National

American Icons

This is the eleventh in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine's 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by Mark Bowden, an Atlantic national correspondent.

Primary Sources

Afghan schools under attack; the perils of stock-tip spam; marriage as a matter of life and death; Vietnamese astrology gets it right

Get Me Rewrite!

A modest proposal for reinventing newspapers for the digital age

The Top 100 Influential Figures in American History

Who are the most influential figures in American history? We asked 10 eminent historians. The result, collected here, is The Atlantic’s Top 100—and some new insight into the nature of influence and the contingency of history.

Top Living Influential Americans

Living Americans who received votes from panelists

Panelist Biographies

Sex, Lies, and Videogames

What if a computer program combined the action and graphics of a video game with the emotional power of great art? The result could revolutionize interactive entertainment—and even change the meaning of “play”

Education

This is the tenth in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine's 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by Jonathan Kozol, the National Book Award-winning author of several books on public education.

A Matter of Degrees

Why college is not an economic cure-all

Primary Sources

The road back from Katrina; Nigeria’s restive delta; the long arm of the blue law; tripping your way to sobriety

Candidate Hillary

Joshua Green talks about his experience profiling Hillary Clinton and shares his thoughts on her presidential prospects

The Aspen Ideas Festival

excerpts from this year's discussions

Politics

This is the ninth in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine’s 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by James Bennet, the editor of The Atlantic.

Unwinding Bush

How long will it take to fix his mistakes?

Where the Brains Are

America’s educated elite is clustering in a few cities— and leaving the rest of the country behind

Primary Sources

Unrest in China; on parking and national character; the importance of being squiggly; our overconfident youth

Technology & Innovation

This is the eighth in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine's 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by James Fallows, a national correspondent of The Atlantic.

Some Convenient Truths

Runaway global warming looks all but unstoppable. Maybe that’s because we haven’t really tried to stop it

Primary Sources

Muslim public opinion the world over; the disappearing middle-class neighborhood; the specter of the sexual “superpeer”

A Closer Look at the Neutral Point of View (NPOV)

Wikipedia and the quest for neutrality on controversial entries like "Abortion" and "George W. Bush."

Common Knowledge

Marshall Poe on the marvels and pitfalls of Wikipedia, the fastest-growing encyclopedia in human history.

Arts & Letters

This is the seventh in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine's 150th anniversary.

Extreme Parenting

Does the Baby Genius Edutainment Complex enrich your child’s mind—or stifle it?

Idealism & Practicality

This is the sixth in a series of archival excerpts in honor of the magazine’s 150th anniversary. This installment is introduced by James Fallows, a national correspondent for The Atlantic

Frequently Asked Questions

Humor

Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

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The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Video

What Does It Take to Make Real Craft Gin?

Tour the Green Hat Gin distillery

Video

What Straights Can Learn From Same-Sex Couples

New insight from decades of research

Video

The End of the Mall Rat

A tribute to that pillar of teen culture

Video

The Wonderful World of Capitalism

An adorable 1950s cartoon

Video

New Yorkers: Miss New York USA

An unconventional beauty queen.

Writers

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More back issues, Sept 1995 to present.

In Focus

Reenacting the Past