Will Kymlicka (Queen’s): Multiculturalism: Success, Failure, and the Future. Benjamin M. Eidelson (Yale): The Majoritarian Filibuster. Our need to elevate the president into a monarchical figure not only causes us to persistently misunderstand the world around us, but is also detrimental to the habits of self-government. The Galapagos gave Darwin a free rein and ample inspiration; now, Rebecca Willis finds, they are tightly policed — and make you think about the destruction of species. Nate Silver contemplates Obama's place in history, statistically: Winning a second term is something of a prerequisite for presidential greatness, at least as historians have evaluated the question, but it is no guarantee of it. Because most people lie to themselves about death instead of worrying about it, we are neglecting a radical possibility brought by advancing technology: our imminent nonexistence might not be as inevitable as we think. A rape a minute, a thousand corpses a year: Rebecca Solnit on hate crimes in America (and elsewhere). From Arena, the triumph of reason? Guy Rundle on “medievalism” and reason in the US election.
