online archive
5:00PM
AUG 4 2008
And the beat goes off
From Economic Principals, David Warsh on the significance of Geneva. Bill Gates on making capitalism more creative. “An uncharacteristically altruistic monument”: An interview with Adam Thirlwell, author of The Delighted States (and a review). And the beat goes off: The strange story of what happened to dancing. Politics, religion and money may be wrestling to control the Olympics, but they’ll never be a match for the sheer drama. A review of Kiss My Math: Showing Pre-Algebra Who's Boss by Danica McKellar. A review of America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 by Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier (and more and more). Europeans are greeting Barack Obama as their savior; but how long will the love last if he wins the presidency? From The Boston Globe Magazine, a special issue on The Boomers. A review of books on Hitler and Germany. A review of What Happened to the Children Who Fled Nazi Persecution by Gerhard Sonnert and Gerald Holton. An article on the power of Mao, multiplied, in the pop art of China. A review of Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State by Steven Heller. More on Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? by James Sheehan. Is international justice the enemy of peace? Aryeh Neier wants to know. The first chapter from Does Peacekeeping Work? Shaping Belligerents' Choices after Civil War by Virginia Fortna.
1:00PM
AUG 4 2008
All things must pass
From New Humanist, the 21st century has seen the world rocked by a variety of religious challenges to the secular state; obsessing about culture traps people in their own history, argues Kenan Malik; Trevor Griffiths discovers the true revolutionary spirit of Tom Paine; and from 19th century anti-suffragists to today’s anti-feminists, there's a common link between women who turn against themselves. All things must pass: In a country of transients, what becomes of everything we leave behind? From Truthdig, an article on AIDS and the myth of the oversexed Negro. Here's a list of 5 sex experts who made the world a worse place (to do it). An article on vengeance, calculating the economics of an eye for an eye. From Wired, the documentary "Nerdcore For Life" examines the good, bad and geeky; and Hollywood has finally figured out how to make Web video pay. Who needs the tech IPO? Open source and Facebook have completely changed the economics of Web startups. The rise of digital and conceptual art, and a declining interest in traditional craft skills, is forcing art departments to reinvent themselves. Many of Heraclitus’ maxims may seem like platitudes, simply because they are so well known. More on John Burrow's A History of Histories. Mark Bauerlein on how Theory damaged the Humanities. Phil Hogan finds out what the truth is behind memory loss and if you can avoid it.
9:00AM
AUG 4 2008
When lit-crit mattered
From Salon, Glenn Greenwald on vital unresolved anthrax questions and ABC News; and fear and loafing in the Green Zone: Welcome to Baghdad's post-decadent stronghold: Menacing Peruvian mercenaries, Chinese prostitutes, concealed beer and doughnuts — and Iraqis eyeing a foreboding future. More and more on The Dark Side by Jane Meyer. Paul Bloomfield on Iraq: Beyond what's best for us. From The Nation, an article on Rachel Maddow's life and career. Financier and Democratic moneyman Steve Rattner seems to have it all — looks can be deceiving. An excerpt from You Don't Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values by Win McCormack. McCain's favorite name? A visual guide to the official campaign blogs. From Guernica, an interview with Luc Sante. When lit-crit mattered: A review of Praising It New. The roll call of famous gout sufferers is long and distinguished; it includes Ben Franklin, Henry James and Karl Marx. With his books on the history of books, Nicholas Basbanes has become the foremost chronicler of bibliomania. A review of Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea. How magicians control your mind: Magic isn't just a bag of tricks — it's a finely-tuned technology for shaping what we see, and now researchers are extracting its lessons. From The New York Times, the Yuppie scum weigh in, 20 years later.
