online archive
6:00PM
OCT 17 2007
Questions you should never ask a writer
From NYRB, a review of Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice by Janet Malcolm. A review of Agatha Christie: An English Mystery by Laura Thompson (and more). From The Guardian, a special page on Doris Lessing. From Open Democracy, Doris Lessing, an eternal outsider whose critical distance from orthodoxy fuels her work's remarkable "predictive" quality, is a seeker and educator in mysticism who uses Sufi ideas to enlarge her and her characters' humanity. The Political Doris Lessing: The winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature is every bit as political as her predecessors. Questions you should never ask a writer: Doris Lessing has some strong thoughts about political correctness. A review of The Journal of Joyce Carol Oates: 1973-1982 (and more). An interview with Alice Walker on her latest work, Why War is Never a Good Idea. It’s humans’ flaws that make the world go round, and novelist Susanna Moore examines them under intense magnification.
5:00PM
OCT 17 2007
Dust in citizens' eyes
From New Statesman, in defence of hypocrisy: An article on the importance of insincerity, theft of policy and hypocrisy. From Open Democracy, statistics and politics: Politicians' abuse of numbers is dust in citizens' eyes—a sceptical, informed questioning by citizens is their first line of defence; and are collective decisions a reliable route to better public judgment? James Surowiecki's influential argument about "the wisdom of crowds" provokes James Fishkin into elaborating the deliberative approach to public opinion as a means to revivify democratic processes and outcomes. An article on the science of collective decision-making. From Scientific American, an article on the genetics of politics: A study finds that biology strongly governs voter turnout.
4:00PM
OCT 17 2007
Japan's culture of cute
From American Diplomacy, an article on Japan's territorial disputes. A review of In the Ruins of Empire: The Japanese Surrender and the Battle for Postwar Asia by Ronald H. Spector. Immanuel Wallerstein on Japan, the United States, and the world-economy. An American Prius? Japanese automakers have crushed the Big Three with their hybrids. Here's a map of the USA, Made in Japan. The Japanese have selflessly devoted themselves to a practical pursuit: Creating a better sex doll. Childless Japanese women push the country's culture of cute too far. A review of Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation by Michael Zielenziger. Danjuro Ishikawa XII, a scion of Japanese theatre’s royal family, unveils the history of kabuki.
3:00PM
OCT 17 2007
Politics are sooo hot
From Radar, an interview with Richard Branson on his bid for world domination. From The Nation, taking celebrity seriously: The Paris Principle—Politics are sooo hot. From Vanity Fair, Moms Gone Wild: Sure, mothers always get blamed for everything. But—as a look at the women behind Paris, Lindsay, and Britney reveals—if your child is your meal ticket and career booster, it's hard to be the parent she needs; It's a Mad, Mad, Zsa Zsa World: Welcome to a surreal address that makes Sunset Boulevard look like Sesame Street; and Mad About the Boys: Until he fled the country in January, accused of embezzling more than $300 million, Lou Pearlman was famous as the impresario behind the Backstreet Boys and 'NSync. Turns out his investors weren't the only victims, colleagues reveal: Pearlman's passion for boy bands was also a passion for boy. From (Las Vegas) City Life, a review of Clublife: Thugs, Drugs, and Chaos At New York City's Premier Nightclubs by Rob the Bouncer.
2:00PM
OCT 17 2007
Tricks of the trade
From PUP, the introduction to Free Trade Reimagined: The World Division of Labor and the Method of Economics by Roberto Mangabeira Unger; and the introduction to One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalization, Institutions, and Economic Growth by Dani Rodrik. Which institutions matter for economic growth? Liam Brunt investigates. From The Economist, a series of articles on innovation. Ronald Bailey on the Tragedy of the Anticommons: Do patents actually impede innovation? Tricks of the trade: Economists need to master idiosyncrasies of intellectual property rights. The introduction to Connections: An Introduction to the Economics of Networks by Sanjeev Goyal. From Ephemera, the physics and metaphysics of struggle: A review Contesting the Corporation: Struggle, Power and Resistance in Organizations by Peter Fleming and Andre Spicer; and a review of Deirdre McCloskey's The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an age of commerce. More on Discover Your Inner Economist by Tyler Cowen.
