Biloxi Blues
Katrina's destruction of the Mississippi coast left many residents homeless, unemployed, and vowing recovery. One year later, our writer revisits the coast, but finds little sign of progress.
Clay Risen
Washington, DC
Official Washington, DC, is tailored for certain groups of people: tourists, politicians, and lobbyists. But setting aside the monuments and museums leaves a series of parks where the city's history and social conditions are thrown into stark relief.
News Gone Wild
Pop quiz for the journalism students in the audience: What's an editor to do when her reporter is assaulted and the attacker, whom the reporter strikes back, turns out to be the story's subject?
The House of Truth
Washington's DuPont Circle may now be a posh address for lawyers and diplomats--and 4,000 Starbucks outlets--but it was once a bohemian hotseat for intellectuals.
The Weathermen
Why are so many news shows so dully casted--except for the flamboyantly named superhero in front of the blue screen? The top 10 best-named weathermen currently rescuing the news.
Girlfriends
Girlfriends, on UPN, could have been another empty yuppie comedy, a black woman's Sex in the City. Instead, the sitcom about four female black professionals in L.A. is witty, smart and original, and it plays with race and class without relying on dry stereotypes. Luckily, the show
I, Servant
Admitting you have a problem is a big hurdle to face, but confessing you need help can be even more difficult, especially when you're forced to choose your own path. So: Will it be robot or monkey?
Goodnight, Nobody
Faulkner died 40-some years ago, and whether southern literature passed with him has been a hot topic ever since. Regardless of the genre's health, the region has lately produced a bevy of talented writers. One to watch is Michael Knight, the head of the creative writing program
Wrong Way Home
To rebuild the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast, Mississippi's governor picked a panel of vaunted New Urbanists to submit plans. But is their nostalgia for small-town America appropriate, nevermind prepared for the task?
Cowboy Troy
Next month Troy Coleman, aka Cowboy Troy, will perform at the Country Music Awards in New York City. Cowboy Troy is one of Nashville's hot young stars. But unlike most country superstars, he raps, laying old-school rhymes over pedal-steel guitar. Far from just scoring points for