July/August 2011

The annual ideas issue, the trouble with good parents, the case for alternative medicine, and more

Features

The 14 Biggest Ideas of the Year

Our annual guide to the trends shaping America. Plus an online-only special report on the biggest ideas in politics, culture, business, technology, and more.

How to Land Your Kid in Therapy

Obsessing over our children's happiness may doom them to miserable adulthoods.
Video: Lori Gottlieb speaks with the parenting expert Wendy Mogel about how well-meaning parents ruin their kids.

Invisible, Inc.

In the camouflage industry, deception is an artful science.
Slideshow: A look back at how armed forces have mastered the art of disappearing

The Triumph of New-Age Medicine

Why many doctors are embracing long-maligned alternative treatments
Debate: A panel of experts, including Andrew Weil and Dean Ornish, weigh in on whether alternative medicine works.

The World’s Schoolmaster

How a German scientist is using test data to revolutionize education

The Brain on Trial

As advances in brain science erode traditional notions of blame and free will, a leading neuroscientist is charting a new way forward for law and order.

Dispatches

Libyan Rebels: A Sound Track

In Misurata, fighters turn to Pink Floyd in their war against Qaddafi.

The Agony of Crist

A political superstar’s precipitous fall

India Invents a City

Lavasa is an orderly, high-tech community with everything—except people.

The False Heroism of a Civil War Photographer

Taking a closer look at the legendary Mathew Brady

Chef City

In Las Vegas, famous restaurateurs are finally making meals to match the hype.

Paddling the Everglades Trail

Kayaking Florida's saltwater trail—with crocodiles, sharks, and other predators

The Light Fantastic

Streetlights are about to change the color of night—for the better.

Columns

Why Content Isn’t King

How Netflix became America’s biggest video service—much to the astonishment of media executives and investors

The Joy of Vex

The godless charm of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Video: James Parker comments on scenes from the HBO comedy

Books

My Ramona

Beverly Cleary’s body of work shows why topicality derails great literature.

The Madness of Cesar Chavez

A new biography of the icon shows that saints should be judged guilty until proved innocent.

The Real Mahatma Gandhi

Questioning the moral heroism of India's most revered figure


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

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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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