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Artists and Obama

To mark the Inauguration we asked poets, actors, and musicians to leave voicemails for the new president. Artists who turned Obama into an icon during the campaign, find themselves in a quandary. And Kurt has an exit interview with departing NEA chairman Dana Gioia. Plus, all of New York City fits into a single room in Queens.

Studio 360

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Angels, Slackers, Cintra

Kurt Andersen and writer Cintra Wilson look at the decade bookended by end of the Cold War and the terrorist attacks of 2001. We'll hear about thehazy allureof the slacker and discover how hip-hop crossed into the cultural and commercial mainstream. And Frank Rich, Stephen Spinella, and Tony Kushner talk about how Kushner's groundbreaking play Angels in America so perfectly captured a millennial moment. Plus, country music legend Merle Haggard drops by the studio and explains why he's recording jazz standards these days.

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Longing, Frank McCourt, Luna

Studio 360 gets the live audience its longed for. Kurt Andersen and writer Frank McCourt take the stage at the Museum of Television and Radio and look at how frustrated desire inspires people to create. Vocalist Sussan Deyhim demonstrates how song picks up where words words fail. The pop band Luna offers tunes of unrequited love. And the humorist Cintra Wilson discovers a trove of celebrity fan mail from teens, and their moms.