Vanity Fair , November 1997 (posted Saturday, Oct. 11) On the cover and inside: portraits of "the 65 leaders who shape and rule the world today." Making the list: The Bills (Clinton and Gates), Helmut Kohl, Louis Farrakhan, Fidel Castro, Alan Greenspan, George Soros, Alberto Fujimori, Colin Powell, and Nike CEO Phil Knight, among others. An article profiles cyberprophet Esther Dyson, whose technology newsletter is a must-read in Silicon Valley. Dyson's extreme eccentricities (despite great wealth, she's lived in the same one-bedroom walk-up for 25 years--and it doesn't have a telephone) bolster her reputation as a visionary. Also, Vanity Fair excerpts a novel about a journalist covering the O.J. case for Vanity Fair . The author is Dominick Dunne, a journalist who covered the O.J. case for Vanity Fair . An article details how Kennedy biographer Seymour Hersh got duped by forgers offering bogus JFK-Marilyn Monroe correspondence. Economist , Oct. 11 (posted Saturday, Oct. 11) A cover editorial calls for the ouster of Benjamin Netanyahu. Recent ill-timed blunders (including the failed attempt to assassinate a Hamas leader) have derailed the peace process. (See Slate's "Gist" on Mossad for more about the group that botched the assassination.) A report from the Promise Keepers rally in Washington agrees with everyone else that the group isn't as scary as previously imagined. (See Slate's "Promise Keepers 1, NOW 0.") An essay says consumer advocate Ralph Nader will have a tough time battling his newest foe, Microsoft. Nader is a victim of his own success. "[He] has helped make American government intrusive; and that intrusiveness has made Americans wary of seeing government limit the freedom of successes like Microsoft." New Republic , Oct. 27 (posted Friday, Oct. 10) A cover story profiles Paul Weyrich, right-wing founder of National Empowerment Television. A conservative "utopianist," Weyrich demands that fellow conservatives absolutely obey the party line. This all-or-nothing attitude cripples the right wing. An article says the pendulum is swinging back in sexual-harassment cases: It's the accused, not the accusers, who are now winning million-dollar judgments. Also, a story says the Promise Keepers exemplify the right's new strategy: Out-emote Bill Clinton. New York Times Magazine , Oct. 12 (posted Thursday, Oct. 9) A cover article follows a squad of West Point cadets through the revamped basic training they receive before their first semester. Tradition-bound alums hate the program's new softness (more gender equality, less hazing), while the administration notes that 1997's female cadets can do more push-ups than 1962's male cadets could. A story studies slavery in Mauritania, which continues despite official emancipation. After 500 years under Arab masters, many black Mauritanians think like this woman: "God created me to be a slave ... just as he created a camel to be a camel." Also, an essay criticizes the double standard for adultery: "When men cheat, they're pigs. When women do it, they're striking a blow for sexual freedom." Time and Newsweek , Oct. 13 (posted Tuesday, Oct. 7) Time 's trend-spotting lead is "America's Fascination with Buddhism" (a k a: an excuse to put Brad Pitt on the cover). Pitt's new film, Seven Years in Tibet , and droves of Buddhist celebs (Richard Gere, Tina Turner, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch ...) are bringing hipness to the religion and the Tibetan cause. Newsweek 's Buddhism angle: It predicts protests by famous Tibetophiles when Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits the United States this month. Newsweek 's cover on IRS misdeeds repeats now-familiar accusations about the agency's unchecked power. A Time story says young male elephants are murdering rhinos in Africa. Why the violence? No male-elephant role models. (No kidding.) Another Time article says Soul Food 's success might rouse Hollywood to pay heed to black America's box-office potential. Also in Newsweek , transcripts of newly released tapes from LBJ's archives. Complaining to John Connally in 1964: "Every man in my cabinet's a Kennedy man. ... I haven't been able to change 'em, and I don't have the personnel if I could change 'em. They didn't go to San Marcos Teacher's College [Johnson's alma mater]. ... It's just agony. ... I don't really know how to handle it all." (To hear excerpts from the newly released tapes, see Slate's "LBJ Sounds Off.") The New Yorker , Oct. 13 (posted Tuesday, Oct. 7) The New Yorker excerpts George Plimpton's forthcoming biography of Truman Capote to tell the story behind Capote's In Cold Blood , the "factional" account of a 1959 murder in Kansas, which appeared in the magazine in 1965. Interesting details: Capote met Kansas cops wearing nothing but a lacy pink negligee; Capote identified with murderer Perry Smith; female writer Harper Lee ( To Kill a Mockingbird ) acted as Capote's bodyguard during his Kansas visits. A column by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich argues that large campaign contributions corrupt politicians not by influencing them to change votes, but by immersing them in the world of rich people. An essay describes how difficult, time-consuming, and sad it is to take care of aging parents. U.S. News & World Report , Oct. 13 (posted Tuesday, Oct. 7) A cover package rates the best American HMOs. On top: Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin and New England's Harvard Community Health Plan. An accompanying piece says consumer awareness is improving HMOs. A story assesses the costly new push for smaller public-school classes. Smaller classes alone won't improve education, but they work wonders when led by good teachers. Also, an article examines the booming business of naming corporations. Pitfalls abound: "Enron" originally chose "Enteron," the medical term for the excretory canal. (To see Slate's take on the name game, read "You Name It.") Weekly Standard , Oct. 13 (posted Tuesday, Oct. 7) A cover story tracks Steve Forbes' self-reinvention. Forbes' new pro-life stand will draw the Christian right to his 2000 campaign. An article mourns the deterioration of the Episcopal Church. Increasing moral lassitude (read: gay rights) alienates the church's base. Also, an editorial calls the IRS hearings the "biggest Republican victory in 1997," arguing that the GOP must continue to find hot-button issues. --Compiled by Seth Stevenson and the editors of Slate .