Historian Edward Larson has written extensively on the intersection of science, politics and religion. In 2004, Larson's Evolution: The Remarkable History of A Scientific Theory traced the contentious path the theory of evolution has followed.
He's been called the King of Venereal Horror. He directed the films M. Butterfly, The Fly, Dead Ringers and Naked Lunch, all of which tell a story of sexually deviant behavior. In the film Crash he continued the theme, combining sex and car wrecks. His new film A History of Violence is a psychological thriller about one man's potential for violence.
Law Professor CASS SUNSTEIN on the nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. President Bush has nominated Miers, White House Counsel, to replace Sandra Day OâConnor. Sunstein is the Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor of Jurisprudence in the Law School at the University of Chicago. Early in his career, Sunstein clerked for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He has also been a visiting professor of law at Columbia and Harvard universities.
In 1966, Neil Young joined L.A. rock band Buffalo Springfield; they split up three albums later due to inter-band fighting and their lack of commercial success. Young's new album is Praire Wind, considered a follow-up to his Harvest records.
Capote, the new film about Truman Capote, details the writer's life at the time around his breakthrough book, In Cold Blood. The film, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, tells the story of how Capote came to tell of the murder of a Holcomb, Kan., family.
New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins has been covering Iraq... thoroughly. In April he received the George Polk Award for War Reporting for his riveting, first-hand account of an eight-day attack on Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah.
Late Registration is the new album by hip-hop artist Kanye West. West recently drew a flurry of attention after telling an audience tuned in to a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina victims that "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
Time magazine's Mike Allen has co-authored a new investigative article on how the Bush administration appoints the officials who run vital government agencies. The article, spurred by complaints about ousted FEMA head Mike Brown, is "How Many More Mike Browns Are Out There?"
Writer David Rakoff has a new collection of essays, Now, Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, the Torments of Low Thread Count, the Never-ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems. Rakoff is a regular contributor to public radio's This American Life.
In The March, novelist E.L. Doctorow applies his distinctive approach to historical fiction to events of the Civil War -- especially Gen. William T. Sherman's decisive, destructive assault on Georgia and the Carolinas.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Philip Roth has been a favorite of readers since his memoir Goodbye, Columbus emerged to help define the culture of postwar America. Now the Library of America is releasing Roth's books — a rare step for a living author.
The new film A History of Violence stars Viggo Mortenson. Director David Cronenberg has made a movie that many viewers will likely find easier to approach than his other movies.
The major networks and several cable units are offering up new seasons in September. A new HBO comedy, Extras, stars Ricky Gervais, who remains best known for starring in and helping to create the original British version of The Office.
Film director John Madden's new film, Proof, is based on the stage play of the same name by David Auburn. It stars Anthony Hopkins and Gwyneth Paltrow. Madden's previous films include Shakespeare in Love (which won seven Academy Awards) and Mrs. Brown.
Adapted from Jonathan Safran Foer's novel, the film follows a young man trying to decipher family history. Elijah Wood plays the fictional Foer, who traces his grandfather's life in a Ukrainian village.
Alan Alda played Hawkeye Pierce for 11 years in the television series M*A*S*H and has acted in, written, and directed many films. He has starred on Broadway, and his avid interest in science has led to his hosting PBS's Scientific American Frontiers.
