In Orange, France, in front of one of the greatest surviving structures of the Roman empire. Unlike the Colosseum in Rome, which lost much of its outer shell, this Roman theatre still possesses its monumental stage wall, which almost never remains intact elsewhere.

When Thomas Chatterton Williams moved to Paris years ago, he was invited to join a tight-knit band of friends on their recurring guys’ night out. He reflects on why those evenings became the most important social habit of his life:

The Social Ritual That Made Me a Better Man

Long live guys’ night.

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“The last 10 years have seen a radical transformation in French parenting habits, and the blame, according to Goldman, lies with an American import: positive parenting.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/29/m...

Did American-Style ‘Gentle Parenting’ Spoil French Children?

nytimes.com

Ezra Klein attacked Sam Harris and essentially accused him of racism for not having enough black guests on his podcast and then gave Chris Rufo the most softball and deferential interview I could have ever imagined. It’s actually bizarre. Something was really off about it.

Debates about air-conditioning availability in France reveal a fundamental divide about how America and Europe address discomfort, @chatterton.bsky.social argues:

The Overlooked Reason Europe Doesn’t Have AC

Americans and Europeans tend to have very different ideas about physical suffering and sacrifice.

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Today in Paris, where buildings are beautiful and would be visually disfigured by visible AC units

Bandol

The white identitarians have more cultural and political power today than they did at any point in the past half century—and now that DEI and anti-racism are in retreat, they're moving on to a more ambitious goal, @chatterton.bsky.social argues.

The White Identitarians Are Having a Moment

Now that DEI and anti-racism are in retreat, they’re moving on to a more ambitious goal.

bit.ly

The white identitarians have more cultural and political power today than they did at any point in the past half century—and now that DEI and anti-racism are in retreat, they're moving on to a more ambitious goal, @chatterton.bsky.social argues.

The White Identitarians Are Having a Moment

Now that DEI and anti-racism are in retreat, they’re moving on to a more ambitious goal.

bit.ly

“We’d save ourselves an enormous amount of trouble in the future if we’d agree to a simple litmus test: Immediately disregard anyone in the business of selling a vision who proudly proclaims they hate reading,” @chatterton.bsky.social wrote in 2023:

The People Who Don’t Read Books

Identifying as someone who categorically rejects books suggests a much larger deficiency of character.

bit.ly

Alpino

The controversy surrounding the casting of Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy in Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of “The Odyssey” says “more about today’s pathological understanding of identity than it does about classical antiquity,” Thomas Chatterton Williams argues.

The Absurd Misunderstanding Fueling the Debate Over ‘The Odyssey’

Elon Musk’s outrage at Christopher Nolan says more about today’s myopic notion of identity than it does about classical antiquity.

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Shout out to my daughter’s Bengal, Joe, who is a scene stealer and has now appeared in Monocle and Le Monde

Some literary savants have had a complicated relationship with alcohol, Luis Parrales writes. In The Atlantic’s archives, he found stories about how drinking to excess has affected the creative process:

The Origins of Alcohol as a Muse

The complicated relationship that plagued some literary savants

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🤔

“Moral rectitude, in some left-wing corners of the commentariat, is out; flagrant disregard of the social contract is in,” @chatterton.bsky.social argues.

Since When Is Looting a Form of Virtue Signaling?

In some left-wing corners of the commentariat, moral rectitude is out. Flagrant disregard of the social contract is in.

bit.ly

Idaho

Some of America's most powerful tech oligarchs seem pathologically unreflective—yet these are the people who most need to understand themselves, @chatterton.bsky.social argues:

The People Who Think Introspection Is Dumb

For some of America’s tech oligarchs, looking inward seems to be a waste of time better spent moving fast and breaking things.

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www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0... “The people who seem least interested in introspection are also those whose work is most profoundly shaping our collective reality.“

The People Who Think Introspection Is Dumb

For some of America’s tech oligarchs, looking inward seems to be a waste of time better spent moving fast and breaking things.

theatlantic.com

Kind of impressive--if also very disturbing--how Trump can completely contradict himself in a single paragraph.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo ago

Trump: "We're having a hard time. We want to talk to them, and there's nobody to talk to. We have nobody to talk to. And you know what? We like it that way."

Honestly hard to believe how common this kind of comment is on Bluesky. Just the casual tacit approval of lethal violence against political foes draped in a sense of moral superiority. Of course this is how the other side sees things too.

My latest on the reassessment of what constitutes the extreme in French politics after left-wing activists stomped a man to death in Lyon last month: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The Homicide Upending French Politics

A recent killing of a neo-Nazi activist could bring France’s far-right party closer to power than it’s ever been.

theatlantic.com

This is astounding

if b-boy bouiebaisse were to introspect he might draw productive conclusions

“The truest understanding of slavery doesn’t serve any political faction,” @chatterton.bsky.social argues—“rather, it acknowledges the horrors of racial oppression while still allowing us to see beyond them.”

Why MAGA Wants You to Think Slavery Wasn’t That Bad

Both the left and the right try to co-opt it, but the real story of American slavery doesn’t serve any one faction.

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“Sanitizing slavery has become a core objective of the reactionary right—a malignant response to progressives’ oversimplification of American history. But the truest understanding of slavery acknowledges the horrors of racial oppression while still allowing us to see beyond them.” t.co/XrF5UjIlj6

Perhaps more than any other group, looksmaxxers reveal the depth of the moral crisis that confronts young men today. @chatterton.bsky.social in @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

‘Looksmaxxing’ Reveals the Depth of the Crisis Facing Young Men

The most narcissistic corner of the internet is having a moment.

theatlantic.com

Subpoenaing the Fed chair in the middle of a political fight over interest rates is not normal. It’s intimidation. Jerome Powell says he won’t bend—but this sets a dangerous precedent for the independence that keeps inflation in check. open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

Jerome Powell Won’t Be Intimidated. The Institution He Leads Might Not Be So Lucky.

The Federal Reserve has been served with a grand jury subpoena tied to Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony. Powell says he will not be intimidated—but with his term nearing its end.

open.substack.com

Bluesky is such a sealed epistemic vacuum in many corners not a single person points out that just this past September Charlie Kirk literally got his neck blown open in public *by his ideological opponent.*

Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof@evanbernick.bsky.social · 7mo ago

quick question, who is literally eradicating their ideological opponents

@jamellebouie.net I’ve been quite clear in condemning the killing. Even a cursory glance at my twitter, IG or even this Bluesky account I barely use shows you’re dishonest. It’s actually more productive to argue with Megyn Kelly than such a bad faith actor as you.

jamelle@jamellebouie.net · 7mo ago

genuinely fascinating to me that even after an american is executed in the street by the state your instinct is not to condemn and discuss this on its own terms but to use it as fodder for abstraction and discourse policing