What the DeSantis and Newsom Debate Really Revealed
The space between red and blue states
An Exoplanet Discovery Akin to Finding an ‘Ostrich Egg in the Chicken Coop’
A very big planet orbiting a tiny star is challenging what scientists know about how planets form.
The Seven Stories to Read Today
Plus: A deliciously deceptive movie about liars
What Happens When a Poor State Guts Its Public University
Do West Virginia kids of modest means deserve the humanities?
The GOP’s Internal Dysfunction
Watch the full episode of Washington Week With The Atlantic, December 1, 2023
We’ve Never Seen Beyoncé Like This Before
The Renaissance concert movie is joyful but jumbled—and less about the star than about her audience.
The Most Dangerous Conflict No One Is Talking About
Of all the world’s hot spots, the South China Sea is one of the least remarked on and most potentially explosive.
Let’s Never Do This to Edith Wharton Again
The writer’s deeply emotional architecture is made dully explicit in a new adaptation of The Buccaneers.
The Unending Hunt for an Invisible Whale
Scientists have been listening to Cross Seamount beaked whales for years—but they’ve never seen one.
What the Act of Crying Can Offer
“I think about tears as a doorway: an invitation to be fully human and to connect with others.”
Giving Birth in Gaza
“Are they feeling scared inside me?” an expectant mother asks herself.
The Fall of Sports Illustrated
A recent AI controversy is just the latest example of its decline.
What Happens When the U.S. Overestimates Its Power
American leaders keep overestimating their control over events in the Middle East, Ukraine, and around the world.
Sandra Day O’Connor, the Mom Next Door—And So Much More
We were neighbors when I was growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. She was always the adult I looked up to.
The Curtain Falls on George Santos
I spoke with my colleague Russell Berman about the expulsion of the New York representative, and what it indicates about the future of the Republican Party.
2023 Space-Telescope Advent Calendar
Every day until Monday, December 25, this page will present a new, incredible image of our universe from one of two space telescopes.
Expelling George Santos Was a Mistake
Forcing the New York representative out of the House after a conviction would have been justified; pushing him out beforehand is not.
George Santos Was Finally Too Much for Republicans
The New York representative’s brief congressional career was finished by a decisive vote to expel him. He was a performer until the end.
HBD, GPT
Reconsidering the chatbot that changed everything
Elephants Might Have a Big Carbon Footprint
Even wild animals can aggravate climate change.