Sky Mall Pop Quiz Thank goodness for Sky Mall – that catalogue of oddball products supplied as entertainment for the passengers of most commercial airlines. But does anyone actually shop from it, or even know what its items are meant for? Danny Gregory and The Staff put together a test for its odder merchandise.

The Non-Expert: Dear Santa Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week Choire Sicha answers a late, incoherent letter to Santa Claus that was mistakenly delivered to our offices.

The Letters of Gary Benchley, Rock Star: Working on the Mix Who would have guessed the rock dream involves lots of old-fashioned hard work? And why is it rarely a good idea to include a brass band on a rock album? Diarist and acoustic-guitar player Gary Benchley gives us an update from the studio.

Birnbaum v. T.C. Boyle If we spend so much of our lives thinking and worrying about sex, is it any surprise the involved emotions are tied to chemicals? Robert Birnbaum talks to maverick author T.C. Boyle in a lively back-and-forth about Dr. Alfred Kinsey, contemporary fiction, and the role of the husband in the kitchen.