March 2009

Richard Florida on how the crash will reshape America; Paul Elie on the Archbishop of Canterbury; Corby Kummer on cupcakes; Mark Bowden on rebuilding the Air Force; Christopher Hitchens on Samuel Johnson; Michael Hirschorn on the cheese-ification of network TV; and much more.

The Atlantic - March 2009

Also in this issue

Beyond Belief

Letters to the editor

What's Your Problem?

Eat this magazine, and other advice

Other articles in this issue

Quick Study

Cyberwar is hell; paranormal psychology

In a Word

Laundry as lingua franca; flow stoppers

Features

How the Crash Will Reshape America

The meltdown will affect more than our economy. It will forever change our geography.

[Web only: Interactive Map: "The Shaping of America"]
Interviews: Urban theorist Richard Florida explains why recession is the mother of invention.

The Last Ace

As American air superiority declines, and the age of fighter jocks returns, we're going to need more men like Cesar Rodriguez.

[Web only: Video: "The View from the Cockpit"]

Prison Blocks

Incarceration exacts a terrible toll on New Orleans

The Velvet Reformation

Can Rowan Williams save the Anglican Church from itself?
Interviews: Paul Elie talks about Archbishop Rowan Williams's balancing act, and the schisms threatening the Anglican Church.

Dispatches

Tragic Heroes

What today’s veterans can learn from tales of the Trojan War

Sayonara, Prada

Why Japan’s young consumers are turning away from luxury goods

Cops and Squatters

On the foreclosure beat in San Bernardino

Musical Chairs

Michael Pettis is a finance pundit by day, a Beijing rock impresario by (very late) night.

Not So Guilty Pleasure

If only somebody could get the cupcake right

[Web only: Video: "The Frosting on the Cupcake"]

All the Street’s a Stage

New Orleans still has a way of making you feel as if you’ve been tippling, even when you’re stone sober.

Pipe Dreams

The quest for pure drinking water in an imperfect world

Books

Designers’ Designers

Three books on three couturiers who rank among the greatest America has produced

Class Dismissed

A new status anxiety is infecting affluent hipdom

Demons and Dictionaries

A new book dissects Dr. Johnson’s pathologies and despair.

Cover to Cover

Dopes on a rope; northern lights; exhuming Fleming; classless etiquette; and more

Columns

My Drug Problem

The cancer drug Herceptin saved the author’s life. It also cost ,000. Would health-care reform put it, and other expensive new drugs, out of reach?

School of Rock

What does Guitar Hero’s popularity mean for the future of rock and roll?

The Future Is Cheese

Why the networks are surrendering prime time to Jay Leno and the Lord of the Dance


Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

Video

The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Video

What Does It Take to Make Real Craft Gin?

Tour the Green Hat Gin distillery

Video

What Straights Can Learn From Same-Sex Couples

New insight from decades of research

Video

The End of the Mall Rat

A tribute to that pillar of teen culture

Video

The Wonderful World of Capitalism

An adorable 1950s cartoon

Video

New Yorkers: Miss New York USA

An unconventional beauty queen.

Writers

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