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NPR presents "The Man and His Music," a special two-hour edition of Jazz Profiles, plus on-demand audio of the swinging Count Basie Centennial Concert featuring the Jon Faddis All-Stars and recorded live at the 2004 Caramoor Festival in Katonah, N.Y.

Musician Lenny Kaye is perhaps best known as Patti Smith's guitarist. But he's also a music writer, whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Creem. His new book, You Call it Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon, chronicles the male singers of the 1930s known for their suave, sophisticated and romantic interpretations of song: Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee and Russ Columbo.

The 'Philadelphia Inquirer' is running a 21-day endorsement of Sen. John Kerry, outlining 21 reasons why voters should elect him president. Editorial page editor Chris Satullo and commentary page editor John Timpane talk about the endorsement. On the paper's op-ed page, they've invited guest commentators to write about the reasons why voters should elect Bush instead.

Richard Viguerie is considered the "funding father" of the conservative movement. In the 1970s and 80s he pioneered direct mail political fundraising. He is a co-author of America's Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media to Take Power. He now heads the organization American Target Advertising Inc.

In his 30-year career, musician Fred Hersch has performed in solo, duo, trio and quintet settings. In 2003 he received the prestigious Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, which he used to work on his latest project, Leaves of Grass. For it, Hersch leads a 10-piece ensemble, which includes vocalists singing the words of Walt Whitman set to compositions by Hersch. He is touring the ensemble this month.

He's starring in the new film The Singing Detective, based on the Dennis Potter PBS mini-series. He received an Academy Award nomination and won the British Academy Award for best actor, for his performance in the title role of Chaplin. He starred in Wonder Boys, Two Girls and a Guy, Natural Born Killers and The Pick-Up Artist. He also made his primetime television debut on Ally McBeal. Now in recovery, Downey has struggled with drug addiction for years.

His films include Welcome to Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People and Wonderland. His new film, In This World, follows the arduous 4,000-mile journey of two Afghan refugees from Pakistan to Britain. The film was shot in Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. The two actors were "discovered" in Peshawar, Pakistan. Fifteen-year-old actor Jamal Udin Torabi has since applied for asylum in Britain. The interview continues into the second half of the show.

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis. He's just released "Footsteps of Our Fathers," the debut release on the artist's own Marsalis Music label. In the nearly two decades that he has released solo albums, he's won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for a third in 1995. He was the first band leader for Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show" and appeared on the show from 1992-1995. In addition to the solo and ensemble records he's released, Marsalis has participated in various film scores as both composer and featured soloist. He is currently on tour for this album.

Musician and actor Steve Van Zandt is a guitarist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He's also recorded solo and has produced a number of records and written songs for other musicians. He plays hitman Silvio Dante in the hit HBO series The Sopranos. He's also now a radio DJ. His syndicated show, Hard Rock Cafe Presents Little Steven's Underground Garage plays Sunday nights on a number of classic rock stations across the United States.

David Kertzer is the author of The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican's Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism (Knopf). In the book he focuses on the time period from Napoleon to Hitler, and how "traditional" Catholic forms of dealing with Jews became transformed into modern anti-Semitism. Kertzer is Paul Dupee, Jr. University Professor of Social Science and a professor of anthropology and Italian Studies at Brown University. He's also the author of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara about a 6-year-old Jewish boy in Italy who in 1858 was taken from his family, secretly baptized, and sent to live in a Catholic household.