The Talented Mr. Vance
J. D. Vance could have brought the country’s conflicting strands together. Instead, he took a divisive path to the peak of power.
The Beauty That Moral Courage Creates
A lovely paradox of doing good in the world is that it does you good too.
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.
What RFK Jr. Doesn’t Understand About Autism
Starting with his claims of an “autism epidemic.”
Trump’s National-Security Disaster
Trump’s vandalism of the national-security structure, Signalgate, and a conversation with Susan Rice
Google’s New AI Puts Breasts on Minors—And J. D. Vance
A feature that lets you virtually try on clothes has a dangerous flaw.
The Simple Formula That Explains Why the Debt Matters
When interest rates outpace growth, very bad things can happen.
What AI Thinks It Knows About You
What happens when people can see what assumptions a large language model is making about them?
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 Congressman Who Saw the Truth About Biden
While many Democrats remained in denial, Mike Quigley perceived something painfully familiar.
OpenAI’s Ambitions Just Became Crystal Clear
But when you promise the world a revolutionary new product, it helps to have actually built one.
An Awkward Truth About American Work
Direct-selling schemes are considered fringe businesses, but their values have bled into the national economy.
A Defense Against Gaslighting Sociopaths
If you can recognize their signature move, then forewarned is forearmed.
When William F. Buckley Jr. Met James Baldwin
In 1965, the two intellectual giants squared off in a debate at Cambridge. It didn’t go quite as Buckley hoped.
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
It’s not just a phase.
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.
Time for Scary Movies to Make Us Laugh Again
Final Destination has nailed down a formula that other horror films should learn from.
Biden’s Age Wasn’t a Cover-Up. It Was Observable Fact.
The story about the former president getting old is getting old.
The Myth of the Poverty Trap
We know how to end extreme poverty. Why haven’t we done it?
Kristi Noem Should Probably Know What Habeas Corpus Is
But she doesn’t.