Today's Liberal News

What’s the Matter With Moderation?

One simple rule shapes Kansas politics: Republicans win statewide. In U.S. Senate races, the GOP has prevailed without interruption for more than 90 years. But the rule has a corollary, which accounts for the occasional Democratic governor. A Republican thought to be too extreme, too ideological, or too big for their britches can be beaten by a centrist Democrat when the wind blows just right.

Six Movies to Get You in the Fall Mood

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September has arrived, bringing the first hints of fall: cooler days, changing leaves, and the urge to revisit comfort watches. Below, The Atlantic’s writers and editors recommend six films that put them in an autumn spirit.

AI Is Already Making Us Less Human

Many people think that AI is going to gain consciousness and take over the world, but I’ve never been among them. That’s mostly because I believe the human mind contains depths and complexities that AI and its engineers do not fathom and will never match. As the neuroscientist Anil Seth wrote earlier this year, “The more you delve into the intricacies of the biological brain, the more you realize how rich and dynamic it is, compared to the dead sand of silicon.

“Top of the World”: Remembering the Restaurant Workers Killed Atop World Trade Center in 9/11 Attack

A new documentary titled Top of the World tells the story of Windows on the World, the legendary restaurant atop the World Trade Center, through the eyes of its former employees. Windows on the World served guests for 25 years, until the morning of September 11, 2001, when it was destroyed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. Seventy-nine workers and 91 diners were killed.

“Terrorizing Our City”: ICE Targets Immigrants in Danbury, CT, Including at School Bus Stops

We go to Danbury, Connecticut, where residents held a mass demonstration this week to protest recent immigration arrests and to support the city’s immigrant community. Danbury, like many other communities across the United States, has been the target of a spike in immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, including local reports of ICE arresting parents at school bus stops.

“They Got Zero Notice”: 2,500 Workers Laid Off as Tyson Foods Shutters Meatpacking Plant in Illinois

Tyson Foods, the United States’ largest meatpacking and processing company, shuttered a beef processing facility in Joslin, Illinois, last month, laying off more than 2,500 primarily immigrant workers “virtually overnight.” Although Tyson Foods CEO and President Donnie King made over $34 million last year, nearly 800 times more than the median Tyson worker, the company cites a historic 75-year low in the U.S. cattle herd as a primary reason for the closure.

The Backlash Against Data Centers

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.
On a special edition of Washington Week With The Atlantic, the Atlantic staff writer Josh Tyrangiel joined for a discussion about the future of AI and what, if anything, the U.S.

Rediscover the Ordinary

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
A strange thing happens when you see something every day: Eventually, you stop seeing it. A building you once admired becomes part of your commute. The trees on your block become background. Your favorite coffee mug becomes something you reach for without thinking.

Why Wendell Berry Didn’t Worry About the Future

Wendell Berry was not an easy man to reach. When I wanted to interview him for this magazine in the spring of 2015, his publicist warned me that a press request would take some doing. Berry didn’t have a cellphone. He didn’t use email. He didn’t even have a computer. He wrote most of his drafts by hand during the day, without electric light. And he definitely didn’t make himself available to any old reporter who wanted to talk.
I knew this already, of course.

J. D. Vance’s Disingenuous Defense of Tucker Carlson

When J. D. Vance was asked at a press conference on Thursday about his relationship with Tucker Carlson, the media personality and ultra-right-wing conspiracy theorist, he displayed a surprising side of himself: human, vulnerable, almost touchingly naive.
“Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things,” the vice president said. “And I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.

The Rush-Job Presidency

Construction is notoriously slow-going work. But in Donald Trump’s Washington, cranes and bulldozers appear like DoorDash deliveries: fast, frictionless, and on demand.
To build the president’s White House ballroom, roughly 250 workers have been pouring concrete and installing steel framework, keeping the site humming for 20 hours a day, seven days a week.