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Bandleader, clarinetist and arranger Artie Shaw has died at home in Los Angeles. His health had declined since Thanksgiving. He was 94. Shaw's recording of "Begin the Beguine" became so popular in 1938 that it brought him to an even footing with the other so-called "King of Swing" -- Benny Goodman. NPR's Robert Siegel has a remembrance.

Matt Groening is the creator of the highly acclaimed animated Fox sitcom The Simpsons. He tells us how the show and its characters evolved, and discusses his role in the production of some 300 episodes. Groening also created the TV series Futurama and still draws the weekly comic strip Life in Hell.

As Jen Batara was seeing her husband, Army Sgt. Ray Batara, off for deployment in Iraq in December, the couple thought she would stay at his base in Fort Stewart, Ga. But Jen has changed her mind.

Sixty years ago, the German army tried to push the Allies back one last time, as World War II neared its end in Europe. Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite was with Gen. George Patton's 3rd Army that Christmas. Cronkite reflects on the Battle of the Bulge, which remains the largest pitched battle in U.S. history.

NPR's Daniel Schorr ponders possible changes on the Supreme Court this year.

NPR writers and critics pick the best albums of 2004. Included is music by Modest Mouse, Tinariwen, The Hilliard Ensemble, Brian Wilson, Guy Davis and Wilco.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Theodore Sizer, a former high school principal and the founder of the Coalition of Essential Schools. Sizer talks about what's wrong with American high schools and how they might be improved. Sizer is also the author of The Red Pencil: Convictions from Experience in Education.

For the first time, scientists successfully use gene therapy to regenerate hair cells in the inner ear and restore hearing in deaf guinea pigs. The results suggest it may someday be possible to use a similar approach to treat deafness in humans.

On Jan. 1, the global agreement that has capped garment industry exports for decades will expire. China is among the countries poised to benefit from the change, and some U.S. companies are making changes to compete. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

The new Secretary of Education and a cartoon rabbit are at the center of a controversy over censorship. Did a letter from Secretary Margaret Spellings prompt PBS to pull a children's program that indirectly referred to homosexuality? The bunny in question is Buster, the star of the children's show Postcards from Buster.