When I was a kid, my mom got tired of reading me children's stories when it was time for bed. So she read what she wanted to read: the Science Times section from each Tuesday's New York Times, and from The New Republic. I learned a lot of vocabulary and politics.
That was 1983. I feel weird realizing that I wasn't simply getting a vibe that TNR had gone to the right. It grabbed a Dixiecrat flag.
There are not many mainstream 20th-century magazines which have a good track record with race. TNR was among the best at reporting on other subjects, which is the reason I am disappointed about what it's going to become.