The Atlantic

Boosters claim that the peptide BPC-157 can treat ulcers, dementia, and nearly every other ailment. @tombartlett.bsky.social traveled to Croatia to meet the scientist who has spent decades trying to prove its efficacy:

After Cuba’s 1959 revolution, Fidel Castro’s atheist government exiled prominent Catholic figures and sent believers to reeducation camps. Now, as the state collapses, destitution is driving Cubans back to religion, Robert F. Worth reports: theatln.tc/wuKldkec

Autumn—the season of harvests, festivals, migrations, and spectacular colors—has arrived. See a collection of images from this year:

Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life,” released 50 years ago, had a simple message, Anna Holmes writes: “To express love for America requires not only celebrating it with fireworks and flags but also acknowledging its missteps and failings.”

As the days grow shorter and the weather cools, fall offers plenty of reasons to slow down and indulge in life’s little comforts, Rafaela Jinich writes. In The Wonder Reader, she shares recommendations to make the most of the season:

The Classic Learning Test is trying to replace the SAT and ACT, @rosehorowitch.bsky.social writes. She reports on why red states are adopting the CLT at an astonishing rate—and why the test may be lowering standards for students:

Tomorrow Israelis will vote, and many are "trembling for the future of their country, no matter which candidate they prefer," Graeme Wood reports:

Trump has been hosting rallies nationwide, while his super PAC is pumping millions into midterm races. On Radio Atlantic, @ashleyrparker.bsky.social and @michaelscherer.bsky.social break down both parties’ closing messages and what’s behind this final spending blitz. Watch more:

“I came to Cuba expecting to see suffering. What I did not anticipate was the near-total collapse of the state,” Robert F. Worth writes. He reports from the island on what daily life is like:

Trump's anti-Muslim remarks about Abdul El-Sayed at a recent rally in Michigan are astonishing—even by recent standards, @dgraham.bsky.social argues. In The Atlantic Daily, he explores the damage of the president's bigotry:

One of the oldest tricks in politics is making its way into the Michigan U.S. Senate contest, @davidfrum.bsky.social argues.

“The internet isn’t what we think. It is physical, subject to the vagaries of nature and time, just as our bodies are,” John West writes. We must pay attention to the data and infrastructure that the cloud cloaks, he argues:

“It wasn’t attempting highbrow elegance but, rather, embracing a kind of madcap largesse, like a zany aunt who wears a lot of bracelets,” @elainegodfrey.bsky.social writes. She defends the Cheesecake Factory’s place in American society:

Have you read @tyrangiel.bsky.social's latest cover story yet? Because you really should: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

“When I was making a TV ad a couple of weeks ago, a guy pointed to his truck in the front yard and said, ‘That fucking thing has become a lawn ornament because I can't afford to drive it.’”

It is once again time to revisit what is officially considered my Worst Take.

"Lefkés took to modernity late. Narrow streets, built centuries ago, honored human scale and could never be claimed by cars." The photographer Platon describes the mountain village on the Greek island of Paros that has inspired him since childhood:

The Classic Learning Test is trying to replace the SAT and ACT, @rosehorowitch.bsky.social writes. She reports on why red states are adopting the CLT at an astonishing rate—and why the test may be lowering standards for students:

Bird flu has devastated not just birds but wide swaths of the animal kingdom. But as far as humans are concerned, sick mink might be the most concerning, @yeahyeahyasmin.bsky.social wrote in 2023:

In “The Permanent Questions,” David Brooks is joined by the religious historian Carlos Eire to discuss his experience as a refugee in the U.S., what it means to believe in miracles, and the concept of radical empathy.

“Who shall arrange the stars / to set us straight?” Read “Peeling the Orange,” a new poem by Howard Altmann:

“Any high-profile criminal case brought by the Trump administration arrives with an air of suspicion,” @qjurecic.bsky.social argues after charges were announced today against two former FBI officials: theatln.tc/kCbAXdwm 📸: Andrew Harnik / Getty

Young adults have found a new outlet for their existential stress: running a marathon, Maggie Mertens reported in 2024.

