Distracting Miss Daisy

Why stop signs and speed limits endanger Americans. By John Staddon.

American Murder Mystery

Why is crime rising in so many American cities? The answer implicates one of the most celebrated antipoverty programs of recent decades. By Hanna Rosin.

Electro-Shock Therapy

With the Chevy Volt, General Motors—battered, struggling for profitability, fed up with being eclipsed by Toyota and the Prius—is out to reinvent the automobile, and itself. By Jonathan Rauch.

My Amygdala, My Self

Intrigued (and alarmed) by the new science of “neuromarketing,” our correspondent peers into his own brain via an MRI machine and learns what he really thinks about Jimmy Carter, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Bruce Springsteen, and Edie Falco. By Jeffrey Goldberg.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

What the Internet is doing to our brains. By Nicholas Carr.

Mr. Murdoch Goes to War

Rupert Murdoch wants his Wall Street Journal to displace The New York Times as the world’s paper of record. His ambitions could be good news for the newspaper industry— or another nail in the coffin of serious journalism. [Web only: Video: "Rupert Murdoch: The Last Hope for Journalism"] By Mark Bowden.

The 11 1/2 Biggest Ideas of the Year

A thumbnail intellectual history of the year. [Web only: Video: "Where Ideas Come From": Interviews with David Lynch and Donovan ]

Comment

Infectious Exuberance

Financial bubbles are like epidemics— and we should treat them both the same way. By Robert J. Shiller.

The Executioner's Swan Song?

In 2005, Benjamin Wittes contended that the Supreme Court's tolerance for the death penalty is rapidly diminishing. (October 2005)

Red vs. Blue America

"In Red America churches are everywhere. In Blue America Thai restaurants are everywhere. In Red America they have QVC, the Pro Bowlers Tour, and hunting. In Blue America we have NPR, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and socially conscious investing..." By David Brooks (December 2002)

The Genesis of the Gang

To the lawlessness of the street the home opposes no obstacle. By Jacob Riis (September 1899)

First Wave at Omaha Beach

Combat historian S.L.A. Marshall recalled the carnage he witnessed on Omaha Beach during D-Day. (November 1960)

A More Perfect Union

How the Founding Fathers would have handled gay marriage. By Jonathan Rauch (April 2004)

Forecasting the Real Estate Bubbble

The U.S. real-estate bubble is likely to leak, not pop. By Don Peck (July/August 2005)

Who Needs Harvard?

The pressure on smart kids to get into top schools has never been higher. But the differences between these schools and the next tier down have never been smaller. (October 2004)

The Angry American

"Praise be, America's social-anger thermometer is on the rise." By Paul Starobin (January/February 2004)

The World's Economic Outlook

In the midst of the Great Depression, British economist John Maynard Keynes considered the prospects for capitalism's survival. (May 1932)