Issue of February 23, 2009

Rabbit Ears
The Antenna King makes the switch to digital TV.
by Robert Sullivan

Q. Why so much uproar about the switch? Is it good to be "The Antenna King"?

Shoot!
Making shotguns for robots.
by Evan Ratliff

Q. How are robotic ground guns better and worse than robotic flying guns, i.e. predator aircraft? Is there a lesson in the Jerry Baber saga?

The Hard Cases
A test for the Administration on detainees.
by Jane Mayer

Q. Is Mayer convincing in her explanations of the possible future of the current detainees? Is terrorism war or crime? Why do we treat war different from crime? War crimes?

The Background Hum
Ian McEwan and the science of suspense.
by Daniel Zalewski

Q. What makes Ian McEwan's style distinct from his peers? His subject matters?

Issue of February 9 & 16, 2009--more

That Buzzing Sound
The mystery of tinnitus.
by Jerome Groopman

Q. Riding the subway can affect your brain? What's the greatest benefit of a hearing aid?

Checkpoints
Where accuracy meets flair.
by John McPhee

Q. Would you want to work as a fact checker? How much value do they add? Are they blessed or cursed by authors? Do you think they can read for pleasure without thinking about the "facts"?

The Ponzi State
Florida foreclosed.
by George Packer

Video: George Packer on Florida’s real-estate woes.

Q. Why was Florida damaged so much by the housing market? Is "grow or die" a real business plan? Should it be "always changing"?

“Hedda Gabler.”
by John Lahr

Q. Does Lahr's review pertain more to Ibsen's play or this production? (And more importantly, has MLP had work done?)

Issue of February 9 & 16, 2009

John Updike
Adam Gopnik

Q. Where does Gopnik get it wrong? Are there any other New Yorker staffers that perform the same roles for the magazine besides Gopnik?

The Fadeaway
Thirty-three years of editing Updike.
by Roger Angell

Q. Which of Angell's paragraphs compare with Updike? Whose elegy is more accurate?

The Financial Page
The myth of moral hazards.
by James Surowiecki

Q. Should the markets be the deciding factors only some of the time? When should government step in?

Picked-Up Pieces
Selections from half a century of work.
by John Updike

Q. Which of these selections is Updike's strongest of its kind? Which is the weakest?

“Hedda Gabler.”
by John Lahr

Q. Does Lahr's review pertain more to Ibsen's play or this production? (And more importantly, has MLP had work done?)

Issue of February 2, 2009

Step On It
Driving in Obama’s motorcade.
by Lizzie Widdicombe

Q. Would you volunteer for chauffeur duty? Is there rude behavior here?

The Wizard
Booker T. Washington’s lessons.
by Kelefa Sanneh

Q. Can we compare BTW to any modern day politicians? What was the biggest lesson? Does it apply today?

The new Alice Tully Hall.
by Paul Goldberger

Video: Touring the new Alice Tully Hall.

Q. Does Goldberger succeed in making a character of the hall? the architects?

Concertgoing on the cheap.
by Alex Ross

Q. Why is it possible to do this in NYC and not other places? Are there comparable experiences in DC or other cities? Does Ross' prose fail him anywhere? What is his main point?