Conor Friedersdorf

Conor Friedersdorf is a staff writer at The Atlantic, where he focuses on politics and national affairs. He lives in Venice, California, and is the founding editor of The Best of Journalism, a newsletter devoted to exceptional nonfiction.

Bipartisan Elites: Yes, the Bush Administration Totally Tortured

Bipartisan Elites: Yes, the Bush Administration Totally Tortured

Centrist, establishment types detail brutal, illegal interrogation tactics in a new reckoning. More »

A Prisoner Calls President Obama Out on Guantanamo Bay

A Prisoner Calls President Obama Out on Guantanamo Bay

A man held prisoner for more than a decade describes the abuse he's suffered at the hands of the present administration. More »

14 Theories for Why Kermit Gosnell's Case Didn't Get More Media Attention

14 Theories for Why Kermit Gosnell's Case Didn't Get More Media Attention

Every one of them amounts to someone saying, "This is how I think American journalism works." More »

Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story

Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story

The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It is thoroughly newsworthy. More »

Ponder What Isn't Mocked as Racially Unenlightened in America

Ponder What Isn't Mocked as Racially Unenlightened in America

What's most racially "cringe-worthy," Rand Paul's speech at Howard, Stop and Frisk, or indefinite detention? More »

Till Divorce Do Us Part: Being Married Briefly Can Be a Blessing

Till Divorce Do Us Part: Being Married Briefly Can Be a Blessing

The belief that marriage is permanent helps sustain unions worth saving. But some people are better off divorced. More »

The Drone War Has More Victims Than the Bush-Era CIA Scandals

The Drone War Has More Victims Than the Bush-Era CIA Scandals

The agency's detention and extraordinary rendition program was an abomination. Its targeted killings are even worse. More »

A Less Intrusive Government Could Still Maintain a Safety Net

A Less Intrusive Government Could Still Maintain a Safety Net

The right would benefit from drawing a sharper distinction between fights over how to make markets freer on one hand and how to protect the losers on the other. More »

Thank Goodness Kids <em>Do</em> Belong to Their Parents

Thank Goodness Kids Do Belong to Their Parents

The notion that children belong to the whole community, propounded by Melissa Harris-Perry, would be terrible for most of them. More »

New Evidence That Team Obama Misled Us About the Drone War

New Evidence That Team Obama Misled Us About the Drone War

Official speeches are crafted to give the impression that we're mostly targeting al-Qaeda members. We're not. More »

A Cost of the Stigma Against Nudity: Blackmailed Teenage Girls

A Cost of the Stigma Against Nudity: Blackmailed Teenage Girls

Society gains nothing from making so many people feel that mere images of their own bodies are cause for shame. More »

In a Secret Drone War, Immoral Kill Deals Will Always Tempt Us

In a Secret Drone War, Immoral Kill Deals Will Always Tempt Us

Killing targets simply because foreign governments want them dead carries a high potential for blowback. More »

After 6 Decades of Marriage, No More Sex but Plenty of Intimacy

After 6 Decades of Marriage, No More Sex but Plenty of Intimacy

"I see friends' spouses die," a husband writes, "and it scares me. Losing my wife is my biggest fear." More »

It's Come to This: Debating Death by Autopilot

It's Come to This: Debating Death by Autopilot

Drones aren't going away. The controversial question today is whether they should ever be allowed to kill on their own. More »

A Very Silly Argument Against the Gay-Marriage Movement

A Very Silly Argument Against the Gay-Marriage Movement

A writer at the Claremont Review of Books misunderstands why a majority of Americans now favor marriage equality and makes several errors along the way. More »

Newt Gingrich Wants to Protect Some Religions More Than Others

Newt Gingrich Wants to Protect Some Religions More Than Others

The former Freddie Mac historian warns of a drive to limit Christianity months after trying to limit American Islam. More »

What 4 Decades of Marriage Taught a Grateful Husband

What 4 Decades of Marriage Taught a Grateful Husband

A wisdom-filled "letter-to-the-editor" More »

Cops Who Shoot Innocent People Should Have Their Guns Taken Away

Cops Who Shoot Innocent People Should Have Their Guns Taken Away

That simple rule is the least bad way there is to protect residents from being wrongfully shot. More »

Team Obama to Banks: Issue Home Loans to Riskier Borrowers

Team Obama to Banks: Issue Home Loans to Riskier Borrowers

The housing bust proved that the federal government isn't particularly good at anticipating how many people will default. More »

The War on Drugs Is Far More Immoral Than Most Drug Use

The War on Drugs Is Far More Immoral Than Most Drug Use

A prohibitionist says libertarians dismiss moral considerations when they call for legalization. The truth is quite the opposite. More »

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