Short and Thankful Edition Heather Hurlburt & Eli Lake Nov 24 + show topics Should Blackwater be doing “snatch and grabs” in Pakistan? Torture and the fantasy of 100% safety Is breaking the law inherent in the CIA’s mission? Eli defends torturing Khalid Shaikh Mohammed What Heather and Eli are (geopolitically) thankful for Voting With Your Mouth Ezra Klein & Mark Bittman Nov 23 + show topics Mark’s book, “Food Matters” Tobacco is stigmatized. Can we do the same for processed food? Ezra calls for school lunch paternalism Behavioral economics and Thanksgiving dinner The healthiest way to organize your kitchen Delicious junk food will always be with us—so what do we do? Intellivision Conor Friedersdorf & Peter Suderman Nov 23 + show topics The illogical way we use health insurance Does Sarah Palin deserve all the attention she’s getting? Is the political-entertainment complex a good thing? Why Conor hates living in DC Videogames as the dominant medium of the new century Reconsidering videogame violence weekly programs Percontations Science Saturday The Week in Blog UN Plaza Worldwise UN Plaza: The H1N1 Pandemic Mark Leon Goldberg & Gregory Hartl Nov 22 + show topics How big is the crisis? Tracking the virus across the globe How the WHO first identified H1N1 What happens when a pandemic is declared Why influenza viruses are so challenging Vaccines, doomsday scenarios, and international cooperation Science Saturday: Verbs and Violence Robert Wright & Steven Pinker Nov 21 + show topics The distance between Noam Chomsky and evolutionary psychology How Chomsky snuck in to Bob’s 9th-grade English class Steve’s book, “The Stuff of Thought” How language reveals the structure of the human mind Why has violence been declining for centuries? Is morality something we just make up? The Week in Blog: Wrapped Up With a Bow Bill Scher & Matt Lewis Nov 20 + show topics Andrew Sullivan vs. Sarah Palin Matt diagnoses conservative bloggers with Palin fatigue The left is largely happy with Reid’s health care bill… ...while the right alleges CBO chicanery Debating Obama’s bow to the Japanese emperor Could Sarah Palin ride her celebrity to the presidency? Nuance Michelle Goldberg & Ann Althouse Nov 19 + show topics Is Sarah Palin dumb or evil? Intelligent people can disagree Comparing “Going Rogue” to “Dreams From My Father” Is Palin an unreflective complainer or a model of optimism? The exuberance of Palin, the thoughtfulness of Obama Ann vs. Michelle on Obama Is Palin an exceptional liar? Reassessing the Freedom Agenda Andrew Bacevich & David Frum Nov 18 + show topics Andrew dissents from the conventional wisdom on Afghanistan Is Afghanistan just a distraction? Debating what, if anything, America can do to improve Pakistan Can we reduce the damage from Islam’s transition to modernity? Andrew’s non-military plan for confronting terrorism David: We can no longer insulate ourselves from the Muslim world Adding Value Dayo Olopade & Megan McArdle Nov 17 + show topics Political lessons of the Fort Hood shooting Placing terrorists on the spectrum between warriors and criminals Is abortion health care? Dayo: Sarah Palin is a cultural figure, not a politician Payday loans and the vortex of poverty Can Americans be convinced to eat less meat? Arguing With Your Own Side Conor Friedersdorf & Julian Sanchez Nov 17 + show topics The coming Murdoch-Google war Snore-inducing journalism that undergirds democracy Legally, who is a journalist? The Ann Coulter dilemma: Ignore or engage the fringe? What the new populists misunderstand about politicians’ morality Conor: No day like today for intra-conservative argument In Praise of Forgetting Viktor Mayer-Schonberger & Farhad Manjoo Nov 16 + show topics Viktor’s new book, “Delete” How a random photo can ruin someone’s life Viktor proposes encoding expiration dates into digital photos Can society just adjust? Don’t let current friendships be destroyed by old emails Farhad defends digital remembering

more diavlogs

Kahlenberg on class-based affirmative action

Traub profile of Abe Foxman

Jewish Daily Forward on Clark and “N.Y. money people”

Mickey on Scooter Libby’s anti-Semitism charge

Rabbi Gellman on Lieberman

Edsall and Edsall’s book, “Chain Reaction”

Jonathan Cohn on Denmark

more links

Tom Maguire on the “‘Fight Club’ Dems”

Radar on the unpunished pundits

Eric on the surge

Eric on crappy Iraq pundits

collapse links

uncle ebeneezer: Apparently Ann didn't read the title of the book... 

rcocean: Althouse plays psychologist, tries to bring Michelle back to Planet Earth. 

nikkibong: Dreading the arrival of what comes next (post-post-structuralism?) 

thouartgob: A slice of John and George for your enjoyment. 

graz: That's less than six degrees of separation. 

osmium: Those damn creationists in the back of his mind. 

rcocean: Conn shows why he's a political analyst and not an economist. 

Simon Willard: It seems some of us still can't control ourselves. 

nikkibong: How to improve boring diavlogs. 

bjkeefe: You know what else they need? More cowbell. 

Unit: Reihan Salam's face speaks even when it's the other guy who is going on and on. 

uncle ebeneezer: Snow flurries in Hell? 

uncle ebeneezer: Peter Lipson does his best John Horgan imitation. 

WZA: Twitter, happier. 

uncle ebeneezer: How does Eli really feel about the troops? 

Stapler Malone: Does it, though, Matt? Does it make sense? 

graz: Matt may need to be drummed from the Real Conservative Club if he doesn’t watch his manners. 

osmium: Mark goes there ... wait for it ... wait for it ... 

osmium: Ann, I’m with you 100% on this, so let’s call it a word: amatheory. 

thouartgob: Will’s tie needs to be dingalinked. 

uncle ebeneezer: The latest update on superstring theory and the LHC. 

BeachFrontView: Moment of zen. 

graz: We don’t need no stinkin’ nuance: The healthcare speech unpacked. 

nikkibong: This doesn’t exactly require a leap of faith. 

~GW~: Two instances make a pattern: #1.