The Year of Two Popes
How Joseph Ratzinger stepped into the shoes of John Paul II—and what it means for the Catholic Church
Paul Elie, "The Year of Two Popes"; William Langewiesche, "The Point of No Return"; Garrison Keillor, "Anthem"; Caitlin Flanagan on nice girls and oral sex; Clive Crook on greedy CEOs; P. J. O'Rouke on polling teens; and much more.
How Joseph Ratzinger stepped into the shoes of John Paul II—and what it means for the Catholic Church
First Pakistan's A.Q. Khan showed that any country could have made a nuclear bomb. Then he showed—not once but three times—why the nuclear trade will never be shut down
An unauthorized preview, with never-before -seen drawings of the interior
The first in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine's 150th anniversary.
A drawing
by the Editors
It's time to challenge the metaphor—and the easy caricatures of left and right that sustain it
How Americans really sort out on cultural and religious issues—and what it means for our politics
Is our evolving national character a liability in our foreign relations?
The CEOs of too many public companies enjoy the power and rewards of ownership without the risks.
As the Gallup Organization has discovered, the young are another country—and one day it's going to be ours
When too much power means not enough security
There's something different about the latest crop of military veterans running for Congress
Iraqi insurgents have perfected the use of lethal explosives, with profound implications for our military operations in Iraq
John Roberts is the new chief justice, but the Supreme Court isn't his to lead just yet
The religion effect; a less violent world; one (very good) reason to resist early retirement
Chicago Architecture and Design, by Jay Pridmore and George A. Larson; Chicago Architecture: Histories, Revisions, Alternatives, edited by Charles Waldheim and Katerina Rüedi Ray; Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City
How nice girls got so casual about oral sex
Top literary reasons why it sucks to have chic parents
The Accidental by Ali Smith
Arthur & George, by Julian Barnes
An adroit new history of the British Empire in the post-Victorian era
Leaving Home, by Anita Brookner
The province's quirks and inaccessibility are its very charms
All of a sudden everybody wants to be a jazz singer—and a few are actually good at it
Americans no longer need to look abroad to satisfy their need for oil—Tuscan-style olive oil, that is
Moustapha Akkad (1935-2005)
A selective index to this month's issue
What to watch for in the weeks ahead
How our cultural attitudes stack up against ?those of other countries?
If famous poets had written "The Star-Spangled Banner"
Selections from the notebooks of Elizabeth Bishop