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New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell tells NPR's Scott Simon his favorite movies from the year past, including Dirty Pretty Things, In America and Whale Rider.

Actor Les Tremayne dies at the age of 90. Tremayne was one of the best-known actors on radio in the 1930s and '40s. He starred in The First Nighter, The Thin Man and The Falcon. NPR's Bob Edwards remembers Tremayne.

Ten years ago, the way we see the universe changed. A December, 1993, repair mission by U.S. space shuttle astronauts gave badly-needed "eyeglasses" to the Hubble Space Telescope. Since then, the instrument has taken thousands of breathtaking images that have been beamed back to Earth.

Paycheck, in theaters Dec. 25, is the seventh sci-fi movie based on the bizarre, reality-twisting books and stories by Philip K. Dick. The troubled author died in 1982, before seeing Hollywood turn his work into films such as Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. Pat Dowell reports.

Through single-minded dedication to an unusual choice of instrument, New York-based musician Tom Varner has claimed a jazz niche with compositions and performances of the French horn. Working odd jobs and putting together fellowships, he's recorded 10 albums for small labels, including the recent Swimming and Second Communion on the Omni Tone label. Jeff Lunden reports.

Musicians in Boston are irate over a plan to ban amplification of instruments in the city's subway system. Transit officials says the plan is a necessary security measure. Sean Cole reports.

The family history of SARS-CoV-2 is not what virologists expected — and it sheds light on the coronavirus that launched a pandemic. Check out our illustration of the virus's family tree.

In Boston -- the birthplace of the American Freemasonry society -- some ceremonial objects are considered so sacred, they're kept locked away. As part of the Hidden Treasures Radio Project, Harriet Baskas goes inside the Grand Lodge's vaults for a look at objects with ties to such illustrious Freemasons as George Washington and Paul Revere.

Filmmaker Carma Hinton is an American who grew up in China. Her new documentary on the Cultural Revolution, Morning Sun, includes footage of victims and perpetrators of that period, when Communist youth, inspired and encouraged by Mao Zedong, rebelled against their parents and teachers, and workers rebelled against their bosses. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Hinton.

Preservationists are battling to save historic theater buildings -- and their classic movie fare. Many sites have been bought by huge cinema chains seeking to prevent competition. One fight is taking place in Bloomington, Ind. Will Murphy of member station WFIU reports.