The New Word Order
hong kong—Imagine this seating chart for a dinner at a literary festival in Hong Kong. A Chinese-American novelist sits next to an English author of Indian extraction. To his right, …
Read MoreSociety
Our latest stories on the intricacies of daily life, the lessons of first-person experience, how we relate to one another, and how to make our social world a better place
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The Punk Who Would Be King
stratford—In 2001, I took a carload of people to a reading by Chris Rickett, infamous resident and future political operator of Stratford, Ontario. We had dinner at a friend’s house—venison …
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Striking Back at the Empire
How comedians throughout history have raged against the machine
Read MoreA Very Palpable Hit
Deconstructionists get down on gun deaths
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The Very Big Sleep
The Goliath Casket company is keeping pace with an expanding funeral business
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‘Til Decree Do Us Part
The Catholic Church holds traditional marriage sacred, but it’s handing out annulments by the thousands
Read MoreThe Real Easy
Bourbon Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter is full of pubs and Mardi Gras shops, but authenticity in this tourist district is elusive. / Photo by Richard Cummins / LPI …
Read MorePeace and Order vs. Glorious and Free
As we moved from T-shirts to down parkas and back to T-shirts again during this winter of climate change—one day semi-tropical; the next, polar and full of revenge—political speeches served …
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Masked Avenger
Meet “John Holloway,” former clown, trucker, drug addict, high-paid crime fighter,
serious adrenalin junkie, and—for now—retired undercover agent
Talking Through Divorce
boston—Copley Square is a study in contrasts. At the south end sits the stately Boston Public Library, founded in 1848 and built “for the people and dedicated to the advancement …
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