Why aren't we talking about the new accusations of murder at Gitmo? Dahlia Lithwick wants to know. Trevor Butterworth on what we can learn from Cicero: It's the arrangement of the words that counts — take note, Twitter users. Joscelyn Jurich on books in which a character strives for (and in many cases, experiences) the rousing, transformative jolt that is satori. Richard Hansen on how the Supreme Court killed campaign finance reform — turning a corporation into a real live boy, the latest example of a Supreme Court that is increasingly solicitous to the interests of big business. Meatball surgery of the mind: A review of Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psychiatrist by Paul R. Linde. A review of Secular Cycles by Peter Turchin and Sergey Nefedov. An anthropologist from Mars might note that many people in the Middle East feel about U.S. drone attacks the way Richard Cohen feels toward suicide bombers. A review of Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service by James McCommons. A review of The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger by Alec Wilkinson. How people work: Despite centuries of study, the mechanics of the human body still holds a number of surprises. An interview with Laura Miller, author of The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia. More and more and more on John Ortved's The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History. A review of Seven Deadly Sins: A Very Partial List by Aviad Kleinberg. Counting counties: Wikipedia can make you feel old, rendering the skills of a lifetime obsolete.
