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The Atlantic
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Exploring the American idea through ambitious, essential reporting and storytelling. Of no party or clique since 1857. http://theatlantic.com
Venezuelans once viewed oil as a source of wealth and pride—but now many have come to see it more as a curse, Gisela Salim-Peyer and Nancy A. Youssef report:
What Oil Means to Venezuela
Many of its citizens don’t mind giving the Americans another chance.
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January 29, 2026 at 9:30 PM
Bruce Springsteen’s “Streets of Minneapolis” calls back to protest music’s glory days, Spencer Kornhaber writes—and though the Boss has sounded bitter and mournful before, he has never sounded “this purely angry”:
Rage in the U.S.A.
Bruce Springsteen has never sounded angrier than on his new song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”
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January 29, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Governor Tim Walz warns of a national unraveling in an interview with @isaacstanleybecker.bsky.social. “It’s worse than you think,” Walz says of the situation in Minnesota.
Tim Walz Fears a Fort Sumter Moment in Minneapolis
The Minnesota governor warns of a national unraveling.
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January 29, 2026 at 8:19 PM
The Trump administration's “war on empathy,” Hillary Rodham Clinton writes, “threatens to pave the way for an extreme vision of Christian nationalism that seeks to replace democracy with theocracy in America”: theatln.tc/dcVIzlMi
January 29, 2026 at 8:03 PM
The Trump administration's “war on empathy,” Hillary Rodham Clinton writes, “threatens to pave the way for an extreme vision of Christian nationalism that seeks to replace democracy with theocracy in America”:
The Triumph of Empathy in Minneapolis
MAGA sees a world of vengeance, scorn, and humiliation, and cannot imagine generosity or solidarity.
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January 29, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Today, only one survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre is still alive, Caleb Gayle writes. “The survivors’ lives bore the undeniable impressions of a community’s injury.” Waiting her out does not end the obligation to repair:
What America Lost When It Lost Mother Fletcher
With nearly all of the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre now dead, the country must find other ways to rectify its wrongs.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Republicans’ responses to the shooting of Alex Pretti were relatively mild—but the sheer number of them sent an unmistakable message to Donald Trump, Jonathan Lemire and Russell Berman report.
How Republicans Forced Trump to Shift Course in Minnesota
A flood of GOP statements sent an unmistakable message to Trump: Enough.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Over the past year, Trump has allowed a rift to widen within the team tasked with delivering on the mass-deportation plan that is his most important domestic-policy initiative. Michael Scherer and Nick Miroff report on the battles raging inside DHS: theatln.tc/fWspysZq
January 29, 2026 at 6:25 PM
“Alex Pretti and Renee Good died too young, standing against too much injustice,” Peter Wehner argues. “Whether their deaths inspire others to push back the darkness depends on the rest of us”:
The Streets of Minneapolis
What happened in the city is important, and won’t be forgotten.
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January 29, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Tim Walz discusses his phone call with Donald Trump—and the surreal nature of the past few weeks in Minneapolis. Listen to his conversation with Isaac Stanley-Becker on "Radio Atlantic":
‘This Has Got to End’
Tim Walz on the “all-out attack on all of state government”
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Donald Trump has always treated DOJ like his own personal law firm—and now the department is acting like ICE’s law firm as well, Quinta Jurecic argues.
ICE’s No. 1 Ally
The Department of Justice has rushed to shield federal agents from accountability and launched needless criminal investigations into Minnesota officials and residents.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Amid the “higher-education hellscape,” Ian Bogost wondered, are schools like Amherst and Davidson the final bastion of the college ideal? He visited liberal-arts colleges across the country to investigate:
The Last Safe Place to Go to College
An unexpected winner is emerging in the war on higher education.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 5:15 PM
A memoir about abandoning ambition offers a new take on the aspirations of Millennial women, yet the author oddly nudges away from introspection about her own career, Lily Meyer writes.
What Does Life After Ambition Actually Look Like?
