The Oscar nominations: Philip Glass

Along with Reich, Riley and Young, Glass was a principal figure in the establishment of minimalism in the 1960s. He has since become one of the most successful composers of his generation. He studied the violin at six, then at eight the flute with Britton Johnson at the Peabody Conservatory.

Cheek by jow

By Anatoly Liberman

English is a language of limitless opportunities. Strange things happen in it. Some words are spelled alike but pronounced differently: ‘bow’ (the bow of a ship) and ‘bow’ (bow and arrows); ‘row’ (she kicked up a row) and ‘row’ (the front row); ‘permit’ (the verb) and ‘permit’ (the noun).

A few questions for Stephen Hinshaw

By Stephen P. Hinshaw

Stephen Hinshaw, author of The Mark of Shame: Stigma of Mental Illness and an Agenda for Change, is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. His new book questions why the mentally ill in America are still discriminated against and what can be done about this longstanding problem.