Trump World’s Wizard of Oz Problem
Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon don’t speak for Trump or his base. So why do people think they do?
A Sea Story
One of the worst maritime disasters in European history took place in 1994. It remains very much in the public eye. On a stormy night on the Baltic Sea, more than 850 people lost their lives when a luxurious ferry sank below the waves. From a mass of material, including official and unofficial reports and survivor testimony, our correspondent has distilled an account of the Estonia’s last moments—part of his continuing coverage for the magazine of anarchy on the high seas.
A Shift in American Family Values Is Fueling Estrangement
Both parents and adult children often fail to recognize how profoundly the rules of family life have changed over the past half century.
Ah, Exactly What the Founders Wanted!
“Understandably, after almost 250 years, the legislature is tired of being a coequal branch of government and wants to take a nap.”
The Most Perverse Part of the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
The Republican megabill could be setting America up for the worst energy-affordability crisis since the 1970s.
How Happy Couples Argue
They don’t try to control each other. They try to control themselves.
The New Old Age
What a new life stage can teach the rest of us about how to find meaning and purpose—before it’s too late
A Classic Childhood Pastime Is Fading
Kids on bikes once filled the streets. Not anymore.
America’s Incarceration Rate Is About to Fall Off a Cliff
Long sentences and recidivism kept prison populations high for decades, but prisons are now starting to empty.
The Narcissism of the Angry Young Men
What to do about the deadly misfits among us? First, recognize the problem.
A Red Sprite Gives Astronauts an Incredible Light Show
A powerful discharge lit up the sky high above a thunderstorm over Mexico.
This Is the Way a World Order Ends
Americans once associated spheres of influence with a cynical, volatile European past. Now Washington is resurrecting them.
Why Can’t Americans Sleep?
Insomnia has become a public-health emergency.
How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.
Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think
Here’s how to make the most of it.
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.
Dear James: I Hate My Post-college Life
I’m utterly lost.
They Didn’t Have to Do This
By passing Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, congressional Republicans have talked themselves into an incomprehensibly reckless plan.