How America Gave Up on Its Own History
Unable to agree on how to interpret the American story, the country’s schools, universities, and political institutions have stopped trying to tell it at all.
Illustration by Stephen Doyle 
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic*
The Atlantic America’s Promise
Julia Ward Howe's “Battle Hymn of the Republic” continues to inspire a nation to realize its ideals.
Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Cut Platner Loose
Just a few years ago, Republicans sacrificed an Alabama Senate seat rather than endure an unacceptable colleague. Will Democrats do the same in Maine?
Illustration by Lucy Jones The Two Kinds of American Patriotism
As our nation turns 250, it’s worth asking how best to love one’s country.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Ishika Samant / Getty Why Trump Wants to Celebrate His Birthday With a Cage Fight
The president has chosen blood sport as the day’s entertainment for a reason.
Ramil Sitdikov / AFP / Getty What’s Eating ‘Putin’s Brain’?
Even Russia’s leading warmonger has run out of ways to justify the Ukraine invasion.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Steve Russell / Toronto Star / Getty. The Absurd World Cup
FIFA’s president calls football a great unifier, but is it a match for the chaos of 2026?
Focus Features Obsession Knows What the TikTok Generation Fears Most
Avoiding vulnerability comes with ghastly consequences.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP The Congresswoman Who Got Trump’s Name Off the Kennedy Center
Representative Joyce Beatty sued over the president’s control of the arts complex. The effort to keep it open isn’t over.
The Last of the D-Day Veterans
Joe Picard is one of the few left with a personal memory of the 20th century’s greatest military operation.
Julia Sellmann The Last Children of Down Syndrome
Prenatal testing is changing who gets born and who doesn’t. This is just the beginning. (From 2020)
Ziyu Wang / Connected Archives American Summers Are Starting to Feel Like Winter
Extreme weather is keeping more people stuck inside. (From 2025)
Universal History Archive / UIG via Getty First Wave at Omaha Beach
An account of the “epic human tragedy” that unfolded when Allied troops landed on the shores of Normandy on D-Day (From 1960)
Lisel Ashlock Walking
The writer extols the virtues of immersing oneself in nature and laments the inevitable encroachment of private ownership upon the wilderness. (From 1862)
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Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty radio atlantic•Episode 186Is the GOP Starting to Defy Trump?
Republicans aren’t automatically falling in line anymore.
Courtesy of Kate Shaw the david frum show•Episode 62How to Save the Supreme Court From Itself
Kate Shaw on reforming the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus: extremism in the Democratic Party, and the history of the word graduate.
Illustration by Renee Klahr / The Atlantic galaxy brain•Episode 31The Old Campaign Playbook Is Dead
How influencers, podcasts, and AI are rewriting the rules of political campaigns
LIMITED SERIESAutocracy in America
There are authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States. To root them out, you have to know where to look.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. how to age up•Episode 6How to Age Up on a Warming Planet
Younger generations are having a hard time imagining their future.
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