Culture

illustration of two hands holding a copy of the book The Let Them Theory
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Stefanie Keenan / Getty.

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.

A historic photo of the Abbey Theater
Illustration by Anna Ruch / The Atlantic. Sources: Bettmann / Getty; Elinor Darwin.

What the U.S. Could Learn From an Irish Theater

For 100 years, Ireland’s Abbey Theatre has shown that a publicly funded troupe can deliver cultural riches and hard truths.

A typographic moving image that says "The Atlantic Year in Visuals 2025"

The Atlantic’s Favorite Images of the Year

Every single story The Atlantic publishes includes art—documentary photography, conceptual illustrations, 3-D animation, handmade collages, paintings, and more—that provides readers with another lens through which they can understand and experience a given subject or idea. The Atlantic’s art department created and commissioned thousands of images in 2025; here is a collection of some of our favorites. We hope they make you think.