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A new play by John O'Keefe highlights a true story of two stage actors in pre-WWII Germany. Times Like These is about the gradual loss of personal freedoms, and draws striking parallels to today's post-Sept. 11 America. Iris Mann reports.

Junot Diaz is a young writer who was born in the Dominican Republic. He was raised there, but also in New Jersey, and he has just published a collection of stories about growing up on his old home island and in the U.S. The book is called Drown.

We remember former Tommy Thompson, a co-founder of the string band the Red Clay Ramblers, who died this past week.

The star of the French film Amelie, Audrey Tautou, appears in a new movie opening today. Its title -- He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not -- suggests it's appropriate for Valentine's day. But NPR's Bob Mondello says it's not really the sort of romantic film usually thought of as a "date movie."

When Luciano Pavarotti calls in sick for what was to be his final performance, tenor Salvatore Licitra steps in and wows the audience at the Met in New York. He has since released a CD called The Debut, which has been winning critical acclaim. And he's in New York again tonight for a performance at Carnegie Hall. Salvatore Licitra talks with NPR's Robert Siegel.

It's a film about a film that never was. The documentary Lost in La Mancha follows director Terry Gilliam -- of Brazil and Monty Python fame -- as he attempts a screen version of Don Quixote. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

Host Tavis Smiley speaks with the entertainer Bill Cosby about the success of his latest book, Cosbyology, and about how the Frank Sinatra song The House I Live In became part of his act.

Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen will conduct live performances of Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas' score to Redes during screenings of the film this weekend. Revueltas is considered one of Mexico's greatest composers. NPR's Lynn Neary speaks with Salonen about Revueltas' music.

The Chinese New Year, a celebration that starts with the new moon and lasts for 15 days, begins this year on Feb. 1. NPR's Linda Wertheimer looks at a new children's book — Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats — that tells the stories behind this and three other major Chinese holidays. See illustrations from the book and try some recipes.

Ads for the movie Kangaroo Jack blanket breaks in children's television shows, and the movie was number one at the box office its first week. Parents who take their kids to the movie are surprised at some of the language and violent scenes, and some critics call it "profoundly unsuitable" for kids. NPR's Lynn Neary talks with Patrick Goldstein, Los Angeles Times columnist.