Politics & Policy
The Future of the American Idea
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Projects
KING
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Horace Cort / AP / Mike Cassese / ... King's Death Gave Birth to Hip-Hop
The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. led directly to hip-hop, an era of black American culture, politics, and art that is often contrasted with his legacy.
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Projects
The Trump Presidency: A Damage Report
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Mike McQuade How Trump Is Ending the American Era
For all the visible damage the president has done to the nation’s global standing, things are much worse below the surface.
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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Reuters A Fitting Shrine for John McCain’s Funeral
The Arizona senator joins three presidents and a host of other celebrated Americans who have had funeral services at the soaring Washington National Cathedral.
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Joshua Roberts / Reuters Trump’s Divisive and Relentless Politicization of the NFL
Mark Leibovich argues in his new book, Big Game, that the president has made the league central to his politics, pitting his largely white base against the mostly African American players.
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Ken Cedeno / Getty John McCain's Anachronistic Memorial
Friday’s ceremony on Capitol Hill felt plucked from a different chapter of the nation’s history, and offered a rare reprieve from presidential drama.
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Morry Gash / AP The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Honoring Giants
Mourners paid tribute to the late Arizona Senator John McCain and singer Aretha Franklin.
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Radio Atlantic: The Endless Devastation of Hurricane Season
A year after Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, we finally know: the hurricane season of 2017 was one of the deadliest in North America in a century. What have we learned in the aftermath?
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Chris Wattie / Reuters Mike Pence and His Talent for Being Absent
In the swirl of headlines around President Trump and the White House, Vice President Mike Pence hardly merits a mention.
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Jacquelyn Martin / AP Trump’s Top Targets in the Russia Probe Are Experts in Organized Crime
Some of President Trump’s favorite targets in the Russia probe have spent their careers in the Justice Department and the FBI investigating organized crime and money laundering, particularly as they pertain to Russia.
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Andrew Harnik / AP The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Area Boss Canceling Pay Raises
In a letter to House and Senate leaders, President Trump said he wants to cancel pay raises for civilian federal workers that were set to take effect in January.
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Charles Krupa / AP When Having a Progressive Record Isn’t Enough
Ayanna Pressley’s challenge to the Democrat Mike Capuano in Massachusetts shows how the left is looking for candidates with “lived experience.”
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Eric Gay / AP How the Democratic Party Can Turn the Sun Belt Blue
From Florida to Texas, November’s elections provide an opening for Democrats to shift the balance of power—and make up for lost ground in the heartland.
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Yoshi Sodeoka Why Technology Favors Tyranny
Artificial intelligence could erase many practical advantages of democracy, and erode the ideals of liberty and equality. It will further concentrate power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it.
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Mary Altaffer / AP The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Here Today, McGahn Tomorrow
President Trump said White House Counsel Don McGahn will leave the White House this fall after the presumed confirmation of Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Brett Kavanaugh.
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Steve Cannon / AP ‘One of the Most Brutal Races in the Country’ Has Just Begun in Florida
The general election for governor will feature two candidates—a black progressive and a Trump-loving conservative—who could not be more different.
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Alex Wroblewski / Reuters Don McGahn Was the Most Productive Person in Trump's White House
The White House counsel outlasted many other top administration officials and oversaw judicial appointments, the president’s single biggest achievement.
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Conor Ralph / Reuters Arizona’s Voters Have Spoken and Rendered Joe Arpaio Irrelevant
The “toughest sheriff in America,” pardoned by Trump a year ago, was crushed in Tuesday’s Republican Senate primary in Arizona.
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Chuck Burton / AP North Carolina's Gerrymandering Drama Is Only Going to Get Worse
Federal judges have ruled—again—that the state’s congressional map is unconstitutional. But it just used that map to elect candidates for November.
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Hyungwon Kang / Reuters Emails Link Former Homeland Security Official to White Nationalists
The emails show Ian M. Smith, who has resigned his position, to be connected to an incognito social scene that included white-nationalist activists.
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Carlos Giust / AP A Year After Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico Finally Knows How Many People Died
A new, definitive study from George Washington University finds that almost 3,000 people lost their lives—and highlights the government’s failures before and after the storm.
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Don Ryan / AP The Atlantic Politics & Policy Daily: Rage Against the Machine
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the Trump administration is “taking a look” at imposing regulations on Google after the president accused the company of rigging its results.
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Emily Jan / The Atlantic The 22-Year-Old Who Wrote Barack Obama’s Letters
One young White House staffer wrote letters to thousands of citizens on behalf of the president.
