The introduction to Health, Luck, and Justice by Shlomi Segall. Amid the smoldering wreckage of the popular culture, James Wolcott blames Reality TV, which has not only ruined network values, destroyed the classic documentary, and debased the art of bad acting, but also fomented class warfare, antisocial behavior, and murder. Why puppy love matters for parents: Youngsters' choice of dating partners — as early as middle school — actually shapes their development to a surprising degree; why parents should be involved. An interview with Umberto Eco: "We like lists because we don't want to die". The Last Magazine: Here's what The New Yorker's masthead would probably look like. On New York magazine: Socially redeeming copy in defense of voyeurism is no vice. An excerpt from Consequential Strangers by Melinda Blau and Karen L. Fingerman. Daniel Berchenko considers the history of the dollar’s haphazard rise to global currency standard, its geopolitical consequences and the difficulty of breaking its hold. A look at how there are no seven stages of grief — you can even get over it quickly. A review of Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man, and His Times by William E. Wallace. The monuments of civilization: Raju Peddada on a tale of literary inventions and The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. Nobel Prizes and Nobel Promises: President Obama probably rattled and hummed in disbelief when he got his Nobel Prize — ask Bono. Harvey Cox on why fundamentalism will fail: A seemingly unstoppable force is being undone from the inside. A review of A Philosophy of Pain by Arne Johan Vetlesen. An interview with Edward Skidelsky on five books about virtue.
