Tucker Carlson’s Manufactured America
The Fox host has a new daytime show, and he’s using it to poison the meaning of patriotism.
Frontiers of Sports
Where Did ‘Synchronized Swimming’ Go?
More than 30 years after its Olympic debut, the sport was rebranded as “artistic swimming”—a controversial move that athletes fear could backfire.
Pop Is Making Happiness Sound Pretty Dreary Lately
Lorde heads to the beach. Lana Del Rey sings of peace. Billie Eilish is happier than ever. But it doesn’t quite sound like a celebration.
Your Favorite Art-House Film From 2001
On Monday, we asked you to vote for your favorite art-house film from 2001. The results are in.
Watching Olympic Skateboarding Among 20 Skeptical, Aging Skaters
Skateboarders like myself feared that the activity’s mainstream debut would change our culture. Instead, we left our mark on the Games.
The Suicide Squad Pushes the Limits of Taste
In the film, edgy shock value meets Hollywood sentimentality, resulting in a superhero movie unlike most others in the genre.
The Would-Be Savior of Patagonia
Are environmental crusaders like Douglas Tompkins good for the planet?
Joseph Campbell’s Woman Problem
In the writer’s classic study of world myths, women were in the background. A new book aims to change that.
Hot Vax Summer Crumbled Before My Eyes
Over the course of one week in Provincetown, a new reality set in: Post-vaccine life wasn’t going to be as simple as it had seemed.
The Most Surreal Aspect of Returning to the Office
Back at The Atlantic after the long pandemic exile, I discovered pages from an unfinished issue of the magazine, written and illustrated in a different world.
Welcome to the Afterparty of the American Dream
Anthony Veasna So’s electric story collection sketches a world where the lights are dimmer, the truths blurrier, the hangover incoming.
Robin DiAngelo and the Problem With Anti-racist Self-Help
What two new books reveal about the white progressive pursuit of racial virtue
Dwayne Johnson Misunderstands His Own Star Appeal
In Disney’s Jungle Cruise, the actor plays a typical hero—and ignores the qualities that make him so magnetic on-screen.
Stillwater Isn’t a Typical True-Crime Drama
The director Tom McCarthy is known for subtle, well-acted character films that take surprising narrative turns. His latest work is no exception.
Squander
When Pursuing Love Is the Only Option
A new Amazon adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s beloved 1945 novel resists the conventions of costume drama to make a more pointed argument.
Down With Morning People
Morning people fizzle. Non-morning people get stronger as the day wears on.
Lil Nas X, DaBaby, and the Incoherence of Homophobia
Anti-gay bigotry is on the defensive in hip-hop right now.
Why Do We Look Down On Lonely People?
A new graphic novel argues that even though social isolation is extremely common, it is too easily maligned.
Why So Many Millennials Are Obsessed With Dogs
The only thing getting me through my 30s is a cranky, agoraphobic chihuahua named Midge.
What Simone Biles Understands About Greatness
In walking away from an Olympic event, the world’s best gymnast rejected the false dichotomy between personal well-being and professional excellence.
The Green Knight Is One of 2021’s Best Movies
David Lowery’s film starring Dev Patel is a dreamy piece of high fantasy that turns an age-old tale into something to be puzzled over anew.