Peter Yang The Overprotected Kid A preoccupation with safety has stripped childhood of independence, risk taking, and discovery?without making it safer. A radical new playground points to a better solution. Hanna Rosin
Jean Jullien Don’t Help Your Kids With Their Homework And other insights from a groundbreaking study of how parents impact children’s academic achievement Dana Goldstein
Is Stop-and-Frisk Worth It? Civil-rights activists are ecstatic that a federal judge declared the NYPD’s policy unconstitutional. But law-enforcement officials say the practice has made U.S. cities dramatically safer. Now what? Daniel Bergner
Charlie Neiberlangall/AP Fighting Over the Field of Dreams In 1988, Hollywood built an ersatz baseball field in rural Iowa for a Kevin Costner film. A quarter century later, the community finds itself bitterly divided over a curious question: Should the field’s fake authenticity be preserved? Adam Doster
Peter Frank Edwards Why Cities Work Even When Washington Doesn't The case for strong mayors James Fallows
Yoichi Okamoto / National Archives How LBJ Saved the Civil Rights Act Fifty years later, new accounts of its fraught passage reveal the era's real hero?and it isn’t the Supreme Court. Michael O’Donnell
O.O.O.P.S. In Defense of Empire It can ensure stability and protect minorities better than any other form of order. The case for a tempered American imperialism. Robert D. Kaplan
Edmon de Haro The Savior Fallacy: Over-Betting on Star Players in Sports and Business Team managers and corporate boards tear their rosters apart to land a top pick, who they assume will lead them to salvation. The psychology of a strategy that seldom works. Derek Thompson
Nikki Sylianteng Building a Better Parking Sign A rogue designer tries to replace an old standard Jenny Xie
John Cuneo The Madness of Matthew Weiner On the eve of the show’s final season, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner talks about disappointment and redemption—and reveals his dreamlike perception of everyday life. Hanna Rosin
Alvaro Dominquez Why Doctors Still Use Pen and Paper The healthcare reformer David Blumenthal explains why the medical system can’t move into the digital age. James Fallows
Why Rich Women Don't Get Fat Sorting weight by demographic group reveals complex and surprising patterns. Olga Khazan
Leung: ImageChina/AP The IKEA Toy That Became an Icon of Rage A spate of stuffed-wolf attacks strikes Hong Kong William Brennan
Yellowj/Shutterstock Problem: Help Me Become a Non-Pathetic Empty Nester Our advice columnist to the rescue Jeffrey Goldberg
Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy The Junkie Genius A new biography reveals a William S. Burroughs both ghastlier and more impressive than many previously thought. James Parker
Associated Press; Wikimedia Commons; nserrano Playing With Plato Philosophers eager to write for popular audiences are finding readers who want answers science can’t offer. Clancy Martin
Javier Jaen Benavidas The Monogamy Trap What do we talk about when we talk about love? How hard and boring it is to be faithful. Sandra Tsing Loh
Getty Images Hitler's Airport Berlin has buried every trace of the Third Reich—with one big exception. Nathaniel Rich
I Heard God's Voice: What's Up With That? Barbara Ehrenreich tries to make rational sense of an adolescent epiphany. Ann Hulbert