Politics

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A black-and-white photograph of Jeffrey Epstein's face with a green line at the bottom and sketches of skulls on the left, alluding to phrenology — Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: The Print Collector / Getty; Rick Friedman / Corbis / Getty.

The Epstein Emails Show How the Powerful Talk About Race

The files reveal the disgraced financier’s interest in “race science.”

February 11, 2026

Color photograph of Zohran Mamdani in an apartment with a tenant, standing beside a rusty stovetop. — Dave Sanders / Getty

What Mamdani Doesn’t Know About Tenants

Fixing New York’s affordable housing isn’t as simple as going after bad landlords.

February 11, 2026

black-and-white political-cartoon-style illustration with 3 suit-wearing politicians in foreground talking around baseball lying on ground; behind them Trump sits wearing a crown atop a carnival dunk tank with a huge target on it waiting for the ball — Illustration by Pia Guerra

The Democrats Aren’t Built for This

They say they want to save democracy. First they’ll need to get out of their own way.

February 11, 2026

Illustration with a pink background of a hand reaching down and pinching an all-white cartoon speech bubble — Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic

Conservative Women Find a New Way to Talk About ICE

When can an influencer opt out of the news cycle?

February 10, 2026

Illustration of a white silhouette of a man against a black background with an American flag in the middle — Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic

‘Not American Enough’

Trump’s immigration crackdown has Latinos wondering if they belong in his America.

Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

February 9, 2026

A lady steps into a voting booth with a red white and blue partition — Joseph Prezioso / AFP / Getty

‘The Trust Has Been Absolutely Destroyed’

Some state election officials say they no longer trust their federal partners.

Michael Scherer, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Sarah Fitzpatrick, and Jonathan Lemire

February 8, 2026

A collage including Tom Homan, Kristi Noem, agents "POLICE ICE" written on their backs, Stephen Miller, and a close-up of a body-worn camera — Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic*

ICE After Minneapolis

Trump’s team wants a reset on its mass-deportation goals, not a retreat.

February 7, 2026

Washington Post building — Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg / Getty

How Jeff Bezos Broke The Washington Post

The paper of record for the nation’s capital cut a third of its staff this week. It didn’t have to be like this.

February 5, 2026

Ted Cruz, Ben Shapiro, Steve Bannon, Nick Fuentes, and J.D. Vance over an image of Charlie Kirk — Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic*

The Second Death of Charlie Kirk

The activist’s assassination unleashed anti-Semitism that is pulling the Trump coalition apart.

February 4, 2026

Newspaper illustration with "The Washington Post" on the front page disappearing into pixels — Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

The Murder of The Washington Post

Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.

February 4, 2026