The West Village Chorale has been rehearsing and putting on concerts since 1971, and the Chorale just performed its seasonal holiday concert last week. Christmas is around the corner, so a smaller group of the Chorale squeeze into our studio and put us in the holiday spirit by performing some carols live!

For this month's Full Bio, we discuss the life and career of pioneering musician and poet Lou Reed with Will Hermes, author of the new book, Lou Reed: The King of New York. For today's final installment, we discuss Reed's solo career and his marriage to artist Laurie Anderson.

Between holiday travel and cozy family downtime, you might be looking to catch up on some of the year's best podcasts. Lauren Passell, podcast writer for LifeHacker, founder of TinkMedia, and curator of "Podcast The Newsletter," shares clips from some of the most interesting audio storytelling and other podcasts from 2023.

 Here are Lauren's podcast recommendations:

And here are some recommendations from listeners:

Filmmaker Steve McQueen's new documentary, "Occupied City," takes the book Atlas of an Occupied City (Amsterdam 1940-1945), written by his wife Bianca Stigter, and turns it into a film by exploring various locations around Amsterdam that were important to the history of Nazi occupation of the city. Stigter and McQueen discuss the film, which premieres in theaters on Christmas Day.

Jazz pianist Christian Sands joins us for a live performance of songs from his new holiday album, Christmas Stories, ahead of his residency at Dizzy's Club from December 21-24.

For this month's Full Bio, we discuss the life and career of pioneering musician and poet Lou Reed with Will Hermes, author of the new book, Lou Reed: The King of New York. For today's installment, we examine Reed's relationship with sexuality, his drug use, and his relationship with the press.

Carlos Henriquez is a Bronx born-and-raised bassist who has been playing the instrument in the orchestra for Jazz at Lincoln Center for twenty-five years. He attended La Guardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts as a teenager, and later studied at Juilliard. His new album—his third solo project—is called, A Nuyorican Tale. Henriquez joins us for a Listening Party.

Connecticut often feels overshadowed by neighbors like Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, all states with strong identities and recognizable brands. So, the state is rebranding. New York Times reporter Amelia Nierenberg joins us to discuss her recent article, "Stuffy, Preppy, Sleepy: Can a Rebrand Fix Connecticut’s Reputation?" and take calls from Connecticut listeners about how they would brand the Nutmeg state.

For this month's Full Bio, we discuss the life and career of pioneering musician and poet Lou Reed with Will Hermes, author of the new book, Lou Reed: The King of New York. For today's installment, we discuss the formation and success of The Velvet Underground.

What was your favorite book of 2023? We take your calls and discuss some of the highlights of the year with Jordan Lauf, All Of It and Get Lit book club producer.