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Exploring the American idea through ambitious, essential reporting and storytelling. Of no party or clique since 1857. https://t.co/uHeZCz8ahz

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Having children is terrible for quality of life—but the truth about what parenthood means for happiness is a lot more complicated, Paul Bloom wrote in 2021. 📸: Christopher Anderson / Magnum

Having children is terrible for quality of life—but the truth about what parenthood means for happiness is a lot more complicated, Paul Bloom wrote in 2021. 📸: Christopher Anderson / Magnum

29,367 views

The Boeing 747, the onetime queen of the sky, has begun its final descent. Ian Bogost spoke with former 747 pilots and flight attendants, and visited an aircraft boneyard in Arizona, to eulogize the plane and its brand of American ambition.

The Boeing 747, the onetime queen of the sky, has begun its final descent. Ian Bogost spoke with former 747 pilots and flight attendants, and visited an aircraft boneyard in Arizona, to eulogize the plane and its brand of American ambition.

37,307 views

“The unhappy truth of the matter is that it is normal for friendships to fade, even under the best of circumstances,” Jennifer Senior wrote in 2022. “The real aberration is keeping them.” 🎨: Oliver Munday

“The unhappy truth of the matter is that it is normal for friendships to fade, even under the best of circumstances,” Jennifer Senior wrote in 2022. “The real aberration is keeping them.” 🎨: Oliver Munday

11,586 views

In James Parker’s “50 Songs That Explain America,” the British critic shares the tunes that showed him America’s soul. Read the list:

In James Parker’s “50 Songs That Explain America,” the British critic shares the tunes that showed him America’s soul. Read the list:

12,109 views

During his Super Bowl performance, Bad Bunny, through affect alone, “got across a sense of betrayal that many Puerto Ricans of his age—commonly called the ‘crisis generation’—have spoken of feeling,” Spencer Kornhaber writes.

During his Super Bowl performance, Bad Bunny, through affect alone, “got across a sense of betrayal that many Puerto Ricans of his age—commonly called the ‘crisis generation’—have spoken of feeling,” Spencer Kornhaber writes.

36,389 views

“Trailing parents”—moms and dads who follow their kids to college—have become more common in the past few years, but they risk depriving their kids of the “gift of separation” and independence, Russell Shaw argued in 2025. 📸: Jon Lovette / Getty

“Trailing parents”—moms and dads who follow their kids to college—have become more common in the past few years, but they risk depriving their kids of the “gift of separation” and independence, Russell Shaw argued in 2025. 📸: Jon Lovette / Getty

13,024 views

Americans were once members of a proudly literate society, but today, reading has declined across age groups, gender, and education levels, Rose Horowitch reports. The advent of reading “altered people’s consciousness and politics, along with the intellectual feats they were capable of,” she argues—and the reading collapse will bring about changes of the same magnitude: 🎨: The Atlantic. Source: Dial Press.

Americans were once members of a proudly literate society, but today, reading has declined across age groups, gender, and education levels, Rose Horowitch reports. The advent of reading “altered people’s consciousness and politics, along with the intellectual feats they were capable of,” she argues—and the reading collapse will bring about changes of the same magnitude: 🎨: The Atlantic. Source: Dial Press.

18,115 views

Bad Bunny performs almost exclusively in Spanish. Spencer Kornhaber on why that hasn’t stopped him from dominating pop in the U.S. and abroad:

Bad Bunny performs almost exclusively in Spanish. Spencer Kornhaber on why that hasn’t stopped him from dominating pop in the U.S. and abroad:

29,743 views

Minneapolis residents aren’t just pushing back against Trump’s crackdown—they’re undercutting MAGA’s core philosophy, Adam Serwer argues. 📸: Jack Califano for The Atlantic

Minneapolis residents aren’t just pushing back against Trump’s crackdown—they’re undercutting MAGA’s core philosophy, Adam Serwer argues. 📸: Jack Califano for The Atlantic

25,950 views

Throughout the new documentary “Melania,” the camera seems desperate to find action. Sophie Gilbert on what the film actually reveals:

Throughout the new documentary “Melania,” the camera seems desperate to find action. Sophie Gilbert on what the film actually reveals:

21,040 views

“The modern attention-span crisis is not limited to the written word,” Rose Horowitch reports. “Now professors are finding that they can’t even get students—film students—to sit through movies”: Read the full story here:

“The modern attention-span crisis is not limited to the written word,” Rose Horowitch reports. “Now professors are finding that they can’t even get students—film students—to sit through movies”: Read the full story here:

17,908 views

The Trump administration's “war on empathy,” Hillary Clinton writes, “threatens to pave the way for an extreme vision of Christian nationalism that seeks to replace democracy with theocracy in America”:

