From Tikkun, a review of The Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West by Mark Lilla; a review of God Without God by Michael Hampson; a review of books on spiritual atheists; a look at what Christians think about the Jews and the Holy Land: Beware "supporters" of Israel who don't wish Jews well; and where is Israel?: Is it an outpost of Europe, the U.S., or global Judaism, or is it a Middle Eastern country?  An article on the subtle art of the Facebook update. The book that changed my life: Isabel Hilton picks The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir (and more from Bookforum). Heritage is not what it used to be: Modern lifestyles and technological progress are changing the way we look at historical landscapes. A review of And Justice for All: The United States Commission on Civil Rights and the Continuing Struggle for Freedom in America by Mary Frances Berry. A review of Consumer Kids: How Big Business Is Grooming Our Children for Profit by Ed Mayo and Agnes Nairn. An except from So Damn Much Money: The Triumph of Lobbying and the Corrosion of American Government by Robert G. Kaiser (and an interview). Does nobody want to take money from the poor? Tim Harford wants to know. In defense of secrecy: Even after the Bush years, there’s still a place for government behind closed doors.

From Transformations, a special issue on Democracy Under Fire, including Niall Lucy and Steve Mickler (CUT): The War on English: An Answer to the Question, What is Postmodernism?; Elaine Kelly (Mcquarie): Democratic Hospitalities: National Borders and the Impossibility of the Other for Democracy; Terry Eyssens (Ballarat): Democracy of the Civil Dead: The Blind Trade in Citizenship; Julie MacKenzie (Sydney): Judith Butler, Gender, Radical Democracy: What’s Lacking?; Kevin Howley (DePauw): Democracy Now! Decolonising US News Media; Henk Huijser (USQ) and Janine Little (Deakin): Get Up! for what? Issues Driven Democracy in a Transforming Public Sphere. An excerpt from I’d Rather We Got Casinos and Other Black Thoughts by Larry Wilmore. An interview with Steven Brill, his plan to save The New York Times. Opting for an aristocrat rather than a technocrat may be exactly what we need in this fathomless economic crisis and encroaching darkness. In good we trust: If we're hardwired to be selfish jerks, can we ever get beyond politics as usual? An interview with Marian Wright Edelman on why tackling poverty, education and health care during this financial crisis makes economic sense. Genius Persona(lities): The mark of true genius is the effortless creation of something wholly new that, once seen, becomes self-evident.

From This Magazine, with stars such as Amy Winehouse racing toward early graves, it’s easy to think they’re stupid and sick, but there’s something subversive about women who won’t behave; the sensational Jezebel.com is addictive, but is it feminist?; the new face of porn: A new generation of feminists are reclaiming porn, both as consumers and producers; and what's real and what's fake in the porno biz? From Nerve, more on the history of single life: Ronald Reagan v. Birds, Bees. From The Threepenny Review, a review of Jill Bolte Taylor's My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. James Gibbons reviews The Shanghai Gesture by Gary Indiana. Superhuman: An article on the secrets of the ice man. Under the Icelandic volcano: How a cold country lost its shirt in the global economic meltdown, but ultimately found its soul (and more). With food prices skyrocketing and global famine looming, Joshua Kurlantzick reports from Malawi, which is defying the experts and feeding itself. Perhaps this year won't be so bleak after all — New Scientist takes a closer at what's on offer, and how to pay for it. No place for home: This is what the housing crisis looks like through the eyes of a first-time homebuyer. When it comes to leading the factions of the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama is more like the supreme allied commander of NATO than the admiral of a fleet of ships.

A new issue of Economic Sociology is out. From Reason, Brian Doherty on libertarianism in an age of economic crisis: Why being truculent, oppositional, and hard to pigeonhole are not signs of ideological death. Adapting to a new economy: An evolutionary perspective on economics can explain how we got into this current mess, and how we might find our way out. Whose military is it anyway? Our military may not yet be a foreign legion — but it's getting there. Henry Kissinger, once accused of war crimes, is back and working for the Obama adminstration — is this a sign of American desperation or another example of what Hillary Clinton calls smart power? From Quodlibet, a review of Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian McLaren; an essay on meta-paradigms in theological thought; a look at how modern philosophy shaped the evangelical view of Scripture; and an article on popular films and the avoidance of cinematic separatism: Eight justifications for celluloid religion. Spielberg-loving, Spike Lee–attacking critic Armond White is the film world’s brother from another planet. Where does the Internet come from? How information moves now, and how it moved 100 years ago. Why bikini modeling is like a contact sport: The marketing around Sports Illustrated's new swimsuit edition is fiercer than ever.