The Science Behind Mona Lisa’s Smile
How Leonardo da Vinci engineered the world’s most famous painting
November 2017
In This Issue
In this issue: The crucial hours after a fraternity pledge’s fall, what Thoreau really saw, and the secrets of Google’s moonshot factory. Plus, the enduring appeal of Joni Mitchell, the science behind Mona Lisa’s smile, and more.
Cover Stories
Google X and the Science of Radical Creativity
How the secretive Silicon Valley lab is trying to resurrect the lost art of invention
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Mayonnaise, Disrupted
How did Josh Tetrick’s vegan-mayo company become a Silicon Valley darling—and what is he really selling?
Death at a Penn State Fraternity
Tim Piazza fought for his life for 12 hours before his Beta Theta Pi brothers called 911. By then, it was too late.
Walden Wasn’t Thoreau’s Masterpiece
In his 2-million-word journal, the transcendentalist discovered how to balance poetic wonder and scientific rigor as he explored the natural world.
Dispatches
Edmon de Haro Is the American Idea Doomed?
Not yet—but it has precious few supporters on either the left or the right.
John Cuneo Toby Keith in Trump’s America
Talking politics with country music's bawdy, boozy star
Rami Niemi An American Mastodon in Paris
How Costco became an unlikely hit in a city known for its refined tastes
Jamie Cullen When Working From Home Doesn’t Work
IBM pioneered telecommuting. Now it wants people back in the office.
Christopher DeLorenzo What’s Normal?
A scientific inquiry
EJI (Rendering) Hanged, Burned, Shot, Drowned, Beaten
In a region where symbols of the Confederacy are ubiquitous, an unprecedented memorial takes shape.
Joe McKendry Nuclear Launch Codes For Dummies
A very short book excerpt
The Culture File
Dushan Milic How Michael Clayton Presaged 2017
Ten years after the film’s release, the world has caught up to its bleak vision.
Jack Robinson / Hulton Archive / Getty The Unknowable Joni Mitchell
Her music inspires a deep sense of intimacy, yet her fierce privacy is the key to her genius.
Sally Deng Jennifer Egan’s Surprising Swerve Into Historical Fiction
In Manhattan Beach, very few things are what they appear to be.
Oliver Munday What America Taught the Nazis
In the 1930s, the Germans were fascinated by the global leader in codified racism—the United States.
Illustration by Lincoln Agnew* The White House Mythmaker
How Arthur Schlesinger Jr.’s heroic vision of American presidents led him, and the country, astray
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt A New Book About Formative Literary Friendships
A Secret Sisterhood explores the women who influenced Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf.
Departments
Library of Congress Editor's Note: A Half a Dozen Battles
Journalism in America is in perilous shape, and independence is more important than ever.
The Conversation: How America Lost Its Mind
Readers respond to our September 2017 cover story and more.
Graham Roumieu What Was the Most Influential Power Couple in History?
A big question
Poetry
Small as a Seed
A poem
