CONFERENCES
Upcoming conferences

FIELD NOTES
The real public intellectuals/All's well that ends swelled/ More bad news for Heidegger fans/Welcome back, Howells, and more

INSIDE PUBLISHING
Lewinsky 101/The in-ing of Oscar Wilde/The Buddha's frown/A is for American studies

BREAKTHROUGH BOOKS
Political Parties

HYPOTHESES
Jim Holt on the color of sound and the taste of pain.

The Know-It-All Machine
Water is wet. Birds have two eyes. Dead people stay dead. For years, Doug Lenat has been teaching a computer millions of these common facts. Will it get him uncommon results?
BY CLIVE THOMPSON

For God, Not Country
Since World War II, American churches have required that good Christians be good patriots too. The foul-mouthed theologian Stanley Hauerwas thinks that's, well, bullshit.
BY MARK OPPENHEIMER

White Men Can't Contextualize
Can anyone seriously argue nowadays that Asians and Westerners think differently? Yes. His name is Richard Nisbett, and he has some data he'd like to show you.
BY CHRISTOPHER SHEA

Krazy Kat's Colors
George Herriman's chameleonlike cartoon cat was loved by highbrows and lowbrows alike. But debate over Herriman's racial identity now divides his admirers.
BY JEET HEER