The Atlantic

The Absolute Pleasure of Tim Curry

His magic lay in his ability to be outrageous without being self-conscious....

7 hours ago

Economists Who Weren’t Worried About the Debt Are Now Panicking

What really concerns them isn’t just the $40 trillion....

9 hours ago

Meta’s Day of Reckoning

Instagram and Facebook will be radically different following a landmark settlement....

9 hours ago

The Lights Are Back On in Gary, Indiana

A long two weeks after a derecho blew through, most of the city finally has power....

12 hours ago

What Are Jewish Voters Supposed to Do?

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel on why she is skipping the Michigan Democratic Party’s convention, the rise of anti-Semitism within her party, and the conundrum Jewish Democrat voters face. Plus...

14 hours ago

The Last American Dreamer

No southerner, or perhaps human, has remained so universally beloved for as long as Dolly Parton....

15 hours ago

The Don’t-Mention-the-War Midterms Strategy

The shift to an economic pressure campaign could also push the conflict out of the minds of voters....

15 hours ago

The Strange Case of a Nearly Doomed Looney Tunes Movie

The director of Coyote vs. Acme is still unsure why Warner Bros. wanted to dump it....

18 hours ago

Why Jason Arday’s Defenders Fight On

The concerted effort to airbrush the late fabulist’s life...

19 hours ago

The Truth About Dolly Parton’s Style

It wasn’t about showbiz. It was about sovereignty....

20 hours ago

The German Far Right Is Poised for a Breakthrough

The AfD could do something next month that would mark a first in the country’s postwar history....

21 hours ago

Trump Plans to Buy Midterm Ads About His Own Record

Some Republicans welcome his involvement but whether voters will is another question....

1 day ago

We’re Living in the World Dolly Parton Built

Country music is surging, female singer-songwriters are on top, and audiences crave honest voices like hers....

1 day ago

ICE Has Quietly Changed Its Deadly-Force Rule

Officers under investigation can no longer return quickly to the streets....

1 day ago

The Transcendence of Dolly Parton

The late singer was perhaps the only person in the United States who commanded nearly universal affection....

1 day ago

Dolly Parton: Photos From an Extraordinary Life and Career

Dolly Parton, the singer, songwriter, actor, and philanthropist, died today at the age of 80....

1 day ago

The Least-Vaccinated Kindergartners in Decades

American children are going back to school without the protection they need....

1 day ago

Even More Maximum Pressure on Iran

The Trump administration gave its own explanation for why sanctions against Tehran won’t work....

1 day ago

Who Is Rachel Cusk’s New Book Really About?

The author’s latest novel goes a step further than the autofiction that made her famous....

1 day ago

The Qataris Gave Trump an Airplane. He Crippled Their Country in Return.

The tiny Gulf state is learning that the U.S. president doesn’t always keep his end of the deal....

1 day ago

A Sister’s Succession

Thrown into office and an unexpected campaign, Darline Graham is running on her brother’s legacy—but making clear that she’s different....

1 day ago

Trump Is Losing Touch With the Public

As the president spends less time with his base at rallies, his populist instincts are failing him....

2 days ago

I Lost the Password to My Password’s Password

Logging in was never supposed to be this complicated....

2 days ago

Where Do America’s Colleges Go From Here?

The Trump administration has a new series of questions for colleges about affordability, curriculum, and “national service”—how will they respond? And: W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington in a d...

2 days ago

The Atlantic announces Jessica Goldstein as SVP of events

Goldstein joins after leading events at NPR and the Skoll Foundation...

2 days ago

Scenes From the 2026 World Humanoid Robot Games

More than 600 teams brought 2,000 robots to Beijing for the second edition of this annual competition, where humanoid robots compete in a wide variety of events, including athletics and household task...

2 days ago

Trump’s D.C. IndyCar Race Was Actually Kind of Fun

Most of this summer’s Freedom250 events glorified the president. This one was just a race....

2 days ago

I Was a Bicentennial Baby

Behind the moniker, in 1976, was a kind of hope. As I turn 50 and the nation reaches 250, the mood feels distinctly different....

2 days ago

The Gun Lobby’s Most Cynical Move Yet

New data show how pro-gun groups target their political spending after fatal school shootings....

2 days ago

An Experiment in Healing Attention

What blocking access to your phone does for your ability to focus. Plus, advice from Jenny Odell, the author of How to Do Nothing, on fighting distraction....

2 days ago

Tallying

A poem...

3 days ago

An American City, With Troops on Its Streets

Since the country’s founding, deployments of soldiers to U.S. soil have been exceedingly rare. But residents of Washington, D.C., are living in a new normal....

3 days ago

The Hatred That Broke American Politics

Race is the wound America sees. Anti-Semitism is the one it doesn’t....

3 days ago

How to Lose a Trade War

Trump’s bullying of Canada is failing....

4 days ago

How Relationships Can Change Your Personality

Love can alter everything about us....

4 days ago

The President’s Focus

Panelists joined to discuss Trump’s priorities as the national debt reaches new highs....

4 days ago

The Rise of the Sort-of-Famous Real-Estate Agent

Reality-TV stars and influencers now want to sell you a house....

4 days ago

Why Do Rich Kids Love Socialism?

Having money isn’t at odds with wanting a fairer economic system....

4 days ago

Another Pulte Purge

Firings at Fannie Mae fit a pattern....

5 days ago

Thank You for Your Inattention to This Matter

The good news is that the world has stopped responding breathlessly to Donald Trump’s every empty provocation. That’s also the bad news....

5 days ago

Who’s Afraid of ‘Healthy’ Ice Cream?

Welcome to the golden age of ultra-processed health foods....

5 days ago

America’s Gerontocracy Needs a Public Physician

Congress should create an office of physicians that report to the public on American leaders’ medical fitness for duty....

5 days ago

The Terror of Aimlessness

The protagonists of the new horror film It Ends are stuck on an infinite road, and they can’t figure out why....

5 days ago

Liberal Families Are Looking Pretty Traditional

What I see in my deep-blue D.C. neighborhood undermines the simplistic culture-war narrative....

5 days ago

Photos of the Week: Robot Training, Straw Chickens, Blessed Dogs

Harvest festivals in Germany, a solar-energy base in a Chinese desert, high-diving in Slovenia, hurricane damage in Hawaii, a traveling circus in France, and much more...

5 days ago