From TED, Yochai Benkler on open-source economics. Rules vs. principles: James Surowiecki on regulatory overhauls. Shankar Vedantam on what Obama might learn from Emily Dickinson. George W. Bush as he now appears in a history book: An excerpt from The American President by Kathryn Moore. Is religion a threat to rationality and science? Daniel Dennett and Robert Winston debate. What are the psychological "rules" of bartering, and why things cost $19.95? Ghosts from a small island: At its very heart, Manhattan never really changes. From The Nation, a review of books on the Second Amendment; and Leaving Cheyenne Mountain: Post-cold war America is looking a lot like the former Soviet Union. Lorraine Adams reviews James Meeks' We Are Now Beginning Our Descent. The first chapter from Cop in the Hood: My Year Policing Baltimore's Eastern District by Peter Moskos (and a blog). From Discover, the thrill-seeker's travel guide: 5 difficult journeys to excite even the bravest science buff; and here are 20 things you didn’t know about recycling. A look at how social networking could kill Web search as we know it. David Gordon reviews Morality and Political Violence by CAJ Coady. The dirty truth about plastic: BPA and other plastics may be as harmful as they are plentiful. The GOP on the verge of imploding: A look at how radicalism has forced the GOP to retreat.
