American military jets dropped bombs on Islamic extremists in Iraq today. What are we trying to achieve and what are the chances for success? Is this a slippery slope to re-engagement? One of the reasons the President gave for the strikes was to protect an ethnic minority called the Yazidis. Who are they? We talk to the author of a new book about why the “great outdoors” seems so white. In our weekly film round-up, our critics check out the latest in the “Step Up” series of dance movies, and “The Hundred Foot Journey,” with Helen Mirren. Finally, a collection of diary entries by a teenage girl who died 15 years ago provides an unusually gritty and raw look at the life of an American teenager.
Banner Image: F/A-18 aircraft from the US squadron that conducted an airstrike against Kurdish forces in Iraq, photo: handout