Don’t Look at Stock Markets. Look at the Ports.
A drop in maritime traffic suggests that the worst is yet to come.
Why Are Young People Everywhere So Unhappy?
Here’s the answer to that—and what we can do about it.
A Trip Into Alaska’s Copper River Valley in 1902
At the end of the 19th century, an estimated 100,000 people joined the Klondike Gold Rush, seeking their fortunes in the interior of Alaska and Canada’s Yukon territory. Many gold seekers who chose the arduous path inland from Alaska’s port of Valdez also discovered rich copper deposits along the way. The U.S. Army soon started work on the Valdez Trail, which would become the main route between the mining fields and Valdez. Several competing businesses rushed to build a railroad along the route. In 1902, one of those groups sent a team of photographers, the Miles Brothers, to document the town, the growing trail, the landscape, its newly arrived residents, and Alaska Natives. Prints of these photographs were collected into an album I was able to digitize recently at the U.S. National Archives, giving us a remarkable glimpse into daily life along a rough trail into the Alaskan interior, nearly 125 years ago.
Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market
A new sign that AI is competing with college grads
‘The Worst Internet-Research Ethics Violation I Have Ever Seen’
The most persuasive “people” on a popular subreddit turned out to be a front for a secret AI experiment.
The Plight of the Eldest Daughter
Women are expected to be nurturers. Firstborns are expected to be exemplars. Being both is exhausting.
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.
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.
Is Anthony Weiner Ready to Go Another Round?
The ex-congressman whose name became a punch line is running for New York’s city council. In some ways, he hasn’t changed a bit.
Donald Trump’s Cruel and Unusual Innovations
Deporting illegal immigrants is lawful. Imprisoning them in El Salvador makes a mockery of the Eighth Amendment.
A White House Briefing Straight From North Korea
How MAGA influencers have reshaped the press corps
How Scientists Can Be Good Citizens
We have a responsibility to ensure that our discoveries are used in the public interest. That isn’t always easy.
How to Stay in Touch With Your Friends
The Atlantic’s writers and editors share what they do when life gets in the way.
The Writer Who Understood Aloneness
Mavis Gallant’s short stories are about people, especially women, who prefer to live on the social margins. I cherish one of them most of all.
We’ve Been Thinking About Love All Wrong
What illness taught me about true friendship
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
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.
The Trump Voters Who Like What They See
“Even if they don’t agree with everything he’s doing, he’s doing something.”
The End of the ‘Generic’ Grocery-Store Brand
They’re no longer terrible—in fact, they’re often the draw.
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?