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Illustration: Stained glass window with shattered confederate flag and dates 1861 and 1865
Paul Spella

Why Confederate Lies Live On

For some Americans, history isn’t the story of what actually happened; it’s the story they want to believe.

  • Clint Smith

There’s a Perfect Number of Days to Work From Home, and It’s 2

  • Amanda Mull
Cartoons of office workers whose bodies are shaped like the letters M, T, W, T, and F.

Purgatory at Sea

  • Ian Urbina
Italian law enforcement and a group of migrants gathered on the prow of a ship

On Substack, You Can Never Go Too Far

  • Helen Lewis
A soap-opera-style title card featuring an hourglass and the word "Substack"

The Texas Republican Asking His Party To Just Stop

  • Emma Green
Will Hurd gesticulates in a black-and-white photo.
three blurred vaccine vials labeled A, B, and C
The Atlantic / Flavio Coelho / Getty

The J&J Rescue Mission Starts With a Choice

  • Katherine J. Wu
An illustration of a fearful man juxtaposed with a picture of Derrick Bell, legal scholar and the "father of critical race theory," surrounded by his students
Steve Liss / CSA Images / Getty / Katie Martin / The Atlantic

The GOP’s ‘Critical Race Theory’ Obsession

  • Adam Harris

The Unfolding Disaster in Arizona

The question isn’t whether the election audit in Maricopa County can end well, but how exactly it will end badly.

  • David A. Graham
The recount in Arizona
Courtney Pedroza / Stringer / Getty

Coffee Rust Is Going to Ruin Your Morning

Coffee plants were supposed to be safe on this side of the Atlantic. But the fungus found them. (From 2020.)

  • Maryn McKenna
A hand holding a coffee leaf in front of a sun
Melanie Lambrick

Liz Cheney Has Only Herself to Blame

The representative from Wyoming is taking a stand against an authoritarian streak in the Republican Party that she helped cultivate.

  • Adam Serwer
Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney
Caroline Brehman / CQ-Roll Call, Inc /Getty

COVID-19 Lays Bare the Price of Populism

A raging outbreak in Brazil threatens gains against the virus.

  • Uri Friedman
Crowd holding crosses at a protest
Mauro Pimentel / AFP / Getty
A new couple holds hands, showing off a diamond ring. The image is set into a frame featuring The Experiment’s show art.
Jasmine Carter / Pexels
PODCAST »

The Surprisingly Complex History Behind 90 Day Fiancé

What a guilty-pleasure reality show teaches us about immigration and democracy in America

If the Author Is a Bad Person, Does That Change Anything?

  • Judith Shulevitz
A collage of Blake Bailey and Philip Roth

Dear Therapist: I Divorced My Dying Wife Once She Was No Longer Lucid

  • Lori Gottlieb
An illustration of a man looking at a woman who is falling into pieces.

Elon Musk Is Not Just a Celebrity

  • Spencer Kornhaber
Elon Musk on the set of 'Saturday Night Live'

Latest

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  • Two students walk near a building at Prairie View A&M University

    Biden’s ‘Historic’ Funding of Black Colleges

    • Adam Harris
    May 10, 2021
  • Will Hurd gesticulates in a black-and-white photo.

    The Texas Republican Asking His Party To Just Stop

    • Emma Green
    May 10, 2021
  • Cartoons of office workers whose bodies are shaped like the letters M, T, W, T, and F.

    There’s a Perfect Number of Days to Work From Home, and It’s 2

    • Amanda Mull
    May 10, 2021
  • A soap-opera-style title card featuring an hourglass and the word "Substack"

    On Substack, You Can Never Go Too Far

    • Helen Lewis
    May 10, 2021
  • Illustration: Stained glass window with shattered confederate flag and dates 1861 and 1865

    Why Confederate Lies Live On

    • Clint Smith
    May 10, 2021
  • Elon Musk on the set of 'Saturday Night Live'

    Elon Musk Is Not Just a Celebrity

    • Spencer Kornhaber
    May 9, 2021
  • Crowd holding crosses at a protest

    COVID-19 Lays Bare the Price of Populism

    • Uri Friedman
    May 9, 2021
  • Illustration with a blue background overlaid with white and brown arrows

    The Arrow Paradox

    • Mark Jarman
    May 9, 2021
  • A fossil

    A Milwaukee Suburb Is Full of Ultrarare Fossils

    • Jack Tamisiea
    • Hakai Magazine
    May 9, 2021
  • Photo illustration: multiple photographs of bed with mother and baby layered over one another

    The ‘Blurred Existence’ of Motherhood

    May 9, 2021
  • Illustration of tools and the Department of Justice seal.

    The Man Who Should Be Merrick Garland’s Role Model

    • Andrew Kent
    May 9, 2021
  • A black-and-white photo of the journalist Edward Kennedy

    I’d Do It Again

    • Edward Kennedy
    May 8, 2021
  • A naked mole rat

    How Bowhead Whales Live for 200 Years

    • Bob Holmes
    • Knowable Magazine
    May 8, 2021
  • Illustration showing a man climbing a ladder to look in a large mirror

    I Wanted to Find Humility in Hunter Biden’s Book

    • Ana Marie Cox
    May 8, 2021
  • Illustration of Ronald Reagan and '80s musicians

    I Want My Mutually Assured Destruction

    • Tom Nichols
    May 8, 2021
  • Red 'A' on the Atlantic

    The Atlantic Daily: SpaceX Really Might Change American Spaceflight Forever

    • Caroline Mimbs Nyce
    May 7, 2021
  • A Long March 5B rocket lifts off from a launch site in China

    Don’t Fall to Pieces Just Because China’s Rocket Is

    • Marina Koren
    May 7, 2021
  • Chemical plants along the Mississippi River in Louisiana

    ‘One Oppressive Economy Begets Another’

    • Anya Groner
    May 7, 2021
  • A blurred photo of groups of people in blue shirts sitting at tables during the recount in Arizona. A few people in orange shirts are dotted around the room.

