Califano: Our Damaged Democracy
“There are no free crumbs in politics,” declared Joseph Califano Jr. at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin. Califano, an adviser on domestic policy to President Lyndon Johnson, was here…
The Last Republicans
Mark Updegrove is best known for his association with Pres. Johnson: he is the President and CEO of the LBJ Foundation here in Austin. This follows an 8-year stint as…
Milton and The Law
“My claim is that if we read Paradise Lost on the lookout for its moments of incertitude and divine impenetrability, we can miss the ways in which law helps to…
Why Don’t I Have a Nobel Prize?
In his role as Vice President for Research at the University of Texas, Dr. Daniel Jaffe has developed instruments used to expand our knowledge of the universe. Why, he asks,…
Schumann Symphony Sparkles
The latest offering by the Austin Symphony Orchestra was an instructive lesson about why some composers are cherished and remembered, while others are best left forgotten. Offering a centrepiece piano…
The Showman of Astronomy
In every generation there is a populariser of science. The first that drew big crowds on a regular basis was Sir Humphrey Davy, whose lectures in London two centuries ago…
The Smell of the Theatre: Noises Off
Never have sardines played such a major role in a play, but that is not where the ‘smell of the theatre’ originates from in this classic British mapcap comedy from…
The Fuel of Soft Sorrow: Uncle Vanya
Listening to the lines of Anton Checkov, few would disagree he is a writer for our times: “Millions of trees have perished. The homes of the wild animals and birds…
Bella Tames the Beast
Taming Stravinsky’s beast took a Bulgarian with a violin made in 1655, but the feat was accomplished in Austin by Bella Hristova. While some music experts I talked with in…
Old Testament Paintings in Dallas
There are 13 paintings on special exhibit at the Meadows Museum in Dallas, and even though they only fill one room they pack an extraordinary punch. The artist, Francisco de…