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Ancient Rome and Greece seem to be the hot topics for major motion pictures once again. Troy, with Brad Pitt as Achilles, opens in theaters next weekend. Alexander, directed by Oliver Stone, opens this summer. Pat Dowell reports on why filmmakers find the ancient venues so appealing.

Actor Tony Randall, best known for his role as the fusspot Felix Unger in the 1970s TV sitcom The Odd Couple, died Monday night of complications from a long illness. He was 84. Randall began working in radio in the 1940s but spent most of his career in film and the theater. NPR's Steve Inskeep has a remembrance.

Jim Fusilli reviews Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava's latest CD Easy Living, which he says blends elements of traditional American jazz with a unique Italian touch.

After more than 40 years, one of the most beloved and acclaimed children's stories is coming to the small screen. Madeleine L'Engle's Newbery Award-winning book A Wrinkle in Time is part science fiction, part coming-of-age novel. And it's been made into a TV movie which airs on ABC Monday night. NPR's Susan Stone reports.

Miracle -- a film about the 1980 American Olympic hockey victory over a powerhouse Soviet team -- opens in theaters. Hear NPR's Scott Simon, Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Ron Rapoport and New York Times entertainment critic Elvis Mitchell.

Fiction and historical distance can sometimes allow us to examine our current worries in a different light. Ann-Marie MacDonald sets her second novel The Way the Crow Flies at the height of the Cold War. She uses the tensions generated by the U.S.-Soviet arms race to explore a contemporary issue: governmental secrecy. Martha Woodroof reports.

Bassist Viktor Krauss has appeared on the CDs of many Grammy nominees and Grammy-winning artists: Bill Frisell, Elvis Costello, Graham Nash, Dolly Parton. He plays on Lyle Lovett's My Baby Don't Tolerate, nominated this year for Best Country Album. But now Viktor Krauss gets to shine on his own with his debut solo CD Far From Enough. Krauss speaks with NPR's Brian Naylor.

NPR's Michele Keleman talks to author Cormac O'Brien, whose book Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents details some great and some not-so-great background stories of America's presidents.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with members of the classical vocal group Trio Medieval, and they perform selections from their latest CD in NPR's Studio 4A. The group specializes in authentic Gregorian chants with a modern twist.

After early reports that Rotterdam would briefly take apart a historic bridge for the yacht's passage, thousands of people joined a Facebook event called "Throwing eggs at superyacht Jeff Bezos."