In The December 2009 IssueReligion Did Christianity Cause the Crash?For millions of followers, the prosperity gospel encouraged financial risk in the name of God. By Hanna Rosin. 
History How Einstein Divided America's JewsThe physicist’s first trip to the U.S. placed him at the center of contentious debates over Zionism. By Walter Isaacson.
Genetics The Science of SuccessNew neurological findings suggest that “bad genes” can in fact be the keys to adult achievement—but only with the right parenting. By David Dobbs.
Technology Who Needs the Grid?A new fuel-cell technology promises to revolutionize access to cheap, clean energy. By Lane Wallace.
Business Lead Us Not Into DebtFinance guru Dave Ramsey wins followers with a simple message: find God and lose your credit cards. By Megan McArdle. |
Featured Archive Content
Unwinding BushHow long will it take to fix his mistakes? By Jonathan Rauch
1491Before it became the New World, the Western Hemisphere was vastly more populous and sophisticated than has been thought. What the New World was really like at the time of Columbus's discovery. By Charles C. Mann (March 2002)
The Apocalypse of AdolescenceIn 2002, two Vermont teenagers were charged with the knifing murder of two Dartmouth College professors. The case offers entry to a disturbing subject—acts of lethal violence committed by "ordinary" teenagers from "ordinary" communities, teenagers who have become detached from civic life, saturated by the mythic violent imagery of popular culture, and consumed by the dictates of some private murderous fantasy. (May 1994)
The Rush Limbaugh story"Liberals who are used to thinking of Limbaugh as another Falwell or Buchanan should instead think of his radio program, at its best, as another Saturday Night Live." By James Fallows (May 1994)
When was the last time a conservative talk show changed a mind?"I would agree all the more with Limbaugh if, after he returned from rehab, he'd shouted (as most Americans ought to), 'I'm sorry I had fun! I promise not to have any more!'" P.J. O'Rourke
Bucking the HerdParents who refuse vaccination for their children may be putting entire communities at risk. By Arthur Allen
The Great DepressionAtlantic articles from the 1930s reveal how Americans reinvented banking, restructured the economy, and dealt with challenges unsettlingly parallel to those of today
The Drug PushersStarting in 2009, drug companies have agreed to stop giving out drug-company-branded trinkets. In 2006, Carl Elliott warned that pharmaceutical reps are wielding more and more influence—and that the line between them and doctors is beginning to blur.
The Chicago ComplexThe roots of a city's corruption. (October 1930)
The Balanced-Budget DebateCan it be done? Should it be done? Writings on these questions from the past seventy years.
The World's Economic OutlookIn the midst of the Great Depression, British economist John Maynard Keynes considered the prospects for capitalism's survival. (May 1932)
The Best Is Yet to Come"Fabulous divorce used to be the prerogative of the rich and famous, but not anymore." By Barbara Dafoe Whitehead
First Wave at Omaha BeachCombat historian S.L.A. Marshall recalled the carnage he witnessed on Omaha Beach during D-Day. (November 1960)
Who Needs Harvard?The pressure on smart kids to get into top schools has never been higher. But the differences between these schools and the next tier down have never been smaller. (October 2004)
A More Perfect UnionHow the Founding Fathers would have handled gay marriage. By Jonathan Rauch (April 2004)
The Angry American"Praise be, America's social-anger thermometer is on the rise." By Paul Starobin (January/February 2004)
The Coming Death ShortageWhy the longevity boom will make us sorry to be alive. By Charles C. Mann
The Royal Road to BankruptcyBy One Who Took the Ride (January 1933)
Would Shakespeare Get Into Swarthmore?How several well-known writers (and the Unabomber) would fare on the new SAT. (March 2004) |
Recently in the Atlantic
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Dispatch Going Rogue: The QuizYou’ve seen the interviews. You’ve read the instant reviews. You know everything about Sarah Palin’s new book. Or do you? Test your Palin-tology. By Paul Slansky.
Health Does the Vaccine Matter?To prevent a devastating flu pandemic, the government is relying heavily on vaccines and antivirals. Some experts say that both are quite possibly useless. By Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer.
Business Misleading IndicatorWill the Great Recession finally end our misguided obsession with gross domestic product? By Megan McArdle.
Design Houses of the FutureIn New Orleans, a new kind of house is rising from the ruins of Katrina. Cheap, green, and radically hip, it may change architecture for a generation. By Wayne Curtis.
The Military WipeoutGuam’s surfers fret about the impact of a $15 billion defense buildup on their island. By Jeannette Lee.
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The SnatchbackWhen Todd Hopson wanted to get Andres, the 9-year-old boy he'd raised from infancy, back from his biological father in Costa Rica, he called Gus Zamora, who retrieves internationally abducted children for a living. Here’s what happened next. By Nadya Labi.
Brave ThinkersTwenty-seven people with courageous ideas—from relocating endangered species to hiring autistics to printing loads of money—that are shaping our future. The first installment of an annual feature.
Media The Story Behind the StoryMuch of the news you see on TV is the work of political hit men—not journalists. And it’s only getting worse. By Mark Bowden.
Energy The California ExperimentThe state may be a budgetary disaster, but its energy policies are a blueprint for national innovation. By Ronald Brownstein.
Internet The Moguls’ New ClothesDon’t blame the Internet for the dismal performance of big media companies. Blame inept executives. By Jonathan A. Knee, Bruce C. Greenwald and Ava Seave. |