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The courts will decide who gets to keep the Picasso painting "Femme en Blanc," now in a private collection in Chicago. It first belonged to a Jewish couple in Berlin, but was taken by the Nazis. The last living descendant of the original owners has sued to recover the artwork. NPR's Jason DeRose reports.

Columbus discovered America in 1492, any elementary school student will tell you. But an amateur historian says Chinese beat him to it in 1421. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to Gavin Menzies, author of 1421, The Year China Discovered America.

In Anouar Brahem's native Tunisia, the oud is known today mainly in the context of loud and large ensembles that leave it all but buried in a dervish of sound. But Brahem highlights the stringed instrument in a delicate, often introspective context. On his new CD Le pas du chat noir, the oud is part of an unlikely trio including piano and accordion. He talks with NPR's Liane Hansen.

Actress and singer Nell Carter, the star of the 1980s TV sitcom Gimme A Break and of the Broadway smash Ain't Misbehavin', dies of complications from diabetes. She was 54. NPR's Bob Mondello has an appreciation.

The Pianist is a holocaust film from a holocaust survivor: director Roman Polanski. But while Polanski shares a special connection with the lead character -- an artist who endures many horrors -- the story is not Polanski's. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences refuses to accept the Palestinian entry Divine Intervention in the Best Foreign Film category, saying Palestine is not a nation. Critics say it shows a pro-Israel stance in Hollywood. But the Academy's rules confuse many. David D'Arcy reports.

The new James Bond film Die Another Day has Pierce Brosnan firmly in place for his fourth turn as Agent 007. And Berry -- Halle Berry -- makes a seductive foil. Hear more from NPR's Scott Simon and Weekend Edition entertainment critic Elvis Mitchell.

Ruth Stone, 87, wins the National Book Award for poetry for her eighth book of verse, In the Next Galaxy. She talks with NPR's Liane Hansen.

Gordon Parks is the legendary African-American photographer known for documenting the lives of the poor, and for being the first black staff photographer for Life magazine. Jon Kalish reports that last weekend, Parks celebrated his 90th birthday in New York City with a group of African-American photographers from around the country.

National Book Award Finalist Look at Me is a complex tale of intersecting lives, at the center of which is a successful fashion model. NPR's Renee Montagne speaks with author Jennifer Egan about a major theme in the novel, the dark side of America's "image culture."