Zachary Dinerstein

Adrien Brody has starred in a number of vastly different films, including "The Darjeeling Limited," "King Kong," "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," and even the explosive action film "Predators."

Today, his newest movie hits theaters. It’s called "Detachment," and in it Brody stars as Henry Barthes, a substitute teacher with a secret past who never stays anywhere long enough to form a bond with his students or colleagues.

"Detachment" features an all-star cast, including Lucy Liu, Marsha Gay Harden, Christina Hendricks, and Bryan Cranston. Tony Kaye, who’s most famous for "American History X" is the director.

In poet Kevin Young's new book, "The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness," Young offers a remarkable, encyclopedic essay on the history of African-American culture. Young explores how African-American culture and American culture have affected one another. The book, part prose and part essay, also explores how African-American culture has become an essential and inextricable part of American culture.

When we talk about the Vietnam War, we often talk about the draft, protestors, a no-win situation, and veterans’ rights. But something we don’t always give attention to is this question: Who or what is a Vietnam vet? It’s a question that’s haunted thousands of Hmong-Americans, who were trained, armed and paid by the CIA to fight for the U.S. in Vietnam. These soldiers, who hail primarily from Laos, consider themselves vets. But the law prevents them from being buried in national or state veterans’ cemeteries.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a jack of all trades — and a master of each. During his 20 year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers, he won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards. He also made a big splash as an actor, debuting in Bruce Lee's "Game of Death" and making notable cameos in films like "Airplane!." And now, he's the author of "What Color Is My World?," a book for children about African-American inventors.

Poverty and homelessness disproportionately effects those who have served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and National Guard. While the reasons are diverse — the lack of perceived skills by civilian employers, physical and psychological injuries sustained during service, a sluggish economy — the reality is undeniable: veterans make up only ten percent of the population, yet seven percent of veterans live in poverty and one in five are homeless. Of those that have served, the group hardest hit have been National Guard veterans. 

Wyatt Cenac is best known as "The Daily Show" correspondent behind popular segments like "Black to the Future" and "Rapper or Republican." When he is not working for "The Daily Show," Cenac’s is acting and performing as a stand-up comedian. His current project, hosting the fourth season of "AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange," is a documentary series profiling men and women from across the African Diaspora — including California punk band Fishbone, a 26-year-old solar energy entrepreneur in Mali, and a minister’s daughter who plays calypso music.