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This year's Pulitzer Prizes are announced Monday. Among the winners: Samantha Powers for her book on genocide called A Problem from Hell, Jeffrey Eugenides for his novel Middlesex about a hermaphrodite, and composer John Adams for his Sept. 11th-inspired music On The Transmigration of Souls. NPR's Laura Sydell reports.

Mexican tenor Ramon Vargas releases In My Heart, a CD of 17th and 18th century Italian love songs sung in the Bel Canto or "beautiful song" style. It's a type of operatic singing characterized by rich tonal lyricism and brilliant display of technique. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Vargas.

Fifty-five years ago, John Steinbeck's best friend died after being struck by a train near Monterey's Cannery Row. Ricketts, a marine biologist, was cast as the fictional "Doc" in Steinbeck's best-selling novel. In a two-part Morning Edition report, NPR's Renee Montagne looks back at one of American fiction's most famous locales and at Ricketts and his lasting legacy.

Twenty years ago, the British literary magazine Granta published a list of what it considered the best young novelists of Britain. Martin Amis, Salman Rushdie, Julian Barnes, and many more went on to find fame and sometimes fortune. And Granta had found itself a tradition. The March edition features a new group of young authors. NPR's Lynn Neary speaks with Granta editor Ian Jack and two of the writers on the list: Alan Warner and Andrew O'Hagan.

A new book on President Kennedy has attracted attention because of the disclosure that he had sex with a White House intern. But some historians dispute author Robert Dallek's assertion that Kennedy's presidency was not damaged by his risky sexual behavior and bad health. In an extended interview with NPR's Juan Williams, Dallek discusses Kennedy's medical history and his assassination.

He says he's so indecisive that it takes him hours to order food at restaurants. But when the part of Charles Howard in the movie Seabiscuit landed on his plate, actor Jeff Bridges did not hesitate. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Bridges about his work on the film, opening next week. They also chat about other roles in Bridges' 30-year career.

During World War II, American soldiers suspected of being Jewish were captured by the Nazis and sent off to a German slave labor camp. Berga: Soldiers of Another War was the final project for famed documentarian Charles Guggenheim, who lost an Army buddy in the camp. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Grace Guggenheim about her late father's last film.

Henry Ford's affordable, mass-produced Model T changed the face of America. But the innovative automaker's failure to look beyond the Model T was nearly disastrous for his company, author Douglas Brinkley tells NPR's John Ydstie. At npr.org, Hear Brinkley describe how Ford Motor Co. avoided that fate by adapting.

Art Spiegelman won many awards for his comic book Maus, based on his father's experiences during the Holocaust. His latest work is an autobiographical comic based on his own post-Sept. 11 life. This book is not finding the same success. David D'Arcy reports.

From the Maori culture of New Zealand comes Whale Rider, a film with an appealing 11-year-old central character. She's seeking to follow in her father's footsteps as tribal chieftain. Her grandfather is skeptical. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.