Today's Liberal News

Green New Deal Architect Rhiana Gunn-Wright Warns the Green Transition May Leave Black People Behind

As the cost of the climate crisis continues to rise and climate justice groups demand more government action to halt the heating of the planet, we speak with policy expert Rhiana Gunn-Wright, one of the architects of the Green New Deal. She says the Inflation Reduction Act championed by President Biden, which is the largest climate bill in U.S. history, has many provisions that “structurally leave out Black people.

Enbridge Is the Guilty Party, Not Me: Meet the Pipeline Protester Facing 5 Years for Peaceful Action

We speak with climate activist and water protector Mylene Vialard, whose trial for peacefully protesting the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline began this week in Minnesota. Vialard faces up to five years in prison for her 2021 protest, when she attached herself to a 25-foot bamboo tower erected to block a pumping station in Aitkin County. Vialard, who lives in Colorado, had come to Minnesota to take part in a wave of Indigenous-led acts of civil disobedience to stop the pipeline.

Jan. 6: Proud Boys Lieutenant Joe Biggs, Who Warned of “Second Civil War,” Sentenced to 17 Years

Two former leaders of the right-wing Proud Boys gang were sentenced Thursday for their actions during the January 6 insurrection, with the judge handing down some of the longest sentences yet for people involved in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Joseph Biggs, the former leader of the group’s Florida chapter, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison. Zachary Rehl, the former leader of the Philadelphia chapter, received 15 years.

How Race-Consciousness Can Affect Relationships

Welcome to Up for Debate. Each week, Conor Friedersdorf rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Later, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.Question of the WeekWhat roles should “color-blindness” and race-consciousness play in personal interactions (as distinct from public policy)?Send your responses to conor@theatlantic.com or simply reply to this email.

Little Rock

My friend’s friends, his new line brothers,
are huddled in the kitchen, taking turns
burning an ancient alphabet into their biceps,
along their lower legs, into their chests.
They howl, licking their chops, relaying
a single bottle and a branding iron
like twin batons. Decoupled from livestock,
or the institution of slavery, it’s explained
to me as the ultimate act of devotion,
of fidelity, the best illustration of what
it looks like to love.

A K-Drama Without a Drop of Romance

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.Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer reveals what’s keeping them entertained.Today’s special guest is Shan Wang, The Atlantic’s programming director.

‘Biological Recycling’ Would Be Truly, Truly Amazing

This article originally appeared in Knowable Magazine.On an overcast spring morning in 2012, Federica Bertocchini was tending to her honeybees close to where she lived in Santander, on Spain’s picturesque northern coast. One of the honeycombs “was plagued with worms,” says the amateur apiarist, referring to the pesky larvae of wax moths,  which have a voracious—and destructive—appetite.

What Really Happens When Americans Stop Going to Church

Millions of Americans are leaving church, never to return, and it would be easy to think that this will make the country more secular and possibly more liberal. After all, that is what happened in Northern and Western Europe in the 1960s: A younger generation quit going to Anglican, Lutheran, or Catholic churches and embraced a liberal, secular pluralism that shaped European politics for the rest of the 20th century and beyond.