“if he can order the Navy to operate as a presidential hit squad on the high seas, any number of grim hypotheticals could become reality sooner than Americans might expect,” @radiofreetom.bsky.social argues:

In The Atlantic Daily, read about the sneaky tactics behind bad customer service, a bizarre PTSD therapy that “seemed too good to be true,” why the dictionary might be obsolete, and more.

Christopher Rufo is learning from his enemies—and changing the rules of the culture war, Thomas Chatterton Williams argues.

Robert Redford’s body of work contains “a theme so pronounced that once you notice it, you see it everywhere in his films: the hollowness of an easy victory," Sally Jenkins writes.

The White House has released Donald Trump’s updated letter to newly naturalized citizens, providing a glimpse into the president’s vision of what it means to be an American, @dgraham.bsky.social writes in The Atlantic Daily:

Mike Pence tells Tim Alberta at The Atlantic Festival that he respects ABC’s right to suspend Jimmy Kimmel, but “I would have preferred that the chairman of the FCC had not weighed in.” Watch more: bit.ly/46a5DUE #TAF25

These are parlous times for lexicography, Stefan Fatsis writes. Merriam-Webster and are effectively the only publishers left—and they’re fighting to survive.

Unlike RFK Jr.’s concerns about vaccines, his concerns about pesticides have echoed those from legitimate research. Studies have found associations between exposure and development of some illnesses and conditions including autism, @zoeschlanger.bsky.social reports. https://theatln.tc/qQSZaPgs

“Put your ribs into the wind when you say it. / Expose a pearl-bellied throat to the sky. / So many words for wrapping your mind around / the self, instead of your arms around the ankles / of another.” Read “Take Me With You,” a poem by Courtney Kampa:

W. Kamau Bell to Jemele Hill at #TAF25: “It is so gross what Joe Rogan has done, not only to discourse in this country, but just to comedy ... He has made comedy worse again.” Watch here: http://bit.ly/46a5DUE

Many Americans lack basic knowledge about fertility. @olgakhazan.bsky.social spoke with doctors and other experts about the information they think should be included in sex ed for middle and high schoolers:

“Put your ribs into the wind when you say it. / Expose a pearl-bellied throat to the sky. / So many words for wrapping your mind around / the self, instead of your arms around the ankles / of another.” Read “Take Me With You,” a poem by Courtney Kampa:

This year’s film-festival circuit produced a rich array of movies: existential thrillers, whodunits, musicals, and more. @shirklesxp.bsky.social on the 14 standouts to add to your watch list this season:

Pregnant women and newborns face an elevated risk of becoming severely ill from COVID. But new guidance from the CDC is complicating their ability to stay protected from the coronavirus, @yeahyeahyasmin.bsky.social reports: https://theatln.tc/rvlFwObQ

Monica Lewinsky, decades after the presidential scandal that made her famous, told Sophie Gilbert at #TAF25 that she sees herself as “a poster child for having survived shame”:

Donald Trump is gambling that he can consolidate authority before the public turns too sharply against him, argues @davidfrum.bsky.social:

“It’s weird to think of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert as the canaries in the coal mine,” the comedian @wkamaubell.bsky.social tells @jemelehill.bsky.social. “But if they’re telling us, ‘We’re not afraid of rich white men,’ what can the rest of us do?”⁠ ⁠ Watch more: bit.ly/46a5DUE #TAF25

On Radio Atlantic, @anneapplebaum.bsky.social and @garrykasparov.bsky.social discuss how Donald Trump could mute the courts. They debate the best way to fight back against authoritarian forces, for both Democrats and average citizens, and agree on the urgency of this moment:

In the world of sorority rush, expensive fashion trends merge with old southern ideas. Caitlin Flanagan asks, "What kind of future (or past) are these young women preparing themselves to enter?"

Many Americans lack basic knowledge about fertility. @olgakhazan.bsky.social spoke with doctors and other experts about the information they think should be included in sex ed for middle and high schoolers:

@anneapplebaum2000 on the current moment of political violence: For the first time, “we have a social-media system that encourages the most outrageous, the most extreme statements, and then rewards them financially.” #TAF25 Watch here: bit.ly/46lDaLT

The Pentagon has blocked certain arms sales to Europe after identifying some weapons as being in short supply, Vivian Salama reports. If the hold is long-term, it risks weakening European “defenses at a time when Russia poses an imminent threat.”

In The Atlantic Daily, read about the sneaky tactics behind bad customer service, a bizarre PTSD therapy that “seemed too good to be true,” why the dictionary might be obsolete, and more.

