Today's Liberal News

Biden Urged to Pardon Immigrant Rights Leader Ravi Ragbir, Who Could Soon Be Deported

Immigrant rights activists are urging the Biden administration to pardon longtime activist Ravi Ragbir, who has been targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for potential detention and deportation since 2001. Ragbir has been subject to regular ICE check-ins for over two decades, each time facing the possibility of being taken into custody by the agency. “Once you go into that building, your family, your friends, your community don’t know if you’ll walk back out,” says Ragbir.

Jimmy Carter Championed Human Rights But Also Funded & Armed Indonesia’s Genocide in East Timor

We continue to reflect on Jimmy Carter’s foreign policy with history professor Brad Simpson. Despite presiding over an administration that stood out for its successful championing of human rights elsewhere in the world, “in Southeast Asia, Carter really continued the policies of the Nixon and Ford administration,” particularly in Indonesia, which was at the time occupying and carrying out a genocide in East Timor.

“Sabotaged by His Own Democratic Party”: Ralph Nader on Jimmy Carter’s Legacy

Former President Jimmy Carter, who died on December 29 at the age of 100, has been laid to rest in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, following a state funeral held in Washington, D.C. “He was the last president to actively encourage participation and involvement in governmental processes by the progressive civil community,” remembers the celebrated civil society and consumer advocate Ralph Nader.

We stay and its ours

No snow yet this fall
but the gardens are just dirt now,
nothing left to eat except
invisible parsnips lurking below.

The snowbirds are fleeing South    
to endless summer, Florida,
Arizona, Mexico, the Caribbean.
Some of us actually like winter.
It’s quiet and offers its own beauty,
chiaroscuro or blazing white.
The real birds flock to feeders,    
competing with squirrels.
In summer, flowers give color;
in winter, birds. Flashes of red
on woodpecker heads, bellies.

How the Ski Business Got Too Big for Its Boots

Updated at 2:08 p.m. ET on January 12, 2025
In 2016, I was hired to teach skiing at the Park City resort, in Utah. The ultimate fun job: For one winter, I would get paid to do and share my favorite activity.
But I soon realized that although the piste conditions might be great, the working conditions were poor. An early clue was a training video that Vail Resorts, Park City’s owner, showed to employees. It bragged about how the company’s charity organization was helping local residents.

Reckless Driving Isn’t Just a Design Problem

Ever wonder what would happen if the police just stopped enforcing traffic laws? New Jersey State Police ran a sort of experiment along those lines, beginning in summer 2023—about a week after the release of a report documenting racial disparities in traffic enforcement. From July of that year to March 2024, the number of tickets issued by troopers for speeding, drunk driving, and other serious violations fell by 61 percent.

The Easiest Way to Keep Your Friends

It started as a friendship of convenience. Kira and Nino, a husband and wife, had lived in the same building as my husband and me for years. We interacted occasionally, as congenial acquaintances do. Then the pandemic hit, and well, you know: We had time; we had proximity. We exchanged food and drinks and books and laughs, and one day I looked up and we were all honest-to-God genuine friends, the kind who water each other’s plants and know each other’s Sichuan-takeout requests.

Eight Perfect Episodes of TV

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Welcome back to The Daily’s Sunday culture edition.
Few things are more satisfying than watching a show pull off a clever and high-octane episode.