Week in Review

Understanding Iran: Repression 101
The history of using repression to save regimes is long. But when the hammer comes down, the impact is unpredictable.


After Jackson, Fame May Never Be the Same
Global superstardom on the level that Michael Jackson achieved is all but impossible for pop culture heroes today, and it will quite likely never be possible again.


Sound of Silence: The Culture Wars Take a Break
It once didn?t take much ? say, college curriculums ? to get a good fight going.


The World: Risking the Taliban to Confront the Deadliest of Peaks, K2
A dispatch from the base camp of K2, where even death-defying mountain climbers feel daunted by the turmoil in Pakistan below.


Ready or Not, Iraq?s Military Prepares to Stand on Its Own
As the United States pulls back, the specter of Vietnam looms.


Word for Word | Nixonian Thoughts: Holding Forth on Clout and How to Use It
Dictators can be good. Truman wasn?t smart. Transcripts of two conversations from recently released Oval Office recordings.


IDEAS & TRENDS: Pondering Prehistoric Melodies
The discovery of a Stone Age flute gives rise to all sorts of speculation about the origins of music.