Economist , April 11 (posted Saturday, April 11) The cover editorial wonders if the Citicorp-Travelers merger benefits shareholders. Financiers may be "mistaking size for profitability." The magazine is indifferent to the merger's impact on consumers. ... An editorial decides that a Japanese recession, even a drastic one, will affect American and European economies very little. American exports to Japan count for only 1 percent of U.S. GDP, and Japanese imports count only for 1 percent to 2 percent. The real danger to the U.S. economy is Wall Street: The market seems horribly overvalued, and a crash would be devastating now that so many Americans invest there. ... The obituary remembers Athelstan Spilhaus, "inventor of aliens," who died at 86. Spilhaus designed the weather balloon that crashed in Roswell, N.M., in 1947, sparking UFO conspiracy theories that still fester. New Republic , April 27 (posted Friday, April 10 ) The cover story suggests that Steve Forbes' drastic shift towards social conservatism is insincere and opportunistic. The GOP presidential aspirant has changed his views in order to win over the Religious Right (a group that hounded him in 1996). It's working. ... A story predicts the next tax revolt: America's 25 million self-employed workers pay twice as much Social Security tax, can't deduct health insurance costs, file taxes several times a year, and are routinely audited. They're angry and they're not going to take it anymore. ... An article explains our forgiveness of Bill Clinton's alleged sins. Clinton has positioned himself as America's "father" (strong, empathic, kind), so we've rallied around him as we would a family member in crisis. New York Times Magazine , April 12 (posted Thursday, April 9) A piece profiles an Internal Revenue Service tax collector whose nightmare of a job mostly involves shutting down businesses in arrears. He has been attacked with guns, knives, dogs, and hurled food. Tip--"[I]f you're seizing a restaurant, do it early in the day: 'You don't want to interrupt someone's lunch, make a big thing out of it.' " ... The cover story fawns over Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi, winner of the design competition for New York's new Museum of Modern Art. Taniguchi's quiet, thorough style (steeped in Japanese modernism) beat out more flamboyant entrants. His design so subtly integrates its additions that it hardly seems to change the existing site. ... Also, yet another article exploring Switzerland's growing unease with its actions during and after World War II. The Swiss still fail to face the moral crimes they committed (e.g., laundering Nazi gold and shunning terrified Jewish refugees) to maintain neutrality. Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report , April 13 (posted Tuesday, April 7) The magazines run identical cover photos ( U.S. News zooms in) for their Kenneth Starr cover stories. Newsweek says Starr's post-Paula Jones case may be stronger than it looks, reporting that 1) Betty Currie "spent four days in a hotel room with FBI agents working for Starr" in the days after the Monica story broke and 2) Frank Carter (Lewinsky's first lawyer, who helped prepare her denial of a relationship with Clinton) may have to turn over documents and testify--a "significant" exception to attorney-client privilege. Also, a George Stephanopoulos essay urges Clinton to "step forward and tell us everything about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky." U.S. News lays out Starr's probable strategy: The independent counsel will indict Lewinsky and name Clinton as an unindicted co-conspirator, likely forcing the prez to testify. U.S. News also offers a sidebar on scandal profiteers, from Gennifer Flowers ($500,000 since 1992 from the Star , Penthouse , and her book publisher) to Julie Steele ($7,000 for selling a photo to the National Enquirer ). U.S. News , always dedicated to useful advice, tells "When to Spank": A quick slap to a child's wrist or buttocks is effective and not emotionally damaging, as long as it is accompanied by a clear lesson and explanation. ... A long article in the same magazine enters the terrifying world of the yakuza , Japanese organized-crime syndicates. Growing American investment in Japan may soon lead to a confrontation with the Japanese gangs. Yakuza members, who are six times more numerous than American Mafiosi, hand out business cards with gang names printed on them and frequently sport amputated pinkies ("cut to atone for a misdeed"). Newsweek 's optimistic spin of Titanic 's success: It's not inspiring Hollywood to make $200 million action blockbusters, it's inspiring Hollywood to make movies targeted at women. Time , April 13 (posted Tuesday, April 7) Time begins its millennium project with a special issue on "Leaders & Revolutionaries of the 20 th Century." ( Time 's project will culminate in an issue ranking the top 100 people of the century.) Among the 16 men and three women profiled in this issue: Adolf Hitler (by Elie Wiesel), Gandhi (by Salman Rushdie), Margaret Sanger (by Gloria Steinem), and Margaret Thatcher (by Paul Johnson). A sidebar ranks the presidents of the 20 th century (FDR first, Hoover last) and excerpts some of the century's greatest speeches (Churchill, MLK, etc.). ... Time snags an exclusive interview with Bill Clinton. Clinton on Kathleen Willey: "I think the evidence there is also compelling that her story isn't true. I feel comfortable." Clinton on Ken Starr: "I won't depart from my policy of not commenting on Mr. Starr." The New Yorker , April 13 (posted Tuesday, April 7) A "Talk of the Town" item says ABC may move its nightly news into prime time. David Westin, the top choice to replace the legendary Roone Arledge as head of ABC News, thinks 10 p.m. news could draw an audience two or three times larger than the early-evening news currently draws. ... An article on the California governor's race notes the emergence of--groan--"socket moms." These affluent, tech-savvy women are libertarian on social and economic issues but believe government must do more for education and training. Gubernatorial candidate Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., is their standard-bearer, as well as the most charismatic of the candidates. (Her chief primary rival, Al Checchi, may spend $50 million of his own money on the race.) ... A profile calls Arianna Huffington a "Republican Spice Girl." She has transformed herself from hardhearted Machiavelli to sassy political comedienne. Reporters love her because she's a great source for GOP gossip. The Nation , April 20 (posted Tuesday, April 7) Gore Vidal (under the halfhearted pseudonym "G.V.") rails against Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom's anti-affirmative-action America in Black and White as "the worst history book of the year." The high-dudgeon Vidal offers personal anecdotes (Abigail Thernstrom, at a dinner party, defended the police in the Rodney King beating) and rehashes familiar arguments for affirmative action. (The Thernstroms discussed "Race in America" with Randall Kennedy in a Slate "Dialogue.") --Seth Stevenson