Is this the first illness spread by social media? (The Atlantic)
The Twitching Generation
Atlantic
Two Years is Long Enough
"I am desperate for a party. So desperate I would attend an enemy’s book launch. So desperate I would attend an improv-comedy night. So desperate I would see an amateur production of Shakespeare." (The Atlantic)
Dave Chappelle’s Rorschach Test
"The Closer is Dave Chappelle pushing all of our buttons, and inviting us to reflect on which ones provoke a reaction." (The Atlantic)
What Happened When Facebook Became Boomerbook
"Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Facebook is only 17 years old: If it were a person, it could drive but not drink. And it probably wouldn’t use Facebook." (The Atlantic)
The Cult of Virginity Just Won’t Let Go
"This fall, Britain is poised to ban virginity tests—and will consider banning hymen-repair surgery too. That would be an impressive victory." (The Atlantic)
The Man Loves The Extra Publicity
"No one here is rebelling against the Man. The Man loves the extra publicity; it helps sell more $35,000 tickets to socialites who love a frisson of revolution as long as it’s safely divorced from the threat of actual tumbrels." (The Atlantic)
The Problem With Being Cool About Sex
"Porn consumption is now such a fixture of modern life—there is no chance the American government will take your smut away—that space has opened up to question its effects without being dismissed as a wannabe censor. Which isn’t to say that admitting to reservations about current sexual trends is easy." (The Atlantic)
Why Families Argue About Weight
"Genetically, Xand and Chris van Tulleken are clones. Yet the 42-year-old twins do not look identical, because Xand is more than 30 pounds heavier than Chris." (The Atlantic)
The Superstars of Tourette’s TikTok
"Halfway through our conversation, Glen Cooney calls me a four-letter word often cited as the most offensive in the English language. But that’s okay. He doesn’t mean it. On Twitter, such behavior would get Cooney canceled a dozen times a day, but on TikTok, it has made him a star." (The Atlantic)
Substack Is Selling Soap Operas
No media loop has been this closed since the members of the intellectual dark web all went on one another’s podcasts to argue that we should be exposed to divergent opinions. (The Atlantic)