This week on Culturetopia: What ebooks should cost; Tyler Perry as art-house auteur; the return of great war movies; OK Go goes really indie; a farewell to Mark Linkous, the founder of the band Sparklehorse.

This week on Culturetopia: Reclaiming the African-American jug band sound; Chloe Sevigny speaks to Terry Gross; the new novel, 'The Who Fell From the Sky;' a film critic looks back at blaxploitation's queen; a new biography of Nina Simone.

This week on Culturetopia: The Black Eyed Peas Backstage; Heavy Metal's Prince of Darkness' autobigrophy; "The Secret of Kells;" a new novel about the real-life Alice; Chopin's bicentennial.

This week on Culturetopia: Sandra Bullock, remembering Lucille Clifton; Charlotte Gainsbourg; the Oscars' newest producer; Mondello on how to make them shorter; bluesman Eric Bibb.

This week on Culturetopia: '50 Great Voices' with k.d. lang; Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan; completing Ralph Ellison's final novel; William Faulkner's hidden influences; what it'll mean for Lil Wayne to be jailed.

This week on Culturetopia: Our series "50 Great Voices" continues with Mahalia Jackson; a new British crime thriller about the Yorkshire Ripper opens theatrically in the U.S.; Don DeLillo discusses being ahead of the curve when it comes to media saturation; filmmaker Mario Van Peebles on what he's listening to now; a documentary explores the TV show "Soul Train."

This week on Culturetopia: the acclaimed livestock-handling expert describes being played by Claire Danes; the Afropop kids from Columbia University spill about being constantly compared to Paul Simon; J.D. Salinger remembered; an NPR-reporter-turned -bestselling-author muses on the iPad; the creators of Lost discuss their favorite DVDs; ghostly daughters in the movies

Today we have a special Oscar edition of Culturetopia, our weekly arts and culture podcast. It features interviews with some of the Academy Award nominees who have been on NPR in the past year, including James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow, Pete Docter, Quentin Tarantino, Jason Reitman, Carey Mulligan and more.

This week on Culturetopia: The new director of Sundance talks about selling indie films in a recession; a hundred years of Django Reinhardt; Iggy Pop on his unique vocal talents; the new novel "Wench"; Patti Smith looks back; Mondello reviews "Creation"

This week on Culturetopia: The new director of Sundance talks about selling indie films in a recession; a hundred years of Django Reinhardt; Iggy Pop on his unique vocal talents; the new novel "Wench"; Patti Smith looks back; Mondello reviews "Creation"