The woman who changed her brain

Barbara Arrowsmith is “the woman who changed her brain.” That’s the name of her new book. And to say that she changed her brain is no exaggeration. That’s because when Barbara Arrowsmith was growing up in the 1950s and 60s, she had such a range of unusual, severe, learning disabilities there was no treatment for her. Hers was a struggle between despair and determination. Determination won. CNN’s Michael Schulder finds out why.

George R.R. Martin at Worldcon

At Worldcon on Saturday, George R.R. Martin fielded several questions in a panel led by Maureen Ryan and Peter Sagal. The 70-minute long panel was recorded and a podcast of the discussion is now online. (An iTunes version is also available.) Maureen Ryan has an article at the Huffington Post detailing the podcast and providing additional info.