Taking Chances
The point of this annual issue isn’t to celebrate power, influence, or even, necessarily, success. It’s to identify people who are taking a substantial risk for a big idea.
Features
Brave Thinkers 2010
The Atlantic’s second annual assessment of the year's most intrepid and original thinking, featuring a highlight video, a look at how last year's thinkers are faring today, and profiles of these risk-takers:
Carol Ball| David Cameron | Dan Choi | Kevin Costner | Michael T. Flynn | Deborah Gist | John Hantz | Elon Musk | Diane Ravitch | Robert Sarver | Tom Sullivan | Elizabeth Warren | Jack Weinstein | Sakena Yacoobi | Guillermo Zuloaga | Anas Aremeyaw Anas | John Ionnidis | Lonnie Johnson | Ron Paul
Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science
John Ioannidis has proved that much of what gets published in medical journals is wrong. Does your doctor know?
Shooting for the Sun
Lonnie Johnson, the inventor of the Super Soaker, is trying to create a radical new solar-powered engine. He has the Air Force’s attention.
The Tea Party’s Brain
How Ron Paul's fringe obsessions—the gold standard, the Fed, the perils of deficits—entered the mainstream
Video: Joshua Green and Marc Ambinder discuss the two major themes of this election cycle: the economy and “loony candidates.”
Smuggler, Forger, Writer, Spy
Anas Aremeyaw Anas is a Ghanaian investigative journalist with many disguises—from addict to imam—and one overriding mission: to force Ghana’s government to act against the lawbreakers he exposes.
The Last Patrol
In the heart of Taliban country, the paratroopers of 2 Charlie begin their final mission, braving snipers, IEDs, and the unrelenting sun.
Video: Footage from the soldiers' harrowing last days in Afghanistan
Dispatches
Uncle Sam’s Mysterious Hoard
In lean times, why is 0 billion worth of government treasure simply sitting in vaults?
Dark Tourism
Cambodia tries to turn its bloody history into a sightseeing boom.
Road Hogs
How pig manure can pave our streets—and a path to cleaner energy
Gaza’s Surfer Girls
Riding the waves and testing Hamas’s limits
Birding at the Border
Watching raptors—and immigration agents—in an Arizona preserve
Gunpowder on the Rocks
A New Zealand bartender learns what pirates and sailors knew long ago: explosives and liquor mix just fine.
Don’t Shoot the Bear
Whale pizzas and polar bears: A man on a mission at the Arctic Circle
A New Wrinkle in Time
With the decline of the wristwatch, will time become just another app?
Books
The American Critic
H. L. Mencken trained American intellectuals in what to like—and how to rebel.
Men Who Love Too Much
Patrick Hamilton’s exceptional, and overlooked, novels show that falling in love with the wrong person is misery—and it isn’t much fun for the wrong person either.
How Broadway Conquered the World
America’s most energetic art form owes its success to compulsive singability.
Cover to Cover
Witchcraft in West Africa; Julia Glass’s latest fiction; and more
Columns
Can GM Get Its Groove Back?
Buyers remain wary, and Washington is unlikely to recover all its bailout cash. But the colossus has slashed costs and spiffed up its cars—and is rejoining the global race.
Truth Lies Here
How can Americans talk to one another—let alone engage in political debate—when the Web allows every side to invent its own facts?
The Doctor is In
Why a 47-year-old English sci-fi show is suddenly an American hit
Alter Ego 
The 100 Greatest Quotes in 'The Wire' 
Synthetic Biology 
