Vol. 172 No. 14
COVER
How to pick a President amid financial chaos
NATION
Voters are being bombarded with negative ads. In the smear wars, accuracy is the first casualty
Three Men And a Bailout (The Well / Campaign '08)
How fears of another Depression forced an unlikely trio to take charge of U.S. capitalism — and why the country will never be the same
North Carolina's Financial Center is Riding High
As the country braces for economic turmoil, North Carolina's financial center is riding high. Trains, cranes and megabanks transform the New South
ESSAY
How do candidates win debates? By practicing everything. Even the spontaneous parts
The Return of the Age of Activism (Commentary / In the Arena)
The financial meltdown may herald bigger reforms--if the next President makes government work again
The Ponzi Economy
Now that the bubble has burst, let's be frank: it was absurd to base our well-being on property prices
The View (Commentary / Tuned In)
It's mouthy, biased and sometimes a train wreck. And the press could learn from it. (No, seriously)
SCIENCE
A melting Greenland is the front line in the fight to save the earth, but it's just one of the places green heroes are doing amazing things
SOCIETY
Forget mud from the Dead Sea. Israel's latest tranquillity treatment has snakes on the brain
NOTEBOOK
The Model T (Briefing)
Verbatim
The Page (Briefing)
(Briefing)
The World (Briefing)
10 ESSENTIAL STORIES
Milestones
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
Melbourne's rich culinary melting pot has given rise to a bold new generation of Michelin-worthy chefs
WORLD
How a former shoeshine boy blended social programs with business-friendly policies to turn Brazil into Latin America's powerhouse
BUSINESS
It's debt. And that explains a lot about why things are such a mess right now
TECHNOLOGY
MySpace has a cool new way to expand your song library. But downloads will still cost you
Maligned Online? How to Retaliate Against Web Attacks (Life / Technology)
How to win the online reputation game
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
The feisty auteur finds racism and redemption on the battlefield
(Movies)
On a nocturnal New York odyssey, teens find music, love and their own true selves
Text and the City (Books)
The dark wisdom of Candace Bushnell's One Fifth Avenue
5 Things You Should Know About (Downtime)
A sensational publisher, a surprising epic and the Sarah Palin bio
State Secrets (Collections)
SPECIAL SECTION
This pioneer of cooking with fresh, local ingredients proves that going green can be a source of sublime pleasure
Peggy Liu (The Well / Environment: Planet in Peril)
Can one woman (and her remarkable Rolodex) connect the experts needed to meet China's challenges?
Van Jones (The Well / Environment: Planet in Peril)
He saw that building a green economy could be a huge boon for minorities and the working class
Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Well / Environment: Planet in Peril)
The action hero turned politician plays a starring role in the global war on carbon emissions
(The Well / Environment: Planet in Peril)
A toilet expert's campaign for better sanitation in the developing world could save countless lives
(The Well / Environment: Planet in Peril)
A former software wiz envisions Israel as the first country to shift entirely to using electric cars
Habiba Sarabi (The Well / Environment: Planet in Peril)
War-torn Afghanistan is an unlikely environmental role model. But don't try telling that to the trailblazing Governor of Bamiyan province
Marina Rikhvanova (The Well / Environment: Planet in Peril)