The Baffler No. 20

Baffling the consensus since 1988, this journal seeks to debunk the ideology of the free market and to drive public discourse in literate and humane directions. Issues contain thundering anti-business salvos from the sharpest minds, as well as poetry, literature, and satirical art.Contributions for The Baffler No. 20 (The High, the Low, the Vibrant!) include Thomas Frank on creative-class visions of vibrancy, Steve Almond on the postideological pantomiming of John Stewart and Stephen Colbert, Eugenia Williamson on the narrative conventions of NPR's This American Life, Matt Hinton on the big bucks in the world of college sports, and Jim Newell on the fraudster Adam Wheeler, who faked his way into Harvard.The Head OfficeThis Cradle Won’t RockJohn SummersSalvosDead End on Shakin’ StreetThomas FrankCash-and-Carry AestheticsJed PerlThe Joke’s on Presenting ... The Daily Show and The Colbert ReportSteve Almond Class on TVHeather HavrileskyOh, the Pathos! Presenting ... This American LifeEugenia WilliamsonAccountants for The Pew Charitable TrustsDavid D’ArcyThe Dollar DebauchDilemmas of the Rentier ClassChris LehmannInto the InfiniteThe Threshold of JoyKim Phillips-FeinNotes & QuotesThe Head OfficeKurt TucholskyDaniel’s DictionaryDaniel AaronMaze of DoomTod MesirowA Bad Day in BrooklynEmma GarmanStudies in Total DepravityParty of Barack Obama’s annoying journey to the center of belongingChris BrayAdam Wheeler Went to HarvardJim NewellBillionaire Epitaph for the student-athleteMatt HintonStoriesLancelot GomesManohar ShettyMr. SecondhandManohar ShettyBhutasSaskya JainMemoirDelusional Parasitosis and MeWill BoisvertPoemsFaulty LogicAlan GilbertKingdom and Kingdom 2 (a poetics)Rae ArmantroutThe Back CountryGeoffrey O’BrienTranche I and Tranche IIJoshua CloverProjecting LoveForrest GanderThe City Mouse and the Country MouseSusan StewartOne WayMatthea HarveyThe Blackest Black ForestJohn YauGreen Gallows for the Wall Street BankersThe Homeless EconomistRemaindersSimone de Beauvoir’s Les Belles ImagesSeth Colter WallsAncestorsLife and Times of a LibertineChristopher Lasch