Federal prosecutors released sentencing recommendations for two alleged criminals who worked closely with Donald Trump: his lawyer Michael Cohen, and campaign manager Paul Manafort. They are filled with damning details. But the most important passage by far is this, about Trump’s fixer: “Cohen…

Illustration by Daniel Savage Well, pod enthusiasts, it’s been another terrific year for the form. At this stage in the podcast era, screens have entered the narrative: an ABC sitcom about podcasting has come and gone (“ Alex, Inc. ”), an Amazon series made from a podcast (“ Homecoming ”) is…

When he completes his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including possible coordination with Russia by the Trump campaign, special counsel Robert Mueller is required by federal regulations to submit a confidential report to the attorney general. Depending on how Mueller…

The aspiring actress and social-media star Brittany Furlan in costume for a parody of Beyoncé’s Instagram announcement of her pregnancy. Photograph Courtesy Netflix The new Netflix documentary “The American Meme,” directed by Bert Marcus, offers a chilling glimpse into the lives of social-media…

Postscript is Cameron Kunzelman's weekly column about endings, apocalypses, deaths, bosses, and all sorts of other finalities. Spoilers ahead for Hitman 2's final level . The final mission in Hitman 2 is about the end of the world. It isn’t pitched that way, of course. It’s given to us as an…

Three of 600 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid vans in Waymo's autonomous car fleet are parked outside SoHo 63 in Chandler, Ariz. Caitlin O'Hara CHANDLER, Ariz. — Across Arizona Avenue from Waymo’s self-driving car showroom sits the Crowne Plaza San Marcos hotel which is, allegedly, haunted. According to…

Politics August 24, 2018 , Deborah Chasman Aug 24, 2018 14 Min read time Topics: elections Trump film interview Share: Image: Nafis Azad Morris on his new film and what he thinks of the man who likened himself to Darth Vader and Satan. Errol Morris’s career as an Oscar-winning documentarian has been…

A begrudging rapper; a teen heartthrob; a contract killer; a star who watched another star be born; a duck. This year was full of distinct, bold performances on TV , in movies, in music , and in real life. Here, Amanda Dobbins and Andrew Gruttadaro count down the best of them. 10. Fergie There have…

For decades, action movies ran Hollywood. They were critically derided populist money-movers—the productions that kept the studio lights on. These days, superhero movies, the flashier and sillier and nerdier stepchild of action movies, play that role. Action movies are an afterthought. Four of…

It had been a tough couple of years for Chris Elliott and Adam Resnick when they sat down at the Fox office. As far as they knew, no one even watched their show, Get a Life . But, somehow, the meeting went better than expected. “We pitched some show for me, and they bought it in the room,” remembers…

Right now, in the desert just east of Reno, Nevada, Tesla is drilling into recently laid asphalt to install more electric vehicle chargers in the parking lot of the Gigafactory. The company has hired so many new workers in recent years that it needs more space to let them charge their Nissan Leafs,…

Movies are changing rapidly. Superhero stories are evolving . Documentaries are booming . Netflix is democratizing—or destroying, depending on your point of view —the movie experience. But it’s also committing resources to some of the most unlikely, fascinating films of the year—one of which made…

Draw me your your map of utopia and I’ll tell you your tragic flaw. In 10 years of political reporting I’ve met a lot of intense, oddly dressed people with very specific ideas about what the perfect world would look like, some of them in elected office—but none quite so strange as the ideological…

Happy Cyber Monday! Maybe today a company will invite you to discuss your shopping plans or questions with one of their customer service representatives via chat. Maybe while you are deciding exactly what to type, and revising your messages before you hit “Enter,” the customer service representative…

Tech Fix Becoming an influencer is hard, as our columnist found out when he tried creative photography, consultations and even bots to propel his food-obsessed corgi to fame. The columnist's dog, Max, beside homemade squid-ink pasta in a photograph posted to Max's Instagram account. Credit Brian X.…

A Nancy strip. Photo: Olivia Jaimes/© 2018 UFS Rarely in the history of comics has there been a turnaround as abrupt and pronounced as that of “ Nancy .” As of just a few months ago, no discerning critic paid the long-running comic strip any mind. Sure, the strips made back in the day by original…

Rob Harvilla and Shea Serrano have combined forces to count down the year’s best albums, including a few top-of-the-chart smashes and a few unexpected curveballs that are all worthy of revisiting. 10. Action Bronson, White Bronco First, let me say: If you want to slide Travis Scott’s beautiful…

The top series of the year included addictive thrillers, cosmic dramedies and an assassin double feature. The best series of the year included, from left, “The Americans,” with Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell; “Killing Eve,” with Sandra Oh; “Atlanta,” with Lakeith Stanfield and Donald Glover; and…

Earth just had its second-warmest October on record, according to NOAA data released Tuesday . NASA reported the same finding last week. The big picture: The finding extends the planet's hot streak to 406 straight months with temperatures above the 20th century average. Meanwhile, the last…

all photos by Masami Yamada Although the Michelin Guide was started by a tire company over a century ago as a guide to fine dining, it’s practically unheard of for the organization to recognize the auto industry. But that is what happened last month when Hot Air , a used auto shop in Tottori that…

