The Lessons of Henry Kissinger
The legendary and controversial statesman criticizes the Obama Doctrine, talks about the main challenges for the next president, and explains how to avoid war with China.
December 2016
In This Issue
America’s gambling problem, how history will remember Obama’s presidency, and how to avoid war with Beijing. Plus, stolen valor, the case against cats, and more
Cover Stories
China’s Great Leap Backward
The country has become repressive in a way that it has not been since the Cultural Revolution. What does its darkening political climate—and growing belligerence—mean for the United States?
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How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts
Modern slot machines develop an unbreakable hold on many players—some of whom wind up losing their jobs, their families, and even, as in the case of Scott Stevens, their lives.
An Era for Women Artists?
Nearly half a century ago, a feminist art historian asked why there had been no great female artists. A new wave of all-women exhibitions revives the question—and suggests a new answer.
Novostroïka
His apartment had no heat. Worse: Council officials said his building did not exist. A short story
Dispatches
Edmon de Haro What Obama Got Right
The outgoing president has resolved old problems and avoided new ones.
John Wendle Big in Kyrgyzstan: The World Nomad Games
A rougher, shaggier answer to the Olympics
John Cuneo The Stolen-Valor Detective
Staff Sergeant Anthony Anderson’s mission to name and shame people who pretend to be military heroes
Chris DeLorenzo Why Kids Need Recess
And why it’s endangered
Alvaro Dominguez Baby, Monitored
Parents can remotely track infants’ heart rate, their mood, and their every move—but should they?
Joe McKendry Using Leeches to Forecast the Weather
A very short book excerpt
The Culture File
Jason Raish The First Troll
The wicked vendettas of Thomas De Quincey, the author of Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
Richie Pope Zadie Smith’s Dance of Ambivalence
Her new novel, Swing Time, explores how dance can and can’t transcend racial barriers.
Library of Congress The Accidental Patriots
Many Americans could have gone either way during the Revolution.
The Case Against Cats
The animal so many dote on is among the world’s most destructive predators.
Pantheon A Portrait of ‘Literary Malice’
In his most recent book, Alex Beam details the disintegration of Vladimir Nabokov and Edmund Wilson’s friendship.
Departments
The Conversation
Readers respond to our September story on head transplants as the next frontier of medicine, an essay by Ta-Nehisi Coates on O. J. Simpson in our October issue, and more.
Graham Roumieu What Is the Most Interesting Family in History?
A big question
Poetry
Cricket
A poem
