COVER STORY
The New Propaganda War
Autocrats in China, Russia, and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world.
Illustration by The Atlantic 
Bloomberg / Getty
Illustration by Timo Lenzen 
Harold M. Lambert / Getty Is It Wrong to Tell Kids to Apologize?
Some parents argue that forcing children to say they’re sorry is useless or even harmful. The reality is more nuanced.
Brian Lackey / Gallery Stock Six Books That Explore What’s Out There
These titles reflect on what drives our species to seek out the uncharted and unknown.
Andrew Lichtenstein / Getty
Illustration by Vanessa Saba for The Atlantic. Sources: Virginia Department of Corrections / AP; Netflix. What If He Actually Did It?
I argued that Jens Söring was wrongfully convicted of a double murder, and in 2019, he was released on parole after three decades in prison. Then I started having doubts about the case.
Will Heath / NBC SNL Completely Misses the Point of the College Protests
An awkward, unfunny cold open fails to meet the moment.
Daniel Stier for The Atlantic ElevenLabs Is Building an Army of Voice Clones
A tiny start-up has made some of the most convincing AI voices. Are its creators ready for the chaos they’re unleashing?
Johannes Eisele / AFP / Getty For Xi Jinping, Religion Is Power
As Tibetan Buddhism spreads through China, Xi sees an opportunity to consolidate his rule.
2024 Pulitzer Prize Finalist
The Ones We Sent Away
I thought my mother was an only child. I was wrong. (From 2023)
Monuments to the Unthinkable
America still can’t figure out how to memorialize the sins of our history. What can we learn from Germany? (From 2022)
Marc Wilson for The Atlantic Eight Cookbooks Worth Reading Cover to Cover
Flag dishes you want to make, or don’t: The point of this practice is pleasure, not pragmatism.
Getty Why Americans Hate the Media
Why has the media establishment become so unpopular? Perhaps the public has good reason to think that the media’s self-aggrandizement gets in the way of solving the country’s real problems. (From 1996)
Stephan Savoia / AP The Simple Art of Murder
“Hemingway says somewhere that the good writer competes only with the dead. The good detective story writer … competes not only with all the unburied dead but with all the hosts of the living as well.” (From 1944)
Everett Collection
Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Atlantic’s journalism, in the print edition and online.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: David Axelbank / Gallery Stock radio atlantic•Episode 70If Plants Could Talk
Some scientists are starting to reopen a provocative debate: Are plants intelligent?
The Atlantic how to keep time•Episode 1Introducing: How to Know What’s Real
A new season of the How To series from The Atlantic
