COVER
The Case for Optimism (World)
From technology to equality, five ways the world is getting better all the time
EDITOR'S DESK
Making the World A Better Place (Cover)
FEATURES
How Clinton Changed Philanthropy (World)
Coal, Hard Truths (Nation)
After policy clashes, coal miners, wildcatters and refiners are fueling the campaign to deny Obama a second term
The Kickstarter Economy (Business)
How crowdfunding is changing the way new businesses get their start
A Moment for Moderates (Worldview)
If pluralism and radical Islam have a future, stronger voices of tolerance are needed
BRIEFING
Field Goal (Health&Science)
How scientists are making football safer
World
Steve Sabol (Milestones)
Milestones (Milestones)
State of the Race: By Mark Halperin (Nation)
Obama leads, but a shifting landscape and October's debates leave an opening for Romney to prevail
Lia Lee (Milestones)
Russell Train (Milestones)
I Spy (Tech)
Smart-phone parental controls are nothing to LOL about
Briefing
COMMENTARY
Best Served Cold (Tuned In)
The Romney video shows us big-money politics as seen from the catering table
The Imaginary Campaign (In the Arena)
Romney is running against notions of a President and the economy that are at odds with reality
The Upside of Mystery (Viewpoint)
Obama and Romney have been called aloof. Why that may not be such a bad thing
THE CULTURE
True Blue (Movies)
What real cops think of the new LAPD drama End of Watch
Pop Chart
Outsider Art (Movies)
Misfits begin to bloom in a bittersweet coming-of-age tale
The Princess Diaries (The Awesome Column)
In which I get to the bottom of my susceptibility to royal toplessness
Price Is Right (Art)
A dazzling show sends an artist into the canon
Did Jesus Have a Wife? (Religion)
A new fragment may provide fresh clues
10 Questions for Michael Chabon (10 Questions)
Pulitzer Prize--winning novelist Michael Chabon on race, fatherhood and writing box-office flops
Rites of Spring (Environment)
At 50, Rachel Carson's ecology classic is still under attack