Will Donald Trump Destroy the Presidency?
He disdains the rule of law. He’s trampling norms of presidential behavior. And he’s bringing vital institutions down with him.
October 2017
In This Issue
A damage report on the presidency by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Eliot Cohen, and Jack Goldsmith. Plus, Woody Allen’s lazy filmmaking, Joyce Maynard’s personal-essay domination, and why happy people cheat on their spouses.
Cover Stories
How Trump Is Ending the American Era
For all the visible damage the president has done to the nation’s global standing, things are much worse below the surface.
The First White President
The foundation of Donald Trump’s presidency is the negation of Barack Obama’s legacy.
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Why Happy People Cheat
A good marriage is no guarantee against infidelity.
What Lies Beneath
Buried deep under an island in the Baltic, the world’s first permanent nuclear-waste repository is nearing completion. If all goes according to plan, future generations may not know it’s there.
The Drone King
A newly discovered short story by Kurt Vonnegut
Dispatches
Matt Chase Americans Have Given Up on Public Schools. That’s a Mistake.
The current debate over public education underestimates its value—and forgets its purpose.
John Cuneo How to Die
As a psychotherapist, Irvin Yalom has helped others grapple with their mortality. Now he is preparing for his own end.
Rami Niemi Big in China: License-Plate Marriages
What it takes for Chinese drivers to get on the road
WG600; Photos: Associated Press; Bettman Archive; Corbis; Fred W. McDarrah; Getty; Horst Faas; Kevin Schafer; Michael Ochs; PhotoQuest How the Vietnam War Broke the American Presidency
The war opened the credibility gap. What we’ve learned since has only widened it.
Christopher DeLorenzo When the Mind Wanders
An anatomy of daydreaming
Paul Dodd / Norwegian Polar Institute A Year on Ice
Why scientists are preparing to freeze the research vessel Polarstern in sea ice near the North Pole
Joe McKendry The Drunk Vote
A very short book excerpt
The Culture File
Sebastien Micke / 'Paris Match' / Getty The Queen of Oversharing
The personal essay may be over—but Joyce Maynard isn’t.
Tomi Um The Remarkable Laziness of Woody Allen
Putting next to no effort into his films is the secret to sustaining his reputation.
Danny Schwartz A Poet for the Age of Brexit
Revisiting the work of A. E. Housman
Riki Blanco A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Convict
Katherine Dunn’s cult classic, Geek Love, has eclipsed her debut, Attic, for too long.
Riverhead A Champion of Slow Medicine
The physician and author Victoria Sweet finds her purpose.
Departments
The Voorhes Editor's Note: The Autocratic Element
Can America recover from the Trump administration?
The Conversation: Neutralizing North Korea
Readers respond to our July/August 2017 cover story and more.
Graham Roumieu What Crime Most Changed the Course of History?
A big question
Poetry
Sleeping on My Side
A poem