A crushing defeat in Parliament for Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plan could make her abandon her deal, or even force her from Downing Street. Facing a critical vote by British lawmakers on her plans for leaving the European Union, or Brexit, the question for Prime Minister Theresa May seems…

Ringer illustration In the Peak TV era, everyone has a different favorite show—so this year, Alison Herman and Chris Ryan paired up to build a top-10 list that reflects a range of tastes and viewing experiences. (And one that almost certainly omits a show you loved.) 10. Queer Eye In a landscape…

Photo: Pexels You’ll never make everybody happy—and the people that aren’t happy are liable to tell you why. Criticism is part of the price of being human. But even though we know that, it’s hard to deal when the negative stuff starts rolling in. Share an opinion on the internet—or just report some…

"Captain" Morton Jablin Irene Levine Most guests on Seven Seas Navigator may not find anything unusual about the distinguished-looking man who eats alone every day, at lunch and dinner, at the same corner table of the Compass Rose dining room. But when I learned that this passenger—whom the crew…

What Happens if ... The possibilities ahead in the Russia investigation suggest we are not reaching the end of a nightmare, but rather entering one. Opinion Columnist The special counsel, Robert Mueller, is still investigating the alleged connections between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016.…

Mike Birbiglia. Photo: Vulture and Photo by Getty Images “I know … I’m in the future also” are seven words that represented both a creative breakthrough and directive for Mike Birbiglia, when he riffed it, working on a story about a charity set gone wrong. For years, from one one-person show to the…

The next time you tune in to an episode of Netflix’s “ Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj ,” look closely at the title sequence. It’s only a few seconds long, but it tells you everything you need to know about what the show and how the host views the world. Our first sight is of Minhaj’s head and…

Michael Lewis is a national treasure, whose gift for explaining how finance grifters think and operate has spawned a whole genre, which he dominates with books like Liar's Poker (an insider view of the S&L crisis); The Big Short (a character-driven, crystal-clear explainer on the financial…

Netflix ’s animated adaptation of “ Castlevania ” is pure bloody brilliance, distilled into two seasons with just twelve episodes. It’s beautifully animated, brimming with stylish homage to the video game series, and it revels in the violent showdowns depicted between humans and demons. It’s also…

The first time I truly took a break from social media was in 2015, at a summer camp for burned-out adults called "Camp Grounded." There were three rules: Take a camp name of your choosing, like Luna or Huckleberry, avoid talking about "W," meaning work, and ditch all electronics at the door. At an…

[Dear readers, this essay is on the future of marketplaces. Is there still room for marketplace startups to innovate? We answer, emphatically, yes! Am excited to share a vision on the past and future of the service economy, in a collaboration by my a16z colleague Li Jin . From “Unbundling Craiglist”…

George H. W. Bush is likely to be remembered as the last President of the republic not to have been intensely despised by a significant portion of its population. Photograph by Cynthia Johnson / The LIFE Images Collection / Getty “Leave the kid alone,” George Herbert Walker Bush said, when, as a…

After enduring a particularly invasive trip through airport security, white-hat hacker Evan Booth wondered if it was possible for terrorists to craft deadly weapons using only items for sale at the duty free shops and newsstands beyond the TSA checkpoints. After fashioning a fully functional shotgun…

Last March, Evan Booth presented a blockbuster talk at Kuala Lumpur's Hack the Box conference, explaining how to improvise lethal weapons from items in airport gift shops and duty-free stores. He's kept up the work since then on a website called Terminal Cornucopia , and he's presented 10 of his…

George H.W. Bush, Public Servant The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section. President George H.W. Bush at the White House in 1992. Credit Paul Hosefros/The New York Times Historians will measure the…

Michael Cohen exits Federal Court after entering a guilty plea on November 29, 2018 Andrew Kelly / Reuters The first was that Cohen walked into a Manhattan federal courtroom unannounced. He did it by surprise. We live in a political environment characterized by constant leaks, each choreographed…

Where does this strange empire start or stop? Where does this strange empire start or stop? By JENNY ODELL Part I: Zooming Out 1. Orders and Fulfillment 2. The Newsweek Raid 3. A San Francisco Startup 4. A Better Life 5. The Empty Store Part II: Zooming In 6. The High End Furniture 7. Books Can…

Konami/Getty Images/Ringer illustration Spy games could have been different. In 1997, U.K. video game developer Rare finished its work on GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo’s first console of the 3D gaming era, the Nintendo 64. GoldenEye 007 adapted the latest James Bond movie, GoldenEye , released in…

Skip to content The Atlantic Popular Latest Subscribe Search Quick Links James Fallows Megan Garber David Frum Adam Serwer Manage subscription Quick Links James Fallows Megan Garber David Frum Adam Serwer Manage subscription Alan Taylor Nov 26, 2018 16 Photos In Focus For the past five years, a mock…