Jonathan Miller, 1/27/12

TheRecoveringPolitician.com

Accordingly, my support for gay marriage and legalized marijuana is not reliant on an "anything goes" worldview, but rather that these policies would fundamentally strengthen society and better address its public moral needs. The same holds true for my philosophy toward gambling.

Kenneth Slawenski, 1/27/12

Author

The author, who was famous for demanding control over every detail of his work while living, is still in control. Two years on, we are no closer to cementing Salinger's legacy than we were on the day that he died.

Lorraine Devon Wilke, 1/27/12

Writer; Photographer; Rock & Roll Vet

Unlike a 13-episode arc that can be mercifully cancelled when the audience clicks away, we are obligated to suffer through the soap opera plot twists and nefarious characterizations of the characters all the way up to that seemingly ever-distant date in November.

Sheila C. Johnson, 1/27/12

Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Filmmaker

My most cherished takeaway from Sundance this year is something I hadn't anticipated. I was joined at the festival by my 22 year-old son Brett, a designer who works in New York. Seeing Sundance through his eyes gave new meaning to the experience for me.

Christian Josi, 1/27/12

Recording artist, activist, and occasional columnist

Meet Caitlin Doughty of Los Angeles, California -- a feisty 27-year-old Mortician and, thanks primarily to Jezebel, rapidly-rising Internet sensation.

Steven Weber, 1/27/12

Actor, wise-ass

The stream of regularly refuted garbage churned up in the AEI think tanks and Fox newsrooms for confusion's sake is spewed everyday into our culture and subsequently, Twitter. How difficult is it to keep your head straight when you're paranoid and threatened? Oh, very.

Michael Bialas, 1/27/12

Entertainment and Sports Journalist

One of America's finest and hardest-working alternative rock/country acts is back on the road this month, resuming their tour in support of their Grammy-nominated 2011 album, The Whole Love.

Evan Shapiro, 1/27/12

President, IFC

Each year, there are a few great films that get Park City buzz, only to disappear into a sea of megaplexes and blockbusters. I submit that many of these would have fared better on TV.

Peter Davis, 1/26/12

Academy Award-winning filmmaker, author and journalist

This month something happened to me that had never happened before. Absolutely unprecedented. It may be accurate to say that what happened to me is infinitely preferable to the alternative. I turned seventy-five.

Scott Mendelson, 1/27/12

Film Critic at Mendelson's Memos, Valley Scene Magazine

On a film-by-film basis, Spielberg is far more likely to scare you or deeply disturb you than leave you with a nasty case of the warm-and-fuzzies.

Tribeca Film, 1/27/12

Movies, Film Culture and More

Mass media companies and their network model will not disappear overnight. They may not disappear at all. No one can say how fast this will occur or over what specific time frame it will unfold. But the pace of change is accelerating.

Stacy Keach, 1/26/12

Actor

He had a gargantuan talent. As a young actor, his performances in Waiting For Godot, Inadmissible Evidence, and Hamlet, were inspirational.

Laura Prudom, 1/27/12

Associate Television Editor, The Huffington Post

Ramiro was born without ears, prompting doctors to predict that he would never be able to hear or speak. Thankfully, he's able to do both, as well as sing ... Compared to some of the duds we've been subjected to this week, he could be a Grammy winner.

Nikki Lancy, 1/27/12

Keyboardist, Xylos

Although we didn't intend to come out through our album photo, I can't help but wonder whether we've attracted attention as a "gay band" in part because of these depictions. And I wonder, retrospectively, whether we did it on purpose.

Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin, 1/27/12

Producer extraordinaire (Ramone) and acclaimed singer-songwriter (Evin)

This week we review albums by Jimmy McGriff, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Earth, Brookville, and other artists.

Marlynn Snyder, 1/27/12

Freelance Writer and Cultural Critic

Is Neeson becoming the new Harrison Ford? Like that Hollywood icon, he has mastered the ability to serve up intense looks, conveying a wide range of emotions with few words.

StoryCorps, 1/26/12

A national nonprofit oral history organization

In January 2007, Rachel P. Salazar and Ruben P. Salazar were living 9,000 miles apart and completely unaware of each other's existence. But when an email meant for Rachel accidentally went to Ruben, it wasn't long before an ordinary mistake began to look like an extraordinary stroke of luck.