The Ultimate Bait and Switch of Trump’s Tariffs
How to understand the phony trade deals with Britain and China
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
It’s not just a phase.
What the U.K. Deal Reveals About Trump’s Trade Strategy
The United States is settling for a tiny fraction of what it could have achieved through traditional free-trade agreements.
How America Got Mean
In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
The Not-at-All-Funny Life of Mark Twain
Ron Chernow’s biography dwells more on the wreck of a man than on his sublimely comic work.
AI Is Not Your Friend
How the “opinionated” chatbots destroyed AI’s potential, and how we can fix it
Is the AfD Too Extreme for Democracy?
Germany’s far-right party hates immigration, and some of its leaders have a disturbing tendency to say things that sound Nazi-curious.
Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump
A conversation with the president about executive power, Signalgate, and 24-karat gold
Confessions of a Republican Exile
A longtime conservative, alienated by Trumpism, tries to come to terms with life on the moderate edge of the Democratic Party.
The Efficacy of Prayer
“The very question ‘Does prayer work?’ puts us in the wrong frame of mind from the outset.”
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.
One Word Describes Trump
A century ago, a German sociologist explained precisely how the president thinks about the world.
The Golden Age of the Fried-Chicken Sandwich
The sun is setting on burger dominance.
The Criminalization of Gentrifying Neighborhoods
Areas that are changing economically often draw more police—creating conditions for more surveillance and more potential misconduct.
Lighthouse Parents Have More Confident Kids
Sometimes, the best thing a parent can do is nothing at all.
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.
Why Kids Aren’t Falling in Love With Reading
Hint: It’s not just the screens.
Trump Sides With the Israeli People Against Netanyahu
Most Israelis want to end the war, but their prime minister does not.
/media/img/mt/2025/05/2025_5_6_Sycophantic_Web/original.gif)