(posted Friday, Jan. 3)
The cover story on sleep argues that Americans don't get enough of it. Civilization--more specifically, man-made light--has so disrupted our circadian rhythms that we snooze 90 minutes less each night than we did a century ago. In a state of nature, we would rest 14 hours a night during the winter. A profile dubs R&B producer/songwriter Babyface "The Soul Man of Suburbia" and says he is leading black music's "middle-class revolution" against rap. Also, an article and photo essay deplore China's proposed Three Gorges dam as an environmental, social, and cultural disaster.
(posted Friday, Jan. 3)
The cover editorial rejects nuclear disarmament as too risky for the West: It still needs nukes to cow Iraq, North Korea, Iran, etc. "[Disarmament] remains wrong, because man remains vile." A related story advises the United States and Russia to protect their weapons-grade uranium from rogue states. Another bemoans the proliferation of ballistic and cruise missiles and asks if America and Europe should deploy anti-missile defenses (answers: America, maybe; Europe, probably). Also, a long article praises telephone and Internet smut. Digital pornographers are pioneering new technology; mainstream businesses will follow their lead. And Hong Kong Gov. Chris Patten muses on the future of Asia.
(posted Friday, Jan. 3)
The magazine considers the decline of Washington, D.C.--the city. The five-story package, "Democracy's End," tours D.C. hell: ill-equipped firefighters, desperate schoolteachers, incompetent cops, corrupt bureaucrats, and hopeless politicians. The editorial says that while Gingrich's ethical offenses may be less than Clinton's, Gingrich should still resign as speaker. An article argues that ABC may have deserved to lose the Food Lion case: Its hidden-camera tactics are too sleazy for legitimate journalism.
(posted Tuesday, Dec. 31)
A long profile of George Lucas, pegged to the re-release of the Star Wars trilogy, depicts the director as an awkward and innocent genius. The piece attributes Star Wars' success to its combination of simple morality and nostalgia, but blames the series for the ascendance of cartoon action movies: Lucas showed Hollywood that special effects could replace acting. Also, Peter Matthiessen worries about Siberia's marvelous tigers, which are being poached for fur, medicine, and even food (Siberians are very hungry). And the opening "Comment" celebrates the medicinal marijuana initiatives passed by California and Arizona voters ("the grass roots, so to speak").
(posted Tuesday, Dec. 31)
The cover story warns that global free trade is leading humankind toward an "unbearable chaos" of inequality, mass unemployment, and reactionary politics. The remedy? Governments should promote employment and help raise wages for the poor, thus encouraging bottom-up economic prosperity. A related editorial inveighs against a proposed global trade pact known as the "Multilateral Investment Agreement," calling it a windfall for transnational corporations. Also, a creepy story about a rash of sex murders in the maquiladoras, the Mexican factories along the Texas border.
(posted Tuesday, Dec. 17)
"The Cancer Killer" cover story focuses on p53, a gene that prevents cancerous cells from multiplying. Malfunctioning of p53 may cause as much as 60 percent of all cancer, so scientists are seeking ways to prevent the gene from breaking down. A sidebar predicts that genetic testing by employers and insurers could be "the civil rights issue of the 21st century." Also, "Gore's World" argues that the vice president is "laying the groundwork for 2000" by stocking the new administration with allies. And, the magazine profiles figure-skating champion Ekaterina Gordeeva, who has returned to the ice a year after the sudden death of her husband/skating partner.
(posted Tuesday, Dec. 17)
Time's "Best of 1996" names The English Patient and Big Night its favorite movies; EZ Streets and Seinfeld make the list for TV; musicians, Cassandra Wilson and the Fugees; athletes, Tiger Woods and Kerri Strug; Web sites, Salon and amazon.com. Also, Time wonders whether welfare reform will overwhelm America's day-care industry. And, an article on Sears' comeback.
(posted Tuesday, Dec. 17)
U.S. News goes " In Search of Christmas" and finds a mess. The holiday was invented in the third or fourth century as a way of co-opting the Roman solstice festival Saturnalia (the first Christians didn't celebrate Xmas). Christmas remained a drunken, raucous celebration until the mid-19th century, when American merchants helped turn it into a gift-giving holiday. Also, a trio of articles about affirmative action. One explains how a recent Supreme Court decision is gutting affirmative action in university admissions. Another praises the military's affirmative-action policies.
--Compiled by David Plotz and the editors of S LATE.