Vol. 165 No. 21
COVER
built his new game machine--and changed your living room forever
Let the Battle Begin (Cover Story / Technology)
The major video game console makers continue the struggle to win dominance in the marketplace
Who Is Playing Games--and Why (Cover Story / Technology)
From Geek to Chic in 33 Years (Cover Story / Technology)
Three decades after video games invaded our space, it's finally hip to be square
NATION
As states push ahead with new research that the public seems to want, Congress is poised to expand the uses of federal funding beyond what the President's order allows
California Leads, but a Pack Follows (Stem Cells)
Meanwhile, at the state level of stem-cell research...
The Posse in the Pulpit
A look at "patriot pastors"
Exposed in Spokane
Mayor Jim West built his political resume battling gay rights--and did it all from inside the closet
WORLD
EXCLUSIVE: At 77, Ariel Sharon is risking it all on his plan to give up the Gaza Strip settlements. Spend time with him at his home, and he'll tell you why
The Man Who Turned Sharon Into a Softie
SCIENCE
What the brain and the nose tell scientists about sexual desire--and orientation--in the human male
Unmasking King Tut (Archaeology)
rest a 3,300-year-old murder mystery
HEALTH & MEDICINE
may fight cancer--or cause stroke. I'll risk the latter
NOTEBOOK
The famous President's daily brief on security is in the midst of its biggest reform ever
Those Base-Closing Blues
Rumsfeld proposes closing 33 of the Pentagon's 318 major military bases
The Man Who Would Be Ratzinger
San Francisco Archbishop William Levada is chosen as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Are Pensions in Peril? (Speed Read)
Speed Read: The airline bailout
52 Years Ago In TIME
Mon Dieu! The French Get Fat
French experts become increasingly concerned about the country's weight problem
No Taste, Not Filling
Moves to ban Alcohol Without Liquid in numerous states
Punchlines
Blogwatch
Verbatim
Milestones
Numbers
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
He's today's hottest comic. He has TV's coolest show. So why did DAVE CHAPPELLE flee to Africa? An exclusive interview with the runaway funnyman
Slumming with the Brits (Movies)
Class envy, novel murders and lifestyle voyeurism: Layer Cake's a classic English antihero movie
5 Memoirs That You Won't Forget (Books)
Fiction is fun, but for real drama there's nothing like a firsthand account
YOUR TIME
Tee Up Your Game (Sports)
At A Loss For Words (Health)
Bounce, Bounce, Bounce, Boom! (Health)
Time Out (Sports)
Cheryl Ladd
Doctor's Orders (Health)
A Game For Swingers (Sports)
E-Mailers Anonymous (Technology)
PEOPLE
Drop And Give Billy Bob 20! (First Look)
Q+A Jada Pinkett Smith
The Wonder Of Narration
TO OUR READERS
LETTERS
ESSAY
The technology connects you to the world--but not the one outside your window
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
These four visionaries are taking the world of electronic gaming to a whole new level of sophistication
The Allure of a Sticky Ball (Innovators: Forging The Future / Video Games)
ARTIST
Larger Than Life (Innovators: Forging The Future / Video Games)
NOVELIST OF THE SCREEN
Under the Sea to Over the Clouds (Innovators: Forging The Future / Video Games)
THE KING OF SIMS