[Sep 30] From NYRB, Richard Lewontin reviews books on the wars over evolution, and Freeman Dyson reviews Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track: The Letters of Richard P. Feynman. A review of Designs on Nature. Grow some testables: Intelligent design ducks the rigors of science. From Salon, Garrison Keillor wonders what ever happened to good old-fashioned, get-your-hands-dirty work. Meet The Corporation: It has no conscience. It's pathological. And it's in your neighborhood. More on Capitalism’s Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free-Market System. An interview with John Saul, author of The Next Liberation Struggle: Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy in Southern Africa. A review of Noam Chomsky's latest, Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World. Lawrence Kaplan on how the antiwar movement doth protest too much. Act Now to Stop War and End Racism poses difficult choices for liberals. From WSWS Summer School, a lecture on socialism in one country or permanent revolution (in 3 parts). From Open Democracy, an essay on remaking multiculturalism after 7/7. What can philosophy say in the aftermath of the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks? And an essay on technological change and ideological preference

[Sep 29] From Slate, Dahlia Lithwick on Intelligent Design as an answer to all life's great conundrums, and a look at the perverse and vicious campaign to ban homosexuals from Catholic seminaries. Julian Sanchez on gay unions and the benign dictatorship of the status quo. Mark Noll on The Bible in American Public Life, 1860-2005. From Human Events, an article on how a covert leftist partnership threatens America. Robert Samuelson on capitalism vs. democracy. An essay on consumerism as a social disease. From Open Democracy, an extraordinary story from the prehistory of the “war on terror”. David Frum reviews The Right War? More on Gertrude Himmelfarb's The Roads to Modernity. A review of books on rediscovering the revolution of 1917. And banned in Oz, posted on vdare.com: Drew Fraser’s Rethinking the White Australia Policy, and Keith Windschuttle says that racist essay is from the Left, not the Right

[Sep 28] From Foreign Policy, seven questions for Matthew Simmons on peak oil, and on why nuclear power plants are not the answer to our energy needs. New Perspectives Quarterly interviews Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Fred Kaplan on why Iraqis should reject the constitution. Niall Ferguson on what happens if the Coalition pulls out of Iraq. A look at the online bios of Iraq's "martyrs". Yale's Harold Hongju Koh on the story of his own immersion in Guantanamo and its impact on the rule of law in America. Stockholm's Ishtiaq Ahmed on the right to vote. An op-ed on the case for unsafe election districts. Republicans aren’t trying to cut wasteful spending; they’re trying to cut popular, successful programs. Columbia's Ira Katznelson on how aid became affirmative action for whites. JFK School's David Ellwood on empowering the poor after Katrina. Jonah Golberg on how compassionate conservatism will get wiped out like a taco hut in the path of a Category 5 storm. Why don't folks on the Gulf Coast move to the Dakotas? Joel Kotkin wants to know. Irwin Stelzer on the economic difference between confusion, fear, and panic. From The Nation, a look at A Devil's Dictionary of Business. And a study finds belief in God is not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems

[Sep 27] From TNR, swimming with the sharks: Franklin Foer on how Republicans learn dirty tricks. A group of young dreamers is the new face of conservative protest. America programmed for war: What every American should know. A review of Stephen Walt's Taming American Power: The Global Response to US Primacy. More on The New American Militarism. From WSWS Summer School, a lecture on World War I: The breakdown of capitalism (in 5 parts). More on Capitalism's Achilles Heel. From Reason, a debate on  Rethinking the Social Responsibility of Business, featuring Milton Friedman. Michael Kazin reviews Barbara Ehrenreich's Bait and Switch. A review of Getting Even: Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men - And What to Do About It. The book Promises I Can Keep explains why so many poor women opt for single motherhood. An interview with Katharine DeBrecht, author of Help! Mom! There Are Liberals Under My Bed!. Christian libertarian Vox Day says democracy feeds terror. And from Salon, a review of Judge Sewall's Apology: The Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of an American Conscience

[Sep 26] What will happen when technology outstrips human intelligence? Ray Kurzweil says we won't have to wait long to find out (and more). What a piece of [ongoing] work is man! From The New Pantagruel, the introduction to Peter Augustine Lawler's Stuck With Virtue: The American Individual and Our Biotechnological Future, a series of entries from American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia on Community, Agrarianism, Anarchism, and Localism, an interview with Brian McLaren, author of The Last Word and the Word After That, a review of John Paul II's Memory and Identity: Conversations at the Dawn of a Millennium, more on Augustine: A New Biography, and an article by Georgetown's James V. Schall, S. J. on choosing not to see. A review of Prophetic Politics: Christian Social Movements & American Democracy. Friendship provides a foretaste of the everlasting love of heaven. Here's a misogynist view of Eve-Hawwa. Role models – and their inevitable fall – simply distract us from having to engage meaningfully with morality. A review of Hunger: An Unnatural History. A review of A Matter of Principle: Humanitarian Arguments for War in Iraq. A review of Afflicted Powers: Spectacle and Capital in a New Age of War. Eduardo Galeano on when maxims mislead. Marginal Revolution's Alex Tabarrok on giving lawyers their cut. A look at why lawyers should be paid more. And from Business Week, a look at stupid interview questions

