The ‘Dirty and Nasty People’ Who Became Americans
How 13 colonies came together
A Shift in American Family Values Is Fueling Estrangement
Both parents and adult children often fail to recognize how profoundly the rules of family life have changed over the past half century.
The Whole Country Is Starting to Look Like California
Housing prices are rising fast in red and purple states known for being easy places to build. How can that be?
The Non-Exoneration of Diddy
Sean Combs’s acquittal on a racketeering charge doesn’t erase his history as a domestic abuser.
What Moving Your Body Can Mean
Sometimes it takes a new community or type of exercise to reset your relationship with working out.
A Sea Story
One of the worst maritime disasters in European history took place in 1994. It remains very much in the public eye. On a stormy night on the Baltic Sea, more than 850 people lost their lives when a luxurious ferry sank below the waves. From a mass of material, including official and unofficial reports and survivor testimony, our correspondent has distilled an account of the Estonia’s last moments—part of his continuing coverage for the magazine of anarchy on the high seas.
The Most Perverse Part of the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
The Republican megabill could be setting America up for the worst energy-affordability crisis since the 1970s.
An AI That Couldn’t Care Less About Humans
The quirky show Murderbot suggests that intelligent machines might be interested in something other than humanity.
The AI Birthday Letter That Blew Me Away
Google is ushering in an era of custom chatbots.
Ken Casey: ‘I’m Not Going to Shut Up’
A conversation with the Dropkick Murphys front man about punk, politics, and Donald Trump
That Dropped Call With Customer Service? It Was on Purpose.
Endless wait times and excessive procedural fuss—it’s all part of a tactic called “sludge.”
The Feminine Pursuit of Swoleness
Casey Johnston’s new book, A Physical Education, considers how weight lifting can help you unlearn diet culture.
Trump Targets Google After Meta and X Payouts
Mark Zuckerberg paid $25 million. Elon Musk followed with $10 million. Now it could be Sundar Pichai’s turn.
Doomed to Be a Tradwife
Can a marriage ever truly be equal?
A Classic Childhood Pastime Is Fading
Kids on bikes once filled the streets. Not anymore.
No One Loves the Bill (Almost) Every Republican Voted For
But they didn’t want to anger the president.
Why Can’t Americans Sleep?
Insomnia has become a public-health emergency.
Ah, Exactly What the Founders Wanted!
“Understandably, after almost 250 years, the legislature is tired of being a coequal branch of government and wants to take a nap.”
The World Economy Is on the Brink of Epochal Change
Capitalism’s operating system is due for a major upgrade. How that turns out depends on enormously consequential political choices.
Nobody Cares If Music Is Real Anymore
“Rubber burns, the map fades away / Chasing the ghosts of yesterday.” Sure, fine.
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