Ann Powers

A new generation of producers is stepping out of the recording studio and into the limelight. Ann Powers, chief pop music critic of the Los Angeles Times, explains how the role of the producer is changing -- and why the new skill set recalls a different era.

"Open adoption" is where birth parents stay in regular contact with the adoptive parents. Dawn Smith-Pliner, the founder and director of Friends in Adoption, looks at how this changes things for the child, and music critic Ann Powers talks about her experience.

A growing number of retro-soul singers from the UK are taking over the album charts. Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" scored the highest ever debut for a British woman (number seven), and Joss Stone's "Introducing Joss Stone" followed a week later, debuting at number two. On today's show, LA Times ...