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 End of Rule of Law in America
The 47th president seems to wish he were king—and he is willing to destroy what is precious about this country to get what he wants.
Trump’s Tactical Burger Unit Is Beyond Parody
Happy Meal Team Six
How to Take Charge of Your Family Inheritance
You may be fine with becoming more like your parents or hate the idea. Either way, it’s something you can control.
The Myth of the Poverty Trap
We know how to end extreme poverty. Why haven’t we done it?
Trump’s Real Secretary of State
How the president’s friend and golfing partner Steve Witkoff got one of the hardest jobs on the planet
The MAGA-World Rift Over Trump’s Qatari Jet
Some of the president’s biggest allies are panning his plan to accept the luxury aircraft.
The Wrong Way to Motivate Your Kid
When children fall short, many parents’ instinct is to take away something they love. That’s the wrong impulse.
Trump and the Crown Prince
He’s the American president Gulf leaders have been waiting for.
America Is Having a Showboater Moment
The Trump administration talks tough on crime but shrugs off the work of real law enforcement.
A Week of Manufactured Trump Victories
Shashi Tharoor and the Trump grift machine
The Mess at Airports Is Part of a Larger Pattern
What’s behind the Newark-airport fiasco
‘I Run the Country and the World’
Donald Trump believes he’s invincible. But the cracks are beginning to show.
The Cynical Republican Plan to Cut Medicaid
Work requirements set up a thicket of paperwork that leads eligible Medicaid recipients to lose their insurance. That’s the point.
The Golden Age of the Fried-Chicken Sandwich
The sun is setting on burger dominance.
Silicon Valley Braces for Chaos
The center of the tech universe seems to believe that Trump’s tariff whiplash is nothing compared with what they see coming from AI.
Weight-Loss Drugs Aren’t Really About Weight
To figure out who will benefit most, doctors should consider a particularly toxic kind of fat.
And the Oscar Goes to … Something the Voters Didn’t Watch
The Academy has a new rule to address this problem. Good luck with enforcing that.
The Default-Parent Problem
Why do so many people assume that Mom knows what’s going on with the kids, and that Dad does not?
Maybe Star Wars Is Better Without Lightsabers
The TV series Andor achieved greatness by challenging the franchise’s good-and-evil dichotomy.