The Trump administration and the Venezuelan government have struck a deal to exploit Venezuela’s oil—but their partnership is good for the rich and no one else, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports. theatln.tc/PANSlDZN

Start today’s Rabbithole game with this question drawn from Isaac Stanley-Becker’s reporting on how a group of countries is preparing to fend off any future Russian attack. theatln.tc/SXbrPt6m

Tomorrow Israelis will vote, and many are "trembling for the future of their country, no matter which candidate they prefer," Graeme Wood reports:

Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life,” released 50 years ago, had a simple message, Anna Holmes writes: “To express love for America requires not only celebrating it with fireworks and flags but also acknowledging its missteps and failings.”

The rise of religion in Cuba is “a measure of the state’s withdrawal—and perhaps a hint at the island’s future direction,” Robert F. Worth reports.

“I am a math professor, and my field is in crisis,” Steven Strogatz writes of the introduction of AI into mathematics. He argues that his field is as much an expression of the human spirit as music and literature:

The sugar-hyperactivity myth just won’t go away, @olgakhazan.bsky.social writes. She explains why there’s no reason to wage a battle with your kids over sweets:

Most ideas for how to lower grocery prices would hardly make a dent in the issue—but a new think tank is proposing a solution that might, Rogé Karma writes.

The government is giving away money to U.S. babies through the Trump Accounts program—but its association with the president is enough for some parents to say no, @ToluseO.bsky.social reports.

Donald Trump won big in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley in 2024—but now the votes of many Latinos are in flux, @nickmiroff.bsky.social reports. He spoke with men in the electorally crucial area about their frustrations and the region’s likely political realignment:

The search for love—along with the desire to understand why it can hurt so bad—has animated fiction for centuries. The Atlantic has chosen 50 titles, including "Astrophil and Stella" by Philip Sidney, that stand out in the canon. See the full list here: theatln.tc/Hmxt5lTP

Watching people die by violence “damages the spectator irreversibly,” Graeme Wood writes. “To see this process is to be diminished.”

“Who shall arrange the stars / to set us straight?” Read “Peeling the Orange,” a new poem by Howard Altmann:

What happens to Venezuelan oil when it is pumped out of the ground, and where does the money go afterward? No one seems to know—and that may be the point, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports.

This week could go down as the worst in the history of cybersecurity—and such crises may soon be the new norm, @matteowong.bsky.social reports. He explores what can be done to secure the internet:

Those committed to the fight for equal opportunity in hiring should reconsider DEI language but not the principle that everyone should get a fair shot, Conor Friedersdorf argues:

As midterm campaigns enter their final stretch, Republicans have an overall money advantage—but cash can’t necessarily solve the challenges that GOP candidates face, @dgraham.bsky.social argues in The Atlantic Daily:

More tools are promising to predict a person’s longevity—including AI chatbots, Joel Achenbach writes. He reports on what happened when he started asking Claude about aging:

“AI’s role in cyberterrorism is likely to be the same as the internet’s: an amplified capacity to produce and disseminate propaganda, confusion, and political manipulation,” @ibogost.com argues.

Studies prove that popular decongestants just don’t work, @sarahzhang.bsky.social reported in 2023. She explored other over-the-counter drugs that could be effective instead: theatln.tc/OHB4mL2u 📸: Getty

A new book by the hosts of the podcast “Who? Weekly” argues that social media has turned everyone into someone—and that could have big ramifications for the labor market more broadly, Josh Greenblatt writes.

“Who shall arrange the stars / to set us straight?” Read “Peeling the Orange,” a new poem by Howard Altmann:

The New York City mayor deserves a new cult following—among pragmatists, @jonathanbchait.bsky.social argues.

In “The Permanent Questions,” David Brooks is joined by the religious historian Carlos Eire to discuss his experience as a refugee in the U.S., what it means to believe in miracles, and the concept of radical empathy.

A great movie soundtrack can be just as memorable as the film itself, Rafaela Jinich writes. She asked six Atlantic staffers to share their favorite film soundtracks of the 21st century:

The Trump administration and the Venezuelan government have struck a deal to exploit Venezuela’s oil—but their partnership is good for the rich and no one else, @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu reports. theatln.tc/PANSlDZN

Donald Trump’s “favorite rhetorical theme lately is an unexpected one: the official presidential dreamboat rankings,” Helen Lewis writes. At the link, she explores what’s behind his musings about the relative hotness of male politicians, soldiers, and even protesters. theatln.tc/RCowKNfQ