Time, Aug. 6 The cover story is all about boys—namely, asking if today’s young men are living in a “soul-crushing world of anti-boy influences.” While a slew of articles and books have declared that boys are in big trouble (they fill special education classes and jails, lag behind girls in standardized test scores, are more likely to commit suicide), recent data suggest the downtrend of the ‘80s and ‘90s has been tapering off. The key to success? Giving boys freedom for “quests, competitions, tribal brotherhoods and self-discovery.”… An article about the hype surrounding Fred Thompson strikes a familiar refrain: The Republican Party is in dire straits, and Thompson, that “preternaturally avuncular actor and former Senator,” may be just the man to save the day. Thompson’s decision to postpone his official bid for the presidency, the piece argues, should work to his advantage. He’ll avoid flaming out à la the McCain campaign, have more time to raise money, and be able to rely on Law and Order reruns for publicity without violating the equal-time provision of the federal campaign law.—K.E.
Entertainment Weekly, Aug. 3 An aw-shucks feature marvels over how completely “Pottermania” conquered popular culture. The series has been translated into 65 languages; 8.3 million copies of Deathly Hallows sold in the United States in the first 24 hours; and the first five movies have grossed $4.1 billion worldwide. Most astonishing of all, the Potter books made “millions of children and teenagers who have never known a world free of conversation pockmarked by LOLs” turn off their computers. The writer doesn’t trot out much new information, but he does convey that Harry Potter isn’t just a fad, it’s a bona fide social phenomenon. … A review of The Simpsons Movie will make you giddy for the real thing. The long-awaited film combines “family psychology, social commentary, and brainy visual and verbal jokes.” Some highlights: Bart considers “the qualities that make a good father;” Homer exclaims that the Bible “doesn’t have any answers;” and President Schwarzenegger declares he “was elected to lead, not read.”— J.L.
Economist, July 28 The cover story advances solutions to the First World’s slowing population growth. If you can abide the typical population piece metaphor that compares the human population to “bugs in a Petri dish,” you’ll get to the argument that government easing “the business of being a working parent” might increase the number of births in modern economies, which is simple and sensible. … A report follows how private contracting affects overcrowding and under-funding in American prisons. The verdict is that private jailers can build and run prisons more cheaply than state contractors can and they are “at least as humane.” Except that to handle overcrowding, they move inmates from state to state—moves that can be as far as from Hawaii to Alabama. The report concedes this practice “matches supply with demand” but resists bowing to economic maxim when it concludes that moving prisoners so far away from their families “seems unduly harsh.”—M.S.
New York Times Magazine, July 29 The cover story looks at the current state of “humanoid” robots and artificial intelligence. The futurist’s take: We now have robots that can recognize their own faces and understand human needs and a wide range of emotions. The reality: Some very smart scientists can use powerful computers to trick you into thinking a robot is more complicated than it is. The philosophizing about how AI is causing “our fancy notions about our place in the universe [to get] a little wobbly” seems rather grandiose, and you have to wonder if the excitement isn’t just a lot of misplaced human wish projection. … An Iraqi teacher who got a job as a “fixer”—“a journalist’s interpreter, guide, source finder, and occasional lifesaver”— tells the story of his crash course in journalism. The fruit of his struggles to simultaneously learn English and the rules of reporting, and deal with the destruction of his homeland: a scholarship to Columbia University, where he half-jokingly longs for a “fixer” himself.— A.B.
