Albert Brooks proves that “humor in the face of catastrophe can sometimes save your life,” Adrienne LaFrance writes. She speaks with Brooks’s friends, colleagues, and the filmmaker himself about how he became the godfather of American comedy. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

In its cold open on Saturday, “SNL” seemed compelled to address students’ activism on Gaza and Israel. But it failed to make any real point, Esther Zuckerman: theatln.tc/f1EIykpq theatlantic.com/culture/archiv…

Some parents argue that forcing kids to say they’re sorry is useless or harmful. But you can find as many reasons to insist on an apology as not, Stephanie H. Murray writes: theatlantic.com/family/archive…

A study found that using two spaces after a period improves reading speed, James Hamblin reported in 2018—but there's more to reading than efficiency. theatln.tc/1Uost03R

Some late-breaking adjustments to my new autobiography, by James Parker—inspired by Governor Kristi Noem: theatlantic.com/books/archive/…

Since childhood, Jodie Foster has struggled with one question: How much does she want the public to know her? Jordan Kisner on what Foster wants the world to understand about her: theatln.tc/HCa9jMKb

Autocrats in China, Russia, and elsewhere are now making common cause with MAGA Republicans to discredit liberalism and freedom around the world. Anne Applebaum on how democracy is losing the propaganda war: theatln.tc/gs5mCyiU theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

.Amanda Knox advocated for the release of a man she believed had been wrongfully convicted of a double murder, seeing in his case so many similarities to her own.

Then the exonerating evidence began to evaporate. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

The diagnosis of hypochondria may be officially gone, Meghan O'Rourke writes, but the health anxiety it represents will never go away. theatln.tc/B68TG36d theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

Women are expected to be nurturers. Firstborns are expected to be exemplars. Being both is exhausting, Sarah Sloat wrote last year. theatln.tc/ocprwiFT theatlantic.com/family/archive…

George and Lori Schappell, who died last month at 62, spent their adult lives finding their way through a world not designed for them. American society is still struggling to determine whether to accommodate bodies like theirs, S.I. Rosenbaum writes: theatln.tc/Rwemoiw5

'It’s not that Trump bore any malice toward Daniels (that came later); it’s that she mattered to him only as a vehicle to sex,' David A. Graham writes: theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

'Xi is enacting a program that seeks to turn the rising popularity of Tibetan Buddhism to his advantage—to transform the tradition from a hotbed of dissent into an instrument of assimilation and party propaganda,' Judith Hertog writes: theatlantic.com/international/…

Fear is not what’s driving Americans to support Trump—it is, instead, how many justify their support, Peter Wehner writes: theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

When Iddo Gefen saw a protester holding a sign with the words “By any means necessary,” he thought of one person: his best friend, Sagi, who was killed in the fighting on October 7, two weeks before his wedding.

It’s time to stop minimizing the effects of extreme rhetoric, Gefen…

All the punditry about free speech and criticism of Israel has extravagantly missed the point, Dara Horn argues. The big lie of anti-Semitism is winning: theatln.tc/ZaPXr2eH

For years, we’ve understood honeybees to be at imminent risk of extinction, despite signficant evidence to the contrary. Ellen Cushing asks: Why? theatlantic.com/culture/archiv…

“Despite all the coverage of the protests over Israel’s war in Gaza,” imprecise and euphemistic rhetoric has made it “remarkably difficult to understand what the players are actually saying,” Jill Filipovic writes. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…

If you want a podcast that goes beyond motivational platitudes to offer real insights, @hannarosin has the list for you. Save yourself from a self-help disaster with these fresh shows for your Pocket Casts feed: blog.pocketcasts.com/2024/05/07/han…

“The job of an ambassador—even one representing a close ally—has become far more complex because of the strident partisanship that has taken hold in D.C.,” writes Elaine Godfrey: theatlantic.com/politics/archi…