A new year marks a new trove of material entering the public domain. This year's entries include works from 1928 like Bertolt Brecht's "The Threepenny Opera," music from Cole Porter, and literature from Virginia Woolf, DH Lawrence, and Agatha Christie. But the real star of show is Mickey Mouse, whose very first appearance in "Steamboat Willie" is now without copyright. Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke University's Center for the Study of the Public Domain, joins us to explain what that means.

It's also been one year since we launched WNYC's Public Song Project, and we have plans for that in store. Keep your eyes peeled and ears open for more info to come soon.