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Is This the Worst-Ever Era of American Pop Culture?

An emerging critical consensus argues that we’ve entered a cultural dark age. I’m not so sure.

Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump

A conversation with the president about executive power, Signalgate, and 24-karat gold

A Totally Unnecessary Way to Stress Parents Out

The tyranny of school spirit days

How Much Would You Pay for That Doll?

How tariffs may challenge the way you shop

America Needs More Judges Like Judge Myers

He did the right thing in North Carolina’s Supreme Court fight, and he deserves praise.

A Crisis Is No Time for Amateurs

The unfolding conflict between Pakistan and India needs to be handled with the utmost care and competence.

Elon Musk’s Most Alarming Power Grab

Can anyone stop his space-based internet?

‘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.

Trump Finally Drops the Anti-Semitism Pretext

The latest letter to Harvard makes clear that the administration’s goal is to punish liberal institutions for the crime of being liberal.

Breakfast Is Breaking

The classic American version hasn’t changed much in a century. Now it faces an identity crisis.

Why Are Young People Everywhere So Unhappy?

Here’s the answer to that—and what we can do about it.

How Spying Helped Erode American Trust

Espionage has always been with us, but its rapid growth over the past century raises questions about who we are.

Dear James: When My Husband Speaks, My Brain Turns to Mush

Is this a normal marriage thing?

How the Ivy League Broke America

The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.

Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid

It’s not just a phase.

Grandparents Are Reaching Their Limit

Older Americans might be doing more child care than ever.

The Plight of the Eldest Daughter

Women are expected to be nurturers. Firstborns are expected to be exemplars. Being both is exhausting.

Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market

A new sign that AI is competing with college grads

Airport Detentions Have Travelers ‘Freaked Out’

Fears of being detained are in overdrive, even if the Trump administration insists that they’re overblown.

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.