Planet Cardinal

Ripples, a “cinematic” stage play reflecting on the impact of 9/11, premiered in New York this September. Directed by Babak Ebrahimian, MA ’93, PhD ’95, the play was scheduled to run through September 11 and included a benefit performance for the Children’s Aid Society . . . Dahlia Lithwick, JD ’96, pinch-hit for New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman for three weeks this summer while Friedman was on leave to write a book. Her column appeared twice a week between August 8 and August 29. Lithwick, a columnist and senior editor at Slate, “has one of the most distinctive new voices in American journalism,” said Gail Collins, editor of the Times editorial page . . . Former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, ’91, MA ’91, appeared in a video clip during a recent Jeopardy! episode, giving contestants this answer: The first Stanford player to win the Heisman Trophy was this quarterback who led the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XV. (Correct response: Who is Jim Plunkett?) McCaffrey’s clip aired on July 20, in the 35th episode of supercontestant Ken Jennings’s unprecedented winning streak.