The Trump administration's “war on empathy,” Hillary Clinton writes, “threatens to pave the way for an extreme vision of Christian nationalism that seeks to replace democracy with theocracy in America”:

15,738 views

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The 2026 midterm elections didn't just determine who controls Congress for the next two years—they also determine whether the United States, 250 years after its founding, remains a democracy, Anne Applebaum says. She explores what citizens and lawmakers can do next to strengthen the institutions and values that have been threatened in the Trump era.
4:59
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The 2026 midterm elections didn't just determine who controls Congress for the next two years—they also determine whether the United States, 250 years after its founding, remains a democracy, Anne Applebaum says. She explores what citizens and lawmakers can do next to strengthen the institutions and values that have been threatened in the Trump era.

The Atlantic

331,672 views • 2 days ago

Donald Trump has long sought to emulate Viktor Orbán—and the Republican midterm rout has granted him his wish, Tom Nichols argues. Read more:
1:17
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Donald Trump has long sought to emulate Viktor Orbán—and the Republican midterm rout has granted him his wish, Tom Nichols argues. Read more:

The Atlantic

35,684 views • 20 hours ago

The GOP’s losses in the midterms are all on Donald Trump, and he’s going to “psychically compensate by lashing out and being destructive,” David Frum argues. Frum looks at what the next two years could bring from the president as Democrats take control of Congress. Read more:
1:28
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The GOP’s losses in the midterms are all on Donald Trump, and he’s going to “psychically compensate by lashing out and being destructive,” David Frum argues. Frum looks at what the next two years could bring from the president as Democrats take control of Congress. Read more:

The Atlantic

38,067 views • 1 day ago

Karl Rove, the former adviser to President George W. Bush, does an impression of Donald Trump at #TAF26, in response to the president calling him a “stone cold loser.”
0:33
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Karl Rove, the former adviser to President George W. Bush, does an impression of Donald Trump at #TAF26, in response to the president calling him a “stone cold loser.”

The Atlantic

1,644,261 views • 1 month ago

Trump might lash out if he feels more limited after the midterms, David Frum argues: “Every time he feels constrained, he breaks something … He’s going to be breaking a lot of things over the next two years.”
0:22
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Trump might lash out if he feels more limited after the midterms, David Frum argues: “Every time he feels constrained, he breaks something … He’s going to be breaking a lot of things over the next two years.”

The Atlantic

41,255 views • 2 days ago

Asked who would win in a hypothetical war between Canada and the U.S., Malcolm Gladwell tells Jeffrey Goldberg that Canada would prevail “because all of the American troops invade Canada, and then realize that they want to stay.” #TAF26
0:28
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Asked who would win in a hypothetical war between Canada and the U.S., Malcolm Gladwell tells Jeffrey Goldberg that Canada would prevail “because all of the American troops invade Canada, and then realize that they want to stay.” #TAF26

The Atlantic

929,490 views • 1 month ago

Donald Trump’s decision to handpick Darline Graham—the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham—to run for a full term in South Carolina opened the door for Democrats to win a Senate seat in the state for the first time since 1998, Madeleine Carlisle reports. Read more:
1:40
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Donald Trump’s decision to handpick Darline Graham—the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham—to run for a full term in South Carolina opened the door for Democrats to win a Senate seat in the state for the first time since 1998, Madeleine Carlisle reports. Read more:

The Atlantic

10,246 views • 1 day ago

Bobby McIlvaine was 26 when he died in the September 11 attacks. In 2021, Jennifer Senior wrote about grief, conspiracy theories, and one family’s search for meaning in the decades since 9/11. Revisit the Pulitzer Prize–winning story:
0:23
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Bobby McIlvaine was 26 when he died in the September 11 attacks. In 2021, Jennifer Senior wrote about grief, conspiracy theories, and one family’s search for meaning in the decades since 9/11. Revisit the Pulitzer Prize–winning story:

The Atlantic

305,056 views • 1 month ago

David Letterman to Jeffrey Goldberg on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension: “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian—a criminal—administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.” #TAF25
1:14
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David Letterman to Jeffrey Goldberg on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension: “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian—a criminal—administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.” #TAF25

The Atlantic

1,782,995 views • 1 year ago

Exclusive: Egypt’s top spy flew to Israel shortly before October 7 with a dire warning about Gaza, Vivian Salama reports.
1:44
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Exclusive: Egypt’s top spy flew to Israel shortly before October 7 with a dire warning about Gaza, Vivian Salama reports.

