The Atlantic

“If ChatGPT becomes outmoded, it won’t be the result of OpenAI losing ground or failing to innovate. Instead, the entire generative-AI sector will have become a commodity, like soft drinks or facial tissues,” @ibogost writes. theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…

Men seem to have lost the knack for friendship, Andrew McCarthy writes. He recounts what happened when he called up old friends one by one: theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…

A new relationship killer is emerging for the very online: micro-cheating, in which gray-area digital behaviors are seen as small but telling betrayals, @zoegraceyu writes. theatlantic.com/family/2026/03…

See recent images of some of our fine feathered friends at work and at play in the warming Northern Hemisphere. Via @TheAtlPhoto. theatlantic.com/photography/20…

Paul Ehrlich built his reputation on radical solutions to avoid what he believed was the planet’s imminent destruction, but there’s something about human ingenuity that the now-deceased scientist failed to understand, @JakeAnbinder argues: theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…

In her memoir, Lindy West describes how she went from resisting polyamory to embracing it—but her version of it is strangely politicized, @Tyler_A_Harper argues. theatlantic.com/family/2026/03…

When @McKayCoppins set out to report on the explosive growth of the sports-betting industry, his editors thought he should experience the phenomenon firsthand. Coppins reports on his year as a gambler—and what the industry is doing to America: theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/…

U.S. allies haven’t forgotten about Trump’s tariffs, his threats against NATO, and his curtailing of aid to Ukraine—so he shouldn’t be surprised that they’re unwilling to help him in Iran, @anneapplebaum argues. theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…

AI-chatbot “friends” are one logical destination for the current trend of human friendship—but “using these tools to address loneliness has the potential to make it worse,” Julie Beck writes. theatlantic.com/family/2026/03…

As tax deadlines approach, the Trump administration’s staffing and budgetary cuts are threatening to weaken the IRS's ability to collect, @will_gottsegen argues in The Atlantic Daily. theatlantic.com/newsletters/20…

The Potomac sewer-pipe breakage is being called one of the worst raw-sewage spills in U.S. history. Henry Grabar examines what the disaster reveals about America’s aging infrastructure: theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…

The beautiful illustrations of “The Mitten,” the humor of “A Baby Sister for Frances,” the lessons of “Miss Rumphius”—these are some of what our editors loved from The Atlantic’s 65 essential children’s books. Explore the list at the link: theatln.tc/4Tx6SmOP

Many fans of cold-water bathing promote its health benefits with an almost religious fervor, but there are right and wrong reasons to take the plunge, @billgifford writes. theatlantic.com/health/2026/03…

Answer today’s trivia question from Gary Shteyngart’s travel dispatch from Cape Town. Check your response and discuss the answer: theatln.tc/iUAQmtW8

Prediction markets are creating incentives for gamblers to target all manner of public figures—including journalists, @cwarzel writes. He spoke with one reporter who’d found himself the subject of death threats over his article: theatlantic.com/technology/202…

NATO members know that Donald Trump would not value their contribution if they became involved in the Strait of Hormuz, Anne Applebaum argues: “What you’re hearing from America’s European allies is not cowardice. It’s a calculation.” Read the full article here: theatln.tc/mTyGg0LI

Technology has changed the scale of celebrity—and made it possible to stay famous for longer and longer, @isabelfattal writes. She explores fame through The Atlantic’s archives in Time Travel Thursdays: theatlantic.com/newsletters/20…

Trump’s disparagement of U.S. allies has a long-term cost, Jeffrey Goldberg says: “The stupidity of the question is embedded in the question itself: Is it better to go to war with partners or go alone?” theatln.tc/Zx17v3St

“We are roasting out here”—Rebecca Boyle reports on the consequences of record-hot temperatures in the American West. theatlantic.com/science/2026/0…

U.S. allies don’t seem eager to join Trump’s war on Iran. “But this isn’t a simple strategic miscalculation or even a typical Trumpian incompetence—it’s the result of a particular ideological fantasy of American independence,” @AdamSerwer argues. theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/…