Economist, Oct. 18

(posted Saturday, Oct. 18)

A cover editorial warns we may have taken the wrong lesson from the 1987 market crash. Investors now see market drops as benign opportunities to buy low. In fact, a crash of 1987 proportions could be crushing if the Federal Reserve wasn't able to cushion it. A story says Swiss banks still face fallout from their Nazi-friendly past. New York City's comptroller and California's state treasury (both are major bank clients) still boycott them. Also, an article tracks the hunt for a computer program to translate languages. A program called "Typhoon" (translating Japanese to English) now creates "surprisingly good first drafts for expert translators to get their teeth into."

New Republic, Nov. 3

(posted Friday, Oct. 17)

An editorial says the American economy's worth gloating over, with low inflation, low unemployment, and a low crime rate. It suggests that we use our bounty to fight economic inequality. "TRB" compares the self-segregation of the "Yale Five"--the Orthodox Jews who refused to live in coed housing--to the self-segregation of ethnic-themed dorms: "Conservative views about separatism, it turns out, depend on who's doing the separating." A story ridicules environmentalists who protested the plutonium-packed Cassini Saturn probe. The radioactive fuel on the craft poses no danger to Earth.

New York Times Magazine, Oct. 19

(posted Thursday, Oct. 16)

For the second time in four weeks, the cover proclaims a "special issue." (Question: Does "special issue" mean anything anymore?) The theme this time: New York's subcultures ("strivers," "exiles," "air kissers," "nightclubbers," etc.). Among 20 offerings: A Chinatown hood from the "Kung Fu Crew" describes the subtleties of wide-legged jeans and "grilling" (a kind of staring contest between gangs). An essay tracks the physical and cultural migration of New York City's gay community from the outrageous pre-AIDS culture of Greenwich Village to the muscle-bound, mainstream, post-AIDS culture of Chelsea. A story follows gossip columnists in their hunt for "yeasty" tidbits. The night's big catch? Recently, electricity went out on a yacht ... while Martha Stewart was aboard!

Harper's, November 1997

(posted Thursday, Oct. 16)

Harper's runs nine newly discovered short stories by Anton Chekhov. Written during a feverish tuberculosis fit when Chekhov was in his early 20s, titles include: "On the Train," "Sarah Bernhardt Comes to Town," "From the Diary of an Assistant Bookkeeper," and "Elements Most Often Found in Novels, Short Stories, Etc." A story reports from a funeral directors' convention--they see big business in millions of aging baby boomers. (Hot cremation stat: "[T]he average person takes an hour and a half to burn.") A book review calls Underworld Don DeLillo's best work. Among his contemporaries, DeLillo "is the shrewdest observer of his neighbors and the purest and most native prose stylist." (Click here for Walter Kirn's review of the book in Slate.)

Time and U.S. News & World Report, Oct. 20

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

Time's cover story profiles Hillary Clinton, who turns 50 this month. Savaged by reporters during the health-care-bill battle in the first term, the first lady is wary of the press, refusing to answer personal questions posed by the magazine. When Hillary goes abroad, she finds adoring audiences and independence from the White House. A U.S. News poll finds that the people love her in America, too: Her job-approval rating stands at 67 percent, higher than Bill's best. The first lady shares with U.S. News her plans to raise awareness of women's and children's health issues by pitching her message to--that's right--the press.

Time rehashes last week's Standard piece about Steve Forbes' makeover. He is wooing Christian conservatives for the 2000 election by opposing gay rights and partial-birth abortion. Also, Time warns readers about ketamine, or "Special K," as the surgical anesthetic is known on the street. Ketamine can cause hallucinations, and is said to be catching on with teens.

U.S. News' cover story says former Blockbuster mogul Wayne Huizenga will change the way we buy cars. Huizenga's growing chain of new- and used-car dealerships cuts out haggling and factory rebates, offering a firm base price. A package of articles tracks Generation X investment habits. Xers, more than any other age group, agree that "[t]he only meaningful measure of success is money," and they are much more financially savvy than their parents were at their age.

Newsweek, Oct. 20

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

Newsweek's cover story criticizes Deepak Chopra for turning his New Age shtick into huge profit. The spiritual guru's lectures on "cultural malaise" net him $25,000 apiece. A story on the Princess Diana probe says that her car almost certainly collided with a white Fiat Uno, but French cops don't know who drove the mystery vehicle. Newsweek says prescriptions of Prozac-type drugs to minors have increased 80 percent since 1994. Many prescriptions are not warranted, but in genuine cases of depression the drugs are saving kids' lives.

The New Yorker, Oct. 20 & 27

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

The theme of "The Next Issue" is the future. It includes a gushy profile of Elizabeth Dole ("The Next President"); an essay about the revival of Karl Marx as a prophet of--no kidding--capitalism ("The Next Thinker"); a study of the University of Phoenix, a for-profit, campusless college ("The Next ..." you get the idea). "The Next Ex-Presidency" wonders whether Clinton will become a university president, a pundit, a corporate shill, U.N. secretary-general, or even, as Leon Panetta predicts, a U.S. senator: There is an Arkansas Senate race in 2002. Also, an article contends that American media conglomerates increasingly imitate Japanese businesses by forging alliances with their rivals. GE/NBC, for example, has deals with Time Warner, Disney/ABC, Microsoft, News Corp., and TCI. A piece says that the future of law enforcement is "social policing" by friends and neighbors: Shaming people into obeying the law is more effective than imprisoning lawbreakers.

The Nation, Oct. 27

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

An editorial calls Israel's failed assassination of a Hamas official a "disaster for peace." Worst news: The attempt occurred in Jordan, greatly straining relations with a nation whose leader, King Hussein, has long worked for an end to Middle East violence. A story chides progressive organizations and the liberal media for going soft on Promise Keepers. Only NOW faced the challenge, exposing PK's virulent anti-feminism. Also, an article says foreign policy journals, led by the excellent Foreign Affairs, offer rigorous analysis and great insight. Problem: No one reads them.

Weekly Standard, Oct. 20

(posted Tuesday, Oct. 14)

An editorial calls for Janet Reno's resignation on the grounds of her partisan inaction: "She is not enforcing the law, and she is not administering the Justice Department in an orderly and credible fashion." A story dismisses Republican crowing over the 25 percent drop in welfare rolls because 1) the biggest drop occurred before the reforms went into effect and 2) enforcing the reforms creates heavy bureaucracy. Also, a writer is pleasantly surprised by the kindly media coverage of the Promise Keepers rally. (See The Nation for same facts, opposite angle.)

Vanity Fair, November 1997

(posted Saturday, Oct. 11)

On the cover and inside: portraits of "the 65 leaders who shape and rule the world today." Making the list: The Bills (Clinton and Gates), Helmut Kohl, Louis Farrakhan, Fidel Castro, Alan Greenspan, George Soros, Alberto Fujimori, Colin Powell, and Nike CEO Phil Knight, among others. An article profiles cyberprophet Esther Dyson, whose technology newsletter is a must-read in Silicon Valley. Dyson's extreme eccentricities (despite great wealth, she's lived in the same one-bedroom walk-up for 25 years--and it doesn't have a telephone) bolster her reputation as a visionary. Also, Vanity Fair excerpts a novel about a journalist covering the O.J. case for Vanity Fair. The author is Dominick Dunne, a journalist who covered the O.J. case for Vanity Fair. An article details how Kennedy biographer Seymour Hersh got duped by forgers offering bogus JFK-Marilyn Monroe correspondence.

--Compiled by Seth Stevenson and the editors of Slate.