This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he 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 WeekIs there class prejudice in the United States? If so, describe how it works.
The slow embrace of the comic-book medium by elite audiences is a history with its own particular milestones, each marking a moment of sudden approbation by previously disapproving constituencies. George McManus received a congressional dinner and warm words from Franklin D. Roosevelt in celebration of his comic strip, Bringing Up Father. Mid-century-modern artists like Roy Lichtenstein adapted (okay, lifted) images and panels from comic books.
The move can offer the agency a better understanding of how far and fast the virus is spreading.
We speak with Marxist economist Richard Wolff about how experts forecast another economic recession in the United States, with inflation at a historic high and a federal minimum wage that hasn’t changed for 13 years.
We look at the looming possibility of a global recession amid rising inflation, the pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine. World financial institutions and wealthier countries should take stronger actions such as writing off debts that are crippling developing nations, says Jayati Ghosh, economics professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. “This is just completely lack of political will. It’s not because we don’t know what to do.
China warned that there could be serious consequences, including a military response, if U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi follows through on plans to visit Taiwan in August, according to the Financial Times. If the trip happens, Pelosi would become the most senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
Indiana is the first state legislature to take up a sweeping new ban since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Public health experts fear the workarounds they’ve found could degrade the quality of care over time.
There are over 16,800 cases reported globally, with nearly 2,900 in the U.S.
Slower wage growth could help bring down prices and ultimately mean less sting for the average worker.
Lower-income and Black and Hispanic Americans have been hit especially hard.
Biden officials have repeatedly touted the jobs numbers as evidence of the economy’s underlying strength, but slowing the labor market is essential to helping tame consumer prices.
Fears have mounted that the central bank might trigger a recession sometime in the next year with its aggressive rate action.
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the battleground for abortion access now shifts to the states, even as the U.S. faces the worst rates of maternal mortality among all rich nations, with Black maternal mortality three to four times higher than the national average. Now a new documentary examines the crisis of Black maternal mortality through the families of two young Black women who died after giving birth.
The news that a federal grand jury heard testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence’s top lieutenant reminds us that yes, the Justice Department is technically doing something to investigate the Jan. 6 coup attempt—we just don’t know what.
Lots happening today, so bonus update!
On Monday I briefly addressed rumors out of pro-Ukraine Telegram that Russian forces had abandoned two key villages near Izyum, the site of a pontoon bridge and a key supply route for forces pushing toward the twin fortress cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Unfortunately it’s not likely true.
Maybe, after all is said and done, promoting an irritable bowel with a Sriracha beer bong attachment as your party’s standard-bearer isn’t such a great idea after all. For years, Donald Trump was to Fox News what Jared was to Subway: the face of the franchise. The only difference is, Fox knew all along what an odious lump of id Trump was but decided to make him their mascot anyway.
That may all be changing.
In December, President Joe Biden extended the operation of the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030 as part of the Space Frontier Act. A month later, NASA set an explicit end date for the last crew to leave in January of 2031. Then in February, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin initiated an illegal, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
“There was no order from the president,” former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller testified.
“I’m not the only provider who has taken care of young children needing abortion care,” Dr. Caitlin Bernard said on “CBS Evening News.
It is a fact that the Fox propaganda channel is virulently anti-LGBTQ. In just one example, Daily Kos’ Marissa Higgins has previously reported how the right-wing outlet has played a significant role in re-popularizing the Anita Bryant-era “groomer” slur against LGBTQ people.
Oh, but that’s just outright false, Fox might rebut. We honored LGBTQ Pride month just a couple weeks ago, it might insist.
They’re leaving the door open to supporting him if he runs for president again.
The idea of a Donald Trump–oriented think tank is inherently absurd. Whatever your views on the former president, there’s no question that wonkish attention to policy was never the point or the focus of his administration—which might explain the strangeness of his speech today at the America First Agenda Summit, where a blood-soaked philippic on crime became a cringey laugh-fest of transphobic jokes.The D.C.
Meijer, a Trump critic, is locked in a tense primary against former Trump administration official John Gibbs.
The report reflects the growing scope of the agency’s inquiry into the events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
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.Are you ready to “release the wiggle”? Beyoncé’s new album will soon test America’s appetite for dancing—and her ability to adapt to the times.But first, here are three new stories from The Atlantic.
The Supreme Court is making America ungovernable.
Vice President Kamala Harris plans to turn up pressure against “Republican extremism,” Hulu angered Democrats and state judges made opposite rulings on enforcing bans.
Barely a month ago, Northern Ireland’s former first minister David Trimble and his old partner in peace, the Republic of Ireland’s Bertie Ahern, were sitting together in Belfast reminiscing about what they had built. With John Hume’s death in 2020, Trimble and Ahern were among the last of the island’s old giants. And now Trimble has gone too.
Last week came news that Russian President Vladimir Putin was threatening to shut down the offices of the Jewish Agency for Israel in Russia. For those unfamiliar with it, the agency is a nonprofit that for nearly a century has been tasked with figuring out the nuts and bolts of Zionism—that is, how to get Jews to a Jewish state. It was banned from the Soviet Union, but began operating in the region in the late 1980s and helped about a million Jews get to Israel through the 1990s.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have introduced the Puerto Rico Status Act, which would allow residents of the longtime U.S. colony to begin the process of self-determination and decide on the island’s territorial status. The bill sets up three options for residents to choose from in a referendum — U.S. statehood, independence or sovereignty in free association with the United States — and commits Congress to abide by the results.