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Day to Day television critic Andrew Wallenstein reviews Speedo, a PBS documentary about demolition derbies.

Music commentator Miles Hoffman, a nationally renowned violist, and NPR's Steve Inskeep visit the Library of Congress' small, priceless collection of Stradivarius instruments. Hoffman plays some of the rarest instruments in the collection, including a violin called the "Betts," crafted in 1704 by Antonio Stradivari.

An innovative program in New York will have diverse artists contribute samples of their work to a trust. Over time, some of the works should increase in value. The money raised will allow the trust to pay out pensions when the artists retire. NPR's Rick Karr reports.

Camp Alpha, a U.S. military base in Iraq, was built directly on top of the ancient temple area of Babylon. The base's location was chosen to protect the archeological site from looters. Instead, the base has resulted in damage that some antiquities experts characterize as "horrifying." Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and archeologist John Russell.

NPR's Tavis Smiley welcomes the wonderful and witty Margaret Cho into his Los Angeles studio. Cho's biting, socially conscious humor has been compared to that of George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. She has a new stand-up comedy film called Revolution, premiering on the Sundance Channel's June "Out Loud" Celebration.

The second of summer 2004 installments of verse read at the Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, held every summer at Hill-Stead Museum in Farmington, Conn. This week's featured artist is the Cuban-American poet Richard Blanco. He reads his poem, "Mother Picking Produce."

NPR's Andrea Seabrook talks with author Chuck Palahniuk about his new book Stranger than Fiction, his writing craft and the reactions he likes provoke in his readers. Palahniuk is most well-known for his novel Fight Club.

NPR's Susan Stamberg reflects on the career of actor Marlon Brando. The Oscar-winning star of The Godfather, A Streetcar Named Desire, Last Tango in Paris and many other films died Friday at age 80.

A new exhibit in Chicago focuses on a single painting -- Georges Seurat's groundbreaking, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. The show features the trial-and-error preparations that led up to Seurat's masterpiece. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports on the exhibition, which opens Saturday at the Art Institute of Chicago and runs through Sept. 19.

Built in 1929, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles has been the scene for many movies and outdoor concerts. Like many outdoor venues, it's a romantic setting but troublesome for acoustics. On June 25, the venue's new shell will be unveiled. It's designed to give musicians more space and better acoustics -- the latest in a series of redesigns over the years. Gene Parrish reports.