David Letterman to Jeffrey Goldberg on Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension: “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian—a criminal—administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.” Watch here: bit.ly/4n0Uv2p

H.R. McMaster to Jeffrey Goldberg: Donald Trump “is a bit different now.” bit.ly/46a5DUE “He has a deeper sense of aggrievement, some of which is justified ... and I think he has been convinced, really, by some of the people around him, that his own staff was kind of the deep state.” #TAF25

David Letterman to @jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social: “The institution of the president of the United States ought to be bigger than a guy doing a talk show.” #TAF25

OpenAI and other generative-AI companies are running headlong into problems that plagued the social-media era, @kait.bsky.social and @matteowong.bsky.social write:

The new book “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies” aims to explain why superintelligent AI would eliminate humanity. But along the way, the authors “fail to make an evidence-based scientific case for their claims,” Adam Becker argues:

In “Muscle Man,” a new novel about a socially awkward, contrarian professor, Jordan Castro shows how private grievances can blossom into grand obsessions, @jeremygordon.bsky.social writes:

“American colleges, especially the most selective ones, are confronting the dual problems of rampant grade inflation and declining rigor,” @rosehorowitch.bsky.social writes. “Teacher evaluations are a big part of how higher education got to this point.”

“KPop Demon Hunters” taps into the addictive sense of community behind the Korean pop-culture boom, writes Yvonne Kim:

Charlie Kirk’s assassination has raised new questions about the country’s escalating political violence. @peterbakernyt, @lbarronlopez, @sbg1, and @RadioFreeTom joined @JeffreyGoldberg on @washingtonweek to discuss this and more:

Bad Bunny camped out in Puerto Rico's largest arena for a monthslong residency this summer. Thousands of fans traveled to see the artist on his own turf, revealing the trickiness of combining art with tourism, writes Valerie Trapp:

The White House has released Donald Trump’s updated letter to newly naturalized citizens, providing a glimpse into the president’s vision of what it means to be an American, @dgraham.bsky.social writes in The Atlantic Daily:

“It can be hard to believe that your own talents and strengths are genuine,” @isabelfattal.bsky.social writes. In the Wonder Reader, explore stories on how to be honest with yourself—and, by extension, with other people:

The new “Spinal Tap” sequel riffs on the end of rock, James Parker writes. Forty years after the classic mockumentary, history’s most hapless band takes one more smell of the glove:

This year’s film-festival circuit produced a rich array of movies: existential thrillers, whodunits, musicals, and more. @shirklesxp.bsky.social on the 14 standouts to add to your watch list this season:

This year, publishers have been churning out a robust collection of books that explore AI. But the most interesting ones “explore our individual relationships with AI, through fiction or memoir,” Boris Kachka writes in the Books Briefing:

Robert Redford’s body of work contains “a theme so pronounced that once you notice it, you see it everywhere in his films: the hollowness of an easy victory," Sally Jenkins writes.

Bad Bunny camped out in Puerto Rico's largest arena for a monthslong residency this summer. Thousands of fans traveled to see the artist on his own turf, revealing the trickiness of combining art with tourism, writes Valerie Trapp:

Vaccinations have been so successful that “there's been a collective forgetting that measles, and mumps, and rubella—these used to be diseases that would kill people in fairly large numbers,” the Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna tells Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic Festival. bit.ly/46a5DUE

The White House has released Donald Trump’s updated letter to newly naturalized citizens, providing a glimpse into the president’s vision of what it means to be an American, @dgraham.bsky.social writes in The Atlantic Daily:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is stepping up his attack on vaccines in America. One group will bear the brunt of the changes more than others, writes Nicholas Florko:

“It’s weird to think of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert as the canaries in the coal mine,” the comedian @wkamaubell.bsky.social tells @jemelehill.bsky.social. “But if they’re telling us, ‘We’re not afraid of rich white men,’ what can the rest of us do?”⁠ ⁠ Watch more: bit.ly/46a5DUE #TAF25

Universities must teach students how to listen across lines of difference, Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock argues. Otherwise, "young people risk becoming more isolated, more easily manipulated, and less prepared to lead in a pluralistic democracy."

Newly discovered documents reveal Robert McNamara’s private doubts about the Vietnam War, Philip Taubman and William Taubman write:

Monica Lewinsky, decades after the presidential scandal that made her famous, told Sophie Gilbert at #TAF25 that she sees herself as “a poster child for having survived shame”:

“It can be hard to believe that your own talents and strengths are genuine,” @isabelfattal.bsky.social writes. In the Wonder Reader, explore stories on how to be honest with yourself—and, by extension, with other people:

At #TAF25, Monica Lewinsky says she’s grateful to younger generations for helping shift the perception of her story, saying they wondered: “How is it that the 24-year-old person with the least amount of power in this situation had the largest consequences for what happened?” bit.ly/3IkhDd9

This year’s film-festival circuit produced a rich array of movies: existential thrillers, whodunits, musicals, and more. @shirklesxp.bsky.social on the 14 standouts to add to your watch list this season: