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Kurt Andersen

  1. The Blockbuster EffectSome finale, huh? Kurt Andersen on the arc of Osama bin Laden, and how our need to see the world through stories shapes the way those stories end.
  2. 2010: RomneyCare and Recession …… unleash something unpleasant, if distressingly familiar, in the American public.
  3. 2001: Gore Moves InAl Qaeda doesn’t care who’s president.
  4. Is Democracy Killing Democracy?The founding fathers saw this coming, but the walls they erected to contain the mob may no longer hold.
  5. 59. Because We’re ResilientAs the economic sky seems to be falling, and we each and all hunker down to survive as best we can, I think New Yorkers really do and will deriv […]
  6. ObamaismIt’s a kind of religion. But one rooted in a deep faith in rationality. Last week, New York rejoiced in its promise. And sang the National Anthe […]
  7. Whiplash CityIn this terrifying, giddy fall, our days are numbered like never before. And somewhere between the polls and the Dow lies destiny.
  8. Boom-Bust-Boom TownIn 1968, many New Yorkers were panicked about the city’s future too. Needlessly, as it turned out.
  9. The Humor DeficitMcCain and Obama seem like funny guys, so why are their campaigns anything but?
  10. Meet the Press NowThe commentariat Russert leaves behind has never been larger, or louder. But is it really any more powerful?
  11. FelkerismFor New York’s founding editor, the city was like a giant novel waiting to be written, a pageant of ambition. And no one wrote it bette […]
  12. I’m Not Totally Sure We CanTen November scenarios to give an Obama supporter agita.
  13. About That Crush on ObamaIf Barack is out of touch with America, then the media must be too.
  14. Falling Out of Love With BillCould Democrats and Republicans be finding new common ground—in seeing the ugly truth about their erstwhile heroes?
  15. Is Demography Destiny?Only, as it turns out in this election, in three (more or less) hard-and-fast cases.
  16. Anatomy of a Freak Show(Romney + Huckabee)/3 + .01 McCain + √Giuliani = Bush. And some other things we’ve learned about this long, strange race.
  17. 1. Because After the Years We’ve Spent on the Margins of American Politics, New York Could Actually Hit the 2008 Election TrifectaOut of a combination of pragmatism and perversity, we New Yorkers tend to be of two minds about a lot of things, including our politicians.
  18. La Vie en MoroseThe surge is working! Yikes. Stem cells can be harvested embryo-free! Boo-hoo. A recession in the offing? Happy days are near again.
  19. Nuclear MeltdownA crucial moment looms in the Iran debate, even as big questions remain unasked. Like, could we live with a nuclearized Tehran?
  20. The Age of ApoplexyAre the controversial comments of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (or Larry Summers or Bill O’Reilly or NARAL) really so threatening?
  21. Who’s Your Daddy Now?Lost, stubborn, and surly, the GOP is rapidly rebranding itself as the bad-dad party. But can the Dems finally ditch their soft-mommy rep?
  22. Greed Is Good and UglyAre private-equity guys being unfairly singled out for the sins of our hypercapitalist age? Sure. But the punishment fits the non-crime.
  23. The Great Pseudo-DebateWe only pretend to talk seriously about Iraq. The politics of the war are Kabuki theater, punctuated by moments of Democratic jujitsu.
  24. My Nights With PhilSpector was a total gas to hang out with—well, except perhaps on two occasions.
  25. So We’re Green. Now What?John McCain! Laurie David! Wal-Mart! United we stand against global warming. But Americans have a tricky relationship to sin.
  26. You Must Be StreamingIn a sudden reversal of fortune, newspapers have taken to online video and might just beat TV news at its own game.
  27. Quack! Quack!Bush isn’t the only one (dangerously?) flapping his wings. We’re living in the age of lame-duckism, where dying things won’t go away.
  28. American RouletteIn our winner-take-all casino economy, the middle class is getting royally screwed. A call to arms for populism, before it’s too late.
  29. Because . . . Trump!Outside of show business, is anyone on earth as endlessly, awesomely, shamelessly entertaining as Donald Trump?
  30. The Deniers’ ClubWhat good is the bipartisan commission’s new, last-ditch plan for Iraq if President Bush still has his heart set on victory?
  31. The Lou Dobbs FactorFox is shrinking, while CNN has found a new way to lure viewers—by Foxifying itself. And Dobbs’s America won’t be ignored.
  32. Oh, the HumilityWe are now faced with an almost oxymoronic national challenge: to be a humble superpower—just as Bush suggested back in 2000.
  33. Vanity KillsWhether or not the L.A. Times gets rescued by Geffen, it needs to take a good, long look at who its readers really are. One hint: Not us.
  34. Rape, Justice, and the ‘Times’“I’ve never felt so ill,” says one reporter about the paper’s coverage of the Duke lacrosse-team case. Luckily, a blogger’s on the story, too.
  35. The End of the World As They Know ItWhat do Christian millenarians, jihadists, Ivy League professors, and baby-boomers have in common? They’re all hot for the apocalypse.
  36. Happyish Days Are Here AgainDemocrats are gleeful about their November prospects, but they should be wary of winning the battle at the cost of the war.
  37. Humor Is the New GravitasWhat makes Katie Couric’s ascension to evening anchor significant is not that she’s a woman—it’s that she’s funny (and a woman).
  38. Truly Inconvenient TruthsWhat we’re loath to talk about when we talk about Israel and Lebanon.
  39. The Gay-Wedding PresentDon’t call off the caterer just yet: New York’s same-sex-marriage court defeat is a gift in disguise.
  40. Surrender the Pink!Arthur Carter is on the verge of selling his salmon-colored paper to Robert De Niro’s Tribeca gang. And Mr. Chips–ish editor Peter Kaplan thinks […]
  41. The Vietnam ObsessionIt’s the analogy that won’t quit—and won’t fly, either. But could Iraq end up like Vietnam? We should be so lucky.
  42. What the [Bleep]?!The FCC’s scary new censorship crusade raises the question: Should the government be in the decency business at all anymore?
  43. Generation XeroxYouth may not be an excuse for plagiarism. But it is an explanation.
  44. The Way We Boom NowWhat this age of Internet euphoria looks like to those of us who were in the game last time around. For one, bubbles aren’t completely bad.
  45. Introducing the Purple PartyDepressed about the Democrats? Revolted by the Republicans? You’re not alone. Here in New York (with its Republican mayor and Democratic v […]
  46. What Would Dirty Harry Do?By framing the eavesdropping debate as a manly-man contest, Bush & Co. are distracting us from the conversation we should be having about privacy.
  47. School’s Out for SummersHarvard’s president didn’t get expelled so much for his ideology as for his naïveté. And the university would do well to pick a Larry 2.0 next.
  48. Celebrity Death WatchCould the country’s insane fame fixation maybe, finally—fingers crossed—be coming to an end? One hopeful sign: Paris Hilton.
  49. They Can’t Take a JokeWhat’s the matter with Islam is also the matter with Kansas. But who says freedom of speech isn’t a little negotiable?
  50. The Good Old Boy of Time Inc.John Huey sits atop Time and Fortune and 149 other magazines, ready to have some fun. Only now the good old days of big media are […]
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