Today, the lettuce looked a little bruised, but it could still be incorporated into a healthy salad. Sadly, Liz Truss serves no such useful purpose. (The Atlantic)
Liz Truss Fought The Lettuce. The Lettuce Won
Atlantic
The PM Who Got Everything Wrong
Just six weeks into her tenure, Liz Truss's ambitions have shuffled off this mortal coil, rung down the curtain, and joined the choir invisible. (The Atlantic)
The Guggenheim’s Scapegoat
How did a simple offer, over a single painting, lead to such a spectacular destruction of someone’s life and career? (The Atlantic)
The Second Elizabethan Age Has Ended
Like the North Star in the night sky, Queen Elizabeth II was a fixed point, something by which to orient yourself. She was six weeks older than Marilyn Monroe, three years older than Anne Frank, nine years older than Elvis Presley—all figures of the unreachable past. She was older than nylon, Scotch tape, and The Hobbit. (The Atlantic)
Boris Johnson’s Terrible Parting Gift
In his last days as prime minister of Britain, Boris Johnson conducted a farewell tour of the country. Possibly he expected something like the accolades his beloved Roman generals were given—a small arch in his honor, say—or at least a few angry Gauls walking miserably behind his chariot. Instead he went to a field in southwest England and stared at a hole in the ground. (The Atlantic)
What If Joan of Arc Wasn’t A Woman?
Joan of Arc dared to take on the traditionally masculine role of soldier and commander. In her day, everyone wondered: Was she holy—a saint, a sacred being, a vessel of enlightenment—or merely a woman? Four centuries later, the Globe is asking the same question. (The Atlantic)
I’m The Driver Now
Thirty-seven, I decided, was old enough. Even here in Britain, that is an advanced age to begin learning to drive, but somehow, I had never gotten around to it. And so I found myself, one morning last fall, trying to master the exact sequence of foot movements required to hit something called “biting point.” (The Atlantic)
How Social Justice Became A New Religion
A quick question. If someone is yelling “repent” at you in the street, are they more likely to be (a) a religious preacher or (b) a left-wing activist? (The Atlantic)
The British Right Doesn’t Want to Hear Doubts
This is a long, hot summer in Britain, and 150,000 people are choosing our next prime minister. (The Atlantic)
Jane Austen’s Persuasion Meets the Girlboss Era
This Persuasion has turned its heroine, Anne Elliot, from a quiet, melancholic presence to a klutzy Fleabag clone. (The Atlantic)