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Television writer and musician Barbara Hall got the idea for her latest novel after taking violin lessons from a music teacher who seemed angry that she wanted to learn. Hall discusses her book, The Music Teacher and the idea that not everyone is called to be a professional musician; some are called to teach.

At the annual Oscar gala, the cameras flash and reporters ask whose clothes you're wearing. But they only offer a glimpse of nominees and their escorts. This Sunday, commentator Peggy Orenstein will walk the red carpet with her filmmaker husband — another time.

Pakistan's government says it is implementing Islamic law in the Swat Valley in exchange for a truce with Taliban militants. The deal has raised concern in the West. The cease-fire has been criticized as giving in to militants, and it's feared the deal could embolden other militant groups in Pakistan.

President Barack Obama says up to 9 million struggling homeowners could get help from the housing rescue plan he outlined. The plan commits $275 billion in government funds to the effort and would help some homeowners reduce home payments by refinancing.

Atlantic contributing editor Ta-Nehisi Coates describes growing up with a father who was a member of the Black Panthers in his new memoir, The Beautiful Struggle.

Culture coach Valorie Burton gives advice on what to say — and what not to say — to a friend who's recently lost his or her job.

A new book says snark is threatening to take over how Americans converse. Snark is a tone of teasing or snideness. David Denby, the author of Snark, discusses about how clever put-downs and cheap shots are coarsening public debate.

If you're not enjoying your commute this morning, we offer this consolation: It could be worse. You could be driving in India. Motorists in India like to honk their horns to alert other drivers. One man is trying to reform drivers' behavior.

Author Steven Waldman writes that the religious basis for the United States is "religious liberty"-- the practice of promoting faith by leaving it alone. Waldman seeks to debunk popular myths about the founding father's beliefs in his book Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America.

In northern Pakistan, a deal is in the works to end the war in the Swat Valley, once a vacation destination now largely in the hands of the Taliban. The Taliban in the area unilaterally declared a ten-day ceasefire in the Swat Valley after the provincial government in northwest Pakistan and Islamist militants reached an agreement in which Islamic judicial practices will be enforced in part of the northwest.