The Dark History Behind Public Education
Schools weren’t meant to set you free, one political scientist argues.
January 6 Still Happened
The Trump administration can pardon the insurrectionists and delete pages of evidence. But it cannot hide what took place on that day.
DOGE’s Fuzzy Math
The department’s current efforts—and Musk’s obsession with fraud—are not likely to make a dent in the country’s deficit.
History Will Judge the Complicit
Why have Republican leaders abandoned their principles in support of an immoral and dangerous president?
Europe’s Elon Musk Problem
He and other tech oligarchs are making it impossible to conduct free and fair elections anywhere.
A Sea Story
One of the worst maritime disasters in European history took place two decades ago. 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.
When Robert Frost Was Bad
Before he became America’s most famous poet, he wrote some real howlers.
The Man in the Midnight-Blue Six-Ply Italian-Milled Wool Suit
A perfect suit, made by an expert tailor out of superlative fabric, would do nothing less than transform me.
The New, Unsettling Truth at the Heart of Yellowjackets
Its characters can never truly escape danger, in the past or present.
The Erasing of American Science
How far can the Trump administration bend U.S. research before it breaks?
The Government’s Computing Experts Say They Are Terrified
Four IT professionals lay out just how destructive Elon Musk’s incursion into the U.S. government could be.
My Family’s Slave
She lived with us for 56 years. She raised me and my siblings without pay. I was 11, a typical American kid, before I realized who she was.
How Progressives Broke the Government
Democrats’ cultural aversion to power has cleaved an opening for Trump.
The Oligarchs Who Came to Regret Supporting Hitler
They helped him in pursuit of profit. Many ended up in concentration camps.
The Coming Democratic Baby Bust
Birth rates on the left fell in the last Trump presidency. That seems likely to happen again.
The Hidden Costs of Musk’s Washington Misadventure
Max Stier wants to improve the government. Elon Musk’s campaign against civil servants is making it worse.
Capitulation Is Contagious
When fear spreads in a society, powerful people who know better are often the first to show their weakness.
Why Isn’t Congress Doing Anything?
Republicans are just fine with Elon Musk gutting the government.
America’s ‘Marriage Material’ Shortage
Adults are significantly less likely to be married or to live with a partner than they used to be.
The Anti-Social Century
Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. It’s changing our personalities, our politics, and even our relationship to reality.
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