes is irrelevant. As Middleton observes, it's the familiarity of socks that's responsible for getting you home.

Vanderslice addresses loneliness, lost love and alienation, and along the way, finds freedom by leaving the familiar for the unknown.

Classically trained hip-hop and pop veteran John Forte blends sleek rhythms and catchy hooks, in the process turning some difficult life experiences into introspective, ultimately uplifting music. Hear Forte perform live in concert from WXPN in Philadelphia.

The Irish band La Rocca evolves past conventional Europop in the rootsy, catchy "Roadway Hymn." The track's subtle piano arrangements, country-guitar twang and unexpected blast of harmonica demonstrate a deep affection for Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen. Bjorn Bailie's fragile vocals bring a touch of blue-eyed soul, while multipart harmonies add warmth.

Previously a member of the pop band Irving, Shana Levy began experimenting with solo music in 2002, enlisting the help of friends and colleagues. The Chaos in Order, her first album under the name Let's Go Sailing, should raise the profile of her sugary pop music.

Sweden is home to some of the most exciting pop music around. In a special session with host David Dye, World Cafe features three emerging artists: Lykke Li, El Perro del Mar, and Anna Ternheim.

The quintessential Russian opera, Boris Godunov explores a centuries-old murder mystery, while probing the psyche of its tormented title character.

The songwriting on Rex Orange County's latest single, "OPEN A WINDOW," reminds producer Bobby Carter of a time when we weren't allowed to leave our homes and even an open window seemed like freedom.

Forty years ago Thursday, radio storyteller Jean Shepherd took a crowded bus from New York City to participate in the March on Washington. The next day, he went on the air and shared the experience from his perspective in the crowds. He had been surprised by the good-natured attitude of most of the demonstrators, and by how they had been received by regular people walking around in the city. We hear an excerpt from his broadcast of Aug. 29, 1963.

Later this month, the U.S government launches Alhurra, a new 24-hour satellite TV news channel designed to compete with the Arab world's al-Jazeera. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports that Alhurra's mission is to present the American perspective to the Arabic world.

The Department of Energy wants to clean up its aging underground tanks of high level nuclear waste. But environmental groups say the agency's plan to empty and seal the tanks isn't safe enough; it leaves behind shallow layers of radioactive sludge. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

A nondescript booth in New York City's Grand Central Terminal will be the first collection point for a new national oral history project modeled after recordings made of ordinary Americans during the 1930s. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to David Isay about the StoryCorps project.

For more than 20 years, filmmaker Peter Brosnan has been working to unearth and restore the "Lost City" of Cecil B. DeMille: the massive set of his epic The Ten Commandments, which was buried in the California desert in the 1920s.

The Democratic administration wants to ensure that poverty, race and ethnic status do not lead to worse exposure to pollution and environmental harm.

The deleted accounts will get rid of user data in Gmail, Google Drive and Docs, Google Calendar and YouTube. To keep an account active, a user simply has to log in.

President Bush orders the public release of a summary of a classified report by U.S. intelligence agencies on America's vulnerability to terrorist attack -- and how the war in Iraq affects the effort to fight terrorism. Descriptions of the National Intelligence Estimate surfaced in newspapers over the weekend.

Long before novelist John le Carré mixed political intrigue with a splash of romance, there was Rossini's Maometto Secondo. From Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, hear the story that pits love against loyalty in a city divided by war.