Economist , Dec. 20 and Dec. 27 (posted Saturday, Dec. 20) A Christmas double issue. The lead editorial stresses the severity of Asia's financial problems and asserts that they could well spread to the rest of the world. The Economist 's solution? As always, the free market: Asian governments shouldn't block capital flows or choke the money supply. An article says current forecasts of ecological doom are greatly exaggerated. Environmentalists have long predicted the imminent exhaustion of fossil fuels, but there are more oil reserves now than ever. (See Slate 's "The Motley Fool" on how technology is aiding oil exploration.) A story says Americans are getting fatter (54.4 percent of adults are overweight, 22.5 percent are obese). The causes: Americans eat more, exercise less, and increasingly tolerate tubbiness. (Read Slate 's "Dialogue" on fat.) Also, a story looks at what the world laughs at. Blondes and Bill Gates are globally funny, but regional humor persists. A newly rich Russian crashes his Mercedes and starts wailing about the car: " 'How can you worry about your car,' asks a passer-by, 'when your arm is ripped off?' The Russian looks at his stump and bawls: 'My Rolex!' " New Republic , Jan. 5 (posted Friday, Dec. 19) A story rages at William Bennett's assertion that the average life expectancy for gay men is 43 years. The figure is false, the source of the figure is a wacko, and Bennett's conclusion that homosexuality should be discouraged is abhorrent. (For Slate 's take, see "William Bennett, Gays, and the Truth.") The Republican Party's opposition to Bill Lann Lee and skepticism about immigration have alienated once-friendly Asian voters, says an article: George Bush won the Asian vote by 27 points in 1992, but Bob Dole won it by only five points in 1996. A story questions the heroism of the much-honored "Hollywood Ten." These blacklist victims, who refused to squeal on colleagues, were untroubled by Stalin's murderous reign and benefited from the capitalist system they denounced. New York Times Magazine , Dec. 21 (posted Thursday, Dec. 18) The cover story questions the motives of conservatives fighting persecution of Christians overseas. These activists and evangelists (e.g., the Family Research Council's Gary Bauer) accuse secular human-rights organizations of class bias (the seculars back Tibetan Buddhists but not Christians oppressed by China). Human-rights groups hate the implied assertion of Christianity's supremacy. An article profiles a scientist who fights cancer with the common cold virus. Also, a story exposes the incredible power of Mexico's drug lords. Drug traffickers and narcopoliticians are buying police forces and murdering nosy journalists. Time and Newsweek , Dec. 22 (posted Tuesday, Dec. 16) Princess Di decorates the covers of both magazines' year-end photo issues. (Question: Does this disqualify Di from Time 's Woman of the Year honor next week?) Newsweek 's photos are better and more numerous. The mags share several identical images (starving North Koreans, Hale-Bopp, Evander Holyfield's mangled ear). Newsweek publishes obits for the victims of this annus horribilis . Deng Xiaoping and Willem de Kooning get a paragraph each; Di gets a few pages. Also, Newsweek trashes Disney's forays into professional-sports ownership. The Anaheim Angels and Mighty Ducks offer entertaining sideshows (mascots, food courts, dancers) but the teams stink, and fans say that's all that matters. Time runs two anti-emotion articles. An essay accompanying the year-end photo roundup labels this the "Show Us You Care" year, mocking the outpourings of feeling at Di's funeral, at the Promise Keepers rally, and on countless talk shows. Another essay argues that healing racism requires civility and restraint, not the self-expression of a "national conversation." U.S. News & World Report , Dec. 22 (posted Tuesday, Dec. 16) The cover story counters the popular wisdom that millionaires are the leading philanthropists. In fact, middle-class donors are increasingly active and generous. Community groups like the Cleveland Foundation are "the fastest-growing element of philanthropy," and let small donors make powerful collective gifts. An article finds a new use for DNA technology: One scientist wants to determine if Thomas Jefferson fathered black children (a long-standing controversy). Soon we'll know for sure. Also, more praise for Los Angeles' new Getty Center. The museum tries to incorporate all L.A.'s subcultures, and features interactive exhibits to keep kids interested. The New Yorker , Dec. 22 & 29 (posted Tuesday, Dec. 16) A special fiction issue, The New Yorker 's second this year, includes stories by Nick Hornby and Alice Munro. Ken Kesey writes a short sketch about drinking on skid row. The magazine profiles the difficult, brilliant James Thackara, who has written an 1,100-page novel about World War II and likens himself to Tolstoy. He finished the book in 1988 but hasn't yet published it. Why? His manuscript needs editing--the parts that aren't genius are wooden--and he refuses to be edited. Weekly Standard , Dec. 22 (posted Tuesday, Dec. 16) The cover story calls Family Research Council head Gary Bauer "Washington's most formidable conservative." Ralph Reed's retirement from the Christian Coalition has made the pugnacious Bauer the leading social-conservative activist. He has won plaudits for his tough anti-China stance. He probably won't run for president (a persistent rumor), but he will force Republican candidates to heed his demands. A piece about the Kyoto summit argues that we would do better to clean our "microenvironments" than to deal with greenhouse gases: Ensuring supplies of clean water and food is a much more fundamental project than hashing out unenforceable international pollution laws. An article says the American Library Association is encouraging Internet porn: The association, citing the First Amendment, refuses to endorse "content filters" for Web-equipped library computers. The Nation , Dec. 29 (posted Tuesday, Dec. 16) The cover story salutes university presses. Less profit-motivated than major publishers, university presses put out the regional titles and modest books that the trade presses ignore. One criticism: University presses aren't the mouthpieces for the academic left that they used to be. An editorial signals The Nation 's early support for Richard Gephardt's 2000 presidential run. While acknowledging Gephardt's weaknesses (he's a "career politician" posing as a "populist tribune"), the piece claims Gephardt has a Democratic agenda--something the White House lacks. Wired , January 1998 (posted Tuesday, Dec. 16) The fifth-anniversary issue includes rosy essays from various cyberpundits: One predicts an Internet population of 1 billion people by 2000. Another argues that the past five years have been the greatest in human history (due to advances in health and quality of life). Also, the "State of the Planet 1998" section features a series of bizarre images overlaid with haikus from the editors or quotes from people such as Laurie Anderson, Noam Chomsky, and Andy Grove. (For example, a picture of a woman with tubes coming out of her head is captioned, "Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories.") --Seth Stevenson