The Best of The Atlantic

Over the past 10 years, the “This Is Fine” dog has evolved from a joke into an indictment.

Our constant need for entertainment has blurred the line between fiction and reality—on television, in American politics, and in our everyday lives.

They are a chance for children to be silly and a touch subversive, and to get a glimpse of how other families live their lives.

Subscriptions such as HP’s Instant Ink challenge what it means to own our devices.

AI-assisted internet posting is already in a race to the bottom.

These titles are challenging where others are pandering, and open-minded where others are prescriptive.

«“Solitude, observation, and simple conviviality should be recognized not only as ends in and of themselves,” she writes, “but inalienable rights belonging to anyone lucky enough to be alive.”»

Feeling conflicted can be even more distressing than feeling bad. Here’s how to manage it.

«Researchers in 2017 showed that people can find a deeper sense of purpose when contemplating both their happy and sad emotions about a particular occurrence»

Where The Atlantic’s science, technology, and health reporters found wonder in a sometimes-sobering year

Treat it like a toy, not a tool.

Humans are evolutionarily drawn to beauty. How do such complex experiences emerge from a collection of atoms and molecules?

«But the more general appreciation of beauty could well be a by-product of a trait, like sexual attraction, that did (and does) have survival benefit.»

The social-media platform isn’t a public square. It’s a gladiatorial arena.

Business moguls tend to be big on protecting speech, right until it hurts their bottom line.

“We need to catch up soon!”

Many people chase achievement, assuming it will lead to well-being. They should reverse that order of operations.

«The first thing to remember is that happiness requires balance. No matter how much you enjoy your work, overwork will become an obstruction to well-being.»

Eradicating this ugly emotion entirely would be impossible, but we can stop fueling it with our behavior.

«1. Focus on the ordinary parts of others’ lives.»

Real estate should be treated as consumption, not investment.

Marc Andreessen says he’s all for more new housing, but public records tell a different story.

A course at Northwestern University teaches students about what makes a healthy relationship.

What if marriage is not the social good that so many believe and want it to be?

Affluence—not willpower—seems to be what’s behind some kids' capacity to delay gratification.

Four forces are propelling the rising rates of depression among young people.

«Anxious parents, in seeking to insulate their children from risk and danger, are unintentionally transferring their anxiety to their kids.»

I’ve spent more than three years interviewing friends for “The Friendship Files.” Here’s what I’ve learned.

«I’ve come to believe that friendship doesn’t always have to be about presence; it can also be about love that can weather absence.»

The family structure we’ve held up as the cultural ideal for the past half century has been a catastrophe for many. It’s time to figure out better ways to live together.

«Marriage, according to the sociologists Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas, “is no longer primarily about childbearing and childrearing. Now marriage is primarily about adult fulfillment.”»

It’s not just a phase.

The preponderance of the evidence suggests that social media is causing real damage to adolescents.

«When a boy steps away from the console, he does not spend the next few hours worrying about what other players are saying about him. Instagram, in contrast, can loom in a girl’s mind even when the app is not open, driving hours of obsessive thought, worry, and shame.»

The coronavirus didn’t break America. It revealed what was already broken.

Our unpredictable and overburdened schedules are taking a dire toll on American society.

The preconditions are present in the U.S. today. Here’s the playbook Donald Trump could use to set the country down a path toward illiberalism.

The foundation of Donald Trump’s presidency is the negation of Barack Obama’s legacy.

More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis.

The U.S. may end up with the worst Covid-19 outbreak in the industrialized world. This is how it’s going to play out.

You’re washing your hands, practicing social distancing and coughing into your arm like a good citizen, but will this stop the spread of COVID-19? Your efforts may slow the spread, which offers social benefits, but the ship probably already sailed when it comes to actually stopping the virus. So will the world be able to pull it together and limit impending global disaster? James Hamblin, MD explains the barriers to a happy COVID-19 resolution in this article from The Atlantic, and describes what would be necessary for effective global responses to future pandemics.

Like it or not, the way we work has already evolved.

«In fact, your position at a company becomes more difficult to justify if all you do is delegate and nag people.»

When we invented non-fungible tokens, we were trying to protect artists. But tech-world opportunism has struck again.

«Technology should be enabling artists to exercise control over their work, to more easily sell it, to more strongly protect against others appropriating it without permission.»