The Perfected Self
Once denounced by critics as a fascist idea, "behavior modification" is making a comeback, powered by smartphone apps that aim to transform us into better versions of ourselves.
June 2012
In This Issue
David H. Freedman on the perfected self, Mark Bowden on being in the dumb kids' class, James Parker on Glenn Beck, Isaac Chotiner on P. G. Wodehouse, and more
Features
The Vietnam Solution
How a former U.S. enemy became a crucial ally in the effort to counter China's growing power
American Sweetheart
Fierce, cocky, and built for stardom, Marlen Esparza prepares to fight for the gold at this summer’s Olympic debut of women’s boxing.
Fiction: Honors Track
“The exam went off without a hitch, and from there, stopping just didn’t make sense. Before each Calc test, we convened at Jill’s house to work out the answers.”
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Joe Darrow Clone Wars
In which two guys who agree on just about everything face off in one of the most expensive House races of 2012
Oliver Munday The Fraud Detectives
When it comes to preventing deceit in the housing industry, the best employees are the most paranoid ones.
Leave It to Beavers
Can large rodents help us adapt to climate change?
Associated Press What's So Funny About Syria?
Out of a brutal military crackdown comes a taste for gallows humor.
Dumb Kids’ Class
The benefits of being underestimated by the nuns at St. Petronille’s
Graham Roumieu Cognac’s Identity Crisis
How the liquor’s marketing success among both rappers and codgers has blinded consumers to its subtler pleasures
Tim Laman In the Forests of the Night
Along the Bay of Bengal’s wild tidal basin, the scorpions and crocs can seem relatively harmless.
Peter Arkle The End of Fate
New “social discovery” apps try to engineer chance encounters. Could they spoil true serendipity?
Columns
Wesley Bedrosian How We Got the Crash Wrong
Leverage was not the problem—incentives were, and still are.
Glenn Beck in Exile
Don’t cry for the former Fox star—he’s building a 24/7 media empire in his own loopy image.
Books
Hank Walker/Time & Life Pictures/Getty LBJ's Better Angels
The next volume of Robert Caro's epic biography, plus the power of Big Oil
Sasha/Getty The Escapist
P. G. Wodehouse’s comic gift was built on his brilliant capacity for repressing unpleasantness.
Cover to Cover
World War II as food fight; the demise of the family farm; and more
Editor's Note
Letters
Letters to the editor
Responses and reverberations
Gallery
Poetry
Advice
Nishant Choksi What’s Your Problem?
What to do if you’re a marriage counselor named John Edwards, and other advice
