Society & Culture

Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the use of the phrase "stiff upper lip" when referring to the British, especially in reports of the July 7 London bombings.

Don Roos wrote and directed the new film Happy Endings, starring Tom Arnold, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow and Laura Dern. Roos, who also directed The Opposite of Sex and Bounce, is known for creating dysfunctional characters who bump into one another in unpredictable ways.

Dr. Francis DuFrayne is a gastroenterologist in his 50s at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He is also a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He recently returned from a six-month tour of duty in Iraq, where he was called up to treat wounded soldiers. While he was in Iraq, his son was also serving there in the Marines.

Actor Kevin Bacon was first recognized in the 1982 film Diner. Since then, he's starred in more than 50 films. His most recent is The Woodsman, which is now out on DVD. He's also inspired the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, in which players try to link another actor with Bacon in as few steps as possible. We rebroadcast an interview from Jan. 18, 2005.

Paul Feig is the creator of the cult classic TV series Freaks and Geeks. His new book Superstud: Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin, is the follow-up to his 2002 book Kick Me: Adventures in Adolescence. Feig was an actor before moving on to writing for TV and film.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Me and You and Everyone We Know, starring performance artist Miranda July.

Judas Priest has a new album out, Angel of Retribution, and is on tour this summer. Originally from Birmingham, England, Judas Priest pioneered the heavy metal sound in the 1970s and '80s. Lead singer Halford left the band in 1991, citing internal tension, and in 1998, he disclosed that he is gay during an interview on MTV. Nicknamed the "Metal God," Halford returned to Judas Priest in 2003.

The legendary jazzman turns 87 on July 31, 2005. He and his trio have just released a new CD, For My Father, and he joins John Patitucci and Jack De Johnette for the Great Jazz Trio's upcoming CD, S'Wonderful.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg discusses the "etymythologies" of words, including those used as racial epithets.

Writer, actor, lawyer Edwin John Wintle has written his first book, a memoir about what happened when his 13-year old niece came to live with him. His book is Breakfast with Tiffany: An Uncle's Memoir.

As a columnist for The New York Times, Frank Rich writes about the intersection of culture and news. His pieces -- often touching on politics, religion and the arts -- are a fixture of the paper's Sunday editions.

Social historian Stephanie Coontz's new book is Marriage, a History: from Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage. The historical review of wedlock reveals an institution that has adapted over centuries — but faces new crises today.

Husband and wife actors Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy have collaborated on the new offbeat feature Transamerica. Macy is the executive producer on the project, which features Huffman as a male-to-female transsexual who is contacted by the son she never knew she fathered.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews the new French film Kings & Queen, directed by Arnaud Desplechin.

Actress Brooke Shields has written a new memoir about what she experienced following the birth of her daughter: Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression. After struggling to become pregnant, Shields was faced with more difficulties.

Meg Wolitzer's new novel, The Position, is about a 1970s couple who write a Joy of Sex-style book, complete with illustrations of them making love. Their lives — and those of their children, who get their hands on the book — are never quite the same afterward.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Crash, a new film by writer-director Paul Haggis. The movie's ensemble cast includes Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton and hip-hop artist Ludacris.

Hackworth died on Wednesday at the age of 74 from bladder cancer. He was the youngest full colonel in the Vietnam War, and was reputed to the model for the Col. Kurtz character played by Marlon Brando in the movie Apocalypse Now. He later decried the American military effort in Vietnam. When he left the Army, he moved to Australia where he was active in the peace and disarmament movements. This interview was originally broadcast on April 26, 1989.

Amy Sherman-Palladino is the creator and executive producer of Gilmore Girls, on the WB network. The show is about a single mother and her daughter who are best friends. Lauren Graham plays Lorelai Gilmore, the hip mom who does her best to keep teenage daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) from repeating her own mistakes. Lorelai was a teenager herself when she became pregnant with her daughter. The popular show is now in its fifth season. Warner Brothers has just released season three on DVD.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse has covered the Supreme Court for The New York Times since 1978. She won the Pulitzer in 1998 for her coverage of the court. Her new book is Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey.