The Heir
Ivanka was always Trump’s favorite. But Don Jr. is emerging as his natural successor.
October 2019
In This Issue
Ivanka and Don Jr.’s fight to succeed Trump, why James Mattis quit, when Medicaid takes everything you own, and the culture war in schools. Plus the power of menopause, black athletes at white colleges, Susan Sontag, Juanita Broaddrick, serial killers, and more.
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The Man Who Couldn’t Take It Anymore
“I had no choice but to leave,” General James Mattis says of his decision to resign as President Trump’s secretary of defense.
When the Culture War Comes for the Kids
Caught between a brutal meritocracy and a radical new progressivism, a parent tries to do right by his children while navigating New York City’s schools.
Medicaid’s Dark Secret
For many participants, the program that provides health care to millions of low-income Americans isn’t free. It’s a loan. And the government expects to be repaid.
What I Wish I’d Known About Sexual Assault in the Military
For women, fending off unwanted male attention is the job that never ends.
Dispatches
Oliver Munday; photo rendering by Patrick White It’s Time for Black Athletes to Leave White Colleges
They attract money and attention to the predominantly white universities that showcase them, while HBCUs struggle. What would happen if they collectively decided to go to black schools?
John Cuneo She Doesn’t Believe All Women
Juanita Broaddrick, who alleges that Bill Clinton raped her in 1978, has found new life as a Trump defender.
Esther Aarts Whale Songs Are Getting Deeper
Scientists have theories as to why—some worrisome, some hopeful, all involving humans.
Hanna Barczyk The End of the Roman Empire Wasn’t That Bad
Maybe the end of the American one won’t be either.
Oliver Munday Has the Presidency Skipped Gen X?
Caught between Baby Boomers and Millennials, this generation may have missed its chance.
James Graham Modern Life Has Made It Easier for Serial Killers to Thrive
They get away with their crimes about 40 percent of the time.
Joe McKendry Space Is Getting Too Crowded
A very short book excerpt
The Culture File
Illustration by Paul Spella; Agence Opale / Alamy; Sergi Escribano; David Cornwell / Getty; John Murray The Loser-Spy Novelist for Our Times
Mick Herron writes about the broken spies sworn to protect today’s broken England.
Anthony Gerace Misunderstanding Susan Sontag
Her beauty and celebrity eclipse the real source of her allure—her commitment to aesthetic self-discipline.
Alexei Vella Boy, Uninterrupted
Ben Lerner, portraitist of talkative men, explores the roots of white male rage.
Eleni Kalorkoti The Secret Power of Menopause
Why the end of fertility doesn’t mark the start of decline—and may even help explain our success as a species.
Departments
The Conversation
Readers respond to August 2019 articles on stock buybacks, the return of measles, and DIY coffins.
Graham Roumieu
Poetry
Melinda Josie