[Weekend 2e] Potpourri: From The American Prospect, a series of articles on juvenile justice reform. Joel Kotkin on uncool cities. What could FEMA learn from Wal-Mart? Less than you think. Where is the best place to hide from Mother Nature in the US? More on Can't Find My Way Home. An interview with Robert Pollin, author of Contours of Descent: U.S. Economic Fractures and the Landscape of Global Austerity. From TAC, here's a Shi’ite-Sunni strategy for surviving the War on Terror. From WSWS Summer School, a lecture on Marxism, history and the science of perspective (in 6 parts). From Capitalism, an excerpt from Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It (in 7 parts). An interview with Bryan Harris, author of The Sanctity of Marriage Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Marriage--between a Man and a Woman--and Those Who Cast the First Stone on moral mendacity. An interview with John and Stasi Eldredge, co-authors of Captivating, who explain what women want. And a review of First Friends: A History of Dogs and Humans

[Weekend] From Prospect, Bhikhu Parekh on how becoming a citizen should involve not only rights and duties, but also a moral and emotional commitment to this country, and a look at how our commitment to the values on which our society is based has been hollowed out; Richard Dawkins on religion as the opiate of the masses: It is a highly addictive drug, but governments everywhere encourage its use; and Michael Lind is in defence of mandarins: Now the mandarins are in retreat, will the nightmare of mobocracy come true? From FT, a look at the work of Paul Wolfowitz as president of the World Bank (and more from The Wall Street Journal), an interview with Mary Matalin, on how minority groups seem to have no place in an openly competitive world media, and Ian Buruma on the clash of symbols in sports and nations. From Newtopia, on the new C-word: Christian pariahs and the birth of a new American spirit (as Morpheus comes). From CT, more on Rick Warren's sweeping plan to defeat poverty, and Chuck Colson on Machiavellian morality. An op-ed on why Biblical illiteracy is a shame. The introduction to Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism: A Woman's Crusade. Ian Duncan Smith and Rick Santorum on a conservative vision of social justice. And Jacob Weisberg on the Conservative War on Poverty: Bring it on

[Sep 23] Media - leisure: From Open Democracy, is the ultimate goal of media in a democracy to promote truth and accuracy or a diversity of views? And can unmediated, massive-scale debate between peers in a networked society really change democratic practice? An article on spotting a bogus trend story on Page One of today's New York Times. More on The Book of Lost Books. Magazines experiment with print's digital format. What's behind the losses at Microsoft? NPR prospers, walled off from Wall Street. An article on why all phone calls will eventually be free. If you think kids don't read now, wait until the visual media really take off. Here are fourteen great films about workers, working and workplaces. Hollywood's Biggest Blunders: Inexplicable decisions of the new moguls. A look at the rise of tragicomic books. Japanese comics known as shojo are a hot market in America. And someone finally applies game theory to something that really matters

[Sep 22] Who are the world’s leading public intellectuals? Foreign Policy and Prospect would like to know who you think makes the cut. On the brink of turning 80, Gore Vidal - aristocrat, intellectual and prolific novelist, playwright, and essayist - is as outspoken as ever. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. on the age of polymorphous perversity (and part 2). From Slate, William Saletan on the media's silence about rampant anal sex; and a conversation about grappling over two new and pretty alarmist books on the state of sexual culture in America: Pornified and Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. Bi - curious women are here, but not quite queer. Welcome to the new lesbian chic. From Knowledge @ Wharton, an article on the 'masculine' and 'feminine' sides of leadership and culture: perception vs. reality. In the business world, men do numbers, women do strategy (while in the restroom, women are better at hand hygiene habits, hands down). Statements of social responsibility will matter little if the incentives driving the actors undercut the principles. From Dissent, the Katrina disaster raises key questions about the role of government in American society. Charities are for suckers: Leave Katrina relief efforts to government. Carol Swain on how Black America is doing better than New Orleans suggests, but trouble lies ahead. And from TNR, on what New Orleans can learn from France and Grand Forks

[Sep 21] From Skeptical Inquirer, James Randi describes some of the people who apply for his foundation’s $1 million challenge for evidence of paranormal powers (including Achau Nguyen), and an article on the Case of the Psychic Detectives. From FT, an article on magic: Welcome to a world that hovers between our faith in science and our desire for faith (use bugmenot.com). From Christianity Today, a prominent Jewish human-rights activist praises and pointedly counsels evangelicals, and on two tests for evangelical action. A look at how the concept of a universal God, developed by the exiled Israelites in Babylon in 586 BCE, changed the world. More on Divided by God. Brad Stine, an evangelical comic, provokes holy laughter. Churches are increasingly adopting the ways of the world in attempting to attract attention to itself. Tricycle speaks with B. Alan Wallace about the quintessential pursuit: What is true happiness? A review of the Dalai Lama's The Universe in a Single Atom. From The Nation, Katha Pollitt on how fundamentalism is a road to nowhere. People like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell are much closer to being "anti-American" than liberals who rail against Bush. More on The Penguin Wars. More from Salon: an article on the return of reefer madness; and an interview with George Clooney on politics. His own chief of staff says he's clueless about the law: Meet Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn. From Hegel to Wilson to Breyer: Liberal constitutional theory returns to its foreign roots. From Reason, a review of books on affirmative action. An interview with John Dicker, author of The United States of Wal-Mart. And from TNR, an article on how to fix the Voting Rights Act

