Economist, Sept. 27

(posted Saturday, Sept. 27)

Giuliani backlash. An article credits former police chief William Bratton and Wall Street for New York City's comeback. Notable stat: The city's welfare rolls are longer now than in David Dinkins' first year as mayor. The cover editorial criticizes Japan's proposed "Asian bail-out facility." Intended to counter economic shakiness in the Far East, it would damage the world's monetary markets by weakening the International Monetary Fund. Also, a story examines the extreme incidence of lesbianism in Diaprepesabbreviatus beetles. A theory: One member of the lesbian pair poses as a male, thereby discouraging smaller males who are unwilling to fight for a mate.

New Republic, Oct. 13

(posted Saturday, Sept. 27)

An excerpt from Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom's America in Black and White cites polls to reject the conventional wisdom that Americans remain bitterly divided over race: "In fact, we are one nation, with blacks and whites much less unequal and, by many measures, much less hostile than in the past." "TRB" calls the ban on land mines the "politics of sentiment" and advocates clearing old mines from now-peaceful countries instead of prohibiting them from war zones like the DMZ in Korea. An article lambastes recent Democratic Party overtures to Bill Weld. Democrats ignore Weld's fiscally Republican views, but embrace precisely the socially progressive streak in Weld (gay rights, affirmative action) that middle America hates in Democrats.

New York Times Magazine, Sept. 28

(posted Thursday, Sept. 25)

A special issue offers a dozen articles about technology and modern culture. Among the highlights: An article deplores the way computers disconnect users from the physical world. (We spend too much time hunched over keyboards thinking, not enough experiencing the real world.) Another story rejects the popular notion that technology discourages socializing. (In fact, Internet chat rooms and newsgroups are excellent places for social interaction.) Yet another argues that recent software upgrades are actually downgrades. (They add useless features that confuse users and waste time.) And an essay praises hyperfiction for blurring the role of writer and reader. (To minimize confusion in Slate's hypertext environment: writer = me, reader = you.)

Time and Newsweek, Sept. 29

(posted Tuesday, Sept. 23)

Newsweek's cover story praises Ted Turner's $1 billion gift to the United Nations. Today's big donors are more hands-on than their predecessors, an accompanying article says. Time's cover story explains how popular serotonin-boosting drugs (such as diet pills Redux and fen-phen) work, and how they can be health risks (high serotonin levels damage heart valves). (See Slate's take on fen-phen.) A Time sidebar blames the "uncritical media" for promoting the drugs "in the war against fat." (Hmm. One year ago this week, Time ran a cover story praising Redux.) Newsweek says Di's death improves Prince Charles' image, transforming him from unfaithful husband to grieving father. Time hails the colorized New York Times as America's best newspaper and also raves about Bob Dylan's new album, terming it "alchemic magic." Newsweek says Chinese President Jiang Zemin bolstered his political power by ousting two Politburo rivals at the Communist Party Congress, but his dictatorial style won't mesh with his push for a modern economy.

U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 29

(posted Tuesday, Sept. 23)

U.S. News tells the now-familiar story of New York City's resurrection, proposing the Big Apple as a model for other downtrodden cities. Reducing crime was the crucial first step: It sparked a return of industry, tourism, and permanent residents. (The stock market boom and the Yankees championship helped too.) An article says that the Air Force is losing confidence: After the Gulf War the Air Force felt it was the most important of the four services, but cuts in funding and troop strength, as well as a move toward unmanned aircraft, have shaken it. Also, a story predicts that President Clinton will allow U.S. firms to sell atomic power plants to China. American companies face a shrinking domestic market, and claim (dubiously) that China won't make military use of the technology.

The New Yorker, Sept. 29

(posted Tuesday, Sept. 23)

A story says clues to the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic may lie in the cells of seven corpses preserved by permafrost on a Norwegian island. Scientists want to determine the cause of the flu's potency (it killed more Americans than World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam combined) and prevent future epidemics. An article argues that the Princess Di hoopla finally brought American emotional sensibilities (i.e., hysteria) to Britain. Also, a piece marvels at the Getty Center, the soon-to-open L.A. art museum: Thanks to its deep pockets, the Getty has built a first-rate collection without having to market itself as other museums do.

Weekly Standard, Sept. 29

(posted Tuesday, Sept. 23)

The cover story revisits a favorite Standard topic: China's abysmal human-rights record. "The Laogai Archipelago" describes China's massive, awful penal system, which imprisons between 6 million and 8 million people and favors such barbarous practices as slave labor, torture, and organ-harvesting from executed convicts. Anti-Laogai crusader Harry Wu is much praised. The editorial ridicules Al Gore's campaign against U.S. hunger, using government statistics to point out that there is virtually no one in America who doesn't get enough to eat.

The Nation, Oct. 6

(posted Tuesday, Sept. 23)

A 10-story cover package on the "Politics of Travel" complains that mass tourism Disneyfies authentic culture and promotes economic colonialism. Tourism, it reports, is the second-largest industry in the world, after oil. The funniest piece: A Nation writer takes the National Review's Alaska cruise, hobnobbing with William Buckley, Milton Friedman, and hundreds of wealthy right-wingers. He is baffled to find that conservatives are incredibly nice. Other highlight: A visit to the "most poisonous place on earth," a Nevada nuclear-test site. A bus takes tourists to the bomb craters and blasted "test" towns.

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