Richard Bernstein tackles difficult topics in his short study of an extraordinary entertainer, Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson in Lithuania in 1886), and a profoundly important movie—and not just because “The Jazz Singer” is recognized as the “first talkie.”

Bob Dylan, more than anyone, fused the pop cultural and the religious experience into one.

As a young Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown," Timothee Chalamet captures some of the iconic singer's enigmatic yet magnetic personality.

On the final episode of Hark! this season, prepare yourselves for a wee bit of scandal because we’re looking at a tune that began as a bawdy love song and has long been associated with an evil monarch, but which, over the course of three centuries, finds its redemption as a Christmas carol. This is the story behind, “What Child Is This?”

While “What Child Is This?” is an explicitly Christmas song, the tune speaks to the mystery of identity and purpose—questions that transcend religious boundaries and appeal to the human experience.

My favorite carols are often among the least known.