To Understand Today’s Left, Remember Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Can the late senator show his party how to win again?
Where Stranger Things Lost Itself
The Netflix drama’s final season settles for “compulsively watchable.” Is that all we get?
Dusty Pillars
Day 25 of the 2025 Space Telescope Advent Calendar
Watching Someone Fail Shouldn’t Be So Fun
In Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet delivers both cringe and charisma.
Is Victor Wembanyama Too Tall?
Why it’s hard to watch the NBA’s most promising young talent
Netflix vs. Paramount
Whoever wins … we lose?
How to Follow the Right Star
The ancient Christmas story of the Magi contains a message that can guide your modern search for happiness.
So This Is Why Trump Didn’t Want to Release the Epstein Files
The latest batch includes many new references to Trump—and enough ammunition for Congress to keep pressing.
An Idiosyncratic Christmas Playlist
A roundup of songs that evoke a new nostalgia
Why Has Comedy Become So Right-Wing?
The Atlantic’s Helen Lewis on the Riyadh Comedy Festival, why comedians are attracted to conspiracy theories, and the rise of the right-wing comedy-podcast industrial complex. Plus: the importance of NATO and David’s reflections on Edith Wharton’s Autres Temps.
Stop Defending Bari Weiss
It is impossible to take her actions at face value given the context in which she is operating.
A Gravitational Lens
Day 24 of the 2025 Space Telescope Advent Calendar
The Other Way the ‘Super Woke’ Left Discriminates
Race and gender aren’t the only categories that determine who gets special treatment.
Why Did We Ever Watch To Catch a Predator?
A new documentary probes the influential Dateline series—and the titillating nature of true crime itself.
What I Lost When I Gave Up My Catholicism
Can the Church bring back the formerly faithful?
The Writer Fueled by Life’s Randomness
Rabih Alameddine, who won the National Book Award last month, has described his idiosyncratic approach as “childish rebelliousness.”
Get Ready to Start Hearing About Aileen Cannon Again
The Florida-based judge is likely to once again play a central role in politics in the new year.
ChatGPT Needs More Cowbell
AI struggles to write a good jingle.
Claudia Sheinbaum’s Impossible Dilemma
The threat of U.S. strikes on cartels could upend a century of delicate relations with Mexico.
The Sound of a Charlie Brown Christmas
Growing up, my holidays were profoundly shaped by the soundtrack to a classic animated special.
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