Today's Liberal News
Is Aziz Ansari Sorry?
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Your Opinions on Her Wardrobe Are Probably Unwelcome
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
What Role Does HR Play in the #MeToo Era?
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Trump’s spending freeze spreads chaos across US
Supporters of climate, infrastructure, mortgage, tech, health, veterans’ and other projects expressed alarm as tens of thousands of programs appeared possibly at risk.
Lael Brainard’s ‘Crisis Management Agency’ — and Her Warning For Trump
Joe Biden’s top economic adviser opens up on harrowing moments from her time in the White House, and what makes her nervous about the Trump agenda.
Stephen Miran is Trump’s pick to lead Council of Economic Advisers
Miran has called for a sweeping overhaul of the Fed to ensure greater political control over the central bank, including giving the president the power to fire board members at will.
Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid, Owned by Match Group, Track Reports of Rape. Why Don’t They Warn Users?
Match Group, the tech company that owns Match.com, OkCupid, Hinge, Tinder and other popular dating services, has known for years which users have been accused of sexual assault and rape, but kept those reports hidden from others on the app, according to a new investigation. Match Group controls half of the world’s online dating market and facilitates meetups for millions of people in scores of countries around the world. “Match Group is aware of a lot of the scale of the harm on their apps.
“Frenzy of Warmongering”: Critics of Munich Security Summit Warn of Musk, Rising Fascism in Europe
As the annual high-level Munich Security Conference gets underway, the Russia-Ukraine war is dominating the agenda, and we speak to two guests protesting the conference. Economist, progressive leader and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis says the European project started with a noble goal of promoting peace but finds itself today “cornered” between Russian and NATO militarism. “Europe has been caught in a frenzy of warmongering,” says Varoufakis.
“You Don’t Have to Comply”: U.S. Attorney, 5 DOJ Lawyers Quit, Refuse to Drop Case Against NYC Mayor
The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan and five high-ranking Justice Department officials resigned Thursday to protest the Trump administration’s order to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Danielle Sassoon, who was the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in her resignation letter that dropping the case against Adams would violate her duty to uphold the law fairly and consistently.
“The World After Gaza”: Author Pankaj Mishra on Gaza & the Return of 19th-C. “Rapacious Imperialism”
Pankaj Mishra’s new book, The World After Gaza: A History, was written as a response to the “vast panorama of violence, disorder and suffering that we’re seeing today,” says the author. In Part 1 of our interview with the award-winning Indian writer, Mishra shares why he “felt compelled” to respond to what he sees as a return to the 19th-century model of “rapacious imperialism” in the Western world, signified by global complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Do It for Gilda
Before John Belushi, before Bill Murray or Chevy Chase or Dan Aykroyd—before any of them, there was Gilda.
Gilda Radner was the first performer Lorne Michaels hired for the cast of Saturday Night Live when it launched, in 1975. She was, at the time, one of the stars of The National Lampoon Radio Hour, the only woman in a cast of men destined to be famous. “I knew that she could do almost anything, and that she was enormously likeable,” Michaels once said of the decision. “So I started with her.
Abortion access to restart in Missouri, clinics say, following state court ruling
The court blocked a restriction that had prevented clinics from operating. But the fight over abortion is far from over.
Trump’s Loyalties
Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings, watch full episodes here, or listen to the weekly podcast here.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk continued their efforts to slash and overhaul the federal government this week.
Trump officials defend HHS cuts as more methodical than the slashing at other agencies
The administration’s Friday night message comes as a sharp departure from the approach that Trump and DOGE have taken to cuts in other federal departments and agencies.
The Many Sides of Love
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Flaco Lives
Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped from the Central Park Zoo in 2023, is still with us (even though he’s dead).
He spent about a year roaming New York City—hunting in the park, hooting from fire escapes—and in that time, he became a celebrity. Then he flew into a building while disoriented by rat poison and pigeon herpes. It has been a year since Flaco’s untimely death, and now the New York Historical is hosting an exhibition memorializing his life.
Government Workers Cannot Be Fired for Their Political Views
Just a few years ago, then-Senator J. D. Vance of Ohio said that if Donald Trump were reelected, he would advise the president to “fire every single mid-level bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state” and “replace them with our people.
Influencers Taught Us How to Overconsume. Can They Also Help Us Break the Habit?
No matter how good their intentions, creators are still able to make money off of telling people to spend less.
Americans Are Actually in a Position to Make Elon Musk Feel Our Rage
His car company is in a precarious spot.
Trump Has Promised to Lower Prices. It Will be Impossible Without Private Equity Reform.
You can’t promise lower prices while backing away from regulations.
The Most Controversial Super Bowl Ad Was Also One of the Worst. The Best One Nobody Saw Coming.
Even Patrick Mahomes couldn’t outflop these ads.
You’re Not Going to Like What Happened to the Super Bowl Ad
Companies are so invested in making their Super Bowl ads a success that we’ve lost something in the process.
Trump’s Trade War Ends Before It Can Begin
The wildly high tariffs on Canada and Mexico have been called off.
Texas judge fines New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas
The ruling was handed down on the same day New York Gov. Kathy Hochul rejected a request from Louisiana to extradite the same doctor.
Judge blocks Trump order restricting gender-affirming care for trans youth
The nationwide restraining order seeks to restore access to health services for transgender patients 19 years and younger that had been disrupted by a Trump executive order.
US food and medical aid to the world’s poorest is still in limbo
The Trump administration exempted lifesaving assistance from its foreign aid freeze, but providers say it’s still not getting through.



























