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With her 1979 hit "Chuck E's in Love," Rickie Lee Jones established herself as a musician with a compelling voice and a penchant for storytelling. For Intersections, a Morning Edition series on artists and their inspirations, the singer talks about the varied sources that informed her lyrical style. Hear songs from her latest CD.

Thomas Mallon's latest work of historical fiction is Bandbox. It's set in 1920s New York, amidst the ruthlessly competitive world of magazine publishing. For years Mallon soaked himself in the tabloids and novels and music of the era -- the key, he says, to writing authentic dialogue and narration. Hear Mallon and NPR's Scott Simon.

Singer Beyonce Knowles wins five awards at the 46th annual Grammys Sunday for her first solo CD, Dangerously in Love. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, from hip-hop duo OutKast, wins album of the year, while Coldplay takes home the record of the year award. Hear NPR's Mandalit del Barco.

Fashion photographer Helmut Newton died Friday in a car accident on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. He was 83. His bold and erotic photographs started a revolution of sorts in fashion photography, and he helped define the style of the sexual revolution as well. Hear NPR's Scott Simon and David Fahey, a gallery owner who was Newton's close friend.

Billy May, a jazz trumpeter and composer best known for his critically acclaimed arrangements for Frank Sinatra, died last week at age 87. In the 1940s and '50s, May was one of the most sought-after arrangers for big-band music and American standards, working with stars such as Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole. NPR's Bob Edwards has a remembrance.

Kojak sucked on a lollipop, Columbo sported a rumpled raincoat. But Monk, the current rage in TV crime solvers, is an altogether different character -- he's an obsessive-compulsive detective who's afraid of dirt, crowded rooms and milk. On Morning Edition, NPR's Renee Montagne gets into the mind of the quirky character with the show's star, Tony Shalhoub.

Actress Uta Hagen died Wednesday at her home in Manhattan at age 84. Hagen gained her biggest Broadway success in the early 1960s with her portrayal of Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. She also taught dozens of actors how to ply their trade. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

When the Beatles broke up in 1970, the group had one final album in the can. Let It Be was a collection of live studio performances that was marinated with orchestra, chorus and overdubs by producer Phil Spector. Now, EMI has released a new "back to the roots" version of the album, stripping away Spector's add ons. Music critic Tim Page has a review of Let It Be... Naked.

The fall TV season has been so lackluster that even the programming chief of NBC admits that new shows leave much to be desired. Audiences are tuning out -- especially young men -- and the networks have yet to offer any shows to lure them back. NPR's Kim Masters reports.

The Sundance Film Festival opens Thursday in Park City, Utah. But so far, festival organizers have largely ignored an independent film genre thriving in their backyard: Mormon cinema. As NPR's Howard Berkes reports, films with Mormon-centered themes fill a niche market, and some have won critical acclaim.