Radio Pictures

Wright's eclectic style is part of what distinguishes her from her peers. But as a minister's daughter, she also attributes many of her sensibilities to years spent leading worshippers in song from the church piano.

Sera Cahoone got her start playing drums for a few widely adored bands in the Pacific Northwest, most notably Band of Horses and the spell-checker-defying Carissa's Wierd. But her self-titled, self-released 2006 album marked her as a fully formed talent - a warm and inviting singer whose songs convey world-weariness and homespun grace. Cahoone stopped by NPR's Washington, D.C., offices to perform a few songs at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

A member of Afghanistan's national tae kwon do team hopes to make history by becoming the first Afghan to ever win an Olympic medal - despite meager training facilities and a lack of funds.

Koen Olthuis is one of the young architects leading Holland, and the world, toward an amphibious future. From floating houses to a floating cruise ship terminal, Olthuis believes the best way to live with water is to live on water.

In Washington, D.C., for a concert at the Black Cat, Athens, Ga., songwriter Vic Chesnutt stopped by NPR to perform live at All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen's desk.

Ruslana, Ukraine's biggest pop star, switches between two roles on stage: a limp, pale, synthetic woman chained to a machine for energy and a vibrant warrior whose energy comes from clean, renewable resources. But in post-Soviet Ukraine, her fans are more interested in capitalist consumption than conservation.

Oregon-based folksinger Laura Gibson drew a small crowd of curious office workers while playing a handful of delicately crafted songs at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen.

Marines in Garmsir, a district in Helmand province, Afghanistan, succeeded in capturing the area, which also happens to be one of the biggest opium-producing regions in the country, after 30 days of non-stop fighting. Now these American troops are trying to win the confidence of the locals, while also being on the lookout for suicide bombers and deadly roadside bombs.

It sounds almost like a violin, but not quite. The erhu is a traditional Chinese two-string instrument, played with a bow. Virtuoso soloist Ma Xiaohui demonstrates how to finesse music out of it.

From a group of six photos and six words, Magnetic Fields guru Stephin Merritt picked "1974" and an image of a man wearing a suit covered with baby dolls. Two days later, the song they inspired was finished.

Chris Sharma is hailed as the world's best rock climber and has mastered some of the most spectacular and difficult routes in the sport's history. He met up with All Things Considered host Melissa Block in Carderock, Md.