Jens Beckert and Frank Wehinger (Max Planck): In the Shadow: Illegal Markets and Economic Sociology. The ultimate Republican threat: The Constitution did not omit limits on taxes and borrowing because of an oversight. A review of Immorality and the Law: The Rising Power of the American Dead by Ray Madoff. Carded at the polls: Will the Justice Department stop the assault on voting rights for minorities, the elderly, and the poor? Content-free prose: The latest threat to writing or the next big thing? America adores its cliches about France — skinny women, good sex, and “surrender monkeys” — well, it’s about time we respected France’s history of conquering and oppressing the world. Maria Popva on (almost) everything you need to know about culture in 10 books. Growing a better NIH: A radical way to fix the nation’s medical-research establishment. Despite fewer high-paying jobs, students continue to pour into law school — and the schools keep charging higher tuition and admitting more students. A review of After Finitude: An Essay on the Necessity of Contingency by Quentin Meillassoux. A cultural history of pie-ing: A look at how the pie-in-the-face has evolved from comedic device to political act. From Student Pulse, an essay on nigromancy in the later Middle Ages. Velorutionary: Bike histories, bike prospects, and the revolutionary-Quixotic themes that attach to them, have a new centrality in cultural and political reflection. The Forgotten Churchill: The man who stared down Hitler also helped create the modern welfare state. A new book published in Germany looks at what makes Arabic street art unique — and just how powerful it can be. David Roberts on what the U.S. power industry thinks about the future of the U.S. power industry. A look at 7 "ancient" forms of mysticism that are recent inventions.
