In some ways, the Scottish historian Niall Ferguson is the Russell Crowe of the academic world: charismatic, unconventional, and definitely controversial. He’s also a big fan of the British Empire — and wants the United States to follow in its footsteps. That means it’s our job to form colonies in hot climates, for years on [...]

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series Neologisms a now-old neologism! Today’s online world is in overdrive. Think of it as a novelty factory – spewing out new ideas, products, and neologisms – new words, or phrases. Take the word blog, for example, or broadband. These are now old-hat neologisms even my [...]

Note: this piece was broadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio and will be broadcast shortly on WDAV’s Artist Spotlight. Borromeo String Quartet (photo: Christian Steiner) Steve Reich is perhaps the preeminent composer living today. And one of his most heart-wrenching and affecting works is called Different Trains for String Quartet and Tape. It tells the [...]

Note: this piece was broadcast on WMUB, an NPR station in Oxford, Ohio. Why Not? What does the word rock mean? Simple enough question. But how did the term originate? Where — and why? These questions are bit more difficult to answer! Tune in for a quick romp through the origins of the word — with Berklee College [...]

Note: This program was broadcast on WCAI, the Cape and Islands affiliate of WGBH. It also received a 5-star review on PRX! Natalie Goldberg (self-portrait) Natalie Goldberg, the well-known painter, writer and writing teacher, who wrote the best-seller on how to write called Writing Down the Bones, is also a Zen practitioner, who applies the lessons of Zen [...]

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