Putin, Russia, and the End of History

Parliamentary elections on July 4th look bleak for Britain’s ruling Conservative Party. The Tories will almost certainly lose power for the first time in 14 years. And lose big. Polls show they could see the largest swing between the main parties in modern history. Rishi Sunak could possibly become the first sitting prime minister to lose their own seat in a general election. So what have Conservatives done wrong? What has Labour done right? And as 2024 repeats 2016 with another pair of pivotal U.K. and U.S. votes, what can Americans look to learn from Britain? Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Kesä 202427min

For years now, the fanciest places in air travel keep getting fancier. Airport lounges have become bigger, nicer, and far more ubiquitous than only a few years ago. They’ve gone from a nice place to wait between flights to full-blown luxury hideaways complete with free spa treatments. What happened? Amanda Mull, former Atlantic staff writer and explainer of all things consumer culture, tells the curious history behind the airport lounge and why—even if you never set foot in one—you’re still paying for them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Kesä 202427min

Humanity’s transition to life online is disorienting, but perhaps not without comparison. According to the researcher danah boyd, people faced similar challenges in the transition to city life, meaning that the history of urbanization can offer lessons for humankind’s more recent mass digital migration. And if the rules and ways of cities have become clearer over the years, maybe there’s hope that the same can be said for life online. Boyd’s work is the focus of a recent episode of The Atlantic’s podcast How to Know What’s Real, with co-hosts Megan Garber and Andrea Valdez. This week, Radio Atlantic is showcasing that episode, with an introduction by host Hanna Rosin. Listen and subscribe to How to Know What's Real at any of these links:  Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket Casts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Kesä 202432min

Later this summer, the Supreme Court will rule on City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, one of the most important cases on homelessness to come up in a long time. The court will rule on whether someone can be fined, jailed, or ticketed for sleeping or camping in a public space when they’re homeless and have nowhere else to go. We talk to Atlantic writer and Good on Paper host Jerusalem Demsas about the case and what it may or may not solve. Homelessness has exploded since the 1980s, mostly in cities where housing costs have gone up. Criminalizing—or not criminalizing—people sleeping in public does not change the fact that many people have no other option, and that people who do have places to sleep can’t help but notice their cities have a huge homelessness problem. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Kesä 202427min

Sasha Velour won RuPaul's Drag Race with her spectacular rose-petal lip sync. She wrote and illustrated The Big Reveal: An Illustrated Manifesto of Drag, drew a New Yorker cover, and sells out almost every show of her New York revue, NightGowns. So why is she taking her act down to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Bartlesville, Oklahoma? We talk to Velour about this season of her HBO reality show, We're Here. At a moment when drag is both beloved and reviled, a powerful cultural force and a target, we ask Velour what exactly she's looking for in those places, and what essential truth about drag is hidden in the show's title. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Touko 202427min

After months of struggle with little movement, the war in Ukraine may be nearing a crucial point. With American aid stalled for months, the fight has not been going well for Ukraine. Weapons and ammunition are once again on the way after the long-delayed package passed last month. But will it be enough in time? Russia has broken through the lines around Ukraine’s second-largest city and appears ready to threaten a wider offensive. Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum joins to discuss the state of the war and how the fight extends well beyond the battlefield itself. Her June cover story in The Atlantic chronicles the “new propaganda war” that Russia, China, and other illiberal states are waging on the democratic world, and how that war can shape the fate of Ukraine. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Touko 202431min

Researchers have been hard at work on a number of male contraceptives that could hit the market in the next couple of decades. Options include a hormone-free birth control pill, an injection that accomplishes the same thing as a vasectomy but is easily reversible, and a topical gel men can rub on their shoulders that doesn’t affect mood or libido.  There is a recurring theme in the research on male contraceptives: easy, convenient, minimal side effects. Which is very much not the focus of women’s contraceptive options. What changes in a future in which male contraceptives are readily available, and a routine part of men’s health care? We talk to staff writer Katie Wu. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Touko 202427min

What happens when voices can be copied so well they can fool friends, family… and voters? Staff writer Charlie Warzel has followed the explosion of AI technology with a mix of fascination and fear. DALL-E, Midjourney, Chat-GPT. New leaps in AI tech seem to happen every month now. Recently, he narrowed in on AI voice cloning for a feature for The Atlantic. He and host Hanna Rosin cloned their voices and tested it out before a live audience at the Cascade PBS Ideas Festival. What are the promises of the technology? And what are the perils? Related Atlantic Podcast: How to Know What's Real  Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | | Pocket Casts Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/podsub. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Touko 202433min