Writing a great memoir about choosing a “good enough” life, it turns out, is hard.
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January 29, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Over the past year, Trump has allowed a rift to widen within the team tasked with delivering on the mass-deportation plan that is his most important domestic-policy initiative. @michaelscherer.bsky.social and @nickmiroff.bsky.social report on the battles raging inside DHS:
Battles Are Raging Inside the Department of Homeland Security
Officials overseeing Trump’s mass-deportation campaign are fighting one another for power.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Josh Shapiro’s memoir presents his Jewishness, which is widely considered a barrier to his presidential prospects, as a unifying brand of faith—and in this morally fraught moment, it might just work, @galbeckerman.bsky.social argues.
Josh Shapiro Takes a Gamble on His Faith
The presidential contender’s memoir presents his Jewishness as a unifying force—and in this morally fraught moment, it might just work.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 3:45 PM
The 2026 National Defense Strategy “appears to have been drafted not by serious people but by Pentagon officials eager to curry favor with an imperious president and terrified of getting their talking points wrong,” Eliot Cohen argues.
Whatever This Is, It Is Not Strategy
Defending the nation will take more than sycophancy, slurs, and slop.
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January 29, 2026 at 3:15 PM
The word “gentrification” is “not usually cheered”—but a new paper provides “a tantalizing clue about how social mobility can be engineered in America by building bridges between rich and poor,” Idrees Kahloon argues.
The Long-Term Benefit of Gentrifying Cities
Bringing rich and poor together has major benefits.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Donald Trump has always treated DOJ like his own personal law firm—and now the department is acting like ICE’s law firm as well, Quinta Jurecic argues.
ICE’s No. 1 Ally
The Department of Justice has rushed to shield federal agents from accountability and launched needless criminal investigations into Minnesota officials and residents.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Venezuelans once viewed oil as a source of wealth and pride—but now many have come to see it more as a curse, Gisela Salim-Peyer and Nancy A. Youssef report:
What Oil Means to Venezuela
Many of its citizens don’t mind giving the Americans another chance.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Autocrats don’t just attack educational institutions; they seek to turn them into “a place that breeds the values of authoritarianism, suspicion, hostility,” Ruth Ben-Ghiat tells Anne Applebaum. Listen to the full episode of “Autocracy in America”: theatln.tc/4xDXZcjA
January 29, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Amid the “higher-education hellscape,” there may be one place where college life persists in some semblance of its ideal form, @ibogost.com argues. Are small liberal-arts colleges the last, best hope for undergraduates?
The Last Safe Place to Go to College
An unexpected winner is emerging in the war on higher education.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 12:45 PM
The Christian fundamentalists and evangelicals aligning with ICE are “prying Christianity further and further away from the ethic and teachings of Jesus,” Peter Wehner argues.
MAGA Jesus Is Not the Real Jesus
Trump is causing incalculable damage to the Christian faith, yet most evangelicals will never break with him.
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January 29, 2026 at 8:15 AM
Since 2020, there’s been a notable decrease in athletes’ social and political engagement—but after Minneapolis, that spirit seems to be flickering back to life, Jemele Hill writes.
The Return of Athlete Outrage
“I think that when human lives are at stake, it’s bigger than anything else,” the basketball star Breanna Stewart said.
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January 29, 2026 at 7:45 AM
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s decades-long friendship has been a defining part of their Hollywood careers. But their new movie "The Rip" fails to capture what makes their relationship so appealing, argues David Sims:
The Secret to One of Hollywood’s Most Enduring Friendships
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s latest movie doesn’t quite understand their brotherly appeal.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 6:15 AM
What does Anthropic really stand for? The AI company “comes across as more sincerely committed to safety than its competitors, but it is also moving full speed toward building tools it acknowledges could be horrifically dangerous,” @matteowong.bsky.social reports:
Anthropic Is at War With Itself
The AI company shouting about AI’s dangers can’t quite bring itself to slow down.
bit.ly
January 29, 2026 at 4:15 AM