In September, musician and poet K'Naan wrote an op-ed about returning to his native Somalia for The New York Times. He had left the country, which is in the grip of a devastating famine and violent civil war, twenty years earlier, fleeing with other members of his family for safety in Canada. He came on the show to discuss this in September.

He plays one of the most recognizable characters in television history. He was mentored by the great Jim Henson. He has more daytime Emmys than most TV actors accrue in a lifetime. And yet, most days, he walks around the world, completely unrecognized by his fans. His name is Kevin Clash, and he is the subject of a new award-winning documentary called "Being Elmo," which is currently in limited release.

Months ahead of the 2012 primary elections, wars of words are heating up between political rivals, some of whom aren’t even running for office. Right now, Michele Bachmann landed herself in some legal hot water when she chose to use Tom Petty's song "American Girl," without the artist's permission. This isn’t the first time artists have taken offense with the political appropriation of their work. 

In Detroit over the weekend it was hip to be square dancing. That’s because the city played host to the 60^th National Square Dance Convention. Square dance has historically appealed to the middle American sensibilities, but in Detroit—where the pastime is enjoying a resurgence—the city’s predominantly African-American population can often be found on the dance floor. 

Earlier this month, T.S. Eliot’s 424-line modernist poem "The Waste Land" became the most popular literary app in America. The app includes recordings of Eliot reading the poem. And last Friday, the Harry Potter franchise proved that it’s still thriving when author J.K. Rowling officially announced details about a new interactive website called "Pottermore." Are the "Waste Land" app and "Pottermore" site gimmicks that will quickly lose popularity? Or will they represent the new way to consume literature?

Saxophone legend Clarence "Big Man" Clemons passed away over the weekend, following complications of a stroke he suffered last week. For almost 40 years, Clemons was the saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band. With his passing, not only did we lose a legend, but also one of the last sax players in pop music. How many songs in recent memory have you heard on top 40 radio featuring a saxophone? David Hinckley, from the New York Daily News, joins us to talk about Clemons's legacy and the role of the sax (or lack thereof) in current pop music.

A challenging musician who fought for music's freedom and started his own record label rather than bend to the will of others, Frank Zappa would have turned 70 today. He was one of the most technically versatile players in rock music, gaining the respect and sometimes the contribution of monster jazz players even as he crafted weird, loud rock 'n' roll with bizzare lyrical themes. Zappa also stood up against those who argued for censorship of music, even appearing on a contentious episode of CNN's "Crossfire." We celebrate all of the things Zappa was with some of the memorable clips from his lifetime. 

It’s the week before Christmas, and as usual, we’re celebrating with our annual “Remixing the Holidays” series. All week long, we’ll be talking with musicians, music lovers, writers, and you, our listeners, about the best songs of the season. We kick things off with Jon Solomon. For over twenty years, Jon — who is Jewish, by the way — has been hosting Princeton University's 24-hour Christmas special on WPRB.

American violinist Lynn Chang will play at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on Friday. Chinese dissident Liu Xioabo won't be able to attend the ceremony; he's being held in a Chinese prison. Chang tells us why he's chosen the songs in his set-list and whether or not he views the concert as a political affair, a musical event — or both. 

If you're familiar with Oscar-nominated performances, then you know the name Melissa Leo. In 2008, she starred as an impoverished single mother, trying to hold onto her home in “Frozen River.” Desperate and almost destitute, her character eventually takes to smuggling undocumented immigrants over a frozen river between the U.S. and Canada. The role earned Leo an Oscar nomination.

Leo also starred as Detective Kay Howard on “Homicide: Life on the Street” for most of the '90s and currently stars on HBO's "Treme." She has several movies that are soon to be released, including “The Fighter,” opposite Mark Wahlberg, and “Welcome to the Rileys,” which opens today.

There’s a new movie hitting theatres this week called “Strange Powers.” It follows a band that, according to the film’s disclaimer, is iconic to some and completely unknown to others.

The band is called The Magnetic Fields. And though they’ve been making albums since 1989, their founding member, Stephin Merritt, is still a mystery to many.

Meritt and Claudia Gonson (who provides vocals and instrumentals for the band, and also serves as the band's manager) join us in studio, to give us a small glimpse into their lives, their music, and the film.

After the jump, an extended version of our studio interview with Merritt and Gonson.

Orchestras across the country are trying to find new ways to boost ticket sales in a bad economy. Conductor George Daugherty describes how he's introducing new audiences to live classical music, with the help of an unusual ally: Bugs Bunny. The Bugs Bunny at the Symphony program tours the world with the Sydney Symphony; audiences get to see and hear a live orchestral performance while the Looney Tunes gang plays on a screen above.

Legendary indie director Todd Solondz talks with us about pushing the boundaries of storytelling, and the balance between discomfort and honesty in his films, which include "Welcome to the Dollhouse, "Happiness," and "Palindromes." He also shares insights on his new movie, "Life During Wartime." It's a sequel/retelling of "Happiness" that goes into limited release today.

We've been compiling a summer soundtrack for The Takeaway. We're calling this our summer mixed tape series. Who has given us their summer jams so far? MTV's Sway, and SNL's Fred Armisen, who used to play drums in the punk band Trenchmouth. This week, we've got a guest who surely can hang with the best mixtape auteurs: Grammy-winning 80's rocker Pat Benatar.  

Hilary Thayer Hamann earned a cult following after she self-published her debut novel, "Anthropology of an American Girl," in 2003. The book did so well that she submitted it to editors in the mainstream publishing world four years later. Speigel & Grau significantly edited and re-published the 600-page book this spring and the book has been getting rave reviews ever since.

What do Johnny Mathis, Tennessee Williams, a stripper named Zorro, Manson girl Leslie Van Houten and a couple of amateur porn directors have in common? Renowned filmmaker John Waters counts them all among his role models.

How long has summer been the time for TV networks to just kick up their feet, hit play on the reruns and maybe stage some low budget, easy-to-produce reality TV shows? Looking at the upcoming program schedules, it's clear: this summer you’re going to have more to watch than reruns of "The Simpsons" and "30 Rock" as the networks take a lesson from cable channels like the USA Network and HBO. 

It's been 40 years since The Beatles released "Let It Be." The song ended up as the title track of the last album the group ever released together. "Let it Be" was named number 20 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 songs of All Time List" and continues to be covered, even as recently as a few months ago by Jennifer Hudson during the Haiti recovery effort. 

Following an aggressive Internet campaign by the actress's fans, Betty White, is set to host Saturday Night Live this weekend.  The 88-year-old actress will join Jay-Z on the show. Comedian Whitney Cummings talks about good comedy, and why the golden girl's still got it.

Twenty years ago this weekend, a new sketch comedy show, "In Living Color," made its debut on the then-fledgling network, Fox.