The ‘Exciting Business Opportunity’ That Ruined Our Lives
Amway sold my family a life built on delusion.
America’s ‘Marriage Material’ Shortage
Adults are significantly less likely to be married or to live with a partner than they used to be.
What Christopher Hitchens Understood About the Parthenon
The British Museum should return the ancient treasures to Greece for the sake of art, not nationalism.
My Friend’s Instagram Account Has Taken a Dark Turn
I want to reach out, but I’m not sure how.
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.
The Army of God Comes Out of the Shadows
Tens of millions of American Christians are embracing a charismatic movement known as the New Apostolic Reformation, which seeks to destroy the secular state.
You’re Being Alienated From Your Own Attention
Every single aspect of human life is being reoriented around the pursuit of attention.
Purging the Government Could Backfire Spectacularly
Donald Trump might miss the bureaucrats when the next crisis hits.
Maha Kumbh Mela: The Largest Gathering in the World
Images from a Hindu festival in India, expected to attract more than 400 million visitors
How the Ivy League Broke America
The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.
Europe’s Elon Musk Problem
He and other tech oligarchs are making it impossible to conduct free and fair elections anywhere.
A Novelist Who Looks Into the Dark
Ali Smith scrambles plotlines, upends characters, and flouts chronology—while telling propulsively readable stories.
Private Schools Have Become Truly Obscene
Elite schools breed entitlement, entrench inequality—and then pretend to be engines of social change.
The Illegal Drug at Every Corner Store
Nitrous oxide is widely available as long as everyone pretends it’s being used for whipped cream. An industry has arisen to exploit that loophole.
This Is No Way to Talk About Children
When people say they “don’t like” kids, they’re expressing way more than a preference.
Democracy Is Not Over
Americans who care about democracy have every right to feel appalled and frightened. But then they have work to do.
Why an Early Start Is the ‘Quintessence of Life’
Not sleeping late could be the best resolution you ever keep.