A World Without Work
For centuries, experts have predicted that machines would make workers obsolete. That moment may finally be arriving. What will a society without jobs look like—and how should we prepare?
July/August 2015
In This Issue
Ideas of the year, the end of work, why the Saudis are going solar, the insidious message of tween TV, and more
Cover Story
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Prison Born
What becomes of the babies of incarcerated mothers? Research suggests that having nurseries in prisons leads to lower recidivism rates for moms and better outcomes for their kids.
Why the Saudis Are Going Solar
The fate of one of the biggest fossil-fuel producers may now depend on its investment in renewable energy.
The Decline of the American Actor
Why the under-40 generation of leading men in the U.S. is struggling—and what to do about it
How Much Political Power Do You Have?
A quiz to compare yourself with the likes of Barack Obama, Cliven Bundy, and others
Ideas of the Year
Mike McQuade The Cold War Never Really Ended
For the first time in a decade, Russia spent a higher portion of its GDP on defense than the U.S. in 2013.
Justin Mezzell Americans Are Okay With Surveillance and Torture
In the face of damning evidence against U.S. officials, the country has shrugged.
Justin Mezzell Sex on Campus Is Impossible
The complicated reality of consent
Cem Ozdel / Anadolu / Getty Post-Racial Society Is Still a Distant Dream …
The United States needs more than a good president to erase centuries of violence.
Stringer / Iraq / Reuters … And So Is Global Religious Peace
As long as people interpret texts literally, religion will be a source of conflict.
Justin Mezzell The Tricks People Use to Avoid Debate
In the art of evading meaningful policy discussions, all political camps have honed their particular styles.
Mike McQuade The NFL Is Evil—and Unstoppable
Despite incidents of cheating, taxpayer fleecing, domestic abuse, brain damage, and suicide, America can’t stop watching professional football.
Mike McQuade Silicon Valley Is Not a Force for Good
A sector that once promised revolutionary change is finally hitting its backlash.
Justin Mezzell The Nightmare of Cable TV Is Over
America is living in a golden age of television, largely in thanks to cord cutting.
The Atlantic Old People Are Cool
The effortless hipness of senior citizens.
Mike McQuade Inequality Is Enemy No. 1
The urgency of fixing income disparities around the world
More Ideas of the Year
From selfie sticks and wristwatches and to kale and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Dispatches
Alessio Mamo / Redux Closing Europe’s Harbors
The urgent case for stopping the flow of illegal migrants across the Mediterranean
John Cuneo Hunted by the Mob
The Italian investigative journalist Roberto Saviano, in exile in New York City
Eli Meir Kaplan The Fine Art of Forgery
Why the Smithsonian is using 3‑D printing to copy artifacts
Ávaro Domínguez How to Stop Humans From Filling the World With Trash
The future of garbage
Jeong Suh / Bryan Christie Design Palm Reading Is Real?
How your hands actually predict your future
Adam Cruft Reclaiming the Public Square
Cleveland is the latest city to call on James Corner, the landscape architect behind New York’s High Line, to revive an urban park.
The Wheels of Crime Are Greased With Olive Oil
The high cost of food fraud
Joe McKendry The Many Names of Charles Dickens
A very short book excerpt
Tims Productions Why People in Chile Love Soap Stars From Turkey
Chilean TV audiences fall for foreign shows—and their actors.
The Culture File
John Ritter What Tween TV Teaches Kids
The insidious message of Disney and Nickelodeon
Boris Pelcer Does Milan Kundera Still Matter?
The Czech writer’s new novel The Festival of Insignificance sees a new specter haunting Europe: a decadent and dying culture.
Sally Mann / Little, Brown and Company The Maternal Eye of Sally Mann
Two decades after her photographs of her children created a furor, she reveals the curious logic of her art.
Simon & Schuster The Mystery of Marriage
A new book is a cultural scrapbook on the resilience of a fraught institution.
Blue Rider Press The Tedium of Baseball
A review of “The Grind: Inside Baseball's Endless Season” and “33 Days.”
Departments
The Conversation
Responses and reverberations
Graham Roumieu What Was the Most Significant Airplane Flight in History?
The Wright brothers’ first flight, Charles Lindbergh’s trans-Atlantic crossing, D. B. Cooper’s disappearance, and more
Poetry
Enrique De La Osa / Reuters
