Books and Ideas

The Confederate flag is seen waving behind the monument of the victims of the Confederation Army during the American Civil War in front of the State Congress building in Columbia, South Carolina, on June 19, 2015.

The Heritage of Dylann Roof The Heritage of Dylann Roof

Ten years after the Charleston massacre, reverence for the Confederacy that Roof idolized is going strong.

Jun 17, 2025 / Elizabeth Robeson

Black and white closeup of Brian Wilson's face in 1980.

Brian Wilson (1942–2025) Outlived the Times He Helped Define Brian Wilson (1942–2025) Outlived the Times He Helped Define

When the Beach Boys front man died, the obituaries described him as a genius. Which means what, exactly?

Jun 17, 2025 / Sid Holt

Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades

Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades Greater America Has Been Exporting Disunion for Decades

So why are we still surprised when the tide of blood reaches our own shores? Some personal reflections on Marco Rubio and me—and the roots of Trump’s imperial ambitions.

Jun 16, 2025 / Feature / Viet Thanh Nguyen

Atlantic editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg speaks during the opening night of the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University on March 27, 2025.

How Jeffrey Goldberg and “The Atlantic” Blew “the Biggest Story of the Year” How Jeffrey Goldberg and “The Atlantic” Blew “the Biggest Story of the Year”

Given advance warning of an impending war crime, the former cheerleader for the Iraq war decided his priority was to protect his scoop.

Jun 13, 2025 / JoAnn Wypijewski

Boiling Summer Heat

Boiling Summer Heat Boiling Summer Heat

Amphibians are dying to warn us.

Jun 12, 2025 / OppArt / Peter Kuper

Nation Poetry

Nothing Survives Without Food Nothing Survives Without Food

Jun 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Leah Naomi Green

Nation Poetry

Take Care Take Care

Jun 10, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Michael Prior

These Dis-United States

These Dis-United States These Dis-United States

The country and the nation: Fifty writers and artists report on the states of our dis-union.

Jun 10, 2025 / Feature / Various Contributors

If Trump Could Make John Wayne the Head of Homeland Security, He Would

If Trump Could Make John Wayne the Head of Homeland Security, He Would If Trump Could Make John Wayne the Head of Homeland Security, He Would

Trump’s appeal stems from the way he combines restoration and revolution. His reactionary modernism may have beguiled Silicon Valley, but the rest of us should expect repression.

Jun 10, 2025 / Column / John Ganz

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