Graeme Wood

Graeme Wood is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Way of the Strangers: Encounters With the Islamic State.

Gérard DuBois

The Awful Wisdom of the Hostage

What a new memoir reveals about endurance—and extreme remorse
- Graeme Wood
- May 2021 Issue
Mark Peterson / Redux

A Black Army Rises to Fight the Racist Right

A man calling himself Grandmaster Jay has raised a disciplined, heavily armed militia. It has yet to fire a shot at its enemies, but it’s prepared for war.
- Graeme Wood
- April 2, 2021
Jason Kempin / Getty

America Has Forgotten How to Forgive

The revolt against Alexi McCammond shows that even Teen Vogue doesn’t think teens deserve a sin jubilee.
- Graeme Wood
- March 19, 2021
U.S. Embassy Switzerland / AP

The Princeton Historian Mugged by Reality

Since being freed from Iranian detention, Xiyue Wang has been unrelenting in his criticism of the authoritarian country—and some American elites’ attempt at rapprochement.
- Graeme Wood
- March 17, 2021
LISE ASERUD / AFP / Getty

Royals Could Choose Ordinary Anonymity

But they don’t. Expect more scandals in the future.
- Graeme Wood
- March 9, 2021
BULENT KILIC / AFP / Getty

Murderers Should Be Called Murderers

Frequently and to their faces
- Graeme Wood
- February 26, 2021
Shutterstock / The Atlantic

What to Do With Trumpists

The proper response to these extremists isn’t counterterrorism. It is mental hygiene.
- Graeme Wood
- January 19, 2021
Leah Millis / Reuters

The Sun Is Up. Impeach and Convict.

What can we take away from yesterday’s coup attempt?
- Graeme Wood
- January 7, 2021
Alex Wong / Getty

The Professor and the Madman

If Jill Biden wants to flaunt her Ed.D., who are we to object?
- Graeme Wood
- December 14, 2020
Cliff Owen / Charles Dharapak / Jose Luis …

Biden’s Sleepily Reassuring Appointments

If you wonder how Biden’s appointees will govern, just close your eyes and imagine yourself back to 2016.
- Graeme Wood
- November 23, 2020
Nicolas Ortega

The Next Decade Could Be Even Worse

A historian believes he has discovered iron laws that predict the rise and fall of societies. He has bad news.
- Graeme Wood
- December 2020 Issue
Alex Brandom / AP / The Atlantic

The New York Times Owes the Public an Explanation

Anonymous was just a little gremlin all along.
- Graeme Wood
- October 29, 2020
JIM WATSON / AFP / Getty

He Won’t Concede, but He’ll Pack His Bags

All evidence suggests that the president would run from the responsibility of overseeing the violent fracture of America.
- Graeme Wood
- October 15, 2020
Getty / Katie Martin / The Atlantic

Only About 3.5 Percent of Americans Care About Democracy

A recent study reveals that vanishingly few voters will defect from a candidate who acts undemocratically.
- Graeme Wood
- September 30, 2020
Getty / The Atlantic

End the Nobel Peace Prize

The Trump nomination shows that peace had its chance, and blew it.
- Graeme Wood
- September 11, 2020
Shutterstock / The Atlantic

The Pinnacle of Looting Apologia

If the real, lasting change you wish to effect is burning society to cinders, then perhaps looting is the right tool.
- Graeme Wood
- September 2, 2020
Alex Lourie/Redux

Kyle Rittenhouse, Kenosha, and the Sheepdog Mentality

Rittenhouse appears to live in a fantasy world where police and car dealerships are more endangered than unarmed Black men, and where he is a warrior.
- Graeme Wood
- August 28, 2020
Culture Club / Getty / The Atlantic

Why the UAE Made Peace With Israel

WhatsApp diplomacy seems to have worked for the Trump administration.
- Graeme Wood
- August 13, 2020
AP / The Atlantic

The Families of ISIS’s Victims Are Asking for Justice

The Trump administration faces a choice on how to proceed against two men.
- Graeme Wood
- August 4, 2020
Courtesy of Disney Parks / The Atlantic

I Went to Disney World

As the coronavirus pandemic ravaged Florida, the Magic Kingdom welcomed back its most loyal subjects—and me.
- Graeme Wood
- July 27, 2020

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