online archive
5:00PM
AUG 25 2008
The case for cool
From GJSS, Lee Wing Hin (York): Centering the Center: Finding the "Hetero" in Heteronormativity. From The Gay and Lesbian Review, an interview with Edward Albee: "I’m just too busy to look back"; the search for signs of gay life in occupied Afghanistan and Iraq; an article on the science of gaydar; a look at some of the stranger “cures” for homosexuality, 1892–2004; and Bette at the bathhouse: A hand for the Divine Miss M! Which breakaway state will be the next South Ossetia? Do white people really come from the Caucasus? If Obama loses: Jacob Weisberg on why racism is the only reason McCain might beat him. In defense of race-based rooting: At the Olympics, you sometimes find yourself rooting for athletes because of their race — and that's OK. Happiness on the medal stand: It's as simple as 1-3-2. From Discover, an article on how to teach science to the Pope. An interview with Mary Beard, the classical world's most provocative figure. A review of An End to Poverty? A Historical Debate by Gareth Stedman Jones. An excerpt from Reading the OED by Ammon Shea. Peter Singer on the hidden costs of money. They are drops in an ocean of dominant norms, but some men also do question the roles thrust on them by society. Timothy Mercer on 5 reasons to be skeptical of charities. The case for cool: What, exactly, is wrong with a celebrity candidate?
1:00PM
AUG 25 2008
Picturing our thoughts
From Armed Forces Journal, an article on the counterterrorism paradox: Put the terrorist threat in perspective; carpet bombing in cyberspace: Why America needs a military botnet; and a look at why presidents no longer fire generals. From the new quarterly Dispatches, a multimedia essay on Godville: A Journey Across America; and Muzamil Jaleel is a Kashmiri in America: The lucky shade of brown. From Big Think, Jay Rosen on what the media could do better at the political conventions; and Michael Perelman on getting the right amount of sex. The Whole World Was Watching: 40 years ago this week, Chicago police battled protesters at the DNC; two ’60s radicals remember the madness, and look to Denver for change. Norman Mailer’s account of the 1968 conventions is a portrait of America, and Mailer, at a bad moment. From The Nation, more on Nixonland by Rick Perlstein (and an excerpt at Bookforum). Tim Harford on an amazing economics experiment and how it got field workers to pick a lot more strawberries. If our actions are determined by prior events, then do we have a choice about anything — or any responsibility for what we do? Good traces the most famous trips in history. From Global Journalist, a look at why spin doctors can be friends as well as foes. Picturing our thoughts: We're looking for too much in brain scans. A review of Charles Darwin by Michael Ruse.
9:00AM
AUG 25 2008
On the side of the angels
From THES, a review of Two Bits: The Cultural Significance of Free Software by Christopher M. Kelty; and a review of Criminal Intimacy: Prison and the Uneven History of Modern American Sexuality by Regina Kunzel. Does air conditioning make people vote Republican? An air-conditioned nightmare: In Afghanistan, some soldiers are pampered — should they be? Notes on a Scandal: Soldier Scott Beauchamp decided to write about his experiences in Iraq; he never suspected he'd start a war. From Mother Jones, a special investigation on US military activity around the globe, country by country, and a new primer of the post-Bush world order; is Barack Obama exaggerating when he compares his campaign to the great progressive moments in US history? 20 thinkers respond; and from the eco-MBA to the Christian hipster, college activism is alive and kicking, but what today's students care about might surprise you. The introduction to Unequal Democracy: The Political Economy of the New Gilded Age by Larry Bartels (and more). The introduction to On the Side of the Angels: An Appreciation of Parties and Partisanship by Nancy Rosenblum. Cogito Interruptus: Texting and instant messaging are the wave of the future? Scott McLemee is just too ecstatic. Was New American Review the best literary magazine ever? Gerald Howard dares you to name a better one (ahem).
