A new issue of Rhetoric Society Quarterly is out, including a review of After the Fall: Rhetoric in the Aftermath of Dissent in Post-Communist Times by Noemi Marin. A review of Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia by John Garrard and Carol Garrard. A review of Beyond Terror and Martyrdom: the Future of the Middle East by Gilles Kepel. A review of The Search for Al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology, and Future by Bruce Riedel (and more). Here are the top 5 bets for extraterrestrial life in the Solar System. Barbara Ehrenreich on the growing clout of the nouveau poor. What was Barack Obama like in 1990? From The Weekly Standard, the lesson of the last eight years is not that Americans want a smaller government. A review of Demystifying Legal Reasoning by Larry Alexander and Emily Sherwin. The introduction to From War to Democracy: Dilemmas of Peacebuilding. Legend of the Fall: A look at the surprisingly shallow influence of Deep Throat. From New Scientist, a look at why we need a proper study of mankind. From Skeptic, an article on homeopathy: Still crazy after all these years. A Climatic Disorder: An essay on class, coal and climate change. A devoted road-tripper, Mark Vanhoenacker decides to tackle the Dempster Highway, an unpaved journey across hundreds of miles of desolate Arctic landscape.

From Mental Floss, here are 10 cool college landmarks; a look at the stories behind 11 famous cocktails; a list of bedroom quirks of 10 great authors; if you’ve ever looked at someone’s haircut and wondered who could have possibly thought that was a good idea, this one’s for you; and what's the world worst smell? Not your father's censorship: Quasi-monopolies and wary governments curb Web freedoms. He spared neither regime nor invader: How the Baghdad Blogger became a global media phenomenon (and more). Obama's King: From Martin Luther King to the present day, have shrewd tactics mattered more than high ideals in the fight for racial equality? The price of prejudice: It’s what you do that counts — not what you say you’d do. A review of Making Empire: Colonial Encounters and the Creation of Imperial Rule in Nineteenth-Century Africa by Richard Price. A review of Neo-liberal Genetics: The Myths and Moral Tales of Evolutionary Psychology by Susan McKinnon. A review of Playing the Market: A Political Strategy for Uniting Europe, 1985-2005 by Nicolas Jabko. Should environmentalists fear Cass Sunstein? Michael A. Livermore investigates. AC Grayling on why universities should flag up which websites to trust. Meet your new neighbor: How slot machines are secretly designed to seduce and destroy you, and how the government is in on it. 

Here's a free sample of The Nation Guide to the Nation (and a review). You say what: On American campuses, Esperanto is an extracurricular language. Can global warming be stopped? Ask a geoengineer. Could the United Nations achieve global democracy? From Dark Roasted Blend, more on horrors in architecture and construction. The term “Jewish conservatives” appears at first glance to be an oxymoron. Chris Arnot interviews Ilan Pappe, the Israeli historian who has defended the Palestinians. Paper Love: Sarah Wildman goes inside the Holocaust Archives. From Forward, a review of The Holocaust Is Over: We Must Rise From Its Ashes by Avraham Burg; a look at why it’s time to quit Shoah fight; and an article on jokes and other things the French find funny. Victorian novels helped us evolve into better people, say psychologists. Even if biopics fictionalise reality, they can tell greater truths than literally faithful movies. More on The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein. A look at how ex-vice presidents made ends meet. Simon Critchley on how Oscar Wilde shows us faith without belief. More on Dinesh D'Souza's What's So Great about Christianity? A review of Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World’s First Computer by Jo Marchant. Here's a blog on People Who Deserve It: Socially Responsible Reasons to Punch Someone in the Face.

From the first issue of N1BR, a review of Neil Gross' Richard Rorty: The Making of an American Philosopher; a review of Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds; and Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream by Steven Watts; a review of Tony Judt's Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century; and an essay on reality publishing. From The Observer, a profile of Alexander Lebedev, an oligarch we could learn to love. The book that changed my life: Peter Hain on Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell. From TNR, Richard Posner reviews Law and Judicial Duty by Philip Hamburger. Dear Sean Hannity: I'm attracted to you. Bongs Away: How the crusade against drug paraphernalia punishes controversial speech. From Time, an article on the case for bigger government; and a look at how to spend a trillion dollars. From Alternet, a look at why you should be screaming for higher taxes; and is a new economic consensus emerging from the ashes of the old? This recession was brought to you by the letters U, V and L: Why are downturns labeled with letters? A review of Creative Capitalism by Michael Kinsley. From BBC Magazine, one young couple on unemployment benefits explain how being out of work affects their lives; and a look at how to land dream island job. Got to work: How the Obama jobs program will really affect women workers.