gayle king

Photo: Courtesy of Gayle King

My first trip to China—the Great Wall is even more majestic in person! I recommend bringing your kids. These are mine, Will and Kirby.
half the sky

"Women are not the problem; they're the solution."

—A line from Half the Sky, a new documentary based on the book of the same name by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. On PBS this month, the two-part special reveals the heartbreaking mistreatment that women suffer in places like Sierra Leone and Cambodia.
juice

Photo: Joshua Targownik

I've Found a Great New Juice Cleanse...
I normally don't love green juices, but Body & Eden makes theirs tasty by blending ingredients like avocado and banana with the usual suspects like kale and spinach. Delicious as they are, they're low calorie, and the drink names are catchy: I Have Balance, I Have Energy, and my favorite, I Have Calm. And guess what? Body & Eden is offering O readers 15 percent off with code OPRAH3012 at bodyandeden.com.
iyanla vanzant

Photo: Copyright 2012 Harpo Inc.

Iyanla Vanzant is Returning to TV!
You might remember her appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show; now she has a show on OWN called Iyanla, Fix My Life. During the two episodes I watched, she put the real in reality TV. She helps people sort through personal problems, like a radio DJ who resents his mother for lying about the identity of his father, and a woman who tries to reconnect with her family after abandoning them. Iyanla doesn't take sides, and she's both brutally honest and spontaneously tender. You never feel like anyone on the show is playing to the camera—that alone is refreshing!
buscemi

Photo: Courtesy of Macall B. Polay/HBO

Finally!
HBO's Prohibition-era drama, Boardwalk Empire, is back for a third season. I can't wait to see what Nucky Thompson—who's played brilliantly by Steve Buscemi—is up to in the deadly bootlegging business. I ran into Steve recently at a New York event, and when I asked him what he enjoyed most about being on the show, I was surprised by his answer: the clothes. Who knew Steve Buscemi was such a fashionista?
gwen stefani

Photo: Getty Images

Gwen Stefani is 42...
I know—I couldn't believe it, either! And after 11 years and two kids, she and her band, No Doubt, are back with a new album. Push and Shove stays true to No Doubt's style: It's sunny and sparkly, and Gwen must be feeling as good as she sounds. I loved this line from the song "Easy": So tell me what's so great about perfect. I'm perfectly wild.

Photo: Sidney Baldwin/Summit Entertainment, LLC

Get Ready to See Tyler Perry in a Whole New Light...
As an action star! And boy, does he deliver as the lead character in this month's film Alex Cross, based on the series of novels by James Patterson. It's a fast-paced ride with Tyler as a detective-psychologist on the hunt for an assassin, chillingly played by Matthew Fox. Tyler told me he's excited for audiences to see him in this role—and I am, too!

Next: Gayle and Adam Glassman go outlet shopping