1:00PM
OCT 17 2007
Food and farming
From Grist, an interview with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma; and sow what? A special series on food and farming. A review of "King Corn", part road-trip film, part documentary, part horror flick — and all wake-up call (and the documentary's website). A review of Citrus: A History by Pierre Laszlo and Beans: A History by Ken Albala (and more). Eat Crap: Why Americans should ingest more excrement. From American Scientist, contaminated fruits and vegetables are more common than ever. Why? And what can consumers do to protect themselves? A review of The Great Lead Water Pipe Disaster by Werner Troesken. Can this bottle live up to its name? The Lifesaver can make fetid water potable in seconds, but its promise comes with a price. Bordeaux, Burgundy and Yongning? The map of wine-producing countries has been dramatically redrawn—and global warming is just one factor adding new names to the list.
12:00PM
OCT 17 2007
The clash of civilizations
From the Brown Journal of World Affairs, (reg. req.), a series of articles on Christianity in international relations. A review of God and Gold: Britain, America and the Making of the Modern World by Walter Russell Mead. A review of Sacred Causes: The Clash of Religion and Politics from the Great War to the War on Terror by Michael Burleigh. A review of The American Empire and the Commonwealth of God: A Political, Economic, Religious Statement by John Cobb, Richard Falk, David Griffin and Catherine Keller. Let's talk, says a letter from Muslim leaders: the survival of the world is at stake. From Policy Review, knowing the enemy: How to cope with global jihad. The trouble is the West: An interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali on Islam, immigration, civil liberties, and the fate of the West. A review of Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror by Nonie Darwish. A review of The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In by Hugh Kennedy. A review of Islam: Past, Present and Future by by Hans Kung.
11:00AM
OCT 17 2007
Good grief
From Inside Higher Ed, a new biography reveals Charles Schulz’s personal life. But Scott McLemee looks abroad for an appreciation of his work. A review of Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis (and more and more and more and more and more). From The Village Voice, a review of The Art of Ill Will: The Story of American Political Cartoons by Donald Dewey. When Captain America returns to the pages of his comic book in January he will be packing heat. Comics for Christ: Evangelicals are speaking in bubbles — and fighting God’s war on pop culture. Educated at Tufts, Naif al-Mutawa is writing Islam-inspired comic books that give the Middle East — and the US — a surprising band of superheroes.
10:00AM
OCT 17 2007
Let me be the judge
Michael B. Mukasey, President Bush’s nominee for attorney general, appears today before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Four legal experts pose questions they would like to hear Judge Mukasey answer. How worried should we be about rogue prosecutors? Bradford Plumer investigates. Tim Wu on black spots in American law: Areas in which our laws are routinely and regularly broken and where the law enforcement response is nothing. Supreme downsizing: A growing group of scholars from both left and right say the nation's highest court is out of control. Cut back its power, they argue, and the country will be better off. The Incredibly Shrinking Court: The Roberts Supreme Court has not found much common ground lately—and that's just the way the Chief Justice likes it. Let Me Be the Judge: More and more and more and more and more and more and more and more on on My Grandfather’s Son by Clarence Thomas. The first chapter from The Next Justice: Repairing the Supreme Court Appointments Process by Christopher L. Eisgruber (and an interview).
9:00AM
OCT 17 2007
We're not exactly color-blind
A new issue of Colorlines is out. From Wired, an article on the inconvenient science of racial DNA profiling. Crime vs. Punishment: Black offenders can get harsher terms, researchers say. But is that unconstitutional? From Campus Progress, Jena Six isn’t just a story about six black teenagers. It’s the reawakening of a movement. Who keeps Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson powerful? The white media. A voyage into hate groups like the Ku Klu Klan reveals a lonely existence for those who support all things white. From Sirens, here are 10 mistakes white people make when talking about race; and we’ve come a long way when it comes to connecting across racial lines, but we’re not exactly color-blind, either. A review of Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race by Laura E. Gomez. Jews and Blacks are yesterday's news: Black Jewish author Julius Lester says that in 21st century America, Hispanics will decide what it means to be a minority.
