The Discarded

From The Atlantic. Last year, there was a mass exodus of federal workers: Some were pushed out, while others left on their own. All in all, more than 300,000 Americans left government jobs. The Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer spent months talking to dozens of them, finding out who they were, what they did, and…

Why Trump Sides With Putin

From The Atlantic. On this week’s episode of “The David Frum Show,” The Atlantic’s David Frum examines one of the most consequential deceptions of the Trump presidency: the insistence that grocery prices are falling when Americans know from lived experience that they are not. David explains how tariffs and trade policy are deliberately driving food…

65 Essential Children’s Books

From The Atlantic. The beautiful illustrations of “The Mitten,” the humor of “A Baby Sister for Frances,” the lessons of “Miss Rumphius”—these are some of what our editors loved from The Atlantic’s 65 essential children’s books.

A Romance That Actually Takes Sex Seriously

From The Atlantic. “Heated Rivalry,” the Canadian ice-hockey TV series that’s become a phenomenon, “knows the value of good sex scenes,” Faith Hill argues. The series shows the scenes “not for thrills or laughs or snapshots of a fleeting moment but for illustrating how the characters’ relationship develops, touch by touch, over time. It takes…

Why Crypto Is Much Riskier Than Normal Investments

From The Atlantic. Some crypto investors don’t understand the level of risk they’re taking—and now government regulators are backing away from new consumer protections, Molly White tells Anne Applebaum. “There were many instances where people lost their funds and they said, ‘I thought I had the same protections as a bank.’” Listen to the full…

The Internet Was Built to Objectify Women

From The Atlantic. In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel confronts the growing crisis around AI-generated sexual abuse and the culture of impunity enabling it. He examines how Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok is being used to create and circulate nonconsensual sexualized images, often targeting women. Warzel lays out why this moment represents a red…

New Money, New Powers

From The Atlantic. Brandon LaRoque kept his life savings in a cryptocurrency account. One morning, as he went to check his balance, he discovered that it was all missing. LaRoque is one of many victims of the unregulated crypto industry. President Donald Trump has rolled back regulation of the industry, while he and his family…

Crypto Corruption

From The Atlantic. Brandon LaRoque kept his life savings in a cryptocurrency account. One morning, as he went to check his balance, he discovered that it was all missing. LaRoque is one of many victims of the unregulated crypto industry. President Donald Trump has rolled back regulation of the industry, while he and his family…

Will ICE Get Away With This?

From The Atlantic. Tensions are high in Minneapolis this week. The Trump administration is sending more federal agents. Protesters are calling for justice for the killing of an unarmed citizen. But what could actually happen legally? Especially when the Department of Justice seems more interested in trying to open a criminal investigation into the victim’s…

A Conversation with Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes

From The Atlantic. Recorded in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 13, 2026, this fireside chat features Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in conversation with Atlantic staff writer Yvonne Wingett Sanchez. As the country approaches the 2026 midterm elections, Fontes discusses Arizona’s efforts to safeguard election integrity, protect voters, and strengthen democratic trust. This conversation was…

A Conversation with Ambassador Jeff Flake

From The Atlantic. Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and U.S. Senator Jeff Flake joins Atlantic contributor Evan Smith to talk about America’s position on the global stage. Recorded in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 13, 2026, this conversation comes as the United States enters the second year of an increasingly isolationist administration, raising timely questions about…

Trump Has Redefined Presidential Scandal | The David Frum Show

From The Atlantic. On this week’s episode of “The David Frum Show,” The Atlantic’s David Frum discusses the menacing crises the Trump presidency is inflicting on the United States and its own movement to start 2026. David speculates that the recent lethal ICE incident in Minneapolis, Trump’s increasingly unhinged rhetoric, and the targeting of Jerome…

Historian: How Trump Differs From Nixon

From The Atlantic. We have “a president with similar, but not identical, dark impulses” to Richard Nixon—but who uniquely “has no sense of shame and no guardrails,” Tim Naftali, the first director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, tells David Frum. Subscribe to watch the latest episode of "The David Frum Show":

Elon Musk’s Grok and the Mass Undressing Scandal

From The Atlantic. Galaxy Brain’s Charlie Warzel reacts to the nightmare playing out on Elon Musk’s X. Subscribe to the “Galaxy Brain” newsletter: https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/sign-up/galaxy-brain/?utm_source=podcast-warzel Subscribe to the “Galaxy Brain” podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/galaxy-brain/id1378618386 Subscribe to the “Galaxy Brain” podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/542WHgdiDTJhEjn1Py4J7n Follow The Atlantic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic/?hl=en Get more from your favorite Atlantic…

Grok’s “Mass-Undressing Spree” Crossed a Line

From The Atlantic. “This is, like, basic human decency: that we shouldn’t have tools that can very easily create viral content of women and children being undressed against their will.” Grok’s “mass-undressing spree” and the lack of urgency from X and other platforms to address it have crossed a dangerous line, Charlie Warzel argues. Watch…

