The Atlantic Culture

Forget starting over. In Valeria Luiselli’s new novel, it’s the messy middle of life that counts.

The therapist Esther Perel has a theory about America’s eroticism shortage.

The new blockbuster’s box-office success affirms the power of spectacle.

Ella Langley’s country music offers an appealing commodity for this moment: moderation.

Republicans grilled a museum head, intensifying Donald Trump’s campaign to reshape the American story.

Dave Eggers’s career has long balanced two major impulses. In his new book, he lets them wrestle on the page.

Spain’s 1–0 win over Argentina demonstrated all of the ways that this sport is still foreign in the United States.

Amitav Ghosh believes that climate change requires rethinking the novel. His new work of fiction fails that standard.

Its blend of horror and comedy channels the spirit of the times.

If the president gets his way, new rules would lower the bar for building monuments in Washington.

A poem

The World Cup’s all-time leading goal scorer is always paying attention.

The pop star’s latest literary cause is good PR—and a complicated topic.

Athletes have become influencers. In-game production has become “storytelling.” And everything has gotten very, very stimulating.

Not all viewings are created equal.

A president cracking down on museums is unusual—but so are the museums.

Christopher Nolan successfully brings the epic into the IMAX era.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has avoided a midlife crisis for good reason: It’s a timeless portrait of popularity and truthiness.

Can parents ever learn to text like their kids? Should they even try?

Need the Colosseum to yourself? Want to see a privately owned masterpiece by Caravaggio? For the tourism fixer Fulvio De Bonis, there’s no such thing as a closed door.