“We’d save ourselves an enormous amount of trouble in the future if we’d agree to a simple litmus test: Immediately disregard anyone in the business of selling a vision who proudly proclaims they hate reading,” Thomas Chatterton Williams wrote in 2023:

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Unable to agree on how to interpret American history, schools, universities, and political institutions have stopped trying to interpret it at all, @YAppelbaum writes. But “without a coherent national story, we will fail to be a coherent nation.”

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“Battle Hymn of the Republic” can be used to make a statement in a way that “The Star-Spangled Banner” never can—and the rousing urgency of the hymn’s lyrics can’t be ignored, Jake Lundberg writes.

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The latest flu shot is ready for review—but nearly a dozen experts, including former ACIP members and former HHS officials told @KatherineJWu they have never encountered such uncertainty about the basic government process of recommending the vaccines.

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Would you pay $12,000 for a coat of arms? Many Americans have, @helenlewis writes. Why does a nation founded on the rejection of aristocratic traditions still yearn for them?

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.@DKThomp spoke with the economist Jesús Fernández-Villaverde about why the birth rate is dropping, why it matters, and just how steep the decline is likely to get:

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The white identitarians have more cultural and political power today than they did at any point in the past half century—and now that DEI and anti-racism are in retreat, they're moving on to a more ambitious goal, @thomaschattwill argues.

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The hit movie “Obsession” dramatizes a particular kind of Gen Z anxiety spiral, Emma Stefansky writes:

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Tennis is now easier to pick up than ever. “But its real advantage over other sports is what happens when you keep on playing,” Alexandra Moe wrote in 2025.

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No Russian thinker has worked harder than Aleksandr Dugin to rationalize the invasion of Ukraine—but Dugin, along with many other Russian elites, has run out of cogent stories to tell, @shustry reports: : Ramil Sitdikov / AFP / Getty

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"For many people, the talents that bloom later in life are more consequential than the ones that bloom early," David Brooks wrote in 2024:

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Being alive at all is the most extraordinary stroke of good luck any of us will ever experience, the physicist Alan Lightman writes: “The question is: What are we to make of the fantastically improbable fact of our existence, our moment of life?” : Will

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Answer today’s trivia, from Jake Lundberg’s article on the resurgence of a long-standing, politically dubious practice. Check your response and tackle two other questions:

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Joyce Beatty, the lawmaker fighting Donald Trump’s control of the Kennedy Center, says she feels vindicated with recent rulings in her favor—but saving the center legally may be easier than restoring it institutionally, @janaykingsberry reports: : Julia

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Hunter Biden’s return to public life has won him unexpected praise—but there’s a lesson he should learn from his father’s presidency, @GrahamDavidA argues:

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Republicans once sacrificed a Senate seat on the strategic calculation that they were better off without a disreputable colleague—a choice that Democrats now face, David Frum argues. : Jim Watson / AFP / Getty

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The real tradwives of America largely have one thing in common: They can’t afford child care, @fhill_official reports.

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Attacks on James Talarico show the GOP’s narrow, anxious definition of masculinity—and how difficult making a positive case for the party’s own candidate is, Helen Lewis argues: : Danielle Villasana / Getty

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The Republican Party’s refusal to accept the prospect of Spencer Pratt’s defeat in the L.A. mayor’s race is bizarre and revealing, @jonathanchait argues:

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Political candidates who can make content and are more native to social-media platforms may run more successful campaigns, Rob Flaherty, the deputy campaign manager for Kamala Harris’s 2024 campaign, tells @cwarzel. Watch Galaxy Brain:

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lowa now joins a list of states that Democrats are desperate to flip—and those who plan to spend hundreds of millions in Texas might be considering spending a fraction of that money in Iowa for possibly better results, @elainejgodfrey wrote last week: