The Rise of CliffsNotes Cinema
Oversimplified literary remakes miss the point of the works they are adapting.
Culture
Why Justin Bieber Played YouTube Onstage for Thousands of People
The pop star transformed the normal act of browsing your laptop into something interesting—and unsettling.
The New Age of Performance Anxiety
With the rise of screen culture, all the world has stage fright.
Where Did ‘Let Them’ Come From?
Years before Mel Robbins published her best-selling self-help book, a struggling writer posted a poem with a similar message.
The Human Side of Music’s Prince of Darkness
Ozzy Osbourne was an unruly chaos agent and a beloved family man alike.
When It Feels Good to Root for a Bad Guy
The film Eddington inspires an uncomfortable empathy for its most twisted character.
The One Book Everyone Should Read
The Atlantic’s staffers on the books they share—again and again
Dear James: How to Be a Better Loser?
I love tennis. But competitive defeat derails me.
Chasing le Carré in Corfu
If you’re trying to find someone who doesn’t want to be found, you don’t go to the obvious places.
The Most Dangerous Kind of Friendship
A new novel challenges sentimental ideas about lifelong bonds.
Eight Books That Explain the University Crisis
Now is the perfect time to look with clear eyes at the goals, accomplishments, and failures of higher education.
Your Horses
A poem
Why CBS Snatched Its Talk-Show King’s Crown
The surprise cancellation of The Late Show is just the latest blow to the genre.
A Nasty, Cynical, and Eerily Accurate Look at All-Too-Recent History
What Eddington gets right about life online during the pandemic’s early days