-- James Fallows remarks on the pithiest single sentence he's heard so far.
-- Do young playwrights need to read more plays?
-- Alexis Madrigal wonders if Americans are smart... or not.
-- Jeffrey Goldberg continues to report on the UAE and its attitude toward the prospect of Iranian nuclear weapons.
-- Ayaan Hirsi Ali defends her critique of Islam.
Conor Friedersdorf is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the Up for Debate newsletter.