1979 Is the Year That Explains Donald Trump And pretty much all of the 1980s do too.

We are reliving Trump’s favorite era—and it seems to have shaped his approach to the war with Iran, @jonlemire.bsky.social and Isabel Ruehl argue:

As the Pentagon purges some minorities and women from high-ranking positions, the message being sent to lower-ranking officers is that “they will be assessed on the basis of their gender, race, or politics, rather than their abilities,” @adamserwer.bsky.social writes. theatln.tc/9GnVQCKN

Insider Trading Is Going to Get People Killed War markets are a national-security threat.

Prediction markets have been dogged by accusations of insider trading in many areas—but shady bets on war “risk unleashing an entirely new kind of national-security threat," @saahildesai.bsky.social argued last month.

Nobody executes a “madman” theory of foreign policy when they’re winning—and Donald Trump’s use of it signals his desperation, @davidfrum.bsky.social argues. theatln.tc/6UbhSLEr

📸: Nathan Howard / Getty

Winners of the 2026 World Press Photo Contest The winning entries of this year’s World Press Photo Contest were just announced. This year, according to organizers, 57,376 images were submitted for judging, made by 3,747 photographers from 141 countries.

This year’s World Press Photo Contest featured images from 3,747 photographers across 141 countries. See the winning entries via The Atlantic Photo:

What’s Going on With the IRS? The Trump administration’s budget cuts are looming over Tax Day.

As tax deadlines approach, the Trump administration’s staffing and budgetary cuts are threatening to weaken the IRS's ability to collect, @willgottsegen.com argues in The Atlantic Daily.

A Writer of ‘Hypnotic Repetition’ With her first new novel in more than 20 years, Nancy Lemann returns, yet again, to New Orleans and its eccentricities.

With her first new novel in 24 years, Nancy Lemann returns to New Orleans and its eccentricities—but now the cult-favorite author has widened her lens. Kaitlyn Tiffany spoke with Lemann to discuss her approach:

Trump Is Wishcasting Victory in Iran The president went from threatening that “a whole civilization will die” to claiming a “total and complete victory.” What does the already shaky cease-fire mean as he tries to steer his way out of the war?

On Radio Atlantic, @radiofreetom.bsky.social and Nancy A. Youssef explain the state of  the war in Iran—and how no deal can undo the damage of Trump’s words.

States Are Learning the Wrong Lesson From the ‘Mississippi Miracle’ Phonics-based curriculum is only one part of how Mississippi went from worst to first in education. The other part is much harder to pull off.

States educators are trying to emulate what Mississippi did to go from worst to first in education—but the national conversation misses a key aspect of why its literacy approach succeeded, Rachel Canter writes:

The Atlantic Onstage, a new podcast feed, brings you into the room at Atlantic events across the country, as journalists, policy makers, and thinkers engage in candid conversations about the news and issues shaping the world.

Listen and subscribe now: play.megaphone.fm/z2ukucs8sk6k...

What China Just Learned From the Iran War A blockade of Taiwan would hurt the global economy more than Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz may have given China a model to follow—but the resulting shock of a partial blockade of Taiwan to the global economy would be far worse, Simon Shuster argues:

The Biggest Hope for Curing Autoimmune Disease Scientists could be getting close.

CAR-T cell therapy was first developed as a cancer treatment. But recently, it’s had remarkable success in patients with autoimmune conditions—including a woman who was battling three severe diseases at once and is now in remission, @katherinejwu.com reports.

The Return of TV’s Best Bromance On Scrubs, Turk and J.D. present a vision of male friendship that is sneakily radical.

Amid the hand-wringing over American men’s well-being, the “Scrubs” reboot offers “a different vision of the cure to male loneliness,” @julieebeck.bsky.social writes:

The Art of the (New) Deal What the murals of the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building can teach us about patriotism, propaganda, and beauty

The New Deal–era murals that adorn the walls of the Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building offer an important lesson about patriotism, propaganda, and beauty, Judith Shulevitz writes. What will happen to them if the government sells the building?

The Democratic Campaign That Begins With an Apology They’re asking voters to ruthlessly gerrymander Virginia.

