Today's Liberal News

My Students Write Their Papers Backwards

In my high-school English classes, I often tell my students that they write their papers backwards: They devise a thesis and then look for evidence to support it. They’ll find what they want to see, I tell them, but they won’t be surprised. They might say that Ishmael, the narrator in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, is appalled by Captain Ahab, but they won’t notice that the two characters also sound a lot alike.

America Is Slow-Walking Into a Polymarket Disaster

For the past week, I’ve found myself playing the same 23-second CNN clip on repeat. I’ve watched it in bed, during my commute to work, at the office, midway through making carrot soup, and while brushing my teeth. In the video, Harry Enten, the network’s chief data analyst, stares into the camera and breathlessly tells his audience about the gambling odds that Donald Trump will buy any of Greenland.

What’s Going on With the Epstein Files?

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There was a moment this fall when it seemed like the public might actually get some answers—that the extent of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes might be exposed, and that his victims might see the accountability they’ve been waiting for.

Today’s Atlantic Trivia: Shivers on the Shore

Updated with new questions at 4:20 p.m. ET on January 16, 2026.
Welcome back to Atlantic Trivia! Are you hungry for more?
I hope that while I’ve been away, you have been enjoying plenty of food for thought—literally. Research shows that berries help improve memory and that a walnut-heavy diet is associated with higher cognitive performance. Fatty fish and leafy greens are linked to slower cognitive decline. Caffeine is a brain boost too.

Trump’s Fateful Choice in Iran

The fate of a 2,500-year-old nation and its 93 million inhabitants rests, for now, in the hands of Donald Trump.
On at least eight occasions over the past three weeks, Trump encouraged Iranian protesters to go into the streets, assuring them that the United States had their back and that “help is on the way.” He threatened that if the Iranian regime killed protesters, the U.S. was “locked and loaded” to take action.

The Problem Is So Much Bigger Than Grok

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In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel confronts the growing crisis around AI-generated sexual abuse and the culture of impunity enabling it. He examines how Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok is being used to create and circulate nonconsensual sexualized images often targeting women.

“All That’s Left of You”: Oscar-Shortlisted Film Traces Palestinian Family’s Love & Loss Since 1948

All That’s Left of You is a new feature film that looks at 70 years of Palestinian history through the lens of one family’s experience over three generations. Democracy Now! speaks with Palestinian American director and actress Cherien Dabis, who says the film is about “looking for meaning in grief and choosing humanity even in the most difficult of circumstances, which Palestinians have done and do every single day.