Merrill Markoe's write-up of the stages of talk show guest anxiety is a must-read humor piece. Regretsy Ta-Neisha Coates addresses the American Civil War with eloquence, clarity, and smack upside the head for believing the rote historical narrative from our middle school text books. The Atlantic

Rich Juzwiak explains how America's Next Top Model could screw up its casting so badly that the newest season's winner was disqualified, requiring a reshoot of the final judging panel without her present. Four Four

Nathaniel Rogers explores the divide between visual storytelling and spoken exposition in film through the lens of possible Oscar gold. Fandor

Finally, Stephen Colbert invited the male lead in the American Ballet Theater onto the Colbert Report to riff on Cold War stereotypes. Together with female lead Hee Seo, the performers put on one of the most entertaining selections from The Nutcracker I've ever seen. Jump, Stephen, jump!