Slate's Bizbox
other magazines: Summaries of what's in Time, Newsweek, etc.

By David Plotz and William Saletan
Posted Sunday, June 22, 1997, at 3:30 AM ET
Economist

Economist, June 21

(posted Saturday, June 21)

The cover editorial and article endorse--tentatively--assisted suicide. The magazine fears that doctors might eighty-six incompetent or impoverished patients, but is optimistic that good laws and strict enforcement can prevent such abuses. An article and editorial pegged to the G-7 caution that the U.S. economy isn't as healthy as Americans believe: Productivity does seem to be increasing, but imminent inflation, a low savings rate, and an aging population may kill the boom. A piece on the fragmentation of American feminism mocks old-school "difference feminists" and cheers the sassy, libertarian "pod feminists" who are now in vogue.

New Republic

New Republic, July 7

(posted Friday, June 20)

More on Chinese evil. Beijing's persecution of Christians deserves to be an important U.S. policy issue, says the cover story. The Chinese kill and jail Christians and destroy Christian shrines. The piece credits Christian conservatives (especially Gary Bauer) and neoconservatives for raising the issue. A book review lionizes Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, whose letters from prison were just published. An article calls new Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller "pathologically duplicitous," "craven," and phenomenally corrupt. Also, a story explains why the much-touted emergency flood-relief bill is political grandstanding. Congress purposely underfunds the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Then, when disasters happen, it gives extra cash and takes credit for providing "emergency relief."

New York Times Magazine

New York Times Magazine, June 22

(posted Thursday, June 19)

More on women in the military. The ambivalent cover story wonders whether the military can survive without a hypermacho, violent male culture. Conclusion: It probably can, but soldiers will take a long time to adjust. The American public may be slow to accept the idea of women dying in combat, as well. (For the evolutionary angle on a sexually integrated military, see Slate's "The Earthling.") The piece also finds that most women soldiers lack the blood-and-guts instincts needed in combat. An article contends that the United States can painlessly resolve its entitlement crisis by admitting more immigrants and using a huge tax credit to promote childbearing. Also, the magazine profiles first-term Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, the Long Island Railroad-massacre widow elected to Congress as a gun-control advocate. She's almost as saintly as her image, though she's increasingly torn between her principles and political expediency.

Time and Newsweek

Time and Newsweek, June 23

(posted Tuesday, June 17)

The newsweeklies go tabloid. Time's cover story celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Roswell, N.M., "UFO" crash--a k a "The Incident." Time describes the crash landing in vivid detail (right down to an alien giving first aid to a wounded colleague), then concedes that the downed spacecraft was undoubtedly a military balloon. Requisite alarming data: Thirty-four percent of Americans believe aliens have visited Earth, and the Roswell festivities may draw 100,000 visitors. Newsweek's cover story chronicles--with more than a little Schadenfreude--the decline of the Kennedy dynasty. Evidence: the disintegration of Rep. Joe Kennedy's marriage and the alleged affair between Michael Kennedy and a teen-ager. The "protective aura" that once insulated the family has vanished. A sidebar notes the political dynasties taking shape in the Bush, Cuomo, and Jackson families.

Newsweek has plenty of celebrity-murder news. In an interview, O.J. Simpson gripes about the Brown and Goldman families and says he's trying hard to survive on $25,000 a month. A story on the JonBenet Ramsey case says her parents are not the only suspects. Biggest revelation: Contrary to press reports, it's possible that someone entered the house from outside. The Ramseys left their front door unlocked, and melting snow could have obscured footprints. (For a backgrounder, see Slate's "The Gist.") The magazine interviews Microsoft billionaire buddies Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. (Ballmer, a college classmate of Gates', is Microsoft's business chief.) They say that Netscape and the network computer threaten Microsoft's prosperity.

Time profiles Ward Connerly, the black businessman (and rising Republican star) who's leading the fight against affirmative action in California.

U.S. News and World Report

U.S. News & World Report, June 23

(posted Tuesday, June 17)

A cover story advises workers to exploit the best job market in history by milking their employers for higher pay, flex time, continuing education, shorter hours, gym memberships, etc. (Computer experts, not surprisingly, have the most leverage.) An article explains why Clinton's much-ballyhooed race initiative is so insubstantial: The poll-driven president was too scared of voter backlash to risk endorsing affirmative action or criticizing police racism. Also, a piece warns that the booming egg-donation business is an ethical minefield: Does the egg donor have any claim on the child? Should the child be told that it has two mothers? Should human eggs be bought and sold?

The New Yorker

The New Yorker, June 23 & 30

(posted Tuesday, June 17)

The annual fiction double issue exalts Indian writers. (This year marks the 50th anniversary of Indian independence.) Salman Rushdie explains why it's good that Indians write in English. He also contributes a short story, as does Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Amitav Ghosh recounts the forgotten history of the Indian National Army, the Indian troops who deserted the British Army during World War II to fight for the Japanese. An Indian doctor/author describes the impossibility of practicing medicine in India--too much squalor, too few supplies, and 25,000 cases of rabies a year. John Updike is the latest reviewer to write a rave for Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.

The Weekly Standard

Weekly Standard, June 23

(posted Tuesday, June 17)

The cover story on Teddy Roosevelt exhorts America to emulate his "nationalist-individualist" ideology. Roosevelt believed in the power of government to accomplish grand tasks (e.g., build the Panama Canal), but he had no patience for the nanny state. Today, such a "limited but energetic" government could rebuild public trust. Criminologist John DiIulio claims that inner-city "super-preachers" are the best hope for saving troubled kids from crime: Churchgoing seems to prevent backsliding by recovering drug addicts and former criminals. Also, another editorial opposing MFN status for China.

Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair, July 1997

(posted Saturday, June 14)

Vanity Fair indicates that the Senate's campaign-fund-raising hearings could be the Watergate of the '90s if Sen. Fred Thompson can forge a bipartisan consensus for a deep investigation. But so far, the Democrats aren't cooperating and the Republicans have been ham-handed. (Full disclosure: the piece is co-authored by Slate's Jacob Weisberg.) Yet another VF article about Rupert Murdoch: It handicaps the race to succeed him. Twenty-five-year-old son Lachlan, who ranks highest in the News Corp. empire, is the favorite. But older daughter Elisabeth is tough and smart, and younger son James is the boldest thinker. The cover story gushes about gay divorcée Diana: She's freer, happier, and more devoted to charity than she was as Princess of Wales. And she still wears great clothes.

Wired

Wired, July 1997

(posted Thursday, June 12)

Highly Panglossian. "The Long Boom" projects 25 years of global economic prosperity. Thanks to free markets and (of course) high technology, productivity will increase, environmental degradation will decrease, genetic diseases will be eradicated, and a worldwide, multicultural civilization will flourish. Possible obstacles: a plague, an ecological crisis, a U.S.-China war. The piece includes a "world history" chart for the years 1980-2020: "Immigrants drive revival of family" in 2014-16. "First designer kid" in 2020.

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David Plotz is Slate's editor. He is the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. You can e-mail him at . William Saletan is Slate's national correspondent and author of Bearing Right: How Conservatives Won the Abortion War.
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