Volume 302 No. 2 | September 2008
Articles with headlines in gray are unavailable online.
Who will win the presidential debates? What does each candidate’s use of words say about how he would govern as president? Can Obama’s rhetorical skills lift him to the heights of Lincoln, FDR, and Reagan—or will his speechmaking do him in? After watching all 47 (!) of the primary season’s debates, our correspondent has the answers—and some harsh criticism for the moderators.
by James Fallows
Obama and McCain both say they want to usher in a new, less divisive brand of politics. Which of them has the better chance? Is bipartisanship still possible?
by Ronald Brownstein
Hillary Clinton’s campaign was undone by a clash of personalities more toxic than anyone imagined. E-mails and memos—published here for the first time—reveal the backstabbing and conflicting strategies that produced an epic meltdown.
by Joshua Green
The termite’s stomach, of all things, has become the focus of large-scale scientific investigations. Could the same properties that make the termite such a costly pest help us solve global warming? [Web only: Video: "How to Hunt for Termites"]
by Lisa Margonelli
As China and India vie for power and influence, Burma has become a strategic battleground. Four Americans with deep ties to this fractured, resource-rich country illuminate its current troubles, and what the U.S. should do to shape its future.
by Robert D. Kaplan
A look back at a 70-page supplement on Burma—covering arts, culture, politics, and more—written mostly by Burmese and published by The Atlantic in 1958.
ILLUSTRATION
by Edward Sorel
COMMENT
What’s the difference between homosexuals and heterosexuals? In matters outside the bedroom, American culture and law are at last acknowledging that there is none.
by Andrew Sullivan
Slightly Older Kids on the Block; marriage by decree; Harry Potter bares all
by Matthew Quirk
Dread Pirate bin Laden; more than five for fighting; schizo in Gitmo
THE WORLD IN NUMBERS
How scarcity, affluence, and biofuel production are wreaking havoc on food prices
by Elizabeth Shelburne
REPORT
How preparations for tomorrow’s satellite wars could ruin life as we know it today
by Guy Gugliotta
Editor’s Choice: A new book showcases the jewelry of Ted Muehling, whose earnest, untrendy work reaches the height of stylishness.
by Benjamin Schwarz
How Patty Hearst’s kidnapping reflected and ravaged American culture in the 1970s
by Caitlin Flanagan
Norman Mailer’s political journal of the summer of ‘68
by Christopher Hitchens
A guide to additional releases: How the Reds won Russia; food in the Depression; Nigeria's oil curse; and more
TRAVELS
The places in and around London that shaped the naturalist as a young man
by Richard Conniff
Web-only
Statues of two 19th-century rivals battle it out in London's Natural History Museum
by Richard Conniff
FOOD
A cooking school in the Greek islands shows that simplicity plus necessity equals great cuisine. [Web only: Slideshow: "The Grecian Formula"]
by Corby Kummer
Web-only
THE PUZZLER
by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
Wrong time to write right; expressing discretion
by Barbara Wallraff
