October 2003

In This Issue
Mark Bowden, “The Dark Art of Interrogation”; Mary Anne Weaver, “Pharaohs-in-Waiting”; James Shreeve, “Oliver's Travels”; Jonathan Rauch, “Will Frankenfood Save the Planet?”; Christopher Hitchens, “That Blessed Plot, That Enigmatic Isle”; Joshua Green, “Force Multiplier”; fiction by Nicolas Pizzolatto; and much more.
Articles
Park
The Dark Art of Interrogation
The most effective way to gather intelligence and thwart terrorism can also be a direct route into morally repugnant terrain. A survey of the landscape of persuasion
How to Run for President
A primer for the Democratic candidates from Congress, who face daunting historical odds
Material Girl
For Virginia Postrel, the only thing wretched about the culture of consumerism is the excessive criticism of it
Sticking Together
Coming (slowly) of age in the Big City
Force Multiplier
Wesley Clark is not Haig and not Eisenhower. And some Democrats are hoping he won't be Cuomo
That Blessed Plot, That Enigmatic Isle
Is there such a thing as "Englishness"—and if not, then why can't one imagine Samuel Johnson as an Italian?
Divine Comedy
Big Organic, Small Organic
Organic food may be coming from bigger and bigger producers, but the best flavor is still coming from organic farms, as a case study of good and great yogurt makes plain
Alpine Daisy Miller
Inside Job
Below the high altar of St. Peter's, investigators have found sheep bones, ox bones, pig bones, and the complete skeleton of a mouse. Was Peter himself ever there?
Feudal Gestures
Why the Middle Ages are something we can still look forward to
New & Noteworthy
What to read this month
Ghost-Birds
What we think is a gesture of freedom is a symptom of our cage
Will Frankenfood Save the Planet?
Over the next half century genetic engineering could feed humanity and solve a raft of environmental ills—if only environmentalists would let it
Notes From a Native Daughter
Joan Didion's decline
Oliver's Travels
In the days when he would make himself a nightcap and sit down to watch TV with his keepers, a chimpanzee named Oliver was hailed as the missing link. The author tracks down a retired world celebrity
The Man Who Invented Elvis
Sam Phillips (1923-2003)
Nannyhood and Apple Pie
As capitalism's "latest recruits," American women may know less than their nannies about loving care
Pharaohs-in-Waiting
Who will succeed Egypt's Hosni Mubarak as the ruler of the world's most populous and important Arab country?
Letters to the Editor