New York, July 30—Aug. 6 A piece profiles possible GOP presidential candidate Fred Thompson. Fortunately for Thompson, most potential voters are more familiar with his Law & Order days than his time as a Tennessee senator. The takedown tone is set early, when Thompson’s “work ethic and authenticity” (or lack thereof) are cited as “significant liabilities” for his campaign. What follows is a 50-year highlight reel of Thompson indiscretions, gaffes, and disingenuous political postures. The anecdotes range from personally embarrassing (a shotgun wedding at 17) to potentially disastrous (ambiguously supporting Bill Clinton during his impeachment hearings). What are Thompson’s positions on today’s big issues? It doesn’t seem like anyone knows—or even cares. … An article looks at“William,” a husband and father who has a secret promiscuous homosexual life fueled by Craigslist. For all the talk of personal demons and attempts at psychoanalysis, it’s really just a voyeuristic look into a closeted underworld. “William” certainly wasn’t helped much; he tells the reporter in an online conversation, “You are not going to convince me that truth always sets you free.”— A.B
New York Review of Books, Aug. 16 Peter Galbraith announces the collapse of American strategy in Iraq in no uncertain terms: “The Iraq War is lost.” The troop surge, he argues, hasn’t met any political objectives, and the Iraqis, fragmented and unable to agree on constitutional revision, have not met any U.S. benchmarks. His solution? Remain in Kurdistan, where “disrupting al-Qaeda, preserving Kurdistan’s democracy, and limiting Iran” is still a possibility, and withdraw from everywhere else. The piece is a candid prescription from someone who knows his stuff. … In what is supposed to be a review of two books on media, Russell Baker takes the opportunity to assess the state of the American press. Baker argues that the Wall Street takeovers, not editorial woes or new media, are the foremost problem for newspapers—while reporters usually feel a sense of responsibility to their public readership, owners are obliged only to their stockholders. That’s not to say that today’s media-types (“self-servers, frauds, political double-dippers, gasbags, mountebanks, spoiled reporters and unprincipled swine”) are completely virtuous: “Nobody phones the paper expecting to find a hero anymore.”—K.E.
Weekly Standard, July 30 The cover story argues that, unlike the “dark days” of the Vietnam War era, young people are ready, willing, and proud to serve in the military. The author doesn’t cite polls or even college newspapers to support this assertion, but he does interview volunteers. A lieutenant colonel in the California National Guard states that the young men under his command have put themselves in harm’s way because “they like to be challenged.” And a 2nd lieutenant platoon leader says he’s “infinitely happy” that he fought in Iraq. … An article argues that Bush and the Republican legislators are an “unusually effective minority.” The proof: Republicans defeated an amendment asking Bush not to pardon Libby and have won the argument that Congress should wait until General Petraeus’ fall “surge” report before mandating a retreat in Iraq. In contrast, only one of the Democrats’ “six for ‘06” bills—the minimum-wage hike—has become law.— J.L.
The New Yorker, July 30 David Remnick descends from his editorial perch to report on an ideological dissenter from Israel’s Zionists. The piece focuses on Avraham Burg, a leftist Israeli politician-turned-businessman who warns that Zionist hardliners (and their “national chauvinism”) could jeopardize Israel’s survival. Although Burg’s criticisms of the “Holocaust-obsessed, militaristic, xenophobic” national mindset have enraged plenty, other leaders can agree with his more moderate sentiments that the nation ignores pragmatic deal-making at its own peril. The piece is classically Remnickian—fair, thoughtful reporting that is at once detached and consummately readable. … Ian Parker takes a look at bonobos—those crazy primates who French kiss, mate for fun, and don’t fight. Parker strikes the right pitch for this piece, blending humor (the bonobo as “equal parts dolphin, Dalai Lama, and Warren Beatty”) and juicy mating details with insight into the nitty-gritty of field observation. Whether bonobos will continue to be seen as “hippie chimps,” though, will be dictated less by field evidence than marketing. As one scientist puts it, “Scientific ideas exist in a marketplace, just as every other product does.”— K.E.
Newsweek, July 30 The cover story addresses the complexity of being a Muslim in the United States. The American Muslim population is “the most affluent, integrated, politically engaged Muslim community in the world,” but faces tensions from without and within. While many adult Muslims have happily embraced an American identity, the younger generation is more religiously conservative and likely to be influenced by foreign imams who preach extremist doctrines. Muslims benefit from Americans’ religious respect, but the “growing sense of isolation” among their youth could be cause for serious concern. … A column by Jonathan Darman examines how John Edwards subtly encourages comparisons between himself and Robert F. Kennedy. But RFK came across as unkempt and unscripted, while Edwards is dogged by a common perception that he will “pay any price to maintain a flawless veneer.” RFK’s anti-poverty message came in “in the waning hours of American utopia,” and unfortunately for Edwards, times have changed.—D.S.
