Does the Vaccine Matter?
To prevent a devastating flu pandemic, the government is relying heavily on vaccines and antivirals. Some experts say that both are quite possibly useless.
November 2009
In This Issue
Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer question the effectiveness of the H1N1 vaccine; Wayne Curtis on the houses of the future; Brave Thinkers—twenty-seven people with courageous ideas; Nadya Labi on the business of retrieving abducted children; Benjamin Schwarz on Mad Men; and much more.
Features
Houses of the Future
In New Orleans, a new kind of house is rising from the ruins of Katrina. Cheap, green, and radically hip, it may change architecture for a generation.
Brave Thinkers
Twenty-seven people with courageous ideas—from relocating endangered species to hiring autistics to printing loads of money—that are shaping our future. The first installment of an annual feature.
The Snatchback
When Todd Hopson wanted to get Andres, the 9-year-old boy he'd raised from infancy, back from his biological father in Costa Rica, he called Gus Zamora, who retrieves internationally abducted children for a living. Here’s what happened next.
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Ashley Cooper/Aurora Photos How I Survived China
Our man in Beijing returns home, with lungs only somewhat the worse for wear.
Kenneth Nanney The Boar War
A wild menace invades Houston.
David Troxel-Seascapes/Alamy Wipeout
Guam’s surfers fret about the impact of a billion defense buildup on their island.
Narayan Mahon Oil on Ice
Will Greenland become the Nigeria of the Arctic?
¡Hola, Hezbollah!
How a Lebanese mullah found happiness in Paraguay
The World on the Rocks
For fans of the legendary cocktail writer Charles H. Baker, the contents of a drink are less compelling than the story behind it.
Finding Peace in Colombia
A thrill seeker surrenders to South America’s scariest nation.
Gluekit Filtering Reality
How an emerging technology could threaten civility
Books
Carin Baer/AMC Mad About Mad Men
What’s wrong—and what’s gloriously right—with AMC’s hit show
Marc Yankus The Pity of War
Is leading one’s own troops to slaughter ever justified?
Gérard Degeorge/CORBIS Cover to Cover
Alice Munro's way with women; the obstetric dialectic; and more
Columns
Misleading Indicator
Will the Great Recession finally end our misguided obsession with gross domestic product?
Sean McCabe Retching With the Stars
The addictive appeal of Dr. Drew Pinsky’s Celebrity Rehab
Also in this issue
Jason Ford/Heart Agency
