Russia has discovered a new purpose for drones, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu writes: “Instead of avoiding civilians, Russian operators can now target them, as if they were playing a video game”:

The Dystopian Future Dawns in Kherson

Putin’s human safari in Ukraine is the beginning of a grim new normal.

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Answer today’s trivia from David Sims’s review of "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Check your response and tackle two other questions: theatln.tc/RY6zROfh

In the age of Donald Trump, Republicans have been reluctant to say that an alleged domestic abuser shouldn’t serve in Congress, @ashleyrparker.bsky.social reports.

Domestic-Abuse Allegations in the Age of Trump

Republicans have been slow to call for an Ohio congressman to end his reelection campaign.

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Abdul El-Sayed’s win in Michigan is a blow to center-left Democrats—“and more will come unless they quickly absorb bracing lessons from this debacle,” @jonathanbchait.bsky.social argues:

Liberals Are Now Fighting a Two-Front War

Leftists like Abdul El-Sayed will take over the Democratic Party unless the center-left adapts to their rise.

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Trump’s outburst over the Reflecting Pool is a sign of dangerous dysfunction in the Oval Office, @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues. theatln.tc/OMivBxpl

Biden’s bet that the Inflation Reduction Act could address climate change and create jobs for voters is widely considered to have been a bust—but this is the wrong lesson to draw from his administration’s experience, @leahstokes.bsky.social argues.

Bidenomics Was More Successful Than People Think

Conventional wisdom holds that Joe Biden’s bet on climate investment was a bust. The data suggest otherwise.

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Stop calling siblings “gifts,” @amandaruggeri.bsky.social argues: “For parents, it can add pressure, guilt, and anxiety to an already huge life decision.”

Stop Calling Siblings ‘Gifts’

The term assumes that adding a child to a family is for the best. But that’s not always the case.

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America’s greatest rival is single-handedly averting a global energy crisis, and no one knows how the country is doing it—or why, Rogé Karma argues.

The Great Chinese Oil Mystery

America’s greatest rival is single-handedly averting a global energy crisis. No one knows how the country is doing it—or why.

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Last week, Jacob Tsimerman won a top math prize. The same day, he announced a surprising career shift. @lilashroff.bsky.social spoke with him about his new job at OpenAI:

Something Weird Is Happening in Math

Why one of the world’s best mathematicians is joining OpenAI

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Twenty-five years after 9/11, analysts can’t decide whether al-Qaeda is essentially defunct or more threatening than ever, @gcaw.bsky.social writes.

Did al-Qaeda Succeed?

Twenty-five years after 9/11, analysts can’t decide whether the terrorist organization got what it wanted.

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The migration of monarchs “is a wonder of the natural world, one of the longest annual cycles of movement undertaken by any creature on Earth”—and we’re only just starting to understand these butterflies’ secrets, Vann R. Newkirk II reports.

How Do Monarchs Do It?

Somehow, they traverse an entire continent, wintering in the very same forests that their forebears did. We’re only just starting to understand their secrets.

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Stop calling siblings “gifts,” @amandaruggeri.bsky.social argues: “For parents, it can add pressure, guilt, and anxiety to an already huge life decision.”

Stop Calling Siblings ‘Gifts’

The term assumes that adding a child to a family is for the best. But that’s not always the case.

bit.ly

AI is poised to supercharge the inequities of the past four decades—but this isn’t inevitable, Daron Acemoglu argues.

Automation Led to Economic Misery. AI Doesn’t Have to.

How to make AI work for workers

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In Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey,” viewers see inside the Trojan horse, but they “do not see inside the characters or their world,” Emily Wilson argues.

A Trojan Horse Is Supposed to Have Humans Inside It

Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is full of contradictions about deceit and violence.

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For more than a year, the White House has threatened and criticized the Smithsonian—but going after museums may not be the base-galvanizing issue Trump thinks it is, @kelseyables.bsky.social reports.

One Problem With Attacking the Smithsonian? Americans Like It.

Coming after a history museum may not be the base-galvanizing issue Trump thinks it is.

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Much of Sigmund Freud’s work has been dismissed as quackery, Scott Stossel writes—but it might align with modern brain research more than we think.

