“The Little Mermaid.” The songs. The talking crab. The little fish that could. That was Walt Disney’s fairy tale, complete with happily ever-after ending. But the rendition of this classic story that Michelle Banta-Tessier watched left a very different impression, and ignited her passion for children’s media. Read more...

Read more...

Everybody went to Africa this summer. Just turn to E! or flip through the pages of Us Weekly and you’ll see exactly what I mean. Brad Pitt did a TV special on poverty and AIDS in Africa. Read more...

Heather Raffo looks at Iraq and sees beauty. This may seem bizarre for the majority of Americans, whose sole portal to the country is a constant stream of violent and painful images narrated by glossy newscasters. Read more...

Former judge Sol Wachtler boasts an impressive resume. As chief justice of the highest court of New York state ““ the Court of Appeals ““ he stood as one of the state’s greatest jurists who upheld the freedom of the press and strongly advocated women’s and minority rights. Read more...

Charlie Kaufman has written a play set in the present. The exact present. By the time you finish reading this sentence, the play’s setting will have passed. Read more...

There is evidence now that seems to confirm that Jack White is from another planet. It’s not just about his appearance anymore. (White has put off many with his ghost-white complexion and untamed, wiry black locks ““ think Edward Scissorhands.) At one point during the White Stripes concert on Aug. Read more...