The Hardest Job in the World
What if the problem isn’t the president—it’s the presidency?
May 2018
In This Issue
The Sports Report: Malcolm Jenkins, praise for fair-weather fans, Floyd Landis takes down Lance Armstrong, and the mobster who bought his kid a hockey team. Plus the U.S. military’s plunging morale, James Fallows on reinventing America, a new era of fake videos, an interview with Issa Rae, and more.
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Two Decades of War Have Eroded the Morale of America’s Troops
After nearly 17 years of war, service members have seen plenty of patriotic displays but little public debate about why they’re fighting.
The Radicalization of American Football
A conversation with Malcolm Jenkins, the political activist and Super Bowl champion behind the Players Coalition
The Mobster Who Bought His Son a Hockey Team
A tale of goons, no-show jobs, and a legendary minor-league franchise that helped land its owner in prison
The Man Who Brought Down Lance Armstrong
Floyd Landis, a former teammate of the cyclist’s, just won more than $1 million in a legal case against Armstrong. Here are his thoughts on the suit, cycling, and his onetime rival.
American Sports Needs More Fair-Weather Fans
Why you should root for great teams and great players—and abandon your sad-sack local franchise
The Reinvention of America
Americans don’t realize how fast the country is moving toward becoming a better version of itself.
Dispatches
Edmon de Haro The Era of Fake Video Begins
The digital manipulation of video may make the current era of “fake news” seem quaint.
Rami Niemi Germany’s Unicorn Craze
The mythical creature rises in uncertain times.
Erik Umphery / TheBlackHouse Issa Rae: ‘I Never Identified as a Nerd’
Talking to Insecure’s creator about her TV ambitions, L.A. gentrification, and her awkward public persona.
Esther Aarts How to Sway a Baboon Despot
What other species can teach us about democracy
Zohar Lazar Disneyflix Is Coming. And Netflix Should Be Scared.
Will Disney destroy the movie theater?
Daniel Stolle Alexa Is a Revelation for the Blind
Legally blind since age 18, my father missed out on the first digital revolution.
Joe McKendry Adolescence and ‘the Happiness Dip’
A very short book excerpt
The Culture File
Ben Kirchner The Impossible Duality of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Amazon show’s star may be the first woman who really does have it all.
Joan Wong The Report on Race That Shook America
It came out in 1968—yet little has changed since the Kerner Commission denounced “white racism.”
Bianca Bagnarelli The Female Persuasion Should Be a Literary Breakout. Will It Be?
Meg Wolitzer’s novel is a timely, dynamic examination of women and power that male readers and gatekeepers should take seriously.
Jules Julien Your Body is a Teeming Battleground
It’s time to rethink the quest to control aging, death, and disease—and the fear of mortality that fuels it.
Crown The Girl Who Smiled Beads Defies Easy Uplift
Clemantine Wamariya’s memoir tries to make sense of a life fractured by the Rwandan genocide.
Departments
The Conversation: How Will We Feed the New Global Middle Class?
Readers respond to our March 2018 issue.
Graham Roumieu
Poetry
Melinda Josie Pomegranate
A poem
