WHAT'S NEW

Twyla Tharp's Creative Secret

This month, choreographer Twyla Tharp premiered two new works to open Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet's new artistic season. Earlier this summer, Tharp debuted another new work with the American Ballet Theater. What’s the secret behind her impressive productivity? Tharp, 67, says it’s more about routine than bolts of inspiration. And she insists it’s a routine we all can learn. More on Creativity—A Habit We All Can Learn.

If You Need Help Sleeping...

When you think of using martial arts, it’s usually to wreak havoc among the muscular and the dim-witted (or these days, the golden-parachuted). But a new study shows that one particular martial art can also help you get more shut-eye. More on sleep tactics.

How Good Is New GI Bill?

Do education benefits in the 2008 "GI Bill for the 21st Century" live up to the WWII bill? Well, put it this way—returning vets are not going to be pouring in to Harvard. More on vets' rights.

A Modest Proposal on Faculty Pay

Given the crazy high ratios of eager applicants to paltry full-time faculty jobs, why not lower the wages ... (more)        

TRENDS

Time for 'Boomer School'

Well, hooray—"Boomer School" is on the way. But lest that sound paralyzingly cute, like some vampire Sesame Street, rest assured. Now that 78 million baby boomers are approaching retirement, two major philanthropies have put money on the line to develop valuable curriculum that will help them refocus their careers and stay active. More on Boomer School. 

One Day U Expanding to West Coast

As of September, One Day University's popular lectures—delivered by Ivy League professors, with no homework or exams—take place in two new locations: Los Angeles and San Francisco. Subjects range from "Iraq, Iran, and the Future of the Middle East" to "The Science of Happiness." More on One Day U.

14 Freedom Riders Get Degrees at Last

Forty-seven years ago they summoned the courage to face anger, violence, possibly even death, and boarded Freedom buses to Alabama in support of civil rights for black citizens. Fourteen students from Nashville who were arrested, jailed, and convicted of breach of the peace were then kicked out of college. On September 18, Tennessee State University honored the 10 still living and the 4 others posthumously with honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees. For the honorees and their families, it wasn't only justice at last, it was a joyous reunion.  More on Freedom activists today.

These Jocks Just Can't Quit

And why should they when they're still going strong? Competing at the Olympics last month: Jeannie Longo, 49, 55-time French and World Cycling Champion (take that Lance!), and U.S. swimmer Dara Torres, 41, the 4-time Olympic gold medalist whose abs created a buzz when her bikini-clad bod appeared in the New York Times. Oh yes, did we mention she has a two-year-old daughter? More "Extreme Elders."

Girl Athletes Ace College

Girls who don a sports uniform in high school are much more likely to eventually sport a collegiate cap and gown, according to a study from Brigham Young University. Among women undergrads who did high school sports, 57% completed college; among those who didn't, 35% completed college.