Jenisha From Kentucky
I came to New York sure of one thing—that no one could ever know my past.
October 2023
In This Issue
Jenisha from Kentucky, Shinzo Abe’s assassination, the hip-hop critic dream hampton, and America’s last days in Afghanistan. Plus Trump on trial, two Naomis, George Eliot and marriage, Sly Stone, the man who became Uncle Tom, and more.
Cover Story
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The Bizarre Story Behind Shinzo Abe’s Assassination
The man who allegedly killed the former prime minister says he was aiming for something larger: the Unification Church—the Moonies—and its political influence in Japan.
Hip-Hop’s Fiercest Critic
The writer dream hampton thinks hip-hop is broken. But she can’t stop trying to fix it.
The Final Days
Joe Biden was determined to get out of Afghanistan—no matter the cost.
The Man Who Became Uncle Tom
Harriet Beecher Stowe said that Josiah Henson’s life had inspired her most famous character. But Henson longed to be recognized by his own name, and for his own achievements.
Editor's Note
Associated Press A Warning From Another Time
We would all do well to remember Newton Minow’s prescience about the dangers of new technology—and his optimism, too.
Dispatches
Illustration by Patrick White. Source: Guy Cali / Getty. The Courtroom Is a Very Unhappy Place for Donald Trump
But don’t expect the justice system alone to save democracy.
Photograph by Joel Barhamand for The Atlantic Nixon Between the Lines
Alone in his study, ballpoint pen in hand, the president revealed himself in the margins of his books.
Irina Rozovsky Confronting the Unbelievable
A photograph that dramatizes the power of nature
Culture & Critics
Illustration by Jan Robert Dünnweller. Sources: Richard McCaffrey / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty; Ellis Herwig / The Boston Globe / Getty; David Warner Ellis / Redferns / Getty; Michael Putland / Getty. The Undoing of a Great American Band
Sly and the Family Stone suggested new possibilities in music and life—until it all fell apart.
Illustration by Chloe Niclas Fiction on Trial
Zadie Smith’s ambitious new novel asks: Do we expect the genre to do too much?
Photo-illustration by Vartika Sharma. Sources: Steve Pyke / Getty; Harry Borden / Contour by Getty. From Feminist to Right-Wing Conspiracist
What Naomi Wolf’s odyssey can teach us about seeing patterns where they don’t exist
Miki Lowe George Eliot’s Subversive Vision of Marriage
Unlike Jane Austen, the novelist was most interested in what happens after “I do.”
Departments
The Atlantic The Commons: ‘Baseball, the Eternal Game, Shouldn’t Be Shortened’
Readers respond to our July/August 2023 cover story and more.
The Atlantic Caleb's Inferno: October 2023
A devilish crossword puzzle
Poetry
Photo-illustration by Gabriela Pesqueira. Source: Randy Beacham / Alamy.
