An Awkward Truth About American Work
Direct-selling schemes are considered fringe businesses, but their values have bled into the national economy.
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.
The Unbearable Weight of Mission: Impossible
What started as the adventures of a brilliant spy morphed into the mythology of an exemplary human being.
The Protective ‘Politburo’ That Hid Biden’s Decline
Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson discuss their new book, Original Sin.
History Will Judge the Complicit
Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president?
A Convenient Piece of Junk Science
RFK Jr. is prepared to rework the FDA’s official assessment of the abortion pill mifepristone based at least in part on a questionable report.
The Pedestrians Who Abetted a Hawk’s Deadly Attack
A zoologist observed a Cooper’s hawk using a crosswalk signal as a cue to ambush its prey.
OpenAI’s Ambitions Just Became Crystal Clear
But when you promise the world a revolutionary new product, it helps to have actually built one.
The Neighbors Who Destroyed Their Lives
Murder and lies in small-town Hawaii
It Isn’t the Kids. It’s the Cost of Raising Them.
Having children makes people happier—if they can afford it.
The Congressman Who Saw the Truth About Biden
While many Democrats remained in denial, Mike Quigley perceived something painfully familiar.
How the Most Remote Community in America Gets Its Mail
Transporting letters and packages to the village of Supai requires a feat of logistics, horsemanship, and carefully placed hooves.
Trump Addresses a Military He’s Remaking in His Image
The president returns to West Point having transformed his relationship with the armed forces.
The Anti-Natalist’s Revenge
A manifesto left by the bomber of a fertility clinic demands refutation.
How the Ivy League Broke America
The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.
The Tragedy of the American Military
The American public and its political leadership will do anything for the military except take it seriously. The result is a chickenhawk nation in which careless spending and strategic folly combine to lure America into endless wars it can’t win.
Trump’s National-Security Disaster
Trump’s vandalism of the national-security structure, Signalgate, and a conversation with Susan Rice
The Most Controversial Game on the Internet
Wyna Liu, the editor of the New York Times game Connections, discusses her process and the particular ire her puzzles inspire.
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
Photos of the Week: Dragon’s Teeth, Witch Convention, High Plateau
A swannery in southern England, tornado damage in Kentucky, drought conditions in the Florida Everglades, a rally race in a Chinese desert, and much more