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Writer and Paris Review editor George Plimpton dies at his Manhattan apartment. He was 76. Plimpton's writing combined elegance and wit, and often showed a willingness to make himself the butt of the joke. Paper Lion was the most famous of several books he wrote chronicling Walter Mitty-like experiences in sports and other endeavors. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Frank Deford.

The Bottom Line -- the Greenwich Village cabaret where Bruce Springsteen got his start, and where musicians from Miles Davis to Dolly Parton and Aaron Copland have performed -- faces financial problems and could be shut down. NPR's Jennifer Ludden speaks with Bottom Line co-founder Allan Pepper.

Sena Jeter Naslund's latest novel, Four Spirits, melds real people and fictional characters to tell the story of the civil rights struggle in Birmingham, Ala. during the early 1960s. The title refers to the four schoolgirls killed Sept. 15, 1963, in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Hear an extended interview with the author.

The Dancer Upstairs, a political thriller, features the directing debut of noted American actor John Malkovich. It's a character study of a detective who must negotiate political and personal issues while tracking a rebel leader in Latin America. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

More than 400 objects from ancient Mesopotamia are on display in a new exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The rare pieces, gathered from museums around the world, are similar to artifacts feared lost in the looting of Iraq's museums. NPR's David D'Arcy reports.

The latest Masterpiece Theater presentation is a relatively new masterpiece. It's Zadie Smith's White Teeth, from a novel published just two years ago. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

Blue Car is a movie about a teenager who embodies all of the contradictions, confusions, yearnings and suspicions of someone who is growing up too fast but wants things to happen faster still. The movie is finally opening in theaters across the country after garnering rave reviews at last year's Sundance Film Festival. Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition movie critic Ken Turan says acting is the reason to see the film. Hear Turan's review.

George Wyle, who composed one of the most popular TV theme songs, dies of leukemia at age 87. Wyle wrote more than 400 songs, including the Christmas classic "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," but he was best known for "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island," a song he wrote in just one sitting with the show's creator Sherwood Schwartz. NPR's Lynn Neary has a remembrance.

Carl Reiner has been making people laugh for more than 50 years. In his new autobiography, My Anecdotal Life: A Memoir, Reiner recounts his experiences as a comic, producer, director, novelist and playwright. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Reiner about turning down Fidel Castro's star vehicle and other moments of his colorful Hollywood past.

Good Morning Midnight tells the story of renowned mountain climber Guy Waterman, who committed suicide atop New Hampshire's Mt. Lafayette. Waterman became passionate about the outdoors after leaving an unhappy marriage and abandoning his career as a Republican speechwriter. Host Melissa Block talks with author Chip Brown.