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Host Michele Norris talks with members of the jazz trio The Bad Plus. The group's core consists of the traditional jazz trio of piano, bass and drums, but band members approach their music with a rock 'n' roll heart. Their CD, These are the Vistas, is produced by Tchad Blake, who is known for producing rock 'n' roll records. In fact, the band loves to tear apart rock classics such as Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," or Blondie's "Heart of Glass." But band members say their focus is on their original tunes, which they describe as cinematic adventures.

Nils Lofgren, best known as guitarist with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, also played for Neil Young and Crazy Horse early in that band's career. He's also had a notable solo career — and he founded the mid-1970s band Grin. Critic Milo Miles surveys his work.

Bon Jovi spoke to Fresh Air in '09 about growing up, getting his first single on the radio and having group therapy with his bandmates. He'll be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The federal government says it will pay down $35 billion of the national debt this quarter. It's a reversal of an earlier prediction that the government would add more than $100 billion in debt during the second quarter of 2013. Economists say the payment was made possible by spending cuts and higher tax revenues.

China is hoping for a balance between its desire for an economy based more on consumption while at the same time trying to rein in rapidly increasing household debt.

It was Oregon's first pediatric case in more than 30 years. "It was difficult to take care of him, to watch him suffer," says Judith Guzman-Cottrill, an infectious-disease specialist.

Loudon Wainwright's new double album, High Wide and Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project, is a tribute to the old-time country banjo player who died in 1931. The singer-songwriter explains the motivations behind the project — and why Poole was such an influential country pioneer.

The trio of Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers share the songs they love most and talk about the ways they inspire each other in their new band, boygenius.

The life of Toto's "Africa" has perhaps reached its logical end with Max Siedentopf's absurdist art installation "Toto Forever," which will play "Africa" in the Namib Desert "for all eternity."

Lead vocalists have gotten quieter over the decades, compared with the rest of the band, according to a new study. Beck says it's part of the "volume wars."