Why Are People Weird About Only Children?
“Onlies” don’t seem to be any worse off than kids with siblings. So why do stereotypes about them persist?
The Atlantic
The Atlantic covers news, politics, culture, technology, health, and more, through its articles, podcasts, videos, and flagship magazine.
The Quick Therapy That Actually Works
Just a few hours of therapy-like interventions can reduce some people’s anxiety.
Memories of Green
I was as vapour in the blue airs of summer and knew no bounds. — Simone de Beauvoir
The Race That Put Ford on the Map
At the dawn of the automobile age, four teams set out to test the limits of their machines—and of human endurance.
Trump’s 250th Celebration Is a Fiasco
The president has turned a solemn occasion into a Day of Trump.
Fold Laundry With Me!
The nation’s welcome mats have been doing a lot less welcoming lately. Although Americans have been spending much more time at home in recent years—an hour and 39 minutes more a day in 2022 than in 2003—they aren’t inviting other people in. The percentage of people who hosted or attended a social event on an average day has fallen by 50 percent over the past couple of decades. Socializing of any kind declined over that same period, and isolation rose. These days, it seems, home is where people go to be alone.
L.A.’s Lose-Lose-Lose Primary
The mayoral race is a staging ground for three of the most unfortunate tendencies in American politics.
The Monster That Doesn’t Announce Itself
A new Broadway play about Roald Dahl and his prejudice captures uncomfortable truths.
The Arc of the Voting Rights Act
Louisiana Republicans erased a majority-Black congressional district.
Seven Books You’ll Never Outgrow
Some stories are worth revisiting at every stage of life.
The Hidden Cost of Cheap TVs
Screens have gotten inexpensive—and they’re watching you back.
The Quietly Changing Consensus on Neutering Dogs
A growing body of research has documented the health risks of getting certain breeds fixed early—so why aren’t shelters changing their policies?
The Hardest Things to Say to One Another
Even the most close-knit families can leave important subjects unspoken.
Trump’s Approach to Global Leadership
A discussion on the state of negotiations in Iran, what the future may hold for Ukraine, the U.S.’s relationship with Cuba, and more
The Trump Administration Is Done With Social Science
The National Science Foundation division that covers social, behavioral, and economic sciences is in the crosshairs.
How to Make the End of World War II Feel Like a Surprise
The new film Pressure offers a freshly suspenseful take on D-Day.
The Pope’s Admirers Are Missing Something
Leo’s new encyclical challenges much more than Big Tech.
America Has a Pangram Problem
AI-detection tools are getting better. But they still aren’t good enough.
The Feeling of Control Slipping Away
Back in the web-traffic-obsessed days of 2018, at a time of dawning awareness of how easily audiences online could be manipulated and spoofed by bots, the writer Max Read argued that the internet had crossed a threshold known as “the Inversion.” Not only had bots proliferated across the internet; they had come to constitute it. In outnumbering humans, bots were also loosening everyone’s grasp on the very reality of online experience. “What’s gone from the internet, after all, isn’t ‘truth,’ but trust: the sense that the people and things we encounter are what they represent themselves to be,” Read wrote.
How Rural America Steals Girls’ Futures
“Boy crazy” was what people called it. “She was so boy crazy,” I would hear about my girlfriends. I never heard the reverse, that a boy was “girl crazy.” Girls having crushes, sneaking out at night to have fun: It seems innocent enough. But in my small, conservative town, a “wrong” choice at a young age could cut girls off from their future dreams, leaving them mired in despair.
