A "mini-med school" with leading Johns Hopkins doctors offering insights on the latest medical breakthroughs, investigative reporters probing the ethics and issues of their craft, acclaimed storytellers spinning tales and experts exploring Spain today, Oriental carpets and ancient Asian art are just some of the courses this fall in SPSBE's noncredit liberal arts Odyssey program.

Odyssey has always dedicated a considerable part of its program to current affairs and the latest developments in the arts and sciences. This fall, "Exploring Medical Science," a lecture series based on an NIH model and created by SPSBE in cooperation with the School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, will present top Hopkins physicians and researchers discussing cutting-edge developments such as new AIDS therapies, gene discoveries and brain research.

In "The Investigative Reporters," Pulitzer- and Emmy-winning journalists will discuss their work uncovering the wrong-doings and excesses of government, corporations and individuals. Participating in the series will be Nicholas Lemann, Washington correspondent for The New Yorker; Jeff Leen, of The Washington Post; Deborah Nelson, of The Los Angeles Times; Will Englund and Antero Pietila, of The Sun; George Allen, of ABC and NBC; Jayne Miller, of WBAL-TV; and Gene Roberts, formerly of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Among the program's other highlights are: "Storytelling: In the American Grain," a lecture series whose storytellers include Dovie Thomason Sickles, a Native American whose expertise grew from the multitribal stories she heard as a child, and Alice McGill, an African-American sharecropper's daughter who "tells the blues."

"Spain Today," looking at the history, art, culture, politics, cuisine and emerging role of this nation in the 26 years since Franco's death.

"George W. Bush: The First 200 Days," in which scholars, journalists, government officials and political pros will assess Bush's key appointments and his handling of critical issues, Congress and the press.

"Nepal and Tibet: Art, Religion and Culture" and "Renaissance Art in Florence," both focused on new exhibits in the just-renovated Walters Art Museum.

"The English Country House Through the Ages" and "The English Country Garden," a pair of slide-illustrated courses examining the magnificent rural residences and gardens of the British nobility.

"Oriental Carpets," a weekend seminar that includes a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see one of the world's great collections of these woven masterpieces.

"Great Directors and Their Masterpieces," an examination of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Stanley Kubrick's Doctor Strangelove, Roman Polanski's Chinatown and Ridley Scott's Bladerunner, four films whose directors paid more attention to their artistic vision than to the bottom line.

Along with these and other courses, Odyssey also will offer its Certificate in Environmental Studies, Certificate on Aging, foreign language courses and creative writing programs as part of its extensive professional development and personal enrichment curriculum.

For Hopkins employees, Odyssey courses are eligible for tuition remission of 80 percent or more.

For dates, costs and more details on courses, go to http://www.spsbe.jhu.edu/programs/noncred_programs.cfm or call 410-516-4842.