Issue Contents

Sept-Oct 2009: The 5 Gutsiest World Leaders

Cover Story:

The World's Gutsiest Leaders

By Jennifer Drapkin
Whether they're healing a tortured nation, conquering AIDS, uniting Europe, galvanizing Latin America, or wooing China, these heads of state are proving that they have what it takes to change the world.

Features:

How to Win Friends and Inoculate People

By david Axe
As you read this, U.S. Navy ships the size of shopping malls are cruising full-speed toward troubled ports, ready to invade. But the professionals on deck aren't snipers or SEALs; they're highly skilled doctors and nurses acting on orders from the Pentagon.

Lab Mice: How a New Breed of Rodents is Changing the Face of Science

By maggie Koerth-Baker
Need a mouse that's resistant to anthrax but gets drunk easily? Or one that can catch Parkinson's but not polio? The next generation of lab mice is packed with superpowers. Here's how they're going to help us cure everything.

The Fight for Panama: Two Superpowers and the Canal Between Them

By Brendan Spiegel
As China and the United States wrestle for control of the Panama Canal, one thing is excruciatingly clear: When it comes to the future of the global economy, all roads lead to a narrow isthmus between North and South America.

scatter_brained:

GuM

This issue, we're giving you something to chew on--namely, Wrigley's plan to defeat the Nazis, the secrets behind MacGyver's sticky situations, and the world's best recipes for tree bark.

right_brain:

Masterpiece #89: Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five Recordings

By Bill DeMain
Long before he was singing "What a Wonderful World" to throngs of fans, Louis Armstrong was scouring alleys for scraps of food. This is the story of how his cornet changed his life--and then all of American music.

Great Christian art by really lousy christians

By Elizabeth lunday
You could separate the man from his art. You could forget that Caravaggio murdered a guy over a tennis match, or that Dali enjoyed his share of massive orgies. But here's why their works are more interesting when you don't.

left_brain:

3 mind-boggling Questions about the nature of life--answered!

By maggie koerth-baker
Pop quiz: Why do we have alien DNA floating around inside our bodies? Why do primates have more chromosomes than humans? And what do volcanoes have to do with the meaning of life? Pencils down. The answers are on page 32.

50-Cent Tour

Panama

By brendan Spiegel

the_quiz

By kara kovalchik and sandy wood

know-it-all: X

by A.J. Jacobs

back page: lightning round lists

by stacy conradt