More Fun Than An Alan Greenspan Kegger!!!

Ok, I'll admit it, your humble Epinionator is also a terrible content junkie. I will devour all information accessible to me, surfing all the main news sites daily and watching The O'Reilly Factor dogmatically. I live for news, and I believe that those who are ignorant of current events are ignorant, period.

But where's the content I can carry? How can I learn about the current budget situation in Mongolia?

The answer is simple: The Economist.

The Upsides

1.Diversity of Information--While a lot of American news sources do a great job of reporting on those topics that are of interest to them, as a whole the press today in this country tends to neglect international news. Besides Europe and wars in third-world countries, the American press assumes (and perhaps rightly so) that their audience isn't interested in any news that doesn't seem to have the potential to directly affect them.

This is another place where The Economist distinguishes itself from the rest of the herd, in its courage to move towards offering equal attention to the entire world. No country is to small to be featured, and the amount of American content is surprisingly and hearteningly thin.

This is a magazine that provides a healthy view of the world, in all its wonderful diversity.

2.Digestability--The Economist can never be accused of padding its work, as the vast majority of columns are half a page in size or less. Each article presents the essential facts of a situation, with a brief commentary to explain its significance in the greater context. What that means is that you can get an idea of India's budget crisis or George Bush's take on vouchers in the span of one or two Metro stops.

3.Wit--It's a tough enough job to sum up a week worth of world news, real international news, without having to worry about entertainment factor. But The Economist succeeds on both fronts, adding a refreshing touch of dry wit that only makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

How best to describe the humor? Think of a toned-down Black Adder or Keeping Up With Appearances, both BBC comedies.

The dry and well-informed humor that pervades The Economist is best represented by the weekly Bagehot column. The aforementioned columnist lives to take a tear into British politics and politicians, wilting members of both parties with his biting and always pertinent observations into the ridiculousness of such policies at the current London Underground situation. You learn, you laugh, and you wonder if real intellectuals are able to have friends...

4.The Indicators--Just want to mention briefly, for those real content junkies out there, that the last 3 pages of The Economist are filled with important statistics that show careful readers what's going on in the world, be it personal savings levels in Mozambique or the prevalence teen alcoholism in Italy.

The Economist/Mozart Effect

In prepping this review, I read an incredible piece by kurt_messick which hit on one of the more ethereal and endearing facets of The Economist, the "Mozart Effect".

For those unfamiliar with the term, the Mozart Effect describes any type of experience (listening to the great composer for example) that heightens the experiencers' intellectual engagement. The Economist does just that, serving as a necessary weekly stretching of the brain. Feeling a little rusty up top? Five or six pages of Economist commentary will take care of that!


For those who devour web content, yours truly included, it might be noted that a subscription to The Economist includes access to economist.com, a great site that allows you to enjoy the magazine's content online.