ICE and the National Guard Are Acting with Impunity

From The Atlantic. The transformation of ICE into a type of national police force, backed, in some cases, by soldiers from the National Guard, has been covered as immigration story—but these forces are reshaping democracy for all of us. This shift was evident even before the shootings in Minneapolis and Portland this week. In this…

ICE and the National Guard Are Acting with Impunity

From The Atlantic. The transformation of ICE into a type of national police force, backed, in some cases, by soldiers from the National Guard, has been covered as immigration story—but these forces are reshaping democracy for all of us. This shift was evident even before the shootings in Minneapolis and Portland this week. In this…

Grok’s ‘Digital Undressing’ Crisis and a Manifesto to Build a Better Internet

From The Atlantic. In this episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel discusses the nightmare playing out on Elon Musk’s X: Grok, the platform’s embedded AI chatbot, is being used to generate and spread nonconsensual sexualized images—often through “undressing” prompts that turn harassment into a viral game. Warzel describes how what once lived on the internet’s…

ICE and the National Guard Are Acting with Impunity

From The Atlantic. The transformation of ICE into a type of national police force, backed, in some cases, by soldiers from the National Guard, has been covered as immigration story—but these forces are reshaping democracy for all of us. This shift was evident even before the shootings in Minneapolis and Portland this week. In this…

“The  Biggest Mistake Any President Has Made in the History of This Country.”

From The Atlantic. Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) on White House threats to use the military to take Greenland. Subscribe to the “Radio Atlantic” podcast on Apple Podcasts: Follow The Atlantic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatlantic/?hl=en Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight…

‘Aren’t We Supposed to Be the Good Guys Here?’

From The Atlantic. President Donald Trump likely won’t listen to this podcast, but Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona has a warning for him: Any attempt to take Greenland using military force will probably go down as the biggest mistake made by a president in all of U.S. history. In this conversation with Kelly, we discuss…

Trump’s FAFO Doctrine

From The Atlantic. The country that introduced the Truman Doctrine, the Reagan Doctrine, and—Trump’s apparent favorite—the Monroe Doctrine “now embraces the plainest and most ostentatiously bellicose of national-security policies,” Missy Ryan and Ashley Parker report.

Is the U.S. Running Venezuela or Not?

From The Atlantic. After the Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured by U.S. forces over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced that America would now “run” Venezuela. Staff writers Vivian Salama and Michael Scherer break down what might happen next (https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/01/trump-nicolas-maduro-venezuela/685493/) —and what Trump told The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/2026/01/trump-venezuela-maduro-delcy-rodriguez/685497/) the day after the…

Even Close Allies Are Asking Why Trump Wants to Run Venezuela

From The Atlantic. Even some of Donald Trump’s closest allies are unnerved by his brash approach to ousting Venezuela’s leader, Atlantic staff writers report. Vivian Salama on the challenges Trump now faces—both in Venezuela and at home. Read more at the link. Credit: Anadolu, Jesus Vargas, Bloomberg Creative, E+, AFP, Luis James, Jim Watson, Bloomberg,…

Bonus Episode: How Is Trump Planning to ‘Run’ Venezuela? (With Anne Applebaum) | The David Frum Show

From The Atlantic. David Frum is joined by The Atlantic’s Anne Applebaum to react to the news of the American raid and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, in a special episode of The David Frum Show. Sign up for David Frum’s newsletter alert to find out when a new story is published: https://www.theatlantic.com/author/david-frum/?follow=true&utm_campaign=frum-yt Subscribe…

Ashley Parker Behind the Byline

From The Atlantic. Ashley Parker has dubbed the cowboy boot the perfect work professional shoe. She has worn pairs from her collection to the halls of Congress, to Washington galas, and even to interview the president. This is “Behind the Byline,” a series from The Atlantic that lets you get to know the people behind…

No Easy Fix | An Update on Evan

From The Atlantic. In July, we published a series of stories about San Francisco’s attempt to address a crisis unfolding on the city’s streets. We followed Evan, who had been homeless for years, as he sought an escape from the addiction that was threatening his life. Four months later, we check in on how he’s…

The Best TV Shows of 2025

From The Atlantic. Many of the years’ biggest TV shows flaunted wealth—but the shows Atlantic critics Sophie Gilbert and Shirley Li loved most this year demonstrated that moving and ingenious narratives still exist on screen. See all their choices at the link: https://theatln.tc/PoGtyE4s Credit: FX; Ricardo Moreira / Getty Images for Disney; Peacock; HBO Max;…

Behind the Byline with David Graham

From The Atlantic. David A. Graham can’t just name a Grateful Dead song after hearing only the first few bars—he can get pretty close to naming the year concert recordings were made. In “Behind the Byline,” a series from The Atlantic that lets you get to know the people behind our journalism, the lifelong Deadhead…