Summer 2019

Cover Story

Our Fate Is in the Stars

Today’s space program still does amazing things, but nothing like Apollo. It’s time to begin again.

by George Musser

Articles

The NASA You Never Hear About

No, the agency did not invent Tang or Velcro, but its discoveries have many applications in our day-to-day lives

by Isabelle Taft

Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea

In search of the places that inspired the Iliad—and the traces of upheaval, conflict, and migration that led to its creation

by Caroline Alexander

Sex Workers of the World United

Last year’s SESTA/FOSTA legislation aimed to limit sex trafficking—but it’s just the latest in a long line of policies designed to criminalize the oldest profession

by Scott W. Stern

Rape Trees and Rosary Beads

Field notes of a Border Patrol agent

by Brendan Lenihan

Aaron Burr in Exile

Surviving against all odds, his journal tells the story of one of the most maligned figures in American history

by Penelope Rowlands

The End of Driving

Yes, autonomous autos will make roads safer and more efficient, but what wonders will be lost?

by Steve Lagerfeld

Departments

Book Essay

Finding Your Voice

Finding Your Voice

How one writer discovered his when he stopped looking for it and learned instead to listen

Larry Woiwode

Book Reviews

Red rock formations in the desert are interspersed with cacti and brush

Bonanza of Greed

Myths and lies will, if we let them, spell the end of the public domain

Verlyn Klinkenborg
Two women stand side-by-side in front of a stand of trees. The woman on the left is dressed in a light-colored coat., while the one on the right wears black.

Southern Secrets

Three very different women haunted by the past

Nancy Isenberg
A man in a suit with a red tie and sunglasses stands next to two soldiers in U.S. uniform. They are filmed by a third man.

The Difficult Diplomat

A highly flawed man who brought peace and controversy

Charles Trueheart
Two women console one another one the footsteps of a church.

What Makes Us Better

Two books explore whether morality is innate or learned

Sissela Bok
An illuminated tunnel strewn with construction equipment

Plumbing the Depths

A writer explores the world beneath our feet

Thomas Laqueur
Myths of Memory

Myths of Memory

Our ability to recall is not an undiluted gift

Henry Allen