U.S.

Your Stories of Racism: Beyond Black and White

In our third installment of a series prompted by Ta-Nehisi Coates’s "Letter to My Son,” his non-black readers share their experiences with bigotry.

• The Editors
• July 17, 2015

Twenty-Four Counts of Murder in Aurora

A jury took just over 12 hours to find James Holmes guilty of the 2012 massacre at a Colorado movie theater.

• Adam Chandler
• July 16, 2015

Finding Humanity in Gone With the Wind

The classic novel shows that individual lives cannot be reduced to competing sets of political convictions.

• Cass R. Sunstein
• July 16, 2015

Your Stories of Racism: Part II

Readers continue to share their experiences with racial prejudice, prompted by Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Letter to My Son.”

• The Editors
• July 15, 2015

America and Iran, at Walden Pond

From his tiny room in Tehran, an Iranian scholar imagined what a classic American scene would look like. Here is what happened when he had a chance to see for himself.

• James Fallows
• July 15, 2015

Even Nuns Aren't Exempt From Obamacare's Birth-Control Mandate

A federal appeals court rules that the Little Sisters of the Poor received a sufficient religious accommodation.

• Emma Green
• July 14, 2015

No, Dammit, Cities Are Not Dead!

The man who modernized New York angrily takes on his critics in a 1962 essay.

• Sommer Mathis
• July 14, 2015

Your Stories of Racism

After posting his "Letter to My Son,” Ta-Nehisi Coates asked his readers to share their experiences with racial prejudice. Below is the first batch of many.

• The Editors
• July 13, 2015

Incarceration, Education, Emancipation

Learning opportunities in prison offer a form of freedom that’s important not only for the individual criminal, but also for society as a whole.

• Eric Anthamatten
• July 13, 2015

Keep Body Cameras Off Public-School Educators

An Iowa school district is among the first in the nation to outfit its principals with the devices.

• Conor Friedersdorf
• July 10, 2015

The Moment for Criminal-Justice Reform?

With a bipartisan consensus in Congress, President Obama seeks an overhaul of the nation’s crowded, costly prison system.

• Russell Berman
• July 10, 2015

The Hack That Took Down an Agency Director

Katherine Archuleta, the director of the Office of Personnel Management, resigned after the true extent of a massive federal cyberbreach was revealed.

• Adam Chandler
• July 9, 2015

Republican Defenders of the Confederate Flag Derail a Spending Bill

As South Carolina voted to haul down the banner, its supporters in the U.S. Capitol took up its cause.

• Russell Berman
• July 9, 2015

Baltimore's Mayor Fires Her Police Commissioner

Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said that a recent crime spree in West Baltimore, and not police brutality or the handling of recent riots, was the reason for her decision.

• David A. Graham
• July 8, 2015

Why Would a Fighter Jet and a Little Cessna Be in the Same Part of the Sky?

A mid-air collision in South Carolina is a reminder that there’s only so much airspace to go around.

• James Fallows
• July 7, 2015

The Man Behind 'Burt's Bees'

Burt Shavitz, the eccentric namesake of the cosmetics juggernaut, co-founded a billion-dollar company, but lived a relatively low-key life.

• Adam Chandler
• July 6, 2015

Seeing the World Through the Eyes of Chimpanzees

Farah Pandith cites Jane Goodall as a figure who helped her learn the value of different perspectives.

• Conor Friedersdorf
• July 4, 2015

The High Stakes of Singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’

Twenty-five years ago, Roseanne Barr sparked national fury when she delivered an off-key rendition in San Diego. But the reasons behind outrage and praise for various interpretations have as much to do with politics as musical talent.

• John Florio and Ouisie Shapiro
• July 4, 2015

The Tragedy of Glenn Ford

Freed last March from Death Row after serving 29 years for a crime he didn’t commit, the Louisiana native died Monday of lung cancer.

• Matt Schiavenza
• July 3, 2015