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Why is Archie Banned in Singapore?
Why is Archie Banned in Singapore?
By Michelle King
July 17, 2014

No, it’s not because they disapprove of his kinky love triangle with Betty and Veronica.

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Behaving Yourself in Britain: The 1942 U.S. Government-Issued Guide to England
Behaving Yourself in Britain: The 1942 U.S. Government-Issued Guide to England
By George Dobbs
July 03, 2014

On the eve of America’s entrance into World War II, the U.S. military wanted to ensure its men got along across the pond without too many “boners.”

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American Authors on Patriotism
American Authors on Patriotism
By Adam D'Arpino
July 03, 2014

Mark Twain, Barbara Ehrenreich, Christopher Hitchens and David Foster Wallace on what it means to love your country.

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What are Prison Libraries Really Like?
What are Prison Libraries Really Like?
By Adina Applebaum
June 30, 2014

How much truth is there behind the reading habits on Orange is the New Black?

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The Iron Dream: Why “Hitler’s” 1970s Sci-Fi Novel Still Matters
The Iron Dream: Why “Hitler’s” 1970s Sci-Fi Novel Still Matters
By David Forbes
June 05, 2014

Norman Spinrad’s 1972 novel “by Adolph Hitler" is a still-relevant attack on the connection between our concepts of heroism and fascism.

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The Boulevards of Tomorrow: 9 Utopian Cities (and What Happened to Them)
The Boulevards of Tomorrow: 9 Utopian Cities (and What Happened to Them)
By David Forbes
May 28, 2014

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden — but it can be undone by economics, politics and mother nature.

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Spies with Taste: The CIA’s Involvement in the Arts
Spies with Taste: The CIA’s Involvement in the Arts
By David Forbes
May 27, 2014

The Paris Review, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and government-sponsored kool-aid acid tests — American spooks are so cultured.

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Some of the Worst Things That Norman Mailer Ever Said
Some of the Worst Things That Norman Mailer Ever Said
By Michelle King
May 04, 2014

Sunday may be the day of rest, but let yourself get a bit riled up with these truly terrible Mailer quotes to mark the anniversary of his novel The Naked and the Dead.

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Happily Never After: 5 Surprise Dystopias in Literature
Happily Never After: 5 Surprise Dystopias in Literature
By David Forbes
April 09, 2014

Once upon a time, there was a horde of ravenous zombies … or an endless nuclear fallout … or an alien race of slug overlords….

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Cloak and Typewriter: 5 Famous Authors Who Worked as Spies
Cloak and Typewriter: 5 Famous Authors Who Worked as Spies
By George Dobbs
April 08, 2014

Ernest Hemingway, Roald Dahl, Graham Greene — the list writers who moonlit as spies is surprisingly renowned.

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