What if Freud Was Right?

A neuroscientist dares to argue that old-fashioned psychoanalysis holds the key to curing mental illness.

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Trump’s outburst over the Reflecting Pool is a sign of dangerous dysfunction in the Oval Office, @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues.

Trump’s Irrationality Is Dangerous

The president’s recent rant is a sign of serious dysfunction in the Oval Office.

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Truth Social’s new subscription service is unprecedented—and the existing laws may not have caught up to it yet, @willgottsegen.com reports in The Atlantic Daily:

Trump Tests the Definition of Insider Trading

A new Truth Social subscription service is another way for the president to profit from his office.

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Giving addicts clean needles and safe places to inject was supposed to save lives, Michael Powell writes. Instead, it created a “zombie apocalypse”:

The Cities That Said Yes to Drugs

Policies that gave addicts clean needles and places to use drugs were intended to reduce harm. They created a “zombie apocalypse.”

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The cycle of addiction and homelessness remains difficult to break—even in a city as innovative as San Francisco, Ethan Brooks reported last year. Listen to more on “No Easy Fix.”

Can San Francisco Be Saved?

Introducing No Easy Fix, a new three-part miniseries from Radio Atlantic, about the widespread addiction and homelessness that threaten the city’s future

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Modern romance requires a toll, paid in energy, in sanity, in hours—and not everyone can afford it, @faith-hill.bsky.social argues. In The Atlantic’s September issue, she speaks with single people about why looking for love can feel so deflating these days:

The Great Romance Slump

Why are so few young people finding love?

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New polls show Trump losing support among the groups at the heart of his supposed 2024 political realignment, @dgraham.bsky.social argues:

Americans Are Turning on Trump

The president’s big gains with Black, Hispanic, and young voters in 2024 suggested a major shift. Less than two years later, he has lost those new supporters.

theatlantic.com

“Like the ‘moral good’ rhetoric, which assumes that having more babies is all upside, the ‘gift’ rhetoric ignores the fact that having one child may simply be the best decision for many families—including for solo children,” @amandaruggeri.bsky.social argues: www.theatlantic.com/family/2026/...

Stop Calling Siblings ‘Gifts’

The term assumes that adding a child to a family is for the best. But that’s not always the case.

theatlantic.com

Parents! Are you throwing away your life interacting with your children when you could be profitmaxxing? Take Sam Altman’s latest suggestion and you never have to speak to your kids again, @petridishes.bsky.social writes:

Now, Thanks to Sam Altman, You Never Have to Speak to Your Kids Again

AI can handle these kinds of pointless interactions.

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In Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey,” viewers see inside the Trojan horse, but they “do not see inside the characters or their world,” Emily Wilson argues. theatln.tc/04uouYu6 🎨: Anna Ruch / The Atlantic. Sources: Heritage Images / Getty; Melinda Sue Gordon / Universal Pictures / Everett Collection.

For more than a year, the White House has threatened and criticized the Smithsonian—but going after museums may not be the base-galvanizing issue Trump thinks it is, @kelseyables.bsky.social reports.

One Problem With Attacking the Smithsonian? Americans Like It.

Coming after a history museum may not be the base-galvanizing issue Trump thinks it is.

bit.ly

The stuff of romance—the thrill of sex, the devotion of partnership, the ritual of courtship—is receding, @faith-hill.bsky.social writes. She speaks with single people who are rewriting the story of romance as we know it: theatln.tc/po1Ogore

Even if the Iran war ends tomorrow, don’t expect relief in gas prices any time soon, James Surowiecki argues:

Get Used to High Gas Prices

Even if the Iran war ends tomorrow, don’t expect relief at the pump any time soon.

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Answer today’s trivia from Anne Applebaum’s article on the far-right's response to the influx of migrants in Cueta. Check your response and tackle two other questions: theatln.tc/cF6nGEWP

Stop calling siblings “gifts,” @amandaruggeri.bsky.social argues: “For parents, it can add pressure, guilt, and anxiety to an already huge life decision.”

Stop Calling Siblings ‘Gifts’

The term assumes that adding a child to a family is for the best. But that’s not always the case.

bit.ly