Bugonia, the latest film from the Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, begins with shots of bees. As they gently buzz about in a field of wildflowers, a voice-over intones the glory of the insects’ lives. Their ability to help another species reproduce through pollination is, the speaker marvels, like “sex, but cleaner.” Their beauty emerges from their “larger organizing principle.
Updated with new questions at 3:50 p.m. ET on October 31, 2025.
It’s said that the 17th- and 18th-century polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was the last person to know everything. He was a whiz at philosophy, law, logic, science, engineering, politics—the works. But there was also simply less to know back then; the post–Industrial Revolution knowledge explosion killed the universal genius.
Which is to say that I bet Leibniz wouldn’t know the full oeuvre of K-pop if he were alive today.
President Donald Trump’s theory of executive power does not lend much weight to the views of his predecessors—especially those who happen to be Democrats. But as the government shutdown enters its second month, Trump is showing an odd degree of respect for legal guidance first adopted under a president he has mocked: Jimmy Carter.
Government shutdowns are a relatively modern phenomenon.
Omar Fateh, the son of Somali immigrants and a democratic socialist, is a leading candidate in the mayoral race in Minneapolis and seeking to unseat incumbent Jacob Frey. Fateh made history in 2020 by becoming the first Muslim and first Somali American to be elected to Minnesota’s state Senate. Fateh has run for mayor on a platform advocating for rent stabilization, raising the minimum wage and reforming how the city handles public safety.
A retired U.S. colonel who investigated the death of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh has gone public to accuse the Biden administration of “inaction” and a possible “cover-up.” Steve Gabavics says the U.S. government soft-pedaled the finding that Israeli forces intentionally killed her to appease the Israeli government.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is calling for federal agents to pause immigration enforcement in the Chicago area until after Halloween, amid widespread condemnation of violent arrests and confrontations with residents. Meanwhile, the person at the center of much of Chicago’s enforcement, Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, did a five-hour deposition Thursday in a case challenging federal agents’ treatment of protesters, journalists, children and immigrants.
The premium hikes can be higher or lower depending on a person’s state, income and how much help they receive. For some, the loss of subsidies can amount to triple-digit increases.
Ray Madoff joins Felix Salmon and Emily Peck to discuss her book The Second Estate on the ways in which the US tax code helps the rich get richer.
At the headquarters for Donald Trump’s darkest work, a few people are getting under the administration’s skin.
Stealing priceless jewels from the world’s most famous museum may not actually pay that well.
In an interview with POLITICO, Martin Kulldorff said the health secretary has asked him to impartially follow the science.
The lawsuit comes as the Trump administration has promoted unproven claims linking Tylenol use to autism.
House Republicans in the toughest races in the nation are generally open to talks with Democrats on extending subsidies, with caveats.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s at war with the groups that represent physicians. Some GOP doctors in Congress are backing him up.
AIDS helps forge an unlikely friendship between two San Francisco churches from very different neighborhoods with very different views on sexuality.
Two queer religion geeks move to San Francisco. And Easter communion gets real in the age of AIDS.
Troy Perry starts the gay/lesbian Metropolitan Community Church. A young lesbian is a regular at the San Francisco congregation when her friend gets sick.
Rescued archival audio takes listeners into the heart of an LGBTQ+ church during the height of the AIDS epidemic in 1980s and ’90s San Francisco.
Trump’s strength with Republicans on the economy could prove to be a boon for the GOP.
A survey from the liberal-leaning group Somos Votantes shows Latino voters are souring on the president.
Privately, aides concede voters remain uneasy about prices but argue their policies are beginning to turn things around.
The AI boom is visible from orbit. Satellite photos of New Carlisle, Indiana, show greenish splotches of farmland transformed into unmistakable industrial parks in less than a year’s time. There are seven rectangular data centers there, with 23 more on the way.
Inside each of these buildings, endless rows of fridge-size containers of computer chips wheeze and grunt as they perform mathematical operations at an unfathomable scale.
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.
Did you hear about the new Democratic Party postmortem on the 2024 election? Perhaps I need to be more specific: There’s this one, that one, and also this one, and probably more that I’m missing.
Updated with new questions at 4:45 p.m. ET on October 30, 2025.
It’s said that the 17th- and 18th-century polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was the last person to know everything. He was a whiz at philosophy, law, logic, science, engineering, politics—the works. But there was also simply less to know back then; the post–Industrial Revolution knowledge explosion killed the universal genius.
Which is to say that I bet Leibniz wouldn’t know the full oeuvre of K-pop if he were alive today.
Andrew Ross Sorkin joins Felix Salmon and Elizabeth Spiers to discuss his new book on Wall Street’s most infamous crash.
The internet of old was a vibrant bazaar. It was noisy, chaotic, and offbeat. Every click brought you somewhere new, sometimes unpredictable, letting you uncover curiosities you hadn’t even known to look for. The internet of today, however, is a slick concierge. It speaks in soothing statements and offers a frictionless and flattering experience.
This has stripped us of something profoundly human: the joy of exploring and questioning. We’ve willingly become creatures of instant gratification.
Today The Atlantic is announcing that Jonathan Haidt, who has written a number of hugely significant stories for The Atlantic, and Eugene Robinson, one of the most well-known and influential journalists and columnists, will both become contributing writers. The Atlantic will now be the primary home for Jonathan’s most ambitious essays and features, and Eugene joins us most recently from The Washington Post, where he worked for three decades.
Rachel Riley, a former McKinsey partner, helped execute sweeping layoffs at the health department this spring. Behind the scenes, her methods sparked turmoil.
The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the U.S. embargo on Cuba for the 33rd consecutive year, with just seven opposed, including the United States, Israel and Ukraine. The vote came as Cuba was battered by Hurricane Melissa, causing widespread damage.
We get an update from the eastern Cuban province of Santiago de Cuba with Liz Oliva Fernández, a reporter with Belly of the Beast, who says the U.S.
