Sherrilyn Ifill (On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-first Century) has some excellent commentary on recent events, including the Sotomayor hearings (as well as the Supreme Court ruling on Ricci v. DeStefano, a case that was brought up repeatedly in the hearings) and the Henry Louis Gates arrest.

You should also check out Stanley Fish talking about his friendship with Professor Gates in the New York Times.

Jay Wexler (who, it's already been established, loves road trips) is in Asheville, NC, this week. Check him out at Malaprops Bookstore on Thursday, and read about his family's adventures here. And read about how drinking beer helped him write his book here.

Patricia Hill Collins talks about institutional racism and education on BookTV. (It's about a hour and fifteen minutes long, so set aside some time to watch.)

Suzanne Strempek Shea says polka's not dead yet.

Mark Hyman looks at one of the problems addressed in his book about youth sports: whether curveballs are too stressful for young bodies.