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?
Photos: The Scale of China’s Solar-Power Projects
As the Trump administration’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” eliminates many clean-energy incentives in the U.S., China continues huge investments in wind and solar power, reportedly accounting for 74 percent of all projects now under construction worldwide.
Conspiracy Theorists Are Turning on the President
MAGA influencers are furious that Trump’s FBI says no more Jeffrey Epstein secrets are forthcoming.
What It Means to Be a Mystic Girl
Camp was the place these girls felt safe and free.
Let Your Kid Climb That Tree
It could actually make them safer.
What Your Favorite Grocery Store Says About You
Once a place of utility, the supermarket is now an object of obsession.
A Strange Time to Be Trans
In this particular culture war, some self-described skeptics look less like truth-tellers than merchants of doubt.
The Reality Show That Captures Gen Z Dating
This season of Love Island USA is a romance competition with very little romance.
Elon Musk Updated Grok. Guess What It Said?
After praising Hitler earlier this week, the chatbot is now listing the “good races.”
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.
Zohran Mamdani Reveals the Absurdity of Affirmative Action
Is the nominee for New York City mayor “African American”? Wrong question.
Baby Boomers’ Luck Is Running Out
After a lifetime of good fortune, the generation has become vulnerable at exactly the wrong moment.
Home of the Brave
Camp is a place where girls learn to be courageous. Can it stay that way?
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.”
Why Can’t Americans Sleep?
Insomnia has become a public-health emergency.
How the Grateful Dead Nearly Solved the Problem With Live Music
The band’s innovative sound system made them sound better than ever. It also nearly broke them.
America Has Never Seen Corruption Like This
Trump’s Qatari jet was just the beginning.
What I Learned About Life at My 30th College Reunion
“Every classmate who became a teacher or doctor seemed happy,” and 29 other lessons from seeing my Harvard class of 1988 all grown up
What the Next Phase of Trump’s Presidency Will Look Like
The president got his “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Can he sell it to voters?
I Fought Plastic. Plastic Won.
My futile quest to avoid the material that my entire world is made out of