NPR News

On June 13, 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Barclay went missing from his home outside San Antonio, Texas.

Nearly four years later, his family received a phone call from Linares, Spain, informing them that their son had been found, scared and confused; the U.S. Embassy made arrangements for the Barclays to reunite with him and bring him back home.

And that's exactly what happened: Nicholas' sister hopped on a plane, drove to the orphanage and embraced a reticent teenager who'd been changed profoundly by age and some unknown, unspeakable trauma.

Easy Money is a fine title for a film, but to truly savor the tang of this top-drawer Scandinavian thriller, try rolling its original Swedish title off your tongue. Say hello to Snabba Cash.

Director Daniel Espinosa starts his splendid crime story all in a rush, throwing us right into the middle of a trio of chaotic situations.

Introduced first is Jorge, a Chilean living in Sweden — in fact in a Swedish prison. Making his escape, Jorge promptly goes into hiding, as much from other local bad guys as from the police.

Singer-songwriter and classical guitarist Michael Johnson makes his second appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the shore of Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minn. During his set, Johnson shares a heartfelt story about how his life was recently changed for the better when he reunited with his adult daughter — a story turned on its head later in the evening by born joker Cheryl Wheeler, creating a running gag that persisted throughout Mountain Stage's stay in Grand Marais.