Democrats in Virginia desperately want permission from voters to gerrymander the state beyond recognition—but they also want Virginians to know how sorry they are to have to ask, @russellberman.bsky.social reports:

1979 Is the Year That Explains Donald Trump And pretty much all of the 1980s do too.

We are reliving Trump’s favorite era—and it seems to have shaped his approach to the war with Iran, @JonLemire.bsky.social and Isabel Ruehl argue:

When a Madman Attempts a Madman Strategy Does Trump seem crazy? Sure. Credible, not so much.

Nobody executes a “madman” theory of foreign policy when they’re winning—and Trump’s use of it signals his desperation, @davidfrum.bsky.social argues.

How the Whole-Grain Trend Went Wrong Many whole-grain foods behave in the body much the same as the refined products they were meant to replace.

The “whole grain” label has been stretched too far, Trisha Pasricha reports—and some scientists now believe that the health benefits of whole-grain foods might be misunderstood:

Who Is Black Comedy For? A new book is nostalgic for the ’90s. But the era of crossover success was not necessarily the pinnacle of Black comedic achievement.

A new history of Black comedy is nostalgic for the ’90s, K. Austin Collins writes. But was the era of crossover success really the pinnacle of comedic achievement?

America Looks Like a Paper Tiger The U.S. showed great tactical capabilities in the Iran war, but Iran emerged the winner at a strategic level.

The U.S. has emerged from its war with Iran in worse strategic shape than it started, and Iran has emerged in better condition in the long run, Brynn Tannehill argues:

The Worst Possible Moment to Rethink Your Relationship "The Drama" poses the question by taking it to an extreme.

“The Drama” hinges on the viewer’s reaction to a shocking revelation—then sits with the moment’s ramifications in ways that are both darkly funny and sneakily challenging, David Sims writes:

The Return of TV’s Best Bromance On Scrubs, Turk and J.D. present a vision of male friendship that is sneakily radical.

Amid the hand-wringing over American men’s well-being, the “Scrubs” reboot offers “a different vision of the cure to male loneliness,” @julieebeck.bsky.social writes:

A New Solution to the ‘Wagner Problem’ A bold restaging of Tristan und Isolde arrives at a moment of intense concern about the cultural inheritance of Western civilization.

The reception of a new staging of Richard Wagner's 1865 opera, "Tristan und Isolde," may mark an escalation of a debate about the classics—in opera, and in much else, Chris Cohen argues:

The Forgotten War That Iran Already Won Tehran fought for decades to prevent Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Iran’s victorious fight against peace for Israel and Palestine has destabilized the Middle East for decades—and the current conflict in the region is inseparable from its legacy, Nadav Eyal argues.

America Looks Like a Paper Tiger The U.S. showed great tactical capabilities in the Iran war, but Iran emerged the winner at a strategic level.

The U.S. has emerged from its war with Iran in worse strategic shape than it started, and Iran has emerged in better condition in the long run, Brynn Tannehill argues:

Pete Hegseth Is Trying to Resegregate the Military “Color-blind and merit-based” now seems to be anything but.

As the Pentagon purges some minorities and women from high-ranking positions, the message being sent to lower-ranking officers is that “they will be assessed on the basis of their gender, race, or politics, rather than their abilities,” Adam Serwer writes:

Maybe You’ll Never Really Know Who You’re Marrying In “The Drama,” getting married is both the best and scariest thing a couple can do.

“The Drama” is the latest love story that treats commitment as something to fear as much as to celebrate, @shirklesxp.bsky.social writes:

A New Geopolitical Reality Is Here America’s adversaries are uniting as its own coalition falls apart.

The war in Iran has showed that “the United States is, in effect, moving toward a world in which it faces more connected opponents with a less cohesive coalition of its own,” Thomas Wright argues:

The Artemis Astronauts Are Studs Strength, courage, expertise, wonder: NASA’s moon-mission crew has reset the bar for greatness.

The astronauts of Artemis II have inspired awe anew—and reminded Americans that “comfort is not the only thing worth seeking,” @sallyjenx.bsky.social writes:

The AI Industry Wants to Automate Itself Silicon Valley is in a frenzy over bots that can build themselves.

Silicon Valley insiders believe we are on the precipice of a world in which AI can improve its own capabilities—but the industry may have just found another way to ratchet up the hype behind its technology, @matteowong.bsky.social and Lila Shroff report.