Nicholas Griffin, author of PING-PONG DIPLOMACY, presents the five things you should know about the history surrounding the 1971 ping-pong exhibitions between the United States and China that suddenly moved the two countries toward détente.

Sam Harris – multiplatinum singer and songwriter, Tony-nominated actor, and the first winner of TV’s Star Search – shares sixteen brilliantly observed tales from his life with a storytelling ability the New York Times has called “New Yorker-worthy.”

Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi at Throwing Shade choose DOWNTON TABBY for the perfect stocking stuffer this holiday season.

Hockey. It’s always been our game. Our passion. From its earliest days, strong personalities and philosophies battled to define not only how the game would be played, but who would play it. In A Great Game we meet the hockey heroes and hard-boiled businessmen who built the sport, watch the rise and fall of hockey dynasties, and discover how big money has driven the game from its earliest days.

Hockey. It’s always been our game. Our passion. From its earliest days, strong personalities and philosophies battled to define not only how the game would be played, but who would play it. In A Great Game we meet the hockey heroes and hard-boiled businessmen who built the sport, watch the rise and fall of hockey dynasties, and discover how big money has driven the game from its earliest days.

Glen Berger on reading a classic by Mark Helprin, plus finally getting around to some Stephen Jay Gould.

Glen Berger, author of Song of Spider-Man and co-writer of the most controversial musical on Broadway, reveals how it all came together (and fell apart).

Gary Pomerantz gives the definitive account of the Steel Curtain dynasty, which won four Super Bowls and produced 12 Hall of Fame players, with more than 200 interviews with players, coaches, executives, and opponents reflecting on their glory days, life after football, and the lifelong friendships they forged.

Gary Pomerantz on reading a "majestic" work of narrative nonfiction

John U. Bacon on one of his favorite parodies of college campus life.