Jonathan L. Fischer
@jonfischer.bsky.social
Senior editor at The Atlantic (arts x politics, and much more) and proprietor of http://hedswillroll.tumblr.com.
I note that Slate's excellent "80 Over 80" power list is mentioned in Fauci's diary. He was, of course, named No. 1. slate.com/tag/80-over-80
80 Over 80
The power of America's geriatric set—in politics, in Hollywood, in the culture writ large—has never been clearer.
slate.com
The new Dulles renderings take the best roof in America and make it look like the second best rest stop on I-95.
Despite the whining about “ historical accuracy,” the racist backlash to the casting in Nolan’s Odyssey is about the right wanting to justify racial hierarchy by projecting it into a past where it did not actually exist. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Some abolitionists once played up an antislavery version of George Washington to try to end slavery. Now the Trump administration is doing it to deny slavery mattered at all. I wrote about the new exhibit at the President’s House in Philly for @theatlantic.com. www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
Washington, the Useful Abolitionist
In Philadelphia, the Trump administration downplays the importance of slavery to understanding the first president.
theatlantic.com
As a longtime admirer of tossed-off song sketches, I enjoy this popular new concept album about tossed-off song sketches.
ICYMI: The Trump administration wants to make a change to a key historic-preservation regulation that would affect projects across the country — at the very moment Trump's triumphal arch is going through that process. www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
Inside Trump’s Rush Job to Build His Arch
If the president gets his way, new rules would lower the bar for building monuments in Washington.
theatlantic.com
NEWS: The Trump admin is trying to loosen historic preservation rules — the Section 106 review — to ease approval of projects like the triumphal arch. From @janaykingsberry.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
Inside Trump’s Rush Job to Build His Arch
A previously unreported regulatory change could lower the bar for new additions to Washington.
theatlantic.com
NEWS: The Trump admin is trying to loosen historic preservation rules — the Section 106 review — to ease approval of projects like the triumphal arch. From @janaykingsberry.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
Inside Trump’s Rush Job to Build His Arch
A previously unreported regulatory change could lower the bar for new additions to Washington.
theatlantic.com
How the Smithsonian could fall — and why it's almost (but not quite) president-proof. From @kelseyables.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
How the Smithsonian Could Fall
A president cracking down on museums is unusual—but so are the museums.
theatlantic.com
For @theatlantic.com's August issue, I wrote the sons Ethel and Julius Rosenberg left behind, and their decades-long quest for the truth: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
The Rosenberg Boys
When Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed by the U.S. government, they left behind two sons, ages 6 and 10. All these years later, Robby and Michael are still trying to make sense of what happened...
theatlantic.com
What the White House's report on the American History Museum bodes for the Smithsonian: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
A Huge Escalation in Trump’s Smithsonian Meddling
A White House report details what the administration wants to change in museums—and suggests that a crackdown could be coming.
theatlantic.com
Some odd developments over at the Kennedy Center... Great reporting from @janaykingsberry.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
The Kennedy Center’s Latest Defense Raises a New Mystery
What is the Trump Kennedy Center Foundation? And why is it being mentioned only now?
theatlantic.com
NEWS: There's a new Kennedy Center mystery: The "Trump Kennedy Center Foundation," which @janaykingsberry.bsky.social reports was created in March. www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
The Kennedy Center’s Latest Defense Raises a New Mystery
What is the Trump Kennedy Center Foundation? And why is it being mentioned only now?
theatlantic.com
When Bill Maher was picked as the Twain Prize recipient — and Trump tried to block it — it revealed something about the president, the frailty of his Kennedy Center takeover, and comedy. Me from earlier this year: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
The Bill Maher Effect
For the past year, Donald Trump has made the Kennedy Center all about him. Last night, the comedian revealed the limits of that approach.
theatlantic.com
Trump has diverted National Parks funds for his projects in D.C. — including White House renovations he said he was paying for himself. From @michaelscherer.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
'Rush Project at Request of POTUS': Trump Is Draining the National Parks to Pay for His Projects
Money once used for crucial national park repairs is now financing Trump’s redecorating projects.
theatlantic.com
A visit to the "Freedom Trucks," the mobile museums the Trump administration is sending around the country for the 250th www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
Here Come Trump’s ‘Freedom Trucks’
A fleet of mobile museums is touring the country with a version of American history the administration can get behind.
theatlantic.com
