From Dissent, Ben Gidley on the Left, social theory, and terror. David Attenborough and Richard Dawkins chat about the big issues: the unity of life, ethics, energy, Handel — and the joy of riding a snowmobile. A People’s History of Koch Industries: Libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch are closetcase subsidy kings who milk Big Government tyranny, but want to slash spending on anyone else (and more on how Stalin funded the Tea Party movement). Eavesdropping on your eulogy: A tale of enjoying the funeral without having to die. Atlas faces prison: One of the greatest high-tech CEOs in Silicon Valley history is being sent to prison. The secret lives of Big Pharma's "Thought Leaders": What's it like to be both envied and disdained? John Derbyshire on Robert Putnam: Still bowling alone. Honesty and cruelty by the numbers: Christine Werthman on Pitchfork and the Art of Tastemaking. Bare-Naked Lady: Emily Joffe goes on vacation at a nudist camp. Why would anyone spend four months and $180,000 building something that will only last a week? The answer says a lot about Burning Man culture. Hooked: Ryan Burns on blood, masochism and the shocking thrill of human suspension. Incredibly, scientists are starting to view New York as an ecological hot spot — more diverse and richer in nature than the suburbs and rural counties that surround it. An article on 6 brutal leaders and their ridiculous secret hobbies.
