archive

Surprising insights from the social sciences

From Reset, a special issue on secularism, including Alessandro Ferrara on three meanings of secularism. From The Boston Globe, an article on uncommon knowledge: Surprising insights from the social sciences. Nat Hentoff wants Obama to Read This Book! Why we fall for fakes: Has "reality" fare spawned the phony memoir? From The Washington Monthly, a special issue: "No torture, no exceptions". From The Guardian, here's a list of the world's 50 most powerful blogs. The introduction to Putting Liberalism in Its Place by Paul Kahn. Flying off the shelves: An article on the pleasures and perils of chasing book thieves. In academia, where the use of prescription drugs to boost mental performance seems to be on the rise, some begin to worry about a pop-pills-or-perish future. From Commentary, William F. Buckley on Goldwater, the John Birch Society, and Me; and John Podhoretz on the election, the GOP—and Iraq. Masculinity, sexuality and dependency: Civisiling femininity is good for men. What do the results so far tell us about Clinton and Obama as general election candidates? Jeff Greenfield investigates. How do you get a terrorist to talk? The torture debate doesn’t answer the question of what works. An excerpt from Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian Moments in the Twentieth Century by Jay Winter. A review of Knut Hamnsun's Hunger and Growth of the Soil.