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

Move Over, Frank Gehry

By David Plotz and Jeremy Derfner
Updated Friday, July 7, 2000, at 9:30 PM ET

New York Times Magazine

New York Times Magazine, July 9

The cover story profiles Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. Widely respected for his writings as well as for his buildings, Koolhaas rejects the cult of personality that surrounds flashy colleagues like Frank Gehry (Guggenheim Bilbao, Experience Music Project) in favor of constant experimentation. No one built any of his intellectually adventurous designs for the first 10 years of his career, but now he has plenty of work, including three new Prada retail stores and the Dutch Embassy in Berlin. … An article explains how the Democrats choose their veeps by analyzing the 1992 selection of Vice President Al Gore. Gore will have a hard time selecting a veep because there are no obvious rising stars in the party. … A piece examines the culture of mistrust between baseball batters and pitchers. Even batters and pitchers on the same team often resent one another and rarely fraternize off the field.

Economist

Economist, July 8

The cover story likens the election of new Mexican President Vicente Fox to the fall of the Berlin Wall, but then stresses how difficult his reformist mission is. The formerly ruling PRI and the left-wing PRD are in utter disarray and will be hard to work with, and even leaders of Fox's right-wing PAN suspect he's not a true believer. Fox won because Mexico wanted change, but he'll have to work with the mess that is Mexican government to achieve anything. … A piece says Indonesians are running out of patience with President Abdurrahman Wahid's new democratic government: The economy is still a disaster, and corruption is still rampant. Wahid must reorganize his Cabinet, which was largely imposed on him by his coalition partners, and start prosecuting some of the worst lawbreakers from the Suharto regime in order to show the people he means business. … An article urges estate tax reform instead of abolition. Inheritance taxes are too complicated and probably change the way people behave economically during their lifetimes (such distortion is bad), but they also provide a ton of revenue and are extremely progressive and fair.

Time

Time, July 10

The slow news week brings a squishy special issue: "Life on the Mississippi." The dozen-odd articles—the result of a two-week river cruise by Time staffers—find the "spirit of a nation of pioneers and pilgrims … rooted by a sense of community." One piece praises the small-town authenticity of Fort Madison, Iowa; another describes the Mormon takeover of Nauvoo, Ill.; another profiles a 25-year-old who has devoted his life to removing garbage from the river. … A superb article describes how the Pentagon is fixing an important missile-defense test scheduled for July 7. In the "Potemkin" test, the missile will travel at an artificially low speed, will have only one lame decoy, and will travel on a preset path that the defense team already knows. The test's success will almost certainly ensure that the United States will build and deploy a missile defense.

Newsweek

Newsweek, July 10

The cover story on the Supreme Court argues that Roe vs. Wade won't be overturned even if George W. Bush is elected president. Still, the two to four justices appointed by the next president could tip the court balance on affirmative action, school vouchers, and states' rights. … An article says flying seems more unpleasant these days because it is: Delays are up 50 percent in five years, and cancellations are up 68 percent. Passengers are more and more skeptical of airlines' excuses. … The magazine lands an exclusive interview with J.K. Rowling, whose fourth Harry Potter book comes out this week. She reveals little about the book, except that it is very long and "pivotal" to the series plot.

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report, July 10

The cover story marvels over newly discovered lost cities. An ancient Turkish city filled with Roman mosaics is being drowned by a dam reservoir. Archeologists in Egypt are diving at Herakleion, a city that sank into the Mediterranean 1,300 years ago, while scientists in Peru think they have found the Pre-Incan city that was the inspiration for the El Dorado legend. … A piece on high-tech immigrants notes that 30 percent of Silicon Valley startups are run by people of Indian or Chinese ancestry. … An article notes the amazing advances in data storage and transmission. You can store 100 times more on a computer now than you could three years ago and can now send an entire CD coast-to-coast in six seconds.

The New Yorker

The New Yorker, July 10

A profile of Dr. Paul Farmer depicts him as the new Albert Schweitzer. His low-budget clinic, which aims to bring "Boston medicine" to Haiti, serves a million desperately poor farmers and has amazingly reduced AIDS transmission, tuberculosis, and other illnesses. He also serves as medical adviser to Russia's prisons. Irreverent, hilarious, and holy, Farmer resents U.S. smugness and unwillingness to help the truly needy. … A piece raps Congress for not budgeting a few million dollars to wipe out syphilis. The disease will surge again, costing lives and money. The politicization of medicine means that politicians pay attention only to diseases that afflict the well-off. … A piece tells the sorry story of a Smith Barney employee who leaked inside information to a crooked stock dealer she was in love with. She got caught when he ratted on her to the feds. You would be hard-pressed to find a more pathetic woman and a more unscrupulous man.

The Nation

The Nation, July 17

A pair of cover stories lionizes Ralph Nader. A writer traveling with Nader finds him an inspirational candidate, though his Greens are disorganized. The other piece predicts that Al Gore will steal Nader's anti-corporate, pro-union ideas once Nader surges in the polls. … An article describes the Arizona border war that is pitting ranchers against Mexican immigrants. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has closed most of the border, leaving only a 25-mile-wide hole through the desert. Frustrated ranchers who live in that gap have turned vigilante, rounding up hundreds of illegals at gunpoint. … An editorial argues says that the census is helping Republicans by counting thousands of prisoners in rural Republican districts. The higher numbers will boost funding to the districts, but the prisoners themselves won't share the benefits.

New Republic

New Republic, July 10 and 17

The cover story describes how the Mafia has corrupted Youngstown, Ohio. The local congressman, Rep. James Traficant, is expected to be indicted for his links to organized crime. Locals admire the mob because they think it brings a tough-guy image and some stability to the city. … An article reports that Fidel Castro, who once encouraged prostitution because it fueled the tourist trade, is cracking down on prostitutes because they make so much money that they have become capitalist role models for kids. … A piece says that Indian reservations are exploding with gang violence. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has identified 520 Indian gangs, and the murder rate on reservations has risen 50 percent since 1992.

New York Review of Books

New York Review of Books, July 20

A piece calls for comprehensive military reform but doubts it will happen. The American armed forces are bloated and slow, and its branches don't work together, but the necessary streamlining would mean less money to spread around, so politicians are scared to try it. Even worse, the new American military is determined to save American lives by not committing ground troops, but antiseptic air wars only slow down rogue states, they can't destroy them. (Click here to read a Slate piece arguing that American military readiness is actually high.) … A review deplores the Dick Morris-style tactical cynicism that dominates both parties on global economic issues. Democrats could win back working-class whites by transitioning from identity politics to economic politics, but they won't because Democratic pols are greedy for corporate money.

Brill's Content

Brill's Content, August 2000

An article says that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles are using the British media to fight each other. Each has a royal press office that feeds its favored reporters, and the newspapers have taken sides in the battle. … A piece claims that the state controls the Russian media. It owns many TV stations and presses and forces them to air and print what it wants, and it taxes independents into bankruptcy.

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David Plotz is Slate's deputy editor. He is the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. You can e-mail him at . Jeremy Derfner is a former Slate editorial assistant.
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