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For many Americans, the hula dance conjures images of grass skirts, coconuts and swinging hips. But a new documentary airing Tuesday on PBS looks beyond hula kitsch to explore its roots in ancient Hawaiian traditions. Hear Lisette Marie Flanary, co-producer of American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawaii.

The original music video network, MTV, turns 20 today, and host David Kestenbaum reports on its influence on the music industry and American pop culture. Some call it revolutionary, but critics blame MTV for cheapening music by emphasizing image over art. Regardless, the network has had a huge effect on music, film, television... and millions of American teenagers.

An American soldier is killed and another wounded outside Baghdad when their convoy is hit by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, U.S. Central Command says. The attack comes a day after Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, predicts that resistance to American troops will increase in the coming months. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with the members of Anonymous 4 — an a cappella singing group — about their latest CD: American Angels: Songs of Hope, Redemption, & Glory. Unlike their earlier albums, this album focuses on 18th century American spirituals and shape-note music.

The American Friends Service Committee assembles nearly 800 pairs of combat boots on Capitol Hill, demonstrating the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers. The Quaker organization placed the boots in rows to commemorate the American soldiers killed in Iraq. NPR's David Welna reports.

A growing number of American movies are being filmed in Vancouver, Canada. The city offers a similar look to U.S. cities, experienced crews, tax breaks and lower production costs due to the difference between American and Canadian dollars. Trevor Hughes reports.

Franks, formerly the commander in chief of the U.S. Central Command, led the American forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. He says the United States did not anticipate the insurgency that followed the invasion of Iraq, and he warns against underestimating Osama bin Laden. He's written a new memoir, American Soldier.

Writer John Szwed is the author of the new biography, So What: The Life of Miles Davis about the influential jazz trumpeter. Szwed is the John M. Musser Professor of Anthropology, African American Studies, Music and American Studies at Yale University. He is also the author of the biography Space is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra, about another innovative musician.

NPR's Libby Lewis reports on the legal questions surrounding American Jose Padilla, detained as an enemy combatant. Last week's ruling that the government has the right to indefinitely detain without charges Yaser Hamdi, a U.S. citizen captured on a battlefield in Afghanistan, did not help clarify the case of Padilla, who was captured on American soil.

As the hospice movement in America observes its 30th anniversary, John Biewen of American Radioworks offers an audio portrait of one of the more than 900,000 Americans expected to benefit from hospice care this year.