Parenthood Cannot Be Optimized
Amanda Hess’s new book examines a surplus of experts and gadgets that promise to perfect the experience of raising children.
Marvel Doesn’t Have to Try So Hard
The new film Thunderbolts* understands that bigger does not mean better.
Russia Is in Demographic Free Fall. Putin Isn’t Helping.
The Russian president is enacting one of the world’s most extreme natalism programs—and one of the weirdest.
What Parents of Boys Should Know
Daughters tend to receive higher levels of affection and patience at home than sons. But the sons might need it more.
What If Friendship, Not Marriage, Was at the Center of Life?
“Our boyfriends, our significant others, and our husbands are supposed to be No. 1. Our worlds are backward.”
The Dark Ages Are Back
Americans must insist on academic freedom, or risk losing what makes our nation great.
The Most Infamous Narcissist in Literary History Gets a Smartphone
A new stage production of The Picture of Dorian Gray conveys the cost of posturing online.
You’re Being Alienated From Your Own Attention
Every single aspect of human life is being reoriented around the pursuit of attention.
Donald Trump’s Cruel and Unusual Innovations
Deporting illegal immigrants is lawful. Imprisoning them in El Salvador makes a mockery of the Eighth Amendment.