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The mere mention of Richard Wagner's name can be a lightning rod for controversy. Wagner the man was a scoundrel, but his music was far ahead of its time. Wagner biographer William Berger joins NPR's Lisa Simeone for an overview of the artist and his groundbreaking music.

Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys and Miles Kane of The Rascals recently joined forces to form a new side project called The Last Shadow Puppets. The duo's debut is a soaring collection of symphonic, '60s-tinged pop that brings out the strengths of both their bands. Hear the band play a stripped-down set on WXPN.

Hear the art-folk group Bowerbirds, Russian-born singer Olga Bell, the pop trio Try Me Bicycle (from our 'Second Stage' series) and more.

While Atmosphere's new album frequently profiles bums, junkies, and promiscuous women, "In Her Music Box" paints a tender portrait of a young, adoring daughter. She and her dad are connected by their love of rap music, and in between trips to McDonald's and the car wash, they sing in their Buick.

At 8 years old, Emmanuel Jal was carrying an AK-47 rifle as a child soldier in the Sudan People's Liberation Army. Taken from battle and adopted by a British aid worker, he is now a rising international music star. He discusses his experiences and music. Jal's new album is titled Warchild.

The young singer, part of a wave of British female pop stars finding success in the U.S., has been compared to Dusty Springfield and sparked rumors that her father is fellow Wales native Tom Jones. She talks about the tiny town where she grew up, and recording her first demos on a karaoke machine.

Santogold knows a thing or two about pop music. The artist born Santi White worked as a talent scout for a major record label while writing songs for pop artists on the side. Now solo, she performs the instantly catchy "L.E.S. Artistes" and more in an interview and performance from WXPN.

Born in the Philippines and raised in London, Beatrice Kristi Laus takes her stage name from a former Instagram handle. The music on beabadoobee's new album is a blend of timelessness and immediacy.

The pianist hails from Yugoslavia, where he studied classically until Armed Forces Radio turned him into an ardent jazz fan. Vuckovich launched his jazz career in San Francisco in 1960, and has since carried his evocative and elegant music around the world.

In the past eight years, Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel have made five albums, married and had two children. The pair, who record as Mates of State, stop by the Bryant Park Project studios to play from their new album, Re-Arrange Us.