And the Oscar Goes to … Something the Voters Didn’t Watch
The Academy has a new rule to address this problem. Good luck with enforcing that.
The Default-Parent Problem
Why do so many people assume that Mom knows what’s going on with the kids, and that Dad does not?
Maybe Star Wars Is Better Without Lightsabers
The TV series Andor achieved greatness by challenging the franchise’s good-and-evil dichotomy.
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?
Trump’s Legal Strategy Has a Name
And it has been deployed by would-be autocrats around the world.
Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump
A conversation with the president about executive power, Signalgate, and 24-karat gold
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.
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
A Grand Experiment in Parenthood and Friendship
Would you raise kids with your best pals?
AI Is Not Your Friend
How the “opinionated” chatbots destroyed AI’s potential, and how we can fix it
The Efficacy of Prayer
“The very question ‘Does prayer work?’ puts us in the wrong frame of mind from the outset.”
The Roman Way to Trash a Republic
When you’re the emperor Augustus, they let you do it.
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.
American Panopticon
The Trump administration is pooling data on Americans. Experts fear what comes next.
The Plight of the Eldest Daughter
Women are expected to be nurturers. Firstborns are expected to be exemplars. Being both is exhausting.
The Sociopaths Among Us—And How to Avoid Them
You’re bound to come across the “Dark Triad” type of malignant narcissists in life—and they can be superficially appealing. Better to look for their exact opposite.
Just Let Your Kids Play With Makeup
Many people consider it a red flag. It doesn’t have to be.
How Part-Time Jobs Became a Trap
For millions of American low-wage workers today, the problem is not overwork—it’s underwork.
How the Ivy League Broke America
The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.
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.
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