Posey Gruener

At the Academy Awards, the Oscar statuette is as iconic as the gowns and the red carpet. With his square chest, broad shoulders, and tapered legs, Oscar is an art deco god. But, as ...

Daniel Alarcón was only three years old when his family left Peru to settle in Alabama. But he’s been returning there in his imagination ever since, examining the aftermath of the war...

The 32-year-old composer Nico Muhly is a Juilliard-trained wunderkind who worked for Philip Glass for nearly a decade. He’s got a solid portfolio full of unpredictable work — his long...

Andrea Barrett dropped out of a graduate program in zoology, but has never left science behind. Nearly all of her books, including the National Book Award-winning story collection Shi...

“Friends and strangers come up to me on the street,” Alice McDermott tells Kurt Andersen, “and say, ‘Oh, you’re writing another novel. Is this another one about Irish-Americans where ...

“Poetry has always been central” in Syria, according to poet and translator Ghada Alatrash. Schoolchildren recite epics, pop stars set poetry to music, and literary parlor games can g...

When writer Linda Brewer feels stuck, she runs, hitting one of a few favorite parks in Tucson. “When I’m running I mull it over and I always get some ideas,” she says. Brewer is one o...

At the Academy Awards, the Oscar statuette is as iconic as the gowns and the red carpet. But did you know Oscar’s name isn’t Oscar? Those broad shoulders belonged to Emilio Fernandez...

This morning the NCAA announced massive penalties against Penn State University due to their handling of the child sexual abuse scandal involving the former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Last week, Anne-Marie Slaughter published an article called “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” It speaks to those men and women who would like to see more women on the Supreme Court...

For some Americans, dental care means a sturdy chair, a fluoride swish, and a free toothbrush. But for one in three Americans, it's a nightmare, including astronomical bills, cripplin...

The titans are clashing in the world of poetry. Over Thanksgiving, literary critic Helen Vendler published a savage review of a new anthology, "The Penguin Anthology of Twentieth-Century American Poetry." The book was edited by Rita Dove, a former Poet Laureate. Dove responded to Vendler's scathing review with an equally vitriolic reply. Vendler is white, and Dove is black, which is either tangential to, or central to, the issue — depending on whom you talk to. The incident has many in the poetry world talking about issues of race, aesthetics, and who belongs in the poetry books, and who does not. 

Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich looks at two major stories playing out inside the halls of Congress this week. The White House is attempting to push recalcitrant Senate Republicans to confirm former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Forty-five Senate Republicans signed a letter in May vowing to block any nominee unless Congress was given more oversight of the bureau. Zwillich also spent time on Capitol hill talking to lawmakers about GOP frontrunner Newt Gingrich. 

When the TV cameras are gone, what is it like to spend the night at Occupy Wall Street? It's been a month since protesters first began to occupy Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in New York City. Since then, temperatures have been dropping as the number of protesters in New York and across the globe grows. This leaves many wondering how many protesters will be left when winter hits. Well, we aimed to find out — and to understand better just who was spending the night there and why.

Natural disasters require an incredible effort on the part of medical professionals, police, fire departments, Good Samaritans — and the media. Reporting on storms, especially hurricanes, means much more to media outlets than simple public safety information. These storms can mean big ratings, major awards, and they can make or break a reporter's career — as with The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel. Unfortunately, media histrionics can also be counterproductive to public safety.

All over the country, 50 million public school students will head back to school this week.  And so today, we’re starting a week-long special look into the state of education in America in 2011. Today, we're talking about shrinking school budgets. State budgets have been feeling the squeeze since 2008, and with stimulus money running out, this is the year when schools are really having to tighten their belts. Later this week, we'll talk about the No Child Left Behind Act's looming deadlines, which require that by 2014, 100 percent of students will test at grade level in reading and math.

Hurricane Irene made landfall in New York Sunday morning, downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Philadelphia, and New Jersey particularly hard over the weekend. Last night, the storm reached New England, triggering floods in Vermont. At least 16 deaths have been reported as a result of the storm. This morning, after being grounded through the weekend for Hurricane Irene, airlines at New York City's three major airports are readying their planes and crews for departures.

Libyan rebel forces flooded into the capital of Tripoli last night, battling with loyalists to Col. Moammar Gadhafi. The rebels captured two of Gadhafi's sons, including Seif al-Islam, the assumed heir-apparent. Civilians were celebrating in the streets over what may be the end of Gadhafi's 42 years in power of Libya. What will the events in Libya mean for the rest of the Middle East?

Over the weekend, Libyan rebel forces took key positions near the capital of Tripoli, and last night they flooded into the capital and battled with loyalists to Col. Moammar Gadhafi. Rebels captured two of Gadhafi's sons, including Seif al-Islam, the assumed heir-apparent, while civilians celebrated in the streets over what may be the end of Gadhafi's 42 years in power of Libya. Meanwhile, in the United States, candidates who hope to capture the Republican presidential nomination continue to duke it out over who would lead the country best, and President Obama is preparing his jobs plan, which he'll unveil in a speech next month.

Peace between Israel and Egypt was threatened late last week after a cross-border terrorist attack between the two countries prompted Israeli defense forces to fire at Egypt, killing three Egyptian officers. The killings spurred a diplomatic crisis. Egypt announced that it would recall its ambassador from Tel Aviv, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak broke the Sabbath to issue a rare statement of regret for the deaths, and thousands of Egyptians protested outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo. The crisis is the sharpest signal yet that the amicable relationship between Israel and Egypt has changed.