National

Earthbound

The space-shuttle program is coming to a quiet end. Is the same true for the era of space exploration?

The 14 3/4 Biggest Ideas of the Year

A guide to the intellectual trends that, for better or worse, are most shaping America right now

The End of Men

Women are dominating society as never before.

Are Fathers Necessary?

A paternal contribution may not be as essential as we think.

The Littlest Schoolhouse

Helping wayward students—by personalizing curricula

A Promising Land

Small towns in the South are looking for a few good Jewish families.

Here Comes the Neighborhood

Private rail networks could save the housing industry, revive the economy, and help meet the booming demand for walkable neighborhoods. History offers plenty of encouragement.

Tomorrowland

How new wireless technology will shape the city of the future—and automate everything from parking to engineering to traffic flow

Ghosts of New York

Immigrant artisans created an exuberant American art form on New York’s tenements at the turn of the 20th century. The only major public collection of their work now lies in a heap behind the Brooklyn Museum. Its odyssey reveals much about a changing city— and a changing culture.

Beating Obesity

After years of dieting, the author finally resorted to bariatric surgery. It worked—but he realized that it’s too expensive to stem our obesity epidemic. So what to do? Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity plan, he argues, is a major first step. Developed largely in secret, and with startling comprehensiveness, it has thrilled advocates— and made the food industry anxious to cooperate.

The Wrong Man

As the anthrax investigation intensified, the FBI focused increasingly on one suspect: Steven Hatfill. It began a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and 24-hour surveillance. Hatfill lost his job and his friends, fell into a spiral of depression, and found himself utterly isolated. But he was innocent—and here, for the first time, he speaks out.

Who Owns the First Amendment?

Journalists think they do. They’re wrong.

Letting Go of My Father

His elderly father insisted that he could manage by himself. But he couldn’t. The author found himself utterly unprepared for one of life’s near certainties—the decline of a parent. Millions of middle-aged Americans, he discovered, are silently struggling to cope with a crisis that needs to be plucked from the realm of the personal and brought into full public view.

Sex-Offender City

Florida’s sex criminals are crowding into a handful of neighborhoods.

Exile in Greenville

What happens when a NASCAR race and an environmental conference converge

The Happiness Index

Times were tough in 2009. But according to a cool Facebook app, people were happier.

How America Can Rise Again

Is the nation in terminal decline? Not necessarily—this country has been built on cycles of crisis and renewal, and the forces that have made it great remain strong. But the government is broken. Securing the future will require fixing a system that has become a joke.

What Makes a Great Teacher?

How one organization, drawing on two decades of observation and research, may have found the answer

The Listener

George Noory, America’s most popular late- night radio host, chronicles our national anxieties, from Vampires and shadow people to the Bilderbergs.

Letters to the editor

Did Christianity Cause the Crash?

For millions of followers, the prosperity gospel encouraged financial risk in the name of God.

How Einstein Divided America's Jews

The physicist’s first trip to the U.S. placed him at the center of contentious debates over Zionism.

Ground War

Army’s best option for finally beating Navy

The Great Guinea Hen Massacre

Good intentions collide with dumb birds on a small farm in Pennsylvania.

Brave Thinkers

Twenty-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.

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Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

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A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

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Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

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The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

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What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

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NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

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Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

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Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

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New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

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The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

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What Does It Take to Make Real Craft Gin?

Tour the Green Hat Gin distillery

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Letter From the Editor

The June 2013 issue

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What Straights Can Learn From Same-Sex Couples

New insight from decades of research

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The End of the Mall Rat

A tribute to that pillar of teen culture

Writers

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More back issues, Sept 1995 to present.

In Focus

Picking up the Pieces After the Tornado in Moore, Oklahoma

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