July/August 2010

A guide to the biggest ideas of the year, the politically incorrect guide to ending poverty, why we should call terrorists nitwits, and more

Features

The 14 3/4 Biggest Ideas of the Year

A guide to the intellectual trends that, for better or worse, are most shaping America right now
Special Report: Our second annual online ideas report includes a blog by Conor Friedersdorf, video and photos from the Aspen Ideas Festival, an "Idea of the Day" feature, and much more

The End of Men

Women are dominating society as never before.
Video: In this family feud, Hanna Rosin and her daughter, Noa, debate the superiority of women with Rosin’s son, Jacob, and husband, Slate editor David Plotz

Are Fathers Necessary?

A paternal contribution may not be as essential as we think.

Xanadu

A map of one couple’s attempt to build the world’s greenest home

Closing the Digital Frontier

How media companies are taming the Internet’s chaos

The Littlest Schoolhouse

Helping wayward students—by personalizing curricula

No Refills

Why are fewer drugs being approved, even as R&D surges?

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Ending Poverty

An eminent economist discovers the virtues of colonialism.

The Case for Calling Them Nitwits

Most terrorists are bungling fools. Spread the word.

Dispatches

Monsters in the Market

In today’s exchanges, strong programs prey on weak ones, humans are hard to find, and the SEC struggles to keep up.

A Promising Land

Small towns in the South are looking for a few good Jewish families.

Rent a White Guy

Confessions of a fake businessman from Beijing

Googlethink

The giant’s creepy efforts to read my mind
Interview: Nicholas Carr explains why he finds Google both cuddly and creepy

The Vigilante

Italy’s Northern League party exploits a brutal crime for a dubious law.

The Mother of All Invention

How the Xerox 914 gave rise to the Information age

A Killer Vacation

On The Shining’s 30th anniversary, a visit to the hotels that inspired Stephen King’s novel— and the Stanley Kubrick film he scorned
Video: Commenting on a scene from The Shining, James Parker demonstrates the clashing visions of Stanley Kubrick and Stephen King

Books

The Racket

How the numbers game shaped Harlem

Our Houses, Our Selves

A new crop of books suggests that for women, obsession with real estate is replacing obsession with love and marriage.

Cover to Cover

New fiction from Jane Smiley and A. L. Kennedy; the concise LBJ; Jung and Pauli’s cosmic convergence; and more
Interview: Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jane Smiley talks with Eleanor Barkhorn about writing, thinking, teaching, and her latest novel, Private Life


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

Writers

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In Focus

Photos of Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma

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