Adrienne LaFrance

The Civil-Military Crisis Is Here The leaders of the U.S. military may soon face a terrible decision.

Must-read @radiofreetom.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

My Life in Ambigrammia The esoteric art form that revealed a new kind of beauty to me

You can read the whole thing here: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

A delightful glimpse into one of the world's great minds. Douglas Hofstadter wrote for The Atlantic about how he became obsessed with ambigrams.

This one is my favorite:

“It Only Tuesday” is still my favorite Onion article but this is a pretty close second:

Portland’s ‘War Zone’ Is Like Burning Man for the Terminally Online There’s more absurdity than menace on the city’s streets—at least for now.

Some of the details in @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social’s dispatch from Portland are truly 👀
www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

A Government Shutdown, Weaponized The president is boasting about doing things to Democrats that are “bad for them and irreversible by them.”

“Disturbing” doesn’t even begin to describe it… www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

The New Anarchy America faces a type of extremist violence it does not know how to stop.

To understand “why Portland,” and how we got here, I hope you’ll read my 2023 story. Free with this gift link: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc... (4/4)

Most Portlanders are just trying to live their lives and stayed away from all of this. But extremists there got locked in an escalatory cycle that Trump saw as a political opportunity. (3/4)

Years before that, Trump supporters had identified Portland as an ideal place to provoke the left. As I’ve written before, right-wing extremists knew that Portland’s reaction to a trolling campaign would be swift, and would guarantee the celebrity that comes with virality. (2/4)

There’s a reason I focused on Portland when I reported a big story on political violence two years ago. (1/4)

Why Is the Pentagon Afraid of the Press? Pete Hegseth’s department is imposing restrictions that threaten to limit media scrutiny.

This is very important, by @nancyayoussef.bsky.social.

Free to read with this link: www.theatlantic.com/national-sec...

Happy Friday! Here's an extremely cool thing:

The Atlantic is offering public high schools in the United States free access to our journalism.

Learn more here: theatlantic.com/hsaccess

Some Clues That a Recession Is Coming Cardboard-box demand can be a legitimate indicator. Hemline length? Not so much.

Read the whole thing here: www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

What to know if a recession is coming? @elcush.bsky.social on what to watch (and what to ignore):

American Tyranny Free-speech hypocrisy is a symptom of the democratic decay that leads to authoritarianism.

I hope everyone reads George Packer's latest. He has thought deeply about these issues for a long, long time. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

A Beautiful Day for Saying Nothing That chill in the air isn’t Jimmy Kimmel’s show being suspended. It’s just autumn!

🚨New @petridishes.bsky.social 🚨

Trust me when I say you should read the whole thing:

www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

This is very much beside the point but I enjoyed how hard Letterman laughed when @jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social said "shit."

"He said 'shit!' ... The Atlantic Monthly guy said 'shit.' Yes! There's your First Amendment, ladies and gentlemen."

bsky.app/profile/thea...

Just now at The Atlantic Festival in New York, David Letterman to @jeffreygoldberg.bsky.social: “You can’t go around firing somebody because you’re fearful or trying to suck up to an authoritarian—a criminal—administration in the Oval Office. That’s just not how this works.”

A Government of All the Podcasters The right-wing podcast-industrial complex is establishing new norms and taboos—and expanding the White House’s power.

“Trump’s White House is a government by the podcasters, for the podcasters,” Helen Lewis argues. “The right might say that it’s winning in the marketplace of ideas, but that rings hollow when it’s also trying to buy the market”:

Capitulation Is Contagious When fear spreads in a society, powerful people who know better are often the first to show their weakness.

As I’ve written before, capitulation is contagious.

When fear spreads in a society, powerful people who know better are often the first to show their weakness.

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Constitution Protects Jimmy Kimmel’s Mistake Free speech is under assault.

Really worth reading Adam Serwer’s latest.

He makes the point that whether companies like Nexstar/ABC/Disney are “capitulating because of fear or because they see a financial interest in aligning with the administration is ultimately irrelevant.”

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

An Escalation in Every Way Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from late-night is a chilling precedent that could have deep consequences if it isn’t swiftly undone.

From @davidlsims.bsky.social:

“What’s happened to Kimmel is an escalation in every way.”

www.theatlantic.com/culture/arch...

Proud Boy Enrique Tarrio: MAGA Has Figured Out How to ‘Play Dirty’ Inside the far-right network that is working to get people fired for what they say about Charlie Kirk

The Atlantic's @alibreland.bsky.social talked to Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys.

Tarrio told him that cancel culture “sucked for us. I always said I wouldn’t do it back to anybody... I’m in a different mindset right now. An eye for an eye right now.”

www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

The Invention of Judd Apatow How a kid from Long Island willed his way to the top of American comedy

I hope you like it. Free to read with this gift link: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc... (4/4)

In reporting this story, I talked to James L. Brooks, Seth Rogen, Amy Schumer, Albert Brooks, Gary Gulman, Ricky Velez, Pete Holmes, Lena Dunham, Kelly Carlin, Mike Birbiglia, and so many other comedians and filmmakers. (3/4)

I love it because it is completely ridiculous (obviously). But mostly I love it because, as fellow comedy nerds will recognize, it pays homage to Steve Martin’s The Great Flydini. (Fun fact: Apatow bought the original Flydini puppet at auction.) (2/4)

Before I share my latest feature story, which appears in The Atlantic’s October issue and is out today, please enjoy my favorite photo of Judd Apatow. (1/4)

(Photo credit: JR)

Strawberries in Winter Most Americans do not want civil war. Anyone who is declaring it should stop.

Most Americans do not want civil war. Anyone who is declaring it should stop.

I wrote about political violence again: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

AI Watchdog - The Atlantic The Atlantic's coverage on AI Watchdog

I ❤️ AI Watchdog www.theatlantic.com/category/ai-...

Search Millions of YouTube Videos Used to Train Generative AI Inside the data sets training new video-creating tools

Want to know how tech companies are training their models off of your work? You can search our gigantic and growing collection of databases here: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...