[Sep 20] Robert Boyton on Francis Fukuyama, the neocon that isn't. From The Spectator, why do we tolerate intolerance? A review of Working Toward Whiteness: How America’s Immigrants Become White. The Strange Journey from Ellis Island to the Suburbs. From Left Hook, an essay on the death penalty in a culture of victimization and kitsch. A look at why Ayatollah Sistani is more liberated than the Pope, Jesse Helms (or Norman Mailer). From MR, an article on saving the future. From TCS, an article on the iron law of oligarchy, revisited. A review of The Abolition of Antitrust. An excerpt from Political Power and Corporate Control: The New Global Politics of Corporate Governance. A review of End of the Line: The Rise and Coming Fall of the Global Corporation. A look at the work of Johan Norberg, the darling of the American libertarian Right. An excerpt from Barbara Ehrenreich's Bait and Switch. A summary of Plowshares & Pork Barrels: The Political Economy of Agriculture. Is there any relationship more complicated than the one we have with money? Our lives are controlled by a monetary system we know nothing about and thus think we can't change. What if there's a better way? Consumers coming together--to get the best deals for themselves. And come for the cash, stay for the homophobia: A review of Don't Get Too Comfortable

[Sep 19] From The New York Times Magazine, Bono has taken the power of rock celebrity to new places, but it's a lot more than his soaring voice; Mark Lilla on his long-lost years as a teenage evangelical; and the introduction to a new section, "The Funny Pages". A review of books on John Paul II and Benedict XVI. From First Things, an essay on how race wrecked liberalism, Richard John Neuhaus on the evangelical moment, and a review of Faithful Reason: Essays Catholic and Philosophical. From TAP, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus on imagining possibilities as large as the crisis that confronts them (and two responses). From Orion, Wendell Berry on renewing husbandry, and an essay on morality, discourse and the war on common sense. Frank Furedi talks about his new book, Politics of Fear: Beyond Left and Right. A review of Capitalism's Achilles Heel: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free-Market System. Alan Wolfe reviews Class Matters. Paul Kennedy reviews Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush v. Gore. John Yoo on why targeting individual terrorists should become an available option in the war against al Qaeda. A review of Military Identities. And a review of Terry Eagleton's Holy Terror (and more)

[Weekend] Perspectives from the Far Right: From The Christian Post, R. Albert Mohler Jr. on The Circus of the Intellectuals. From The Mankind Quarterly, Gerhard Meisenberg (Ross): IQ Population Genetics: It's not as Simple as You Think. From The Occidental Quarterly, Robert Griffin (Vermont): Going Public: Being Seen, Heard, and Felt as White in Mainstream America; Daniel Vining Jr. (Penn): For the World to Live, Must the West and the Far East Die?; an essay on White Nationalism and the Geopolitics of the Paris-Berlin-Moscow Axis; here's the case for eugenics in a nutshell; a review of Charles Murray's Human Accomplishment, a review of The Slaughter of Cities: Urban Renewal as Ethnic Cleansing, and a review of Race, Genetics & Society: Glayde Whitney on the Scientific and Social Policy Implications of Racial Differences. The John Birch Society's The New American celebrates its 20th anniversary, with an article on notable events, achievements, and efforts. American Renaissance's Jared Taylor on going further down the road (paved with good intentions). And from VDare, Steve Sailer on The Great American Inequality Debate

[Sep 16] From The New York Review of Books, an essay on New Orleans and a look at Hurricane Katrina and race; an essay on John Roberts: The Nominee; a review of books on Hugo Chavez and Venezuela; and Peter Galbraith on the Last Chance for Iraq. A review of Military Tribunals and Presidential Power: American Revolution to the War on Terrorism. A new book by Marouf Hasian analyzes the arguments for and against military tribunals. From Foreign Policy, William Easterly on the Utopian Nightmare; an article on Afghanistan's big gamble; Moises Naim on why our definition of “normalcy” can be costly for everyone else; here's a list countries pledging money and supplies for New Orleans; an article on the risk of failure at the UN World Summit; and a U.N. ad blitz? Fuhgeddaboutit! From Open Democracy, Shashi Tharoor, the UN’s Under Secretary General, on a fairer, safer world; a look at how to democratise the United Nations; why it's time for member-states who care about the organisation’s principles to act in concert; an article on reinventing accountability for the 21st Century; and here's some official portraits of heads of state. From The Guardian, eight ways to change the world: A photography exhibition on the Millennium Development Goals. And a photo essay on A Trail of Diamonds