An Awkward Truth About American Work
Direct-selling schemes are considered fringe businesses, but their values have bled into the national economy.
OpenAI’s Ambitions Just Became Crystal Clear
But when you promise the world a revolutionary new product, it helps to have actually built one.
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
It’s not just a phase.
The Game That Shows We’re Thinking About History All Wrong
A radical tweak makes Civilization more realistic—and more depressing.
In Defense of Academic Freedom
Three reasons why even wrongheaded or harmful ideas should not be censored
Time for Scary Movies to Make Us Laugh Again
Final Destination has nailed down a formula that other horror films should learn from.
Why a Dog’s Death Hits So Hard
I loved my mom more than my dog. So why did I cry for him but not for her?
How the Passionate Male Friendship Died
The “perfect” platonic bond used to be between two men. What happened?
COVID Shots for Kids Are Over
The FDA’s new approach to boosters could mean that kids will no longer be able to get vaccinated against the disease to begin with.
Weight-Loss Drugs Aren’t Really About Weight
To figure out who will benefit most, doctors should consider a particularly toxic kind of fat.
First My Mother Died. Then My Home Got Hit by a Tornado.
My street got leveled by 150-mph winds. Why do I feel somehow at ease?
Winners of the 2023 Sony World Photography Awards Open Competition
A collection of some of the winning and shortlisted photos from this year’s competition
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
America’s Johnson & Johnson Problem
A new book reveals how Big Pharma’s brazen behavior fueled medical mistrust.
Why Are Young People Everywhere So Unhappy?
Here’s the answer to that—and what we can do about it.
When William F. Buckley Jr. Met James Baldwin
In 1965, the two intellectual giants squared off in a debate at Cambridge. It didn’t go quite as Buckley hoped.
I Saw the Movie ‘They’ Don’t Want You to See
Sound of Freedom and the limits of culture-war marketing
The Wrong Way to Motivate Your Kid
When children fall short, many parents’ instinct is to take away something they love. That’s the wrong impulse.
‘What If I Don’t Keep Feeling Strident?’
For years, Ezra Furman’s music embraced protest and defiance. Now she’s striking a different chord.
24 Books to Get Lost in This Summer
The Atlantic’s writers and editors have chosen fiction and nonfiction to match all sorts of moods.