UN Plaza: Peacekeeping in Sudan and Congo Mark Leon Goldberg & Erin Weir Mar 13 + show topics A quick tour of Sudan’s recent past and near future Is the comprehensive peace accord of 2005 unravelling? Conflict in oil-rich Abyei strains the UN mission Is a new outbreak of violence in Sudan inevitable? Congo: Peacekeepers adapt while attacks on civilians continue Getting smarter about peacekeeping Science Saturday: What’s Wrong With Transhumanism? Mike Treder & Massimo Pigliucci Mar 13 + show topics Is transhumanism fatally optimistic? Massimo’s ethical qualms with life extension The dangers of rapid technological advance Massimo vs. Mike on whether it’s possible to upload your mind Is the Turing Test a behaviorist blunder? Pesky limitations imposed by human biology The Week in Blog: Bocephus Edition Bill Scher & Matt Lewis Mar 12 + show topics The bizarre Eric Massa scandal fails to take down Rahm Bill: The Massa story reveals the downside of blogging Reconciliation: Conservatives jeer, liberals applaud Why Matt isn’t pinning his hopes on Stupak killing the bill Your moment of meta: TWIB talking about TWIB Financial reform and country music weekly programs Science Saturday The Week in Blog UN Plaza Intensely Resisted Worldviews Robert Wright & David Frum Mar 11 + show topics David (almost) endorses Mickey Kaus for Senate Are the Iraqi elections cause for celebration? David and Bob try not to refight the Iraq War. They fail Should/will Iran get bombed? Can Israel live without a Palestinian peace deal? The different flavors of the tea party Crisis in Nigeria Dayo Olopade & Eliza Griswold Mar 11 + show topics A history of violence in Nigeria Is the source of the conflict religious or economic? Clan loyalties threaten national coherence Could the country split in two? How Nigeria produced the underwear bomber Seventy million youths with no access to education The Academy and the Academy Heather Hurlburt & Daniel Drezner Mar 10 + show topics Why did it take so long to make a good Iraq war movie? Dan’s paean to Pixar The ivory tower vs. real-life experience Why it’s hard to bring together academics and policy makers After Iraqi elections, guarded optimism Heather to Dems: Run on national security in 2010 Degrees of Essential Mark Schmitt & Megan McArdle Mar 9 + show topics Is there a common thread in the New York Dem scandals? Megan defends lobbyists The idiots on the congressional finance committees The trouble with unemployment insurance What do the long-term unemployed most need? The inevitability/impossibility of passing health care reform Beyond Nature vs. Nurture Will Wilkinson & David Shenk Mar 9 + show topics David’s new book, “The Genius in All of Us” David: “The Bell Curve” is just wrong What IQ is and isn’t good for How Mozart made himself into Mozart What part of Michael Jordan’s greatness is due to his genes? Rethinking intelligence and economic inequality Board to Death William D. Cohan & John Gillespie Mar 8 + show topics John’s new book, “Money for Nothing” Want a sweet gig? Get on a corporate board! What should the boards of Lehman and Bear Stearns have done? How the financial reform bill can empower boards Why haven’t big shareholders taken a stand? Solutions to improve corporate governance Values Added: Hollywood Agents of God Gary Laderman & Anthea Butler Mar 7 + show topics Are movies the sacred texts of our time? Tiger Woods and modern absolution Buddhism in the champagne room Will “Avatar” be God at the Oscars? Prediction-Free Oscar Edition Alyssa Rosenberg & Latoya Peterson Mar 6 + show topics Why the Best Picture usually isn’t the best picture The Academy’s blind side: race in America “Precious” as Rorschach Test Dissing the Oscar campaign circuit Sci-fi cinema (bonus social commentary track) Mediocrity: In living TECHNICOLOR!

more diavlogs

Ben on Afghanistan

Dave on McChrystal

Meghan McCain: “My Anger at Obama”

Dave on Tim Griffin

Matt Yglesias on Obama’s appointment of sitting senators

Politico on anti-Obama narratives

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uncle ebeneezer: What does it really mean? 

uncle ebeneezer: Is Tom purposely trying to steer interest away from his profession? 

themightypuck: Bob the Baptist comes out. 

uncle ebeneezer: Will formulates a scenario where the terrorists, literally, win! 

sapeye: Hmmm, is Bob guilty of serious stereotyping? 

Stapler Malone: No, Bob. It’s not. Nothing ever is.  

d7greene: Lawrence Lessig knows a juice-boxer when he sees one. 

Toryentalist: Matt is great, Matt is great—listen and repeat. 

thouartgob: Joel’s elegant refutation of Bob’s point. 

uncle ebeneezer: George Johnson, hopeless romantic! 

themightypuck: Robert Wright, Asteroid Cowboy. 

bjkeefe: Spelling is fun-damental! 

nikkibong: The joy of taking stuff out of context. 

bjkeefe: Who stole Matthew’s tie? 

uncle ebeneezer: The Art of Subtlety. 

bjkeefe: Heather slaps the entire BhTV community. 

bjkeefe: Can anyone find a case where this is not ultimately Mickey's advice to Dems? 

Ken Davis: The racial blind taste test. 

Stapler Malone: Go forward, not backward; upward not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.... 

Simon Willard: Bob steps outside himself here. 

JonIrenicus: Puzzle spelled out. 

uncle ebeneezer: George's response here was absolutely priceless. 

graz: Bob takes Tom Jones down a peg. 

bjkeefe: Entry for a video dictionary: "unflappable." 

almostaquantum: Hooray: Jonah Goldberg dismisses the ticking time-bomb scenario.