A new issue of Open Letters Monthly is out. From Surveillance and Society, Keith Guzik (Bloomfield): Discrimination by Design: Data Mining in the United States’ "War on Terrorism"; and Nicholas Holm (McMaster): Watching the Paranoid: Conspiracy Theorizing Surveillance. Fortune profiles Sal Khan, Bill Gates' favorite teacher. Life's Work: William James refused to reduce life or cancel possibility (and he didn't like Henry's writing). Terra Infirma: Daniel Engber on the rise and fall of quicksand. Nostalgia can conceal or justify thoughtlessness, which according to Hannah Arendt is the banality that is Evil — and that is the magic that is Glenn Beck. Surrendering to Tomorrow: Once, the e-book reader was a futuristic fantasy — Scott McLemee faces the ambivalence of living it out. A review of The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson (and more and more). Something out of nothing: A look at the sitcom post-Seinfeld. The Charitable-Giving Divide: Why giving the rich a break doesn’t necessarily do anything for the poor. From FT, a review of Exploring Happiness: From Aristotle to Brain Science by Sissela Bok (and more); and the seven secrets of a happy life: New research in psychology and economics reveals surprising discoveries about contentment. Are you being served? James Surowiecki on the crisis in customer care. Every reader a reviewer: Barbara Hoffert on the online book conversation. Whore or gore: Does the Motion Picture Association of America, the self-described “family organization” responsible for movie ratings, favor violence over sex? Martin Wolf on how Obama was too cautious in fearful times. NYC's Golden Gossip Era Fades: Gotham gossip loses grip, fights off rabble — rattled tattletales tell all.
