Hanna Rosin's A Boy's Life is The Atlantic at its finest. Rosin explores issues around children who identify as transgender, often at very early ages. The story is hearbreaking and gut-wrenching as it explores the utter confusion and pain that parents go through, struggling to understand their children's behaviors. NPR did a similar story this summer that was equally as powerful.
The profile of Michelle Rhee (and it's companion web-only interview) is particularly interesting beause of what it doesn't do. Rhee, you may recall, is the Chancellor of Schools in Washington, D.C. She is creating incredible waves for her strident attacks on the school's bureaucracy including several challenges to teachers. (Rhee has also, coincidentally, become a lightening rod in my own family as my parents, both public school teachers, have watched her in the occasional Newshour series and seethed with disdain.) Clay Risen's article focuses less on Rhee's reform specifics than on her personal leadership style (for lack of a better description).
Finally, Jeffrey Goldberg's The Things He Carried proves something you already know: Airport security is a $7 billion a year joke. It would almost be funny if it weren't so sad.
Now . . . on to the quibbles. From a content perspective, the 'cover story' (or at least the story the cover seems to most trumpet) is a complete mess. If anyone can tell me what the hell Sandra Tsing Loh is trying to say about the six (six!) books supposedly 'reviewed' in her article, I'd like to hear it. Seriously, is this even a sentence:
As to which men should, well, if there remains even one male executive in Canton, Ohio, unaware that hiring a qualified, well-liked,profit-driven female is a good thing.But the big news is of course . . . the redesign. The magazine has once again decided it's time to re-invent the wheel. Now I should confess at this point that I've been a nearly continuous reader of The Atlantic for about 20 years. I used to read my Dad's issues when I was in high school and it was nearly the very first magazine I subscribed to while in college. I've seen The Atlantic through some good times and some bad. This remake marks the fifth time I've seen them change their stripes. In the 150 years of the magazine they've changed designs 14 times--three of them in this decade alone.
For the most part I find the actual design choices to be, well, ehhh. Fine I guess. Not a fan of the fat, Titling Gothic headlines. And I'm confused about whether the cover will remain text-only in future issues (if so I boldly predict it will last less than twelve issues). It seems to me that the last rendition of the magazine was particularly beautiful and I don't believe either the editor or the designer even attempted to explain why a redesign was even necessary.
Of course, with the graphic redesign comes an editorial redesign which appears to be, well, ehhh as well. Over the years I've seen editors come and go and they all like to add pretty new titles like "Dispatches" and "Agenda" to create some sense of order where there really is none. They also decide to add gimmicks and remove well worn traits (such as author responses in the Letters section, a particularly disappointing cut.)
At the end of the day, The Atlantic comes down to three sections and perhaps, someone will finally call them by what they are: shorts, features and reviews. Everything else is just, well, ehhh.
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