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The ongoing violence and tumult in Syria's largest city belie a richer, more prosperous past. One small object — a finely woven hat — offers evidence of life in a thriving cultural hub.

When Detroit milliner Luke Song made Aretha Franklin's now-iconic 2009 inaugural hat — you know, the one with the big bow? — he had no idea he'd be making thousands more.

Brad Leithauser likes to look for poetry in graveyards. An author and poet himself, there's something he values greatly in tombstone epitaphs: brevity. In a piece for The New Yorker's Page-Turner blog, Leithauser cites tiny works that speak volumes.

Actor David Duchovny could watch Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather a million times. "If I'm flipping around channels, I'll see it's on and I'll say, 'OK, I'll watch it for a scene or two' and then I can never turn it off," he says.

Actor-writer-director Alex Karpovsky could watch Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love a million times. "I saw it with a friend of mine, and we both absolutely loved it and immediately started quoting it," he says.

Style commentary from people who have none!

On Friday, Sotheby's is putting up for auction 44 letters and 35 drawings Charles Schulz gave to a young woman he was courting. Schulz, 48, wrote Tracey Claudius, 25, poignant, funny, even innocent notes in pictures and words, often using Charlie Brown to stand in for himself.

From The Muppet Show to The Twilight Zone and a creepy animated version of Alice in Wonderland, author Neil Gaiman shares his film and television favorites for the occasional Morning Edition series Watch This. Gaiman calls the Muppets "one of the comedic glories of the human race."

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has been both criticized and praised for asking women to speak up and advocate for themselves in their careers. But what does her advice mean for younger career-minded women? Host Michel Martin gets some answers from Viviana Hurtado, of the Wise Latina Club; Pooja Sankar, the CEO of Piazza, a website for college students; and Harvard senior Kimberly Foster.

When NPR's Elise Hu was younger, she says, she wished her mother would use English more. Now, Mom's insistence in speaking Mandarin is a gift Elise wants to give her own daughter.