The share of adults who say they regularly have friends over has declined dramatically since 1975. This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. M id-century Americans knew how to throw a party, for better or worse. In some of the most famous titles of the 1950s and 1960s— Couples , by John Updike; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , by Edward Albee; Revol

Why is the birth rate declining in every country on Earth? This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. Why has the number of births declined everywhere, all at once? Some blame technology, particularly smartphones and social media. Others blame a kind of 21st-century weltschmerz —a sadness about the state of the world and our uncertain future in it. A

The decline of reading and the rise of social media are again transforming what it feels like to be a thinking person. This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The world is full of theories of everything. The smartphone theory of everything argues that our personal devices are responsible for the rise of political polarization, anxiety, depression,

To understand what just happened in this week’s elections—notably Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York City, Mikie Sherrill’s win in New Jersey, and Abigail Spanberger’s win in Virginia—wind back the clock five years. In 2020, Joe Biden won by promising that he could restore normalcy to American life. That did not happen. As the biological emergency of the coronavirus pandemic wound down, the economic

Trumponomics isn’t about economics. It’s about creating pain and demanding tribute. Sign up for Trump’s Return , a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump presidency. Is Donald Trump a staunch capitalist, a secret socialist, a blend of the two, or none of the above? Depending on the day, it’s hard to tell. Some of his initiatives are pure Ronald Reagan, such as his corporate-income tax c

A lot happens under this administration, but a lot un-happens, too. A useful one-sentence guide to the second Trump administration might go something like this: A lot happens under Donald Trump, but a lot un-happens, too. In the past four months, President Trump has announced tariffs on Canada, paused tariffs on Canada, restarted tariffs on Canada, ruled out tariffs on certain Canadian goods, and

Trump seems to be ceding the future to China while emulating its past. China may well come to dominate the next century—because President Donald Trump is taking a page from the most famous Chinese leader of the previous one. The United States remains the world’s preeminent soft power. It’s a financial and cultural juggernaut, whose entertainment and celebrities bestride the planet. But as an indus

A new sign that AI is competing with college grads Something strange, and potentially alarming, is happening to the job market for young, educated workers. According to the New York Federal Reserve, labor conditions for recent college graduates have “deteriorated noticeably” in the past few months, and the unemployment rate now stands at an unusually high 5.8 percent. Even newly minted M.B.A.s fro

Yes, the U.S. has the larger consumer economy. No, that won’t be enough to avoid major (and majorly self-inflicted) pain. Like land wars in Asia , trade wars with China are, generally speaking, unadvisable. But if, for whatever reason, you were insistent on the idea, you’d want to follow two rules. First, find strength in numbers. China is an industrial juggernaut with more than 1 billion citizens

His tariff plan looks like an abject disaster for America, even judged against the benchmarks the administration has set for itself. Imagine this: One day on a walk in your neighborhood, you see several men in construction gear. “What are you guys up to?” you ask. “We’re rebuilding this dilapidated house!” the group’s leader responds. “It used to be beautiful, but the previous owners let it fall i

The policy is absurd. It’s also an extension of Trump’s chaotic personality. Yesterday afternoon, Donald Trump celebrated America’s so-called Liberation Day by announcing a slew of tariffs on dozens of countries. His plan, if fully implemented, will return the United States to the highest tariff duty as a share of the economy since the late 1800s, before the invention of the automobile, aspirin, a

Is the U.S. in a second Gilded Age? Many in the news media seem to think so: You’ll find the claim in The New Yorker , NPR , Politico , and these pages . The White House, for its part, seems to think that would be a good thing: “We were at our richest from 1870 to 1913,” Donald Trump said days into his second presidential term, a period that covers—that’s right—the Gilded Age. Although the claim w

For the first time in decades, America has a chance to define its next political order. Trump offers fear, retribution, and scarcity. Liberals can stand for abundance. Donald Trump has promised a “golden age of America.” But for all his bluster about being the champion of an American century, Trump’s actual policies point to something different: not an expansive vision of the future, but a shrunke

With the best intentions, the United Kingdom engineered a housing and energy shortage. What’s the matter with the United Kingdom? Great Britain is the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, which ushered in an era of energy super-production and launched an epoch of productivity advancements that made many life essentials, such as clothes and food, more affordable. Today, the country suffers from

Slashing and burning won’t help with efficiency. This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. By reputation, Elon Musk and Donald Trump are builders. Musk has grown two of the largest hardware-innovation companies in the world, Tesla and SpaceX. As for Trump, he once told Golf Digest : “I own buildings. I’m a builder; I know how to build. Nobody can bui

For decades, America’s young voters have been deeply—and famously—progressive. In 2008, a youthquake sent Barack Obama to the White House. In 2016, voters ages 18 to 29 broke for Hillary Clinton by 18 points . In 2020, they voted for Joe Biden by 24 points . In 2024, Donald Trump closed most of the gap, losing voters under 30 by a 51–47 margin . In one recent CBS poll , Americans under 30 weren’t

Applying any normal ROI analysis to Brady’s broadcaster contract is difficult for at least four reasons. Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL history ( for now ). He is not the greatest NFL broadcaster of all time ( for now ). So why is he calling the Super Bowl tonight, and why is Fox Sports paying him $375 million over 10 years—more than any other broadcaster in sports history—as if his

This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here . Perhaps you’ve heard: Young people aren’t dating anymore. News media and social media are awash in commentary about the decline in youth romance. It’s visible in the corporate data, with dating-app engagement taking a hit . And it’s visible in the survey data, where th

“Every drink takes five minutes off your life.” Maybe the thought scares you. Personally, I find comfort in it. Here’s a simple question: Is moderate drinking okay? Like millions of Americans, I look forward to a glass of wine—sure, occasionally two —while cooking or eating dinner. I strongly believe that an ice-cold pilsner on a hot summer day is, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, suggestive evide

Americans are now spending more time alone than ever. It’s changing our personalities, our politics, and even our relationship to reality. Illustrations by Max Guther This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. The Bar Is Closed A short drive from my home in North Carolina is a small Mexican restaurant, with several tables and four stools at a bar faci