Economist , April 26 (posted Saturday, April 26) The European election issue. The Economist endorses the Tories--tepidly--in next week's British election. The cover editorial, "Labour Doesn't Deserve It," says that while the party's ideas are "no longer disastrous," they're not as sensible as the conservatives' free-market policies. An editorial and article say that next month's French election could determine the future of European union. The re-election of President Jacques Chirac would probably guarantee France's participation in currency union. A Socialist victory would put it in doubt. A story about the new Sino-Russian "strategic partnership" concludes that it's nothing to worry about. For the moment, China and Russia are united by their unease about the United States, but Russia will quickly learn that it has more to fear from Chinese expansionism than from Western capitalism. New Republic , May 12 (posted Friday, April 25) A long article doubts whether online media can attract the loyal "communities" of readers that newspapers used to have. It compares the Webzine Salon to legendary San Francisco columnist Herb Caen: The Web can't replicate the "emphatically local" sense of place that made Caen so popular. The cover book review pans Norman Mailer's autobiography of Jesus ( The Gospel According to the Son ) as an unimaginative imitation of the real Gospels. Also, a piece about Mauritanian slavery, a truly peculiar institution: Slaves in the northwest African nation are frequently richer than their masters. New York Times Magazine , April 27 (posted Thursday, April 24) "Learning Poverty Firsthand" profiles welfare scholar Kathryn Edin, who claims that all welfare mothers cheat, but only because they have to. Welfare and food-stamp benefits are not nearly enough to pay for essentials, so welfare moms need outside income to survive. The other striking fact: Women who work at menial jobs are poorer than women on welfare. The cover story reprints an exchange of letters between a desperate German Jew and an American cousin who tried to save him from the Holocaust. A sportswriter plays a pickup basketball game with Oscar Robertson, who has lost a step but not his competitive spirit. Also, a column about "Slaves 'R' Us," a business that recruits submissive men to clean the apartments of dominant women. (It's even weirder than it sounds.) Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report , April 28 (posted Tuesday, April 22) The cover stories are pegged to Colin Powell's volunteer summit. Newsweek says the "future of the country may be riding" on Powell's campaign to save at-risk kids, but doubts whether the general can persuade corporations to make long-term commitments to philanthropy. In a short column, George Bush exhorts all Americans to help needier folks. U.S. News argues that most of America's 93 million volunteers aren't doing much good. (For example: Singing in a church choir counts as "volunteering"; so does making cookies for a school bake sale.) Only a tiny fraction of volunteers assist needy children and seniors, and most community-service agencies are badly mismanaged. A sidebar proposes transforming AmeriCorps into a vast national scholarship program like the GI Bill. Newsweek excerpts a forthcoming biography of Tiger Woods. The passage recounts Woods' first trip to the Masters in 1995: He played 18 holes each day, then spent the evening studying for his Stanford history exam. In U.S. News , a puff piece congratulates GM on its makeover: The troubled car maker is introducing 14 new models this year, hoping to stop its market-share slide. A Kentucky Derby article explains why racehorses aren't getting faster: Unlike humans, horses are such superb athletes that training doesn't help them. Time , April 28 (posted Tuesday, April 22) "What's Wrong at the FBI?" rehashes familiar complaints about the agency: The crime lab is a mess; Director Louis Freeh is a bully; and the bureau flubbed the Aldrich Ames, Ruby Ridge, and Richard Jewell cases. Several weeks after Newsweek , Time presents the government's case against Timothy McVeigh. The circumstantial evidence and Michael Fortier's testimony are devastating, but FBI bungling might sabotage the prosecution. A profile of British Labor Party leader Tony Blair asserts that his politics are Clintonian, but his forthright, honest manner is not. Also, echoing a recent U.S. News cover story, Time says that strong opiates such as morphine are a godsend for people in chronic pain. The New Yorker , April 28 and May 5 (posted Tuesday, April 22) April in Paris! The New Yorker celebrates with an exhausting double issue about Europe. An article says French cooking has stagnated because French chefs avoid the multiethnic fusion cuisine that dominates London, New York, and San Francisco. A story probes the psychology of Switzerland: The Swiss are finally facing the truth about their World War II misdeeds, and their icy self-righteousness is slowly melting. Henry Louis Gates Jr. argues that black pop culture (especially Jungle music) now dominates British pop culture. British blacks have finally found an English, rather than West Indian, identity. A writer who used to live in East Germany reads his secret police file and confronts a "friend" who informed on him: She says she had to do it. And several articles doubt whether the European Union will ever unify Europe. Weekly Standard , April 28 (posted Tuesday, April 22) The cover story condemns the Clinton administration's commercial foreign policy, accusing the White House of valuing profit above ideology or strategy. The result: We now happily do business with monstrous regimes in Burma, Sudan, Syria, and China. The editorial says Colin Powell's volunteer summit is an "incoherent" event that will only reinforce the (wrong) idea that government should interfere with every aspect of private life. An article makes fun of Ellen DeGeneres' TV/real-life coming out: It is a "cynical marketing ploy." The Nation , May 5 (posted Tuesday, April 22) A five-pack of campaign-finance stories. Two articles make the case for public financing of elections--candidates could either raise private money or accept public funds. Ex-Rep. Dan Hamburg describes his campaign fund-raising experiences, revealing that congressmen solicit contributions from their offices all the time and frequently do favors for contributors (surely not!). A reporter goes undercover as a PAC lobbyist, and finds that congressional staffers are incredibly considerate. National Review , May 5 (posted Tuesday, April 22) The anti-anti-China backlash begins. Countering weeks of editorializing by the Weekly Standard and the New Republic , "How Not to Handle China" counsels moderation toward Beijing. "If you insist on treating another country as an enemy, it is likely to become one." China has no worldwide ambitions, is not a regional bully, trails the United States by decades militarily, and isn't so terrible on human rights. A related article advises the United States to maintain its military strength, improve East Asian alliances, and build a missile defense for Taiwan. An editorial suggests that Attorney General Janet Reno be impeached for not appointing an independent counsel to investigate campaign fund raising. Atlantic Monthly and Harper's , May 1997 (posted Tuesday, April 22) Here's a coincidence: In the Atlantic , a black writer tells blacks to abandon race consciousness. In Harper's , a white writer tells blacks to abandon race consciousness. The Atlantic cover story argues that racial pride is irrational because it values genes rather than actions. Harper's ' "Toward an End of Blackness" says that black Americans' struggle for freedom and equality is the great American story. Race consciousness casts black Americans as outsiders whereas they are quintessential Americans. Also in the Atlantic : An article condemns the devolution of power to state governments, arguing that it won't save money or improve services. And Cynthia Ozick contributes a short story. Also in Harper's : A group of technoscholars discusses the metaphysical significance of the showdown between world chess champion Gary Kasparov and a supercomputer. --Compiled by David Plotz and the editors of Slate .