The 14 Biggest Ideas of the Year
Our annual guide to the trends shaping America. Plus an online-only special report on the biggest ideas in politics, culture, business, technology, and more.
July/August 2011
In This Issue
The annual ideas issue, the trouble with good parents, the case for alternative medicine, and more
Features
How to Land Your Kid in Therapy
Obsessing over our children's happiness may doom them to miserable adulthoods.
Invisible, Inc.
In the camouflage industry, deception is an artful science.
The Triumph of New-Age Medicine
Why many doctors are embracing long-maligned alternative treatments
How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into Americans
An insider’s six-step plan to fix Congress
The World’s Schoolmaster
How a German scientist is using test data to revolutionize education
The Brain on Trial
As advances in brain science erode traditional notions of blame and free will, a leading neuroscientist is charting a new way forward for law and order.
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Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images Libyan Rebels: A Sound Track
In Misurata, fighters turn to Pink Floyd in their war against Qaddafi.
The Agony of Crist
A political superstar’s precipitous fall
India Invents a City
Lavasa is an orderly, high-tech community with everything—except people.
The False Heroism of a Civil War Photographer
Taking a closer look at the legendary Mathew Brady
Chef City
In Las Vegas, famous restaurateurs are finally making meals to match the hype.
Ethan Welty/Aurora Photos Paddling the Everglades Trail
Kayaking Florida's saltwater trail—with crocodiles, sharks, and other predators
The Light Fantastic
Streetlights are about to change the color of night—for the better.
Columns
Taylor Callery Why Content Isn’t King
How Netflix became America’s biggest video service—much to the astonishment of media executives and investors
Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times/Contour by Getty Images The Joy of Vex
The godless charm of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Books
Lindsay / Flickr My Ramona
Beverly Cleary’s body of work shows why topicality derails great literature.
Sakuma / AP The Madness of Cesar Chavez
A new biography of the icon shows that saints should be judged guilty until proved innocent.
Gluekit The Real Mahatma Gandhi
Questioning the moral heroism of India's most revered figure
Editor's Note
Letters
Letters to the editor
Responses and reverberations
Gallery
Poetry
Advice
Seth What's Your Problem?
How to get into Harvard, and other advice
