The Robot Will See You Now
Technology is about to revolutionize health care. How far will automation go? Will doctors still be necessary?
March 2013
In This Issue
How robots will make your doctor obsolete. Plus: The emancipation of Barack Obama, how to save kids from online bullies, why romantic comedies are so bad, and more.
Features
Anthropology Inc.
How companies have started using social scientists to probe the deepest needs, fears, and desires of consumers
The Hanging
What really happened to William Sparkman Jr., the census worker whose body was found hanging from a tree in Kentucky in 2009, the word FED scrawled across his chest?
How to Stop the Bullies
The inside account of the companies, scientists, and hackers who are hunting for solutions to the scourge of online harassment
Inventing Marilyn
Anyone who thinks the story of Marilyn Monroe doesn't warrant such attention doesn't know much about it.
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Matt Dorfman Serial Thriller
From literature to appointment television, episodic storytelling is flourishing.
Charles Dharapak/AP The Emancipation of Barack Obama
Why the reelection of the first black president matters even more than his election
Mikey Burton A More Perfect Poll
As opinion researchers hung up the phone and headed online last year, election forecasts grew more accurate. Has the Web-based survey finally come of age?
Mark Weaver How Beautiful Is Too Beautiful?
Studies suggest that physical perfection isn’t always advantageous.
Sam Armstrong A Better Way to Light the Room
Why not use gravity?
John Cuneo Six Degrees of Sally Oren
Just one woman links Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Bibi Netanyahu.
Kevin Van Aelst The Incredible Shrinking Ad
As our attention shifts to mobile phones—and their smaller screens—ads are becoming vastly less effective. And companies built on ad revenues, like Google and Facebook, should start to sweat.
Nishant Choksi Why Drag It Out?
An investigation into what inspires soooo many people to toss extra letters into their text messages
Kikuo Johnson Swearing Off Sex in France
When the French blogger Sophie Fontanel embraced celibacy, readers didn’t know what to make of her.
Thomas Porostocky Look Smarter
Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake talks with Alexis Madrigal about how new location-based tools will help us to see our surroundings with fresh eyes.
The Myth of the Student-Loan Crisis
Are rising debt levels really a cause for national panic?
AP How the White House Is Like a Prison
Over the years, the president's home has attracted an astonishing array of negative reviews from its residents.
Are Priests Really Necessary?
The New Testament mentions only a single priest: Jesus. A very short book excerpt.
What's Your Problem?
How to handle a whiny advice-column writer
Andrew Rae The American Dream
A survey in pictures
The Culture File
David Wilson Reliving Groundhog Day
On the 20th anniversary of the beloved Bill Murray comedy, it’s time to recognize it as a profound work of contemporary metaphysics.
Jake Stangel Getting Toasted
The drama (and sometimes danger) of the flaming cocktail
Frank Stockton Elegy for the Minibar
What has happened to my most trusted traveling companion?
Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection Why Are Romantic Comedies So Bad?
The long decline from Katharine Hepburn to Katherine Heigl
Phaidon Indelible Images
Two beautiful new coffee-table books—except one isn’t really a book
Estate of Georgy Ivanovich Pimenov/Rao, Moscow/Vaga, NY/Bridgeman Art Library Moscow Under Terror
In 1937, the city was both a world capital of artistic ferment and a slaughterhouse.
Cover to Cover
The new Jonathan Dee novel, and the most intelligent biography of a fashion designer ever written
Editor's Note
The Conversation
The Big Question
Graham Roumieu
