Maybe Star Wars Is Better Without Lightsabers
The TV series Andor achieved greatness by challenging the franchise’s good-and-evil dichotomy.
‘I Run the Country and the World’
Donald Trump believes he’s invincible. But the cracks are beginning to show.
Trump’s Third-Term Ambitions Are Very Revealing
The president sees the Constitution as an obstacle to be surmounted, not a repository of values that he must respect.
The Myth of the Poverty Trap
We know how to end extreme poverty. Why haven’t we done it?
The Debate That Will Determine How Democrats Govern Next Time
Did the party lose in 2024 despite Joe Biden’s economic approach, or because of it?
The Not-at-All-Funny Life of Mark Twain
Ron Chernow’s biography dwells more on the wreck of a man than on his sublimely comic work.
The FAA’s Troubles Are More Serious Than You Know
The agency responsible for air safety is facing deep cuts and interference by Elon Musk.
China Called Trump’s Bluff
There is a lesson here for anyone Trump threatens.
The Plight of the Eldest Daughter
Women are expected to be nurturers. Firstborns are expected to be exemplars. Being both is exhausting.
Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump
A conversation with the president about executive power, Signalgate, and 24-karat gold
The Honeymoon Is Ending in Syria
A former jihadist needs more than charisma to heal his shattered country.
Retirement Is the New Resistance
The Democrats waging war on their gerontocracy
The Bored Sex
Women, more than men, tend to feel stultified by long-term exclusivity—despite having been taught that they were designed for it.
Just Let Your Kids Play With Makeup
Many people consider it a red flag. It doesn’t have to be.
The Oddball British Comedy Show I Thought I’d Hate (And Learned to Love)
The cult favorite Taskmaster has a nonsensical premise that slowly bowled me over.
How the Ivy League Broke America
The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.
Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market
A new sign that AI is competing with college grads
Is This the Worst-Ever Era of American Pop Culture?
An emerging critical consensus argues that we’ve entered a cultural dark age. I’m not so sure.
Why Study History?
Civic education can help us to see that not all problems have solutions, to live with tentative answers, to accept compromise, to embrace responsibilities as well as rights—to understand that democracy is a way of living, not a settled destination.
AI Is Not Your Friend
How the “opinionated” chatbots destroyed AI’s potential, and how we can fix it
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