I Should Have Seen This Coming
When I joined the conservative movement in the 1980s, there were two types of people: those who cared earnestly about ideas, and those who wanted only to shock the left. The reactionary fringe has won.
How the Trump Administration Flipped on Kilmar Abrego Garcia
Officials were developing a plan to get him back to the United States. Why did they stop?
An ‘Impossible’ Disease Outbreak in the Alps
In one tiny town, more than a dozen people were diagnosed with the rare neurodegenerative disease ALS. Why?
Inside the Fiasco at the National Security Council
Firings and leadership challenges have destabilized an institution that has little margin for error.
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
Does Anyone Still Hitchhike?
Traveling by thumb isn’t popular anymore. Some say it should be.
What It Means to Tell the Truth About America
And what happens when empirical fact is labeled “improper ideology”
What Porn Did to American Culture
Sophie Gilbert discusses how the industry defined womanhood, sex, and power.
The ‘Profound’ Experience of Seeing a New Color
The ecstasy of “olo”
Trump’s Cosplay Cabinet
The president’s appointees often appear to be acting out a made-for-television version of their jobs rather than actually doing them.
Trump Administration to Judges: ‘We Will Find You’
The attorney general’s message to the judiciary is clear.
AI Executives Promise Cancer Cures. Here’s the Reality
The technology is genuinely useful for scientific discovery, but its applications are less dramatic than you might think.
Elon Musk’s Luck Runs Out
Why he didn’t see this coming
What Would Be Worse Than a Recession?
The loss of America’s economic hegemony
History Will Judge the Complicit
Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president?
Columbia University’s Anti-Semitism Problem
If the bullying of Jewish students had happened to any other group, the institution would be appalled.
Harvard and the Making of the Unabomber
A series of purposely brutalizing psychological experiments may have confirmed Theodore Kaczynski’s still-forming belief in the evil of science while he was in college.
Grandparents Are Reaching Their Limit
Older Americans might be doing more child care than ever.
What Porn Taught a Generation of Women
It colored our ambitions, our sense of self, our relationships, our bodies, our work, and our art.
Kleptocracy, Inc.
Under Trump, conflicts of interest are just part of the system.
/media/img/mt/2025/04/2025_03_GrandparentsHill/original.gif)
/media/img/2025/03/WEL_Gilbert_PornographyOpener/original.gif)