The Year That Was and Wasn’t
The past year has been bad—but what made it bad, more or less? To find out, we asked a group of writers and thinkers: What were the most important events of 2016, and what were the least?
war
A collection of 33 issues
Moving Stars
The Obamas are the rare First Family to leave the White House stronger than when they arrived—never victims, even when hatefully victimized. Is it too late for the rest of us to learn how?
Dear Jack
A father writes his son a note on election night. It gets passed around their family and friends—and soon the entire world. What viral impact looks like, post-Trump.
The Year That Was and Wasn’t
We asked writers and thinkers to tell us: What were the most important events of 2015—and what were the least?
War Plan Red
The quirky history behind the secret, full-scale invasion that the United States once planned for Canada, and vice versa.
Playboy at War
With no more nudes in Playboy, an intimate approach toward sex is being lost—one longed for by soldiers in war zones.
A Heritage of Hate
Why it’s the duty of every white American to burn a Confederate flag.
Remnants of the Underground Railroad
The Thirteenth Amendment passed 150 years ago, abolishing slavery. Today, little of the Underground Railroad still remains. A painter hits the road to discover what’s intact.
Once Upon a Time in the Middle East
Driving from Lebanon toward Syria, across the Saudi Arabian desert to Dammam, in a taxi among the refugees of Beirut—quickly becomes the Wild West.
Bombs Over Damascus
As another military intervention gets underway—with your name on it—we thought a brief tour of recent history in Syria would be useful, with lots of pictures.
The Pyongyang Papers
North Korea’s intentions are unknown for the moment. But its memos are, at the very least, straightforward. The TMN staff uncovers a worldwide exclusive: internal documentation of the DPRK’s plans for the remaining calendar year.
Begin the Descend
Hebrew has a verb to describe the act of a Jew immigrating to Israel: la'ahloht, “to ascend.” Upon deciding to leave Israel, our correspondent starts the slow process of descent well before boarding the plane.
Les Ambassadeurs du Mali
Timbuktu’s annual Festival in the Desert was ready to rock as a “Festival in Exile.” Now, with liberation, it is a festival in limbo. A listening guide to what should be heard outside Timbuktu when the fighting is over.
Fly Girl
Even if you grow up crushing on the jets in Top Gun—and not Tom Cruise—it can be tough to preserve a dream of defending your country from a plane. But some girls do.
Smog of War
More than a decade after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan—now our longest war—most Americans still know next to nothing about the people who live there, and the liberties denied them. Lessons from a rapid education.
Ben Fountain
Our man in Boston sits down for an extended chat with the author of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, covering Kissinger's travel woes, the beauty of track meets, and the very best place to be a fiction writer in America: Dallas.
Soldier’s Heart
A post-World War II documentary, banned by the military in 1946 but lately released online, is one of the earliest depictions of psychotherapy. But it says even more about contemporary Americans’ interest in the veterans they love to praise.
Smells Like War
Israel and Iran are swaying on the brink, if you listen to the international media. A peek inside the Israeli capital finds people acting blasé, but not making summer vacation plans just yet.
Don’t Leave Me
World War II had veteran parades. Vietnam War vets were often ignored, if not shunned. For the current generation of war-weary Americans, solace comes on YouTube.
Calypso Now
With the U.S. military engaged in multiple battles around the world, it’s time to revisit that haunting classic of war and steel-drum cinema, “Apocalypso Now.”
Americhrome
From Schwarzkopf’s boots to traffic cones, the federal government’s official color palette—yes, it has one—controls much of what we see. An investigation into how America elects to paint itself.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Winners
Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal has been picked to lead the war in Afghanistan, and on only one meal a day. One week spent in the general's reduced-calorie footsteps.
It Is My Wish
Some hope for peace, others for environmental protection—and that’s because TED Prize wishes aren’t often granted to neoconservatives.
A Path of Destruction
Since 1980, the Shining Path guerrillas in Peru have been responsible for over 30,000 deaths. So why, now that the organization is effectively dismantled, are the seeds for revolution still being planted?
Kafka in the Green Zone
It’s difficult to make friends in the middle of warfare, but the least you can do is try. Join the existentialist as he rapidly descends through his tour of duty.
A Tour of the George W. Bush Presidential Library
His father is known as a cheerful correspondent, while his predecessor just released a thousand-page memoir. How will Dub-Dub be remembered when his papers are collected?
Tanks for the Memories
America hasn't been the same since Bob Hope died. Now—at war around the world—when we need him most, who will challenge the pompous and self-righteous?
In The Rear With Broken Gear
We depend on our troops to protect our shores—shouldn’t our troops be able to depend on their weapons? A look at 11 deaths attributed to bad equipment.
Springtime for Washington
Daisies and rifles are never easy bedfellows, especially when both are just starting to bloom.
MetaFilter in the Ruins
When the apocalypse comes, when the world ends as we know it, you can bet someone will be updating the Blue.
The Mormons: Our Secret Weapon in the War on Terror
Is war the only option? Surely, there’s something else we can do? Something, perhaps, involving ghosts and baptism? A proposition you might not slam your door on.
Schrödinger's Iraq
Philosophy, Iraq, mice? President Bush made some very strange comments in a press conference.
The Missing Debate on Iraq
Reading the news last week, it seemed like there was little debate in Congress about authorizing force against Iraq. Turns out there wasn’t any debate at all.