Today's Liberal News

How to beat Mitch McConnell—even if we don’t win back the Senate

Ideally, if Democrats do their job up to and on Jan. 5, we will win both of Georgia’s Senate seats, and secure a bare majority in both chambers of Congress. Coupled with President-elect Joe Biden, this small trifecta means, at the very least, that our government can still function. This is a big deal, since certain Republican senators have indicated that they plan on indefinitely blocking every single one of Biden’s Cabinet nominees.

With just hours left before jobless programs expire, Trump’s bill-signing Sharpie nowhere in sight

Perched at Mar-a-Lago for the holidays, Donald Trump rage-tweeted more garbage Saturday about having the election stolen from him, but said not a single word about the thousands of Americans dying daily in jam-packed intensive care units at the nation’s hospitals because of the coronavirus. He also tweeted another complaint about getting rid of government “pork” and a too small $600 “stimulus” check that are included in the $2.

It’s time to stop treating Black and Brown kids as ‘second-class citizens in reality and fantasy’

The children’s book author and former NFL star Martellus Bennett recently offered his very strong take on Black characters in children’s books and shows to The Atlantic, explaining the motivation behind the books he has written and illustrated about a character named after his daughter: He wants Black kids to see themselves and their possibilities in fiction as much as white kids do.

How normal political leaders spend their time on social media

Have some fun enjoying the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, using Twitter for the purposes of spreading joy. Because some people are lucky enough to have political leaders who are trying to use social media to make the world a better place. And also, the dancing queen of Pollokshields, Kate Deeming, is the epitome of dancing like no one is watching for a good cause.

The 50 Best Podcasts of 2020

This year’s 50 Best came together a little differently than before. Just five years ago we could address a fledgling podcastsphere with the 50 best episodes of the year—not shows. Now, something like 1.5 million podcasts exist. Even if only half of those were active in 2020 we still couldn’t possibly hear them all, no matter how pathological our dedication to listening.

The Astonishing Duality of BTS

BTS has spent enough time in the pop-music stratosphere that it can be easy to forget, or surprising to learn, about the years they spent at the basement level. Back in 2014, for the first anniversary of their debut, the group’s seven members celebrated by cleaning the tiny dorm they shared and cooking a nice meal. They recorded a video of themselves for fans, soaking seaweed for a traditional Korean birthday soup, blowing up balloons, vacuuming the living room, and decorating a cake.

My Emergency Room Is Full of Patients No Vaccine Can Help

After 10 months of witnessing the coronavirus’s destructive capacity, on December 16 I joined thousands of health-care workers across the country and received my initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. I felt hope for the first time since March, when COVID-19 patients started streaming into my emergency room. My colleagues and I would now have one more layer of protection in our fight against the virus.My relief was short-lived.

The Best Punishment for a Horrible Year

Jonathan TwingleyIf 2020 were a person, what sort of punishment would they deserve? And given the sensible prohibitions against torture in human-rights law, what would be the next best option?The conceit of personifying a year dates back to at least the ancient Greeks and, in American newspaper culture, to the early 20th century, when the cartoonist J. C. Leyendecker established a tradition of drawing New Year’s babies on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.

The Atlantic Daily: Our Favorite Things of 2020

Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.In a slog of a year, new releases brought structure to the calendar. (Remember the Tiger King phase of quarantine? Or the Folklore one?)But what projects stood out the most? The critics on our Culture team are busy recapping 2020’s best works.