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The group Magnetic Fields' latest release is called I. Fans of the band say that even though the lead singer sounds like a moping adolescent, the songwriting is sophisticated. Critic Tom Moon has a review.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Tim Page, music critic for The Washington Post, about new, expanded criteria for the Pulitzer Prize in music. The changes are an effort to broaden the prize to include more jazz, musical theatre and movie music. Critics contend the Pulitzer board is making the award less serious.

Indian actor Roshan Seth's latest role is in the short film Cosmopolitan, broadcast this month as part of the PBS series Independent Lens. Seth plays the part of a first-generation Indian living in the New York suburbs. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Seth.

NPR's Scott Simon reflects on the dedication of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

British novelist Lee Child takes his maverick hero Jack Reacher back to 1990 in The Enemy, the eighth book in his best-selling series. Child talks to NPR's Linda Wertheimer in the second of a three-part series on mystery writers.

Comedian Billy Crystal is known for his gift for improv and impersonation. He credits his ease with riffing to lessons he learned as a child from jazz greats. For Intersections, a series on artists' influences, NPR's Susan Stamberg reports.

Jeff Lunden samples the opinion of hotel concierges in New York's theater district about the shows up for Tony Awards.

An uncut version of the 1954 Japanese sci-fi movie Godzilla is finally premiering in U.S. theaters. The original film was in part a meditation on the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But its American distributors, who wanted to emphasize the film's monster-movie aspects, cut out 40 minutes and added new scenes starring American actor Raymond Burr. David D'Arcy reports.

NPR's Tavis Smiley kicks off his biannual Motivation Series with motivational speaker and best-selling author Les Brown. We also hear from listeners about how they are doing on their New Year's resolutions.

In an effort to encourage a broader range of entries from American composers, administrators of the prestigious Pulitzer Prize have decided to expand their definition of "serious" music. Since 1943, the Pulitzer Prize for music has been awarded exactly once to either a jazz composition, musical drama or film score. Hear NPR's Steve Inkseep and Pulitzer Prize Administrator Sig Gissler.