The Atlantic
March 2026
Trump’s ‘Regime Change’ Swerve
Trump’s claim about the Iran war is premature
The one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead,
Four Ways the Iran War Could End
Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done,... Go get your own oil!”
Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t,
You shut the Iranian oil economy all together; you bring their economy to a halt,
Trump Is Flailing on Iran
The United States of America is in serious discussions with A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran.”
This will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year ‘Reign of Terror.’”
We will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island, (and possibly all desalination plants!)”
If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”
How We Became Max-Maxxers
The Ukrainian in Hungary Who Has Europe’s Hardest Job
Specifically, Orbán is asking voters to believe that Hungary risks becoming a Ukrainian colony, and that he’s the only person standing in the way of Volodymyr Zelensky drafting them into the fight against Russia
Yeah, it’s my president, very popular,
America Needs to Get Serious About Drones
The new age of war is already here, swarming over Barksdale Air Force Base
After reaching multiple points across the installation, the drones dispersed across sensitive locations on the base,
MAHA Has Been Given an Impossible Task
The Trump administration seems to be leaning on the movement as a distraction
Who’s stronger—you or Secretary of War Pete Hegseth?”
He’s got a couple of pounds on me.”
It’s no longer Tony Fauci’s NIH.”
Pete Hegseth Is Vice Signaling
The term virtue signaling refers to an annoying moral peacocking that has less to do with politics than with self-gratification
Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct.”
Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation,
Will People Ever Stop Eating Animals?
Through gestures big and small, Bruce Friedrich conforms to the archetype of a lifelong anti-meat crusader
The products are not good enough, and all of them cost too much.”
It’s not just MAGA bros and MAHA moms who resist plant-based eating. A wide swath of the U.S. seems to be sending a clear message: Nobody should feel bad about eating meat.”
I’m not here to tell anyone what to eat,
We still have a long way to go, but the path forward is a lot more clear,
The Supreme Court Has Heard This One Before
But fringe elements of American society have repeatedly tried to attack this fundamental rule
All persons born of citizens or naturalized in the United States and subjected to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the states in which they reside.”
It is not necessary for the court to hear further argument. The decision of the lower court is sustained.”
Because of racial characteristics of the Japanese, assimilation with Caucasians is as impossible as it is undesirable.”
America Is Now a Rogue Superpower
Even success against Iran will be hollow if it hastens the collapse of the alliance system that for eight decades has been the true source of America’s power, influence, and security
They say if you break it, you own it. I don’t buy that,
Photos From the Third Nationwide ‘No Kings’ Protest
The Manosphere Turns on Trump
About half an hour into Episode 694 of the Flagrant podcast, and after a lively debate over manscaping methods, Andrew Schulz leaned back into the couch and brought the chin-wag to a screeching halt
The key thing I’ve been looking at is the number of ‘don’t know’” responses in polls, which have “gone through the roof,
Obviously the Trump administration is trying to cover it up,
Naturally, Americans are furious about it, right? Because we’re like, ‘How the fuck does it benefit me?’
The way that Tom Homan was talking about them cartels? This is fire!”
The only shot you have at a good life right now is to hasten the rapture,
If Trump did one of the things, we would’ve been happy!”
Staying home,... Don’t come bangin’ on my fuckin’ door,
Are you guys, like—do you feel existential anxiety about the war?”
Americans can’t fucking afford health care,
ICE murdered an American citizen in cold blood,
The Kurdish Ground Force Preparing to Fight in Iran
The Peshmerga on the Iraq-Iran border are eager to join the American campaign
The real alternatives to this regime are not outside Iran,
History tells us that you cannot bring freedom and liberation with bombardment,
The exit plan of the regime was this war; that’s why they welcomed it,
I always dreamed of those groups coming to Kurdistan, but deep down I wish they would not do that,
If I go inside Iran, I will never go back to Europe,
The Man Who Thought He Could Keep AI Safe
At first glance, Demis Hassabis, a co-founder of the DeepMind AI lab, seems a familiar type: the missionary entrepreneur and out-of-the-box scientist who emerges as the right person for a particular moment
Safety isn’t about governance structures,
Bill Maher Broke Trump’s Spell at the Kennedy Center
For 13 months, President Trump has been the chairman, muse, occasional programmer, and featured artist at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
So, I was gonna get it and then Friday, Trump’s—both his spokespeople—come out and say, Fake news; Bill Maher’s never getting it.”... We have reached a compromise, okay? And the compromise is, I am going to get it, and then I am going to give it to him. Everybody’s happy.”
Him trying to block me from getting it? I respect the move. Keep the game going baby, okay?”... You can thank me in person for being one of the few people on the ‘lunatic left’ who’s glad you hit Iran and is hoping we win that one.”
I’m not mad that he did this,
I think he’d do a good job,
Me and the president, we have a complicated relationship,
So many people I know in this audience—some good, some bad,
Trump’s Mixed Messages About Iran
President Trump continues to offer different answers to what victory in Iran may look like
In a tactical sense, there’s no question that overwhelming military power is brought to bear and Iran is being degraded,
Hamas still controls most of the Palestinians in Gaza,
Mutually Assured Energy Destruction
There are only two or three foundries that can even make castings and forgings for some of those vessels, and delivery times can be two, three, even four years,
The Sneaky-Saver Generation
Lanre Dokun, a psychiatrist in New York, has a lot of clients with financial anxiety
I’m extremely frugal, I save every penny I can, I don’t trust banks. I keep all my money in cash.”
Realistically,... I could do a lot better for myself in the future if I just stay at home longer and just don’t waste that money this early on in my life.”
America’s Raw-Cheddar Chaos
A one-pound block of the aged, GMO-free cheese retails for $16
The statistical likelihood of that just being pure chance is almost zero,
Airfare Is Just the Beginning
Sam Walton didn’t wake up thinking about his internal self,
If oil prices stay where they are today, that’s 11 billion [dollars] of expense for us,
A Day in Class With Plato, the Melania Trump–Mandated Robot Teacher
In Hungary, the First Post-Reality Political Campaign
Hungary’s Viktor Orban is waging cognitive warfare on a new scale
The Very Powerful Men Who Think Introspection Is Dumb
Healthy introspection, without undermining oneself,... it is a rare gift to venture into the unexplored depths of the self, without delusions or fictions, but with an uncorrupted gaze.”
Sam Walton didn’t wake up thinking about his internal self,
My big conclusion from this week,... Introspection causes emotional disorders.”... Don’t cut a rut in the road.”
The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness,
If you go back, 400 years ago, it never would have occurred to anybody to be introspective,
Kristi Noem Is Gone. Now Mass Deportations Can Really Begin.
Markwayne Mullin cultivated a reputation in Congress as a brawler, but he sounded more like a peacemaker as he was sworn in this week as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
I think he’s going to take orders from the president,
The overall policy goals, resources, and the law are likely to stay largely the same,... but the way they carry out immigration enforcement may look different.”
I’m not a micromanager.”
I don’t care what color your state is. I don’t care if you’re red or you’re blue,
Everything I’ve done, I’ve done at the direction of the president and Stephen,
The DHS-secretary role appears to be the least influential member of the president’s immigration-policy team,