    The Unfolding Disaster in Arizona

    • David A. Graham
    May 7, 2021
  • An illustration of a fearful man juxtaposed with a picture of Derrick Bell, legal scholar and the "father of critical race theory," surrounded by his students

    The GOP’s ‘Critical Race Theory’ Obsession

    • Adam Harris
    May 7, 2021
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  • Cartoons of office workers whose bodies are shaped like the letters M, T, W, T, and F. There’s a Perfect Number of Days to Work From Home, and It’s 2
    • Amanda Mull
  • Illustration: Stained glass window with shattered confederate flag and dates 1861 and 1865 Why Confederate Lies Live On
    • Clint Smith
  • Will Hurd gesticulates in a black-and-white photo. The Texas Republican Asking His Party To Just Stop
    • Emma Green
  • A wedding-cake topper covered with a graduation cap How College Became a Ruthless Competition Divorced From Learning
    • Daniel Markovits
  • Two people rest their head on their mother's shoulders while smiley faces circle the mother's head. How Adult Children Affect Their Mother’s Happiness
    • Arthur C. Brooks
  • A blurred photo of groups of people in blue shirts sitting at tables during the recount in Arizona. A few people in orange shirts are dotted around the room. The Unfolding Disaster in Arizona
    • David A. Graham
  • A crying child and two parents are submerged in a sea of tears. A book and report card float in the water behind them. Homeroom: My Child Is Near Tears Every Day—And So Am I
    • Brian Platzer
    • Abby Freireich
  • A soap-opera-style title card featuring an hourglass and the word "Substack" On Substack, You Can Never Go Too Far
    • Helen Lewis
  • Elon Musk on the set of 'Saturday Night Live' Elon Musk Is Not Just a Celebrity
    • Spencer Kornhaber
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Writers

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  • Adam Harris Biden’s ‘Historic’ Funding of Black Colleges
  • Emma Green The Texas Republican Asking His Party To Just Stop
  • Amanda Mull There’s a Perfect Number of Days to Work From Home, and It’s 2
  • Helen Lewis On Substack, You Can Never Go Too Far
  • Clint Smith Why Confederate Lies Live On
  • Spencer Kornhaber Elon Musk Is Not Just a Celebrity
  • Uri Friedman COVID-19 Lays Bare the Price of Populism
  • Caroline Mimbs Nyce The Atlantic Daily: SpaceX Really Might Change American Spaceflight Forever
  • Marina Koren Don’t Fall to Pieces Just Because China’s Rocket Is
  • David A. Graham The Unfolding Disaster in Arizona
  • James Fallows What the Bidens Understand About Community College
  • Katherine J. Wu The J&J Rescue Mission Starts With a Choice

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  • The Experiment cover art

    Listen to the Latest Episode: The Experiment

    Stories From an Unfinished Country

  • Floodlines cover art

    Prologue

    The Story of an Unnatural Disaster

  • Podcast cover art

    Episode 117

    Long COVID Questions Answered

Politics

  • Biden’s ‘Historic’ Funding of Black Colleges
  • The Texas Republican Asking His Party To Just Stop
  • I’d Do It Again

Culture

  • Elon Musk Is Not Just a Celebrity
  • The ‘Blurred Existence’ of Motherhood
  • ‘One Oppressive Economy Begets Another’

Technology

  • The Trump Decision Turned Content Moderation Into Shark Week
  • The Original Kings of Esports
  • The Hot-Person Vaccine

Ideas

  • On Substack, You Can Never Go Too Far
  • Why Confederate Lies Live On
  • COVID-19 Lays Bare the Price of Populism

Science

  • A Milwaukee Suburb Is Full of Ultrarare Fossils
  • How Bowhead Whales Live for 200 Years
  • Don’t Fall to Pieces Just Because China’s Rocket Is

Books

  • The Books Briefing: Why the Graphic-Novel Format Can Be Perfect for Memoirists
  • The Bleak Prescience of Richard Wright
  • Women Refusing to Be Like Other Women

Family

  • The Case for Moving Back to Your Hometown
  • How Adult Children Affect Their Mother’s Happiness
  • The Gates Divorce Is About More Than a Marriage

Business

  • The Difference Between First-Degree Racism and Third-Degree Racism
  • The Pandemic Shows Us the Genius of Supermarkets
  • The Looming Bank Collapse

Global

  • Photos of the Week: Glass Ceiling, Blue Grotto, Lava Glow
  • Robots Are Everywhere
  • Purgatory at Sea

Health

  • There’s a Perfect Number of Days to Work From Home, and It’s 2
  • The J&J Rescue Mission Starts With a Choice
  • Podcast: Long-COVID Questions Answered

Education

  • Homeroom: I’m Concerned About Wokeness at My Child’s School
  • Homeroom: How Can I Get My Husband’s Ex to Agree on Homework Rules?
  • My Kid Can’t Write an Essay Without Having a Meltdown

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