A new issue of Enculturation is out. Rodney P. Mock (Cal Poly) and Nancy Shurtz (Oregon): The Turbotax Defense. Calvin H. Johnson (Texas): Horse Losses and Other Pleasures. From LARB, Adam Morris on the geopolitics of the Snowden files. David Rothkopf on Vladimir Putin's terrific, triumphant, all good, totally badass year. Kari Tuling reviews The Discipline of Philosophy and the Invention of Modern Jewish Thought by Willi Goetschel. The pleasure we take in beauty must have been shaped by evolution, but what adaptive advantage did it give us? Mohan Matthen wonders. From Edge, a symposium on the work of Daniel Kahneman. It is remarkable that no country has outlawed economics as a dangerous occupation on a par with drug dealing or murder for hire; the damage done to the world over the last seven years based on policies designed by economists has been incredible. Including the young and the rich: The White House hosts “next generation” philanthropists about to step into billions. Just because we lost the war doesn’t mean we stop doing media theory. Justice Scalia tells law students “perhaps you should revolt” if taxes become too high. Nate Silver on why a plan to circumvent the Electoral College is probably doomed. Jim Newell on the nonsensical sexism of the “Grandma Hillary” storyline (which is bringing out the worst in the political media). If it happened there: America awaits royal baby. On Obamacare, the Republican party has bet big on failure for four years; now the results are in, and they lost — big time (and part 2).
