November 2010

The Atlantic - November 2010

Also in this issue

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.

Letters to the editor

What’s Your Problem?

Don’t go outside (ever), and other advice

Features

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


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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In Focus

Protests Spread Across Brazil