Places & Travel

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Mad Hot Ballroom, a new documentary about 11-year-old kids who compete in a New York City ballroom dance competition.

Film producer Ismail Merchant died Wednesday at age 68. In conjunction with James Ivory, he produced A Room With a View (1985), Howards End (1992) and other films. Their newest film, Heights, hits theaters in June. (Original airdate: 9/10/87)

The new novel Thirty-Three Swoons by Martha Cooley is a detailed intrigue set in Manhattan, interweaving the worlds of theatre and the perfume industry. Cooley's previous work includes The Archivist. Book critic Maureen Corrigan has a review.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Them: A Memoir of Parents, by Francine du Plessix Gray.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Crash, a new film by writer-director Paul Haggis. The movie's ensemble cast includes Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton and hip-hop artist Ludacris.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Never Let Me Go, the new novel by Kazu Ishiguro, the author of the bestseller The Remains of the Day.

New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman's new book, The World is Flat, explores the effects of outsourcing and globalization. The book, subtitled "a brief history of the 21st century," connects recent business trends with social issues.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews the French film Look at Me. It won a best screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Critic Milo Miles checks out the New Orleans sound via a recent recording by the Neville Brothers, Walkin' in the Shadow of Life, as well as a new Sonny Landreth CD, Grant Street.

Flynt Leverett is a senior fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. As Syria is prodded to withdraw its troops — and influence — from neighboring Lebanon, the region faces potentially drastic changes.

State Department representative Elizabeth Dibble is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. Dibble addresses the question of the U.S. State Department policy toward Syria and Lebanon.

Rami Khouri is Palestinian-Jordanian, with a U.S. citizenship. He is an internationally syndicated political columnist and the host of Encounter, a weekly current affairs talk show on Jordan Television. He also hosts a weekly radio program, and he spent the 2001 academic year at Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow. He was editor-in-chief for the Jordan Times newspaper for seven years. He often comments on Middle East issues for the BBC, NPR and CNN.

His new book is No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam. The book is a call to reform, and a proposal to end the religious battle between East and West. Aslan was born in Iran and lives in the United States. He was a visiting assistant professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Iowa, where he got an MFA in fiction at the Writer's Workshop. Aslan has written for The Nation, Slate and The New York Times.

Wagner hangs out with the rich and famous, and then writes satirical novels based on Los Angeles life. His new book is The Chrysanthemum Palace. The three main characters are actors who are the children of wealthy, successful parents. Wagner is known for his dark wit and nasty portrayals of show business elite.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Melinda and Melinda the new Woody Allen film, starring Will Ferrell.

Former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle has been in the Darfur region of Western Sudan monitoring the humanitarian crisis there for the African Union. Steidle says there's no doubt that Sudan is in the midst of genocide.

John Prendergast is Special Adviser to the President of the International Crisis Group. He has 20 years of experience attempting to resolve conflicts in Africa, and shaping U.S. foreign policy toward the region.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new season of The Shield. The critically acclaimed show is adding actress Glen Close to its cast of burly, often violent alpha males.

Journalist Hugh Miles is the author of Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera, the premier news channel in the Arabic-speaking world, plans to launch an English channel sometime in the next few months.

In their new book, Lightning Out of Lebanon: Hezbollah Terrorists on American Soil they warn of the presence of Hezbollah militants in the United States. Diaz and Newman say the cells could potentially be more dangerous than al Qaeda.