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Brazilian singer Ceu loves soul, jazz, hip-hop and afro-pop. And those influences are apparent on her new self-titled CD. But the foundation underlying it all is the Brazilian samba. "It's what sticks to the soles of my feet, " she says.

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Lucinda Williams has released her eighth CD, West. The collaboration with producer Hal Willner is mostly a meditation on the death of Williams' mother, and the end of a turbulent love affair.

The songs of singer-songwriter Patty Griffin are full of heartbreak and longing — so much so that a friend recently challenged her to write a happy song. She discusses that song and her new CD, Children Running Through.

Years before Dr. Spock and other child-rearing gurus, a renowned pediatrician in Poland pioneered the field by advocating that parents simply trust their instincts. He was executed by the Nazis, along with the orphans he cared for in a Warsaw ghetto.

Lily Allen is pop star with a quick wit and a sharp tongue. After a string of hits in the United Kingdom last year, the 21-year-old artist has released her CD Alright, Still in America. She explains her creative process and inspiration.

When words alone fail to illuminate the confounding mysteries of the heart, music lends a hand. Whether it's unrequited love, a fleeting affair or love that lasts a lifetime, there's a song for it. NPR listeners share "their" songs — along with the stories of bliss, bitterness and bygone times that make the music meaningful.

For some musicians good song writing is elementary. For others it's elementary school. A CD called Kid Pan Alley collects tunes created in classrooms around the country and recorded by top Nashville artists, including Amy Grant.

The Puppini Sisters have a new CD out called Betcha Bottom Dollar. Marcella Puppini talks about some of the music on the British trio's new album.

Singer-songwriter James McMurtry visits NPR's studios to play from his 12-string guitar and discuss politics, family and his latest album Childish Things.

Author Dinaw Mengestu is among a generation of Ethiopian Americans whose families fled the East African nation in the 1970s and '80s. Now their writing, music and art are adding a new chapter to the epic of American immigration.