Stephen Greenblatt is considered one of the greatest authorities on Shakespeare and received wide acclaim for his book "Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare," which was published in 2004.

Jeffrey Brown recently sat down with him at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., to discuss his latest book, "The Swerve: How the World Became Modern," which won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. In a kind of literary detective case, Greenblatt describes how a work by ancient Roman writer Lucretious helped pave the way for modern thought.

Watch him read an excerpt from "The Swerve" above. We'll post Friday's program segment here later.

"The Goat Rodeo Sessions" is the name of a recording released in October of last year. It's also the name of a performance that airs Friday on PBS. It's an all-star and eclectic group made up of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, bluegrass fiddler Stuart Duncan, bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolin master Chris Thile, who is well-known from the bands Nickel Creek, Punch Brothers and many other projects.

I talked to Chris Thile earlier this week on the phone about working on "The Goat Rodeo Sessions" and his own projects:

A transcript and more videos are after the jump.

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The sails of the Sydney Opera House are illuminated as part of the Vivid Sydney festival of lights on Friday. Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images.

A weekly roundup of arts and culture headlines.

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"The Spear," a painting by Brett Murray at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg that depicts South African President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed, was defaced on Tuesday. Zuma's African National Congress party was due to challenge the displaying of the controversial painting on Thursday, but two supporters of the president vandalized the artwork before the case was heard in court. The gallery has temporarily closed and the case is now postponed indefinitely, via Global Post.

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Elsewhere in Johannesburg, the first Soweto Fashion Week opens Thursday and the $18 million Soweto Theatre complex, which contains a 436-seat main stage and two smaller performance spaces, opens Friday, via the Associated Press and the Huffington Post.

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The Washington Post's Anne Midgette rounds up the controversy surrounding the Metropolitan Opera banning Opera magazine from writing reviews about its productions.

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Movie studios are looking beyond young movie audiences, via the New York Times.

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Newly released emails and documents showed that the Obama administration offered filmmakers working on a movie about the killing of Osama bin Laden a chance to speak with a SEAL Team Six commander involved in the raid. Republicans are asking questions, via the Wall Street Journal.

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President Obama receives a painting of Air Force One during the U.S. Air Force Academy's graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs on Wednesday. Photo by Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images.

One year ago on May 22, 2011, a massive tornado with 200 mph winds devastated the city of Joplin, Mo., killing 161 people and destroying 8,000 buildings, including many homes.

On Tuesday's NewsHour, we reported on the recovery in the city of 50,000: "Three million cubic yards of debris have been hauled away. Damaged homes have been torn down, leaving empty foundations. Others have been rebuilt, but at a cost. The storm caused $2.8 billion in damage, the costliest tornado since 1950." That is just some of the physical recovery. The emotional recovery, of course, is not as easy to sum up.

Last year, we reported on how art has helped with that effort: a mural created by Dave Loewenstein and the Mid-America Arts Alliance depicting life in Joplin both before and after the storm and an exhibit at the Spiva Center for the Arts showing works created in response to the storm.

Marking the one year anniversary of the tornado, a new exhibit, "Dear World, From Joplin With Love," opened Saturday at the Spiva Center for the Arts. Art Beat exchanged emails with executive director Jo Mueller and public relations coordinator Lori Marble about the exhibit.

Can you describe the "Dear World, From Joplin With Love" project?

Jo Mueller and Lori Marble: "Dear World, From Joplin With Love" opened this past Saturday, just days before the one-year anniversary of the EF-5 tornado. This is a powerful collection of portraits and messages. On one hand it's a platform for participants and viewers to see how far we've come as a community, but most importantly it's a means of sharing Joplin's messages; messages of resilience, hope, love, gratitude, survival and just the most amazing grace under pressure.

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A family picnics next to a sculpture of a crashed flying saucer. "Vex" by Dinu Li is part of the Tatton Park Biennial in Knutsford, England. This year's exhibition, which runs until September, explores "Flights of Fancy" and includes the work of more than 20 artists. Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.

Here are four arts and culture videos from public broadcasting partners around the nation.

PBS' "OFF BOOK" explores the world of LEGO art: "LEGO blocks are one of the most beloved toys in the world, playing a role in many a person's childhood. But for some creators, LEGO has evolved from toy to art form. In this episode, we talk to three LEGO artists who have made beautiful mosaics, amazing stop-motion videos, thoughtful sculptures, and have turned these tiny building blocks into a true artistic medium."

Watch OFF BOOK: Lego Art on PBS. See more from Off Book.

NYC-ARTS profiles the American Ballet Theatre, which opened its 2012 spring season at the Metropolitan Opera House last week:

Watch NYC-ARTS | Profile: American Ballet Theatre on PBS. See more from NYC-ARTS.

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A model walks the runway in K8 Hardy's "Untitled Runway Show" on Sunday at the 2012 Whitney Biennial in New York City. Hardy "re-create[d] many of the trappings of a runway show by a top fashion designer, using an experienced production team, lighting, sound, hair, and makeup technicians, as well as professional models." Photo by Paula Court.

On Monday's NewsHour, we remember world renowned German opera singer, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He was a master of the lieder, a form of German song, which he helped make popular in the 20th century. Fischer-Dieskau died Friday at the age of 86.

We plan to air an excerpt of Fischer-Dieskau singing a section of Franz Schubert's Winterreise. The performance was recorded in 1979 with Alfred Brendel playing the piano. Here's the full performance:

Also on Monday's program, I also talked to Anne Midgette, the classical music critic for the Washington Post, about the life and legacy of Fischer-Dieskau. Here's the continuation of our conversation that I mentioned on the program. (We'll post the on-air discussion later Monday evening):