November 2006

How Hillary Clinton turned herself into the consummate Washington player

What if a computer program combined the action and graphics of a video game with the emotional power of great art? The result could revolutionize interactive entertainment—and even change the meaning of “play”

It was the first act of airline terrorism in the Americas: thirty years ago, seventy-three people died in the bombing of a Cuban passenger plane. Now, one alleged mastermind lives freely in Miami, while another awaits trial on other charges in Texas. With Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez insisting the CIA was behind the bombing, why won’t the Bush administration at last resolve enduring suspicions? A tale of thwarted dreams, frustrated justice, and murder in the sky

This is the tenth in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine's 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by Jonathan Kozol, the National Book Award-winning author of several books on public education.

Why college is not an economic cure-all

For more than a year, Karen Hughes has been trying to sell George Bush’s America to the Middle East. Here’s why it isn’t working

The last two elections have left pollsters somewhat bloodied but unbowed

The Atlantic recently asked a group of foreign-policy authorities about current and future U.S. support for Israel

For a preview of future instability and war in the Middle East, watch where Iraqi refugees are going

The road back from Katrina; Nigeria’s restive delta; the long arm of the blue law; tripping your way to sobriety

The Arcades Project, by Walter Benjamin; Carried Away, by Rachel Bowlby; Harvard Design School Guide to Shopping, edited by Chuihua Judy Chung, Jeffrey Inaba, Rem Koolhaas, and Sze Tsung Leong; Mall Maker, by M. Jeffrey Hardwick; Victor Gruen, by Alex Wall

American Idol lets us feel their pain

Post-Brokeback, more gay love stories for straight people

What Algeria’s past can—and can’t—tell us about the present day

A guide to additional releases

A Mexican hill town’s indolent beauty belies its fiery past

Dinner cooked in plastic bags may sound more like airplane food than haute cuisine—but today, thanks to a cutting-edge culinary technique, it’s both

In Julius Shulman’s photographs, modern architecture became seductive, comfortable, and immortal

New programs let you easily categorize anything you come across on the Web or in your own files—and, more important, let you find it all again

DIY video is making merely professional television seem stodgy, slow, and hopelessly last century

Steve Irwin (1962–2006)