Xenophobia, at its rotten core, is ignorance. And ignorance, as Anna Sewell’s “Black Beauty” has taught children since its 1877 publication, is the worst thing in the world, next to wickedness.

The Southampton Cultural Center is offering three-course dinner-theater packages with “Sherlock’s Secret Life,” its current production from Boots on the Ground Theater. This critic’s advice: Skip the dessert course, because the play is a delightful and satisfying confection.

Just what exactly is the legacy of Harry Houdini, this remarkable magician, escape artist, movie star, aviator, author, and investigator of the paranormal?

A Los Angeles food primer, from a poolside lunch to a celebratory meal at a classic, and the best of the high and low of West Coast cuisine