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The First Draft of Cultural History

Lena Dunham’s new memoir is a fascinating primary source of Hollywood in the 2010s.

Photos of the Week: Glacier Performance, Gorilla Birthday, Moon Return

Cherry blossoms in bloom in Japan, preparations for a humanoid-robot half marathon in China, a boisterous water festival in Thailand, a scene from Coachella in California, and much more

States Are Learning the Wrong Lesson From the ‘Mississippi Miracle’

A phonics-based curriculum is only one part of how Mississippi went from worst to first in education. The other part is much harder to pull off.

The DNA Fix for Aging

Everyone’s DNA keeps mutating. Could correcting those errors lead to longevity?

A New Kind of Hybrid Car Is About to Hit America’s Streets

The car industry says it has an answer for drivers wary of going electric.

It’s Not Just Iran. Trump Is Flailing on Multiple Fronts.

The president is on a losing streak, and even some of his aides are dismayed by his choices.

Today’s Atlantic Trivia: First Ladies

Test your knowledge—and read our stories for a little extra help.

Illiberalism Is Not Inevitable

If Viktor Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too.

How to Spot a Frenemy—And Be a Real Friend

That person who poses as your ally but isn’t? Here’s a way to ensure you’re not one.

Sucker

My year as a degenerate gambler

Jared Kushner’s Mysterious Role in the Trump Administration

Is the president’s son-in-law carrying out the public’s business or pursuing his own private interests?

The Terrifying Future of the American Right

What I saw at the National Conservatism Conference

Doxxing Means Whatever You Want It To

The word once defined a category of behaviors. Now it expresses an emotion.

Grandparents Are Reaching Their Limit

Older Americans might be doing more child care than ever.

An Oligarchy of Old People

How elderly Americans amassed disproportionate wealth and power

What Does Lena Dunham Want to Tell Us?

Her new memoir captures the cost of being an impossibly popular target.

What 100 Million Volts Do to the Body and Mind

The odds of being struck by lightning in America in a given year are one in 1.2 million. How does the experience reorient a person’s sense of chance, of fate?

If You Want a Better World, Act Like You Live in It

We’ve had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.

Hegseth’s Unholy War

The defense secretary seems less interested in being on the side of God than on insisting that God is on his side.