The Anti-Social Century
Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. It’s changing our personalities, our politics, and even our relationship to reality.
America Is Now Counting on You, Pete Hegseth
My advice for the incoming secretary of defense
The Walmart Effect
New research suggests that the company makes the communities it operates in poorer—even taking into account its famous low prices.
The Online Porn Free-for-All Is Coming to an End
Three decades into the internet era, the Supreme Court finally appears ready to uphold age-verification laws.
The January 6er Who Left Trumpism
Not every Capitol rioter was a card-carrying seditionist; some have regrets, and a few are even refusing a pardon. Jason Riddle is one.
MAGA Is Starting to Crack
Now that Trump is president again, the right’s moment of unity is over.
My Last Trial
I’ve been fighting this charge for half my life.
Inside the Dangerous, Secretive World of Extreme Fishing
Why I swim out into rough seas 80 nights a year to hunt for striped bass
Biden’s Middle East Legacy
Donald Trump inherits a Middle East that looks dramatically different from the one his administration left in 2021.
The Agony of Texting With Men
Many guys are bad at messaging their friends back—and it might be making them more lonely.
Capitulation Is Contagious
When fear spreads in a society, powerful people who know better are often the first to show their weakness.
Evangelicals Made a Bad Trade
Hitching the evangelical wagon to Donald Trump has meant unhitching it from the life and teachings of Jesus.
DNA Tests Are Uncovering the True Prevalence of Incest
People are discovering the truth about their biological parents with DNA—and learning that incest is far more common than many think.
Why Reading Lolita in Tehran Holds Up
A new film vindicates Azar Nafisi’s humane literary ethos.
Turns Out Signing the Hunter Biden Letter Was a Bad Idea
Why so many titans of intelligence were willing to risk their hard-won credibility is deeply mysterious.
Don’t Give Up on the Truth
Striking out against injustice is always right; it always matters.
Photos of the Week: Firefighters, Ice Marathon, Inauguration Day
A fragile cease-fire in Gaza, a lantern festival in China, a rare snowstorm along the American Gulf Coast, a comet in the sky above Uruguay, and much more
Dave Chappelle’s Sincere Plea on Saturday Night Live
The four-time host took a break from punching down to deliver a timely message.
The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books
To read a book in college, it helps to have read a book in high school.
How America Got Mean
In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.