archive

A weakness to be vanquished

From TAS, an essay on scientific pretense vs. democracy. Ronald Bailey on transhumanism and the limits of democracy. From Green Left, a review of Critique of Intelligent Design: Materialism versus Creationism from Antiquity to the Present by John Bellamy Foster; and Marx was right after all — the sudden change is disconcerting (and more on Marx the blogger). Herman Benson on Hybrid Unionism: Dead end or fertile future? From Vanity Fair, you’ve got (hate) mail: The curious case of Keith Gessen and Emily Gould; and George in Real Life: George W. Bush takes on his most daunting challenge yet — his own legacy. From TNR, Alan Brinkley on how Obama's first few months weren't as frenzied as Roosevelt's — but they might have been more productive; and five staffers speculate on what fresh hell awaits Obama as spring stretches into summer (and more from Newsweek). How Cheever really felt about living in suburbia: Mary Cheever remembers life in Ossining, N.Y. (and more on Cheever at Bookforum). Not content with writing a book about nothingness, Anthony Gottlieb has been teaching a seminar about it to students in New York. Is jealousy an intrinsic part of our make-up, or a weakness to be vanquished? A review of The Hunt for Planet X: New Worlds and the Fate of Pluto by Govert Schilling.