From Skeptic Magazine's new blog, Michael Shermer on the welfare queens of Wall Street. The theory that gods are aliens is back in fiction — but why'd it fade as a religion in the first place? President Bling-Bling: French have a laugh at Sarkozy's expense. The American right’s obsession with Iran substitutes alarmist rhetoric for a serious policy towards Tehran. From Spiked, a review of books on Darfur. An article on the next Wall Street tsunami — of financial books. A review of The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic and I'm With The Brand by Rob Walker. Can tending flowers prevent criminals from reoffending? Some advocates say yes. The secret of his succession: An excerpt from The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch by Michael Wolff. As chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus could all but ensure the passage of a progressive social-policy agenda — or he could be its biggest roadblock. From Vox, research suggests poverty does not breed civil war. Innocents Abroad: Nine Americans recall their transformative experiences as students exploring foreign cultures. A review of Volunteers: A Social Profile by Marc A. Musick and John Wilson. A review of Targeting Civilians in War by Alexander B. Downes. From YaleGlobal, an article on underdevelopment and aid and the search for a right balance (and part 2).

From The Economist, a special section on Spain's morning after. From Open Democracy, the financial crisis is not just a result of mis-aligned incentives and bad regulation; a neo-Schumpeterian view suggests that this epochal shift is the start of a re-shaping of institutions and power distribution to fit the world of information technology; and what impact will the global economic downturn have on arguments about climate change? A review of Resurrecting Hebrew by Ilan Stavans. From Portfolio, an interview with Tina Brown. From Popular Mechanics, an interview with Dean Kamen: "Robots can save America from Britney Spears". Satan's Faces: An article on the many lives of Lucifer. An interview with Matthew Van Fleet, the million-selling children’s author. Shuffling the cards, math does the trick: When to stop shuffling depends on the game. The Internet vs. books, peaceful coexistence: The instant knowledge provided by the Web is invaluable, as is the deeper communion provided by books. Castles in the air: An article on the world's greatest treehouses. An interview with Michael Pollan: "Eating is a political act". A review of Axis of Convenience: Moscow, Beijing and the New Geopolitics by Bobo Lo. Harnessing a cause without yielding to it: Parties and movements have a history of uneasy friendships. From Utne, global web geeks are killing the Queen’s English — good riddance.

From The Root, why white comics don't get Barack: If SNL and others want to make Obama funny, they'll have to tap into more than just stereotypes; and why black comics must get Barack: Where is Dave Chappelle when we need him? Time for black funnymen to take the gloves off. The Shadow President: How John Podesta invented the Obama administration. Ezra Klein on the Age of Podesta: "Put simply, hez in ur govrnment, staffing ur agenciez". Larry Bartels on how Obama survived the Culture War. Weapons dealers are reporting sharply higher sales since Barack Obama won the presidency a week ago. It’s only been a week since the defeat, but the battle lines have already been drawn in the fight over the future of conservatism. Pollsters, pundits and others on where the GOP went wrong. Dick Armey on why "Compassionate Conservatism" was a mistake. From AJR, an article on Wikipedia in the newsroom; and what are the guidelines for the personal blogs of journalists who work for mainstream news organizations? Blogging is no longer what it was, because it has entered the mainstream. Twitter, Flickr, Facebook make blogs look so 2004: Thinking about launching your own blog? Here's some friendly advice: Don't. Public Intellectual 2.0: More social scientist than humanist, more blogger than essayist, today's breed is different from midcentury forebears, but impressive all the same.

Michael Peters (Illinois): The Global Failure of Neoliberalism: Privatize Profits; Socialize Losses. From The Walrus, an article on the last of the wild Jews: The end of an era in Jewish-American literature? After the Imperial Presidency: Will the new president and Congress undo the executive-power plays of the Bush era? Access all eras: Amid the mass of works of popular historical non-fiction, three historians set out to illuminate and enliven the past. From First Things, an interview with Rene Girard, one of the most important Christian intellectuals of our time. Does religion make you nice? The latest research on religion and niceness. A review of The Enemy Within: 2,000 Years of Witch-hunting in the Western World by John Demos. Was it fair to compare the McCain campaign to George Wallace’s? Here’s what Nicholas Katzenbach thinks about Lewis and the campaign of 2008. From The New Yorker, a review of books on overparenting. Does the conventional wisdom about the market still stand? James Surowiecki wants to know; and why the market couldn’t check its fall. Rereading history: The Bibliotheca Alexandrina makes reading history a pleasure. More on Descartes’ Bones by Russell Shorto. How an unassuming Treasury under secretary is implementing innovative sanctions on Iran that could finally give Washington what it hasn’t had in Tehran in three decades: influence.