Mr. Meacham’s Magazine

At almost 40, Jon Meacham, with his recessive posture, his slow gait, his bone-dry jokes, may not strike you immediately as the man who can make your magazine look good.

Published: May 12, 2009
Length: 10 minutes (2,573 words)

Running with Suspenders

In his new memoir, My Remarkable Journey, the talk legend recalls how a favor from Jackie Gleason led to an unforgettable pair of nights with Frank Sinatra.

Author: Larry King
Source: Vanity Fair
Published: May 12, 2009
Length: 7 minutes (1,933 words)

In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars

Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.

Published: May 11, 2009
Length: 5 minutes (1,338 words)

What Makes Us Happy?

Is There A Formula—Some Mix Of Love, Work, And Psychological Adaptation—For A Good Life?

Source: The Atlantic
Published: May 11, 2009
Length: 46 minutes (11,629 words)

The Road Is the Most Important Movie of the Year

That’s the burden carried by an Aussie’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s beloved novel. Almost no one has seen it. Well, we did.

Source: Esquire
Published: Jun 28, 2009
Length: 23 minutes (5,900 words)

Heads in the Sand

The so-called Sunni Awakening, in which American forces formed tactical alliances with local sheikhs, has been credited with dampening the insurgency in much of Iraq. But new evidence suggests that the Sunnis were offering the same deal as early as 2004—one that was eagerly embraced by commanders on the ground, but rejected out of hand at the highest levels of the Bush administration.

Author: David Rose
Source: Vanity Fair
Published: May 12, 2009
Length: 21 minutes (5,324 words)

Don’t!

The secret of self-control.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: May 18, 2009
Length: 21 minutes (5,494 words)

Splendor in the Grit

If New York City were to slide back into the crumbling anarchy of the 1970s, as some fear, would that be so bad?

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Jun 28, 2009
Length: 10 minutes (2,517 words)

The American Press on Suicide Watch

If you wanted to pick the moment when the American news business went on suicide watch, it was almost exactly three years ago. That’s when Stephen Colbert, appearing at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, delivered a monologue accusing his hosts of being stenographers who had, in essence, let the Bush White House get away with murder (or at least the war in Iraq).

Author: Frank Rich
Published: May 9, 2009
Length: 6 minutes (1,559 words)

A Radical New Autism Theory

A groundbreaking study suggests people with autism-spectrum disorders such as Asperger’s do not lack empathy—rather they feel others’ emotions too intensely to cope.

Source: Daily Beast
Published: May 11, 2009
Length: 4 minutes (1,033 words)