Morning Edition is your perfect morning companion: gentle, but straightforward, explaining the vagaries of international diplomacy, reporting weather and even recommending the best film in town.

Hear how gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale could change the energy calculus for the nation. Plus: the latest on tax and spending negotiations in Washington; City Councilman Brad Lander a bill banning employers from doing credit checks on job applicants; a new constitution for Egypt and what it means for the region; how telecommunication companies are regulated and why it matters after a natural disaster; and the founder of the Bread and Puppet show on a 50th anniversary performance.

Fresh Air is one of the most popular programs on public radio, breaking the "talk show" mold, and Gross is known for her fearless and insightful interviews with prominent figures in American arts, politics, and popular culture.

Reporters scour the globe for the most direct and compelling information, from the spread of AIDS in India to the inexplicable fluctuations of the Brazilian economy.

Reporters scour the globe for the most direct and compelling information, from the spread of AIDS in India to the inexplicable fluctuations of the Brazilian economy.

Iconic R&B singer Bettye LaVette tells all in her dramatic new memoir. Melena Ryzik of the New York Times' Carpetbagger column on this year's Oscars season. And Gabriel Kahane performs in the studio.

The cosmic composer/bandleader Sun Ra's big band space jazz might have been and still is pretty far out, but even Thelonious Monk agreed that it swings.  For this New Sounds, we'll hear music by Sun Ra, (he who claimed to be of the "Angel Race" and that he was from Saturn, not our planet Earth), done up by other ensembles.  We'll listen to the Heliocentrics & the Respect Sextet, along with Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet.  Plus we'll hear Sun Ra's music as rendered by the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, and many others.