News•Mar 11, 2026
The Midlife Crisis Comes for Millennial Pop
Swedish pop icon Robyn releases her new album Sexistential at age 46, confronting midlife themes through dance music. The record blends hyperpop, 80s synth, and glitchy production while addressing motherhood, IVF, and personal upheaval. Critics note a shift from her polished earlier work to a chaotic, playful sound that mirrors contemporary streaming culture. The album also challenges ageist norms in pop, showing that older female artists can still innovate and influence younger musicians.
By The Atlantic – Work
News•Mar 10, 2026
Trump’s Assault on Higher Education Has Hit a Snag
The Trump administration launched an aggressive campaign against elite universities, slashing DEI programs, freezing billions in research grants, and capping indirect research costs. Universities and advocacy groups responded with a wave of lawsuits that halted most of the funding cuts...
By The Atlantic – Work
News•Mar 10, 2026
Spain’s Wind-Farm Bargain
Spain’s Castilla‑La Mancha town Higueruela transformed from a declining community into a renewable‑energy hub after a wind farm was installed 25 years ago. Today, taxes and lease fees from Iberdrola supply roughly 40% of the municipal budget, funding libraries, youth...
By The Atlantic – Work
News•Mar 9, 2026
The Pentagon Cut Its Civilian Safeguards Before the Iran War
The Pentagon has slashed the staff of its Civilian Protection Center of Excellence by roughly 90%, cutting the unit that once employed about 200 specialists in civilian‑harm mitigation. The reductions coincided with the launch of a massive U.S. air campaign...
By The Atlantic – Work
News•Mar 9, 2026
The Fight Over Tylenol and Autism Just Got Messier
In September, President Trump urged pregnant women to avoid Tylenol, echoing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s claim of a link between prenatal acetaminophen and autism or ADHD. The FDA responded that no causal relationship has been established, citing mixed...
By The Atlantic – Work
News•Mar 9, 2026
An Air-Campaign Primer
The United States is conducting its first sustained independent air campaign since the 1991 Gulf War, targeting Iran’s integrated air‑defense system, ballistic‑missile sites, and regime command structures. Modern precision‑guided weapons, unmanned aircraft, and space‑based ISR have dramatically increased strike accuracy...
By The Atlantic – Work
News•Mar 7, 2026
An Uncomfortable Emotion That’s Worth Feeling
The Wonder Reader newsletter spotlighted Daniel Smith’s essay on boredom, invoking Joseph Brodsky’s 1989 Dartmouth commencement speech that frames boredom as a teacher of our insignificance. Smith argues that feeling boredom—whether while running errands or on hold—can become a conduit...
By The Atlantic – Work
News•Mar 6, 2026
Pushing the Limits of Historical Fiction
Álvaro Enrigue’s new novel *Now I Surrender* reframes the Apache Wars through a wildly inventive, absurdist lens, intertwining historical figures like Geronimo with fictional personas such as a disguised zarzuela singer. The narrative collapses textbook binaries, presenting the conflict as...
By The Atlantic – Work