The Atlantic

165,961 views • 1 month ago

Election Night: Join Hanna Rosin, adam harris, and multiple Atlantic staff writers as they analyze the ideas animating this election, and discuss what’s next for American democracy. Stream on X or starting at 9 p.m. ET. Subscribers can also watch on our app.
0:53
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Election Night: Join Hanna Rosin, adam harris, and multiple Atlantic staff writers as they analyze the ideas animating this election, and discuss what’s next for American democracy. Stream on X or starting at 9 p.m. ET. Subscribers can also watch on our app.

The Atlantic

26,087 views • 8 days ago

Exclusive: A pair of senior House Democrats are taking the unusual step of asking FBI Director Kash Patel to scrap his reported visit to Russia, citing national-security concerns, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports.
2:17
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Exclusive: A pair of senior House Democrats are taking the unusual step of asking FBI Director Kash Patel to scrap his reported visit to Russia, citing national-security concerns, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports.

The Atlantic

63,029 views • 27 days ago

Kimberly Guilfoyle’s resignation wasn’t really about the blatant corruption she was accused of during her time as an envoy—it was because she broke Donald Trump’s most important rule, Tom Nichols argues:
1:25
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Kimberly Guilfoyle’s resignation wasn’t really about the blatant corruption she was accused of during her time as an envoy—it was because she broke Donald Trump’s most important rule, Tom Nichols argues:

The Atlantic

47,655 views • 21 days ago

.Maggie Haberman predicts that the Trump administration will resist oversight from a potential Democratic Congress: “This is not going to look like any kind of congressional flip that we’ve seen before in a lame-duck presidency, in terms of oversight.” #TAF26
2:02
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.Maggie Haberman predicts that the Trump administration will resist oversight from a potential Democratic Congress: “This is not going to look like any kind of congressional flip that we’ve seen before in a lame-duck presidency, in terms of oversight.” #TAF26

The Atlantic

100,564 views • 1 month ago

The U.S. bombardment of Iran was launched without a real plan for the Iranian people, Anne Applebaum argues: “We don’t have any tools to communicate with the Iranians, and we don’t have any tools to help build a legitimate state” determined by them. Read the full article at the link:
1:43
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The U.S. bombardment of Iran was launched without a real plan for the Iranian people, Anne Applebaum argues: “We don’t have any tools to communicate with the Iranians, and we don’t have any tools to help build a legitimate state” determined by them. Read the full article at the link:

The Atlantic

453,229 views • 8 months ago

It took a team of skilled tailors and travel across three continents to create a bespoke suit that would transform Gary Shteyngart. Watch his lifetime of fashion misery come to an end:
4:04
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It took a team of skilled tailors and travel across three continents to create a bespoke suit that would transform Gary Shteyngart. Watch his lifetime of fashion misery come to an end:

The Atlantic

845,004 views • 1 year ago

.Rahm Emanuel tells Ashley Parker that if Democrats want to pass policy, they need to focus on flipping red districts. “I’m not impressed taking a blue district and making it midnight blue,” he says. #TAF26
0:30
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.Rahm Emanuel tells Ashley Parker that if Democrats want to pass policy, they need to focus on flipping red districts. “I’m not impressed taking a blue district and making it midnight blue,” he says. #TAF26

The Atlantic

87,396 views • 1 month ago

Bernie Sanders has been in demand for several candidates this midterm election, Russell Berman reports. He spoke with the 85-year-old senator about how this cycle, the Democratic Party appears to be shifting toward his policies. Read more:
1:52
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Bernie Sanders has been in demand for several candidates this midterm election, Russell Berman reports. He spoke with the 85-year-old senator about how this cycle, the Democratic Party appears to be shifting toward his policies. Read more:

The Atlantic

17,701 views • 9 days ago

The blowup of the U.S.-Canada relations could give credence to those who claim that “America is no different and no better” than Russia and China, David Frum argues. Watch The David Frum Show:
1:20
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The blowup of the U.S.-Canada relations could give credence to those who claim that “America is no different and no better” than Russia and China, David Frum argues. Watch The David Frum Show:

The Atlantic

107,244 views • 2 months ago

The Atlantic staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick tells Hanna Rosin that dozens of sources from within the FBI and across Washington described a bureau “that has fundamentally changed its core mission, into essentially acting in many cases on behalf of the president and pursuing things that are in the White House’s interests, not in their traditional role around elections.” Watch more on Radio Atlantic:
1:36
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The Atlantic staff writer Sarah Fitzpatrick tells Hanna Rosin that dozens of sources from within the FBI and across Washington described a bureau “that has fundamentally changed its core mission, into essentially acting in many cases on behalf of the president and pursuing things that are in the White House’s interests, not in their traditional role around elections.” Watch more on Radio Atlantic:

The Atlantic

37,482 views • 23 days ago