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Hollywood studios back away from a ban on sending promotional videos to Oscar voters. The ban was meant to stop piracy, but it angered many who said it would have given studio films an advantage over smaller, independent features. NPR's Rick Karr reports.

Author Colson Whitehead roamed the streets of New York for years, noting the many small details that make up the life of the city. His new book of essays, The Colossus of New York, tries to capture the essence of the Big Apple. Jon Kalish reports.

Violinists with the Beethoven Orchestra in Germany sue for a pay raise on the grounds that they play many more notes per concert than their musical colleagues. Orchestra officials, however, say the violinists knew this when they began taking violin lessons -- and if they wanted to play fewer notes, they should have chosen a different instrument. Kyle James reports.

One of the hottest authors for girls ages 10 to 14 is Tamora Pierce. She works in the world of fantasy, but allows young female characters to "kick butt." The characters also work their way through more mundane real-life experiences. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

Ben Karlin, former executive producer of both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, is also an alumnus of the satirical newsweekly The Onion. He left the Comedy Central shows in December 2006 to focus on his family. This interview originally aired on April 4, 2006.

"Danza Voluminosa" is an unconventional dance group -- whose performances are part-ballet, part-contemporary dance. But the dancers are larger than most weighing in around 200 pounds. Their choreographer says the company is creating a new aesthetic. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports.

Four years ago, Danish director Lone Scherfig scored a surprise hit with Italian for Beginners. That film followed the strict rules of the Dogme95 movement, which holds that filmmaking austerity inspires creativity. In Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, Scherfig moves beyond Dogme, offering a dark comedy that embraces Hollywood technique. Beth Accomando reports.

Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ has astonished Hollywood by recording blockbuster ticket sales. The Passion remains the nation's top film for a second straight weekend, taking in $53.2 million. In the 12 days since its release, the film has earned a total of $213.9 million. NPR's Kim Masters reports.

The notion that beauty could inspire civic virtue informed the construction of the New York subway a century ago. Now a city program spreads beautiful mosaics, sculptures and other hidden treasures underground. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

Lawyers representing soldiers in the first of several military trials on charges of Iraqi prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib adjust their courtroom strategy after published reports that one of the accused soldiers, Spc. Jeremy Sivits, will likely plead guilty. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen and NPR's Michele Norris.