Ideas

Boris Johnson’s Fake Populism Reaches Its Logical End

A prime minister’s absurd posturing led to his undoing—and will keep haunting his country.

The Most Pathetic Men in America

Why Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy, and so many other cowards in Congress are still doing Trump’s bidding.

Here Lies Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson’s dishonesty finally led to his downfall.

Take Away the President’s Immunity

No legal doctrine should shield anyone—including Donald Trump, if reelected—from prosecution for criminal wrongdoing.

How the UN Security Council Can Reinvent Itself

The most powerful body of the most global organization has proved unable to address the world’s most pressing problems.

Six Reasons the Murder Clearance Rate Is at an All-Time Low

For the past 60 years, U.S. detectives have gotten worse at one of the most basic jobs of law enforcement.

College Football Is Cannibalizing Itself

In pursuit of money, universities and conferences are uprooting traditional rivalries and regional loyalties.

Let’s Use Chicago Rules to Beat Russia

Why the U.S. adversary is a lot like Al Capone

A Crisis Historian Has Some Bad News for Us

Adam Tooze, a historian of economic disaster, sees a combination of worrisome signs.

The Origin of Vibes

The same commentators who use vibes today might have reached for charisma. But while charisma was admiring and grand, vibes is noncommittal and irreverent.

Let the Rich Have Their Supertalls

American cities need to grow up.

Actually Good News About Voting for a Change

Colorado’s simple plan to increase voter registration is already working.

Hell Yeah, Tom Cruise

The seductions of Top Gun, a movie about a bunch of killing machines vrooming around

America Is in Denial

Too many Americans are blithely dismissing threats that could prove cataclysmic.

Truly Humbled to Be the Author of This Article

How to flaunt your modesty online, in three easy steps

North Carolina Is a Warning

With its even partisan split, its history of racist policies, and its stark urban-rural divide, the state has proved to be a microcosm of national conflicts before.

If It Can Happen in San Francisco, It Can Happen Anywhere

The deep-blue city seems to have grown weary of the more radical elements of the new racial-justice movement.

What Lies Behind That ‘No Trespass’ Sign

Once upon a time in America, people were free to roam. Then came the Civil War, and in its aftermath a new crime was invented.

The January 6 Committee Is Going to Have the Final Word

By establishing an official record of the insurrection, the members are creating clarity in a political moment fogged with lies.

Ukraine Has Exposed Russia as a Not-So-Great Power

Kyiv’s success against Moscow forces us to reexamine our assumptions about what it means to be powerful.