From The New Yorker, Alex Ross on how the classical concert took shape. Justin Raimondo on the real conservativism on TV. The establishment outsider: An interview with Roger Scruton. The Russian city of Voronezh, a place seemingly cut off from the world during Gorbachev’s perestroika reforms, is now an urban centre, even if its streets are still named after Lenin, Marx and Engels. From New Statesman, a review of A History of Political Trials from Charles I to Saddam Hussein by John Laughland (and more). When the military takes power: The coup d'etat has been a staple of history; its modus operandi and results are all too consistent. A review of The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on Terror by Manfred B. Steger. From New Humanist, AC Grayling dissects a new defence of Intelligent Design (and a reply by Steve Fuller and a response by Grayling); a review of The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life by Austin Dacey; and what lies beneath: Even godless humanism needs a sense of the spiritual. From Big Think, sexologist Michael Perelman on the technical side of porn on the Web. will.i.vote: Can young people actually make a difference this year? A review of (Not) Keeping Up With Our Parents: The Decline of the Professional Middle Class by Nan Mooney.
