How to Define America in 30 Objects
What artifacts capture 250 years of work to attain the dreams of the Declaration?
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Stefani Reynolds / AFP / Getty These Justices Are Not Impartial
Why such a slim Supreme Court majority upheld birthright citizenship
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Getty. 
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. A Twist in This Year’s Strangest Literary AI Scandal
Jamir Nazir, the controversial winner of the Commonwealth award, tells his side of the story.
Tierney L. Cross / Bloomberg / Getty Washington Is Turning Into a Fortress for the Fourth
Trump’s Independence Day blowout will bring a security blitz.
Universal History Archive / Getty The Hispanic Founder
Bernardo de Gálvez helped win the Revolution. Can he win over 21st-century America?
I Went to the Great American State Fair and I May Never Sleep Again
A day at the fair featuring patriotic energy drinks, a George Washington impersonator, and lots of ABBA
Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Hulton Archive / Getty; ullstein bild / Getty; Universal Images Group / Getty. The Founders’ Guide to Happiness
Today people think of happiness as something that results from the pursuit of pleasure, but the Constitution’s Framers had other ideas. (From 2024)
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Nanna Heitmann / Magnum Teaching a Stone to Talk
Wherever there is stillness there is the still small voice, nature’s old song and dance … A meditation on silence and other matters. (From 1981)
Michael Parkin Gallery / Joan Warburton / Bridgeman Images
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Glasshouse Images / Getty radio atlantic•Episode 192American History as Rorschach Test
A new curriculum plays down America’s sins.
Tasos Katopodis / Stringer / Getty the david frum show•Episode 65The American Experiment Is Worth Believing In
The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, on America’s 250th anniversary and the American idea today. Plus: what we can learn from American history on this Fourth of July and City on a Hill: A History of American Exceptionalism by Abram Van Engen.
Illustration by Renee Klahr / The Atlantic galaxy brain•Episode 35How Elon Musk Became More Powerful Than Ever
The authors of Muskism break down the beliefs, business strategy, and political influence behind the world’s richest man.
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There are authoritarian tactics already at work in the United States. To root them out, you have to know where to look.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. how to age up•Episode 6How to Age Up on a Warming Planet
Younger generations are having a hard time imagining their future.
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