The Return of the Democratic Manly Man

Brian Poindexter had just finished wolfing down a Reuben sandwich in a deli outside Cleveland when he delivered a message that, coming from a Democratic House candidate in the year 2026,…

NATO Is Going Strong, Actually

Source: YouTube Summary Donald Trump has long treated NATO like a punching bag, leading many observers to proclaim the demise of the Western alliance. Some analysts have called NATO “a…

The Surprising Source of America’s Success

Driving on I-79 south from Pittsburgh toward Charlottesville, I started composing this birthday card in my head—a love letter to America on its 250th birthday. The hills of Pennsylvania were…

You Can Know Too Much About Your Genes

I was pregnant with my first baby when my grandmother died. The last time I saw her,  she had moved into an assisted-living facility where all of her worldly possessions…

A New Test for Free Expression

On Thursday morning, PEN America, the free-speech organization, posted an article detailing the “isolation and exclusion” many Israeli and Jewish writers have felt since October 7, 2023. The authors describe…

Can Democrats Salvage Their Chances in Maine?

Source: YouTube Summary After Graham Platner officially withdrew from the Maine Senate race this week, Democrats are now in the process of naming his replacement. On Washington Week With The…

America’s Homegrown-Parasite Problem

The other night, I found myself in the unenviable position of trying to cook a salad. And I mean cook a salad: I spread fresh, delicious-looking gem lettuce in a…

Look Closer: Pieter De Hooch’s Puzzle Box

Pieter de Hooch was a contemporary of Johannes Vermeer in the Dutch city of Delft for a time; they painted similar subjects, in similar costumes, engaged in similarly quotidian activities.…

No One Really Knows How Children Handle All This Heat

You know it’s hot when summer camps have to cancel bonfires and doctors warn that playgrounds could be dangerous. Last week, when a heat dome was descending on New York…

The Surprising Unity of Soccer

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up…