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The steel drum musical instrument was first created in Trinidad, hammered from biscuit boxes, brake drums and oil barrels. One of the biggest "steel pan" bands of the 1960s was the Esso Trinidad Tripoli Steelband, who gained worldwide fame when an unlikely patron heard their act and took them on tour. Lost and Found Sound presents a story of calypso music, steel drums and flamboyant pianist Liberace.

Photographer Elliott Erwitt has been taking pictures for more than half a century. His latest book, Elliott Erwitt's Handbook, culls from his prodigious collection of photos featuring hands in a myriad of gestures and uses. NPR's Melissa Block talks with Erwitt about the philosophy of taking a picture -- what you see through the viewfinder when taking a photo, and what you see later, after the moment has passed and the photo is developed.

The British proposal advanced Friday at the United Nations favors giving Iraq a deadline of a few days in which to prove there are no more banned weapons, or else face war. NPR's Melissa Block talks with Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's permanent representative to the U.N.

Robert Surles -- AKA Chef Bobo -- has managed to do the improbable: using fresh produce and his decades of knowledge as a chef and instructor at New York City's famed French Culinary Institute, he's creating tasty, healthy lunches for students and faculty at a private school in Manhattan. See photos of a typical lunch break at the school, and get a bread pudding recipe that serves 600.

In 1953, an Oklahoma physician and amateur astronomer photographed what he believed was an asteroid crashing on the moon. No one believed him. Decades later, research from NASA suggested he was right.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu tells the story of a woman offering to show him her breasts in exchange for Mardi Gras trinkets. Codrescu offers a portrait of New Orleans in all of its glorious weirdness.

Alan Cheuse reviews La Promesa and Other Stories, the first story collection by Leroy V. Quintana, published by Oklahoma University Press. Most of the stories take place in a fictional New Mexico town called San Miguel.

A day after the Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, she spoke at the White House with President Biden and Vice President Harris

Commentator and music writer Toure recently spent time with rapper 50 Cent, and reflects on why the former drug dealer-turned-hip hop artist appeals to him. 50 Cent's latest album, Get Rich or Die Tryin, has sold more than 2 million copies in less than a month.

One of the hottest bands on the New York City nightclub circuit is also one of the most eccentric -- the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players. The group's appeal rests on the clever combination of a slide projector, a nine-year-old drummer and a knack for quirky, catchy lyrics. NPR's Ned Wharton recently caught up with the band. Watch our multimedia slideshow presentation.