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A veteran trapeze artist describes the intoxicating feeling of flying high without a safety net
Jay Zarado
The Practice of Censorship
"Censorship wherever it exists is as much a problem for the police as for the critics. And, like the poor, it is always with us."
Edward Weeks
The Theory of Censorship
"The present paper aims not at making a novel contribution but at extricating from the confusion the accepted truths, in the hope that the remaining points of difference may be seen more clearly and perhaps brought nearer to reconciliation."
William Allan Neilson
The Break in the Credit Chain
"It is all very well to say that the customers were foolish. But when a system prevails which caters to the folly of too large a proportion of a population, a proportion so large that the destruction of its purchasing power is of concern to every business in the land, then it deserves serious attention."
Edgar Lawrence Smith
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July/Aug 2021
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COVID Parenting Has Passed the Point of Absurdity
Melinda Wenner Moyer
This was always unsustainable. Now it's simply impossible.
Last Thursday, a group of 20 mothers in Boston met up outside a local high school. Their goal wasn't to socialize, drink wine, or even share COVID-related tips. They were there for one reason and one reason only: to stand in a circle—socially distanced, of course—and scream.
"I knew that we all needed to come together and support each other in our rage, resistance and disappointment," Sarah Harmon, the group's organizer, wrote on Instagram before the gathering. Ironically, some 20 other moms who had RSVP'd "yes" had to cancel at the last minute because they or other family members had COVID, Harmon told me.
When mothers feel there is no more appealing way to spend an evening than to yell into the frigid January darkness, something is very, very wrong. Parents in the United States are living through a universally terrible moment. For two years, we've been spending each and every day navigating an ever-changing virus that's threatening not only our well-being but our livelihoods. The situation has reached a fever pitch during this wave, when we're expected to function normally even though nothing is normal and none of the puzzle pieces in front of us fit together.
Families Are Going Rogue With Rapid Tests
Rachel Gutman
Scientifically speaking, it's gross.
"It started as a joke, actually," Elena Korngold told me. But late last month, the 40-something radiologist from Portland, Oregon, and her family decided that their unsanctioned scheme couldn't hurt. Elena began the proceedings by unwrapping the sterile swab from a BinaxNOW rapid test for SARS-CoV-2, part of the family's dwindling supply. She swirled the swab around the insides of each of her nostrils. Then she passed it to her husband, a cardiologist named Ethan, who swirled it around the insides of each of his nostrils. Then their two children did the same. It was "like some sort of religious ritual," Elena said.
The snot-saturated swab went into the test card. The test card showed a negative result. The Korngolds, now bonded by something even thicker than blood, went to their dinner party. Nobody got COVID.
Getty; The Atlantic
Will Omicron Leave Most of Us Immune?
Katherine J. Wu
The variant is spreading widely, but won't necessarily give us strong protection from new infections.
Even before Omicron hit the United States in full force, most of our bodies had already wised up to SARS-CoV-2's insidious spike—through infection, injection, or both. By the end of October 2021, some 86.2 percent of American immune systems may have glimpsed the virus's most infamous protein, according to one estimate; now, as Omicron adds roughly 800,000 known cases to the national roster each day, the cohort of spike-zero Americans, the truly immunologically naive, is shrinking fast. Virginia Pitzer, an epidemiologist at Yale's School of Public Health and one of the scientists who arrived at the 86.2 percent estimate, has a guess for what fraction of the U.S. population will have had some experience with the spike protein when the Omicron wave subsides: 90 to 95 percent.
Getty; Adam Maida / The Atlantic
Georgia Has a Very Strong Case Against Trump
David French
To see the most compelling evidence of the former president's criminality, look to the Peach State.
Yesterday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter to the chief judge of the Fulton County Superior Court requesting to empanel a special grand jury "for the purpose of investigating the facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to possible attempts to disrupt the lawful administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia."
The request was triggered by the reluctance of key witnesses, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, to cooperate without being subpoenaed to testify. The special-purpose grand jury wouldn't have the power to bring indictments, but it "may make recommendations concerning criminal prosecution as it shall see fit."
With this letter, Willis brought back to the fore the actions surrounding the 2020 election contest by former President Donald Trump that are most suspect under both state and federal criminal law. The district attorney seeks a special grand jury with good reason, as Trump appears to have crossed the line into outright illegality, and that behavior merits a serious and thorough criminal investigation.
Hy Peskin / Getty; The Atlantic
The Most Amazing Statistical Achievement in U.S. Sports History
Wilt Chamberlain. Joe DiMaggio. Simone Biles. Which of their athletic achievements is most impressive?
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Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game. Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak. Simone Biles's 25 World medals. Which of these athletic achievements is most impressive? And is any of them the most impressive accomplishment in the history of U.S. sports?
That's the question I asked Twitter a few weeks ago. When I received several thousand (passionate, funny, surprising, and extremely angry) replies, I realized that I'd struck a chord. Everybody has their own subjective definition of amazing. But I wanted something better: an objective definition to easily compare statistics across sports and to separate the merely great from the historic. I settled on the "50 Percent Club." That is: What American sports records are at least 50 percent greater than the relevant second-place accomplishment?
A Stunning Scale Model of Our Solar System, Drawn in the Desert
Jaclyn Skurie
A true illustration of our place in the universe
Atlantic Brand Partners
Floodlines
How to Build a Happy Life
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