Today's Liberal News

I wear a mask and science says that means I’m not a fraidy-cat

In a July 2020 poll conducted by Civiqs, 82% of Democrats polled said that they wear a mask whenever they leave the house, compared to only 27% of Republicans. In general, about two-thirds of women polled said they always wore a mask, while just less than half of the self-identifying men said the same. It seems obvious on one level as (mostly) white males are more conservative and Republican-leaning than any other general demographic.

Why Joe Biden Picked Kamala Harris

If Joe Biden is elected in November, his presidency will likely be defined by history-shaping decisions made after long, deliberative, some might say operatic processes. Biden’s selection of Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate—the first woman of color to appear on a major-party ticket—was precisely that sort of careful, drawn-out decision.

The Atlantic Daily: Should Colleges Reopen This Fall?

Every weekday evening, our editors guide you through the biggest stories of the day, help you discover new ideas, and surprise you with moments of delight. Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox.It’s Kamala. Joe Biden’s vice-presidential pick is one you might’ve guessed from the start. Read Edward-Isaac Dovere on what Harris’s selection reveals about Biden—and the future of the Democratic Party.

The Most Overhyped Planet in the Galaxy

Paul Byrne loves Mars. He wrote his doctoral thesis and several research papers about the planet. Most of his graduate students study Mars. And yet, earlier this year, he posed this question on Twitter: “If you could end the pandemic by destroying one of the planets, which one would you choose and why would it be Mars?”What does Byrne, a planetary scientist at North Carolina State University, have against the red planet? Nothing, he told me.

What Ever Happened to the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife?

At a September 2012 academic conference in Rome, Karen King, a historian at Harvard Divinity School, made a major announcement. She had discovered a fragment of papyrus that bore a shocking phrase: “Jesus said to them, My wife.” If the scrap was authentic, it had the potential to upend centuries of Roman Catholic tradition.

How the Pandemic Defeated America: Ed Yong on How COVID-19 Humiliated Planet’s Most Powerful Nation

As the world passes a grim milestone of 20 million coronavirus cases, we look at how the pandemic humbled and humiliated the world’s most powerful country. Over a quarter of the confirmed infections and deaths have been in the United States, which has less than 5% of the world’s population. Ed Yong, a science writer at The Atlantic who has been covering the pandemic extensively since March, says existing gaps in the U.S.

Lebanon’s Gov’t Resigns Amid Public Rage over Beirut Blast, But Protesters Demand Structural Change

After days of protests, Lebanon’s government has resigned following the devastating explosion at the Port of Beirut that killed 200 people and injured thousands. The port blast, the source of which was 2,700 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate left unattended in a warehouse for more than six years, occurred as Lebanon was already facing political, economic and public health crises.