President Joe Biden arrived in office with the kind of coherent, ambitious plan that Americans may almost have forgotten was possible. On Thursday, he issued the “National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness,” which embraces a set of priorities that includes better data collection and analysis, building more testing capacity, and sending a directive to the Occupational Safety and Health Agency to produce and enforce standards protecting workers from the virus. By the end of the week, he had signed thirty executive orders, which began the work of dismantling policies...…President Joe Biden arrived in office with the kind of coherent, ambitious plan that Americans may almost have forgotten was possible. On Thursday, he issued the “National Strategy for the Covid-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness,” which embraces a set of priorities that includes better data collection and analysis, building more testing capacity, and sending a directive to the Occupational Safety and Health Agency to produce and enforce standards protecting workers from the virus. By the end of the week, he had signed thirty executive orders, which began the work of dismantling policies...WW…

One wintry day in the mid-nineties, the British-American writer and documentarian Louis Theroux boarded a small plane bound for northern Idaho. He was on his way to Almost Heaven, a right-wing, off-grid survivalist community founded by a former Green Beret, James Gordon (Bo) Gritz, who had run for President a few years earlier under the slogan “God, Guns and Gritz.” Theroux—who was in his late twenties, was tall and gangly, and wore wire-framed Harry Potter glasses—was there to film an episode of his new BBC television show, “Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends.” In the episode, Theroux pads...…One wintry day in the mid-nineties, the British-American writer and documentarian Louis Theroux boarded a small plane bound for northern Idaho. He was on his way to Almost Heaven, a right-wing, off-grid survivalist community founded by a former Green Beret, James Gordon (Bo) Gritz, who had run for President a few years earlier under the slogan “God, Guns and Gritz.” Theroux—who was in his late twenties, was tall and gangly, and wore wire-framed Harry Potter glasses—was there to film an episode of his new BBC television show, “Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends.” In the episode, Theroux pads...WW…

Two weeks before Joe Biden’s Inauguration, L. Lin Wood answered his telephone. The defamation attorney and conspiracy theorist was at home, in Atlanta, watching a human-trafficking segment on the One America News Network. “I saw there was a warning out,” Wood told the caller. Maybe there was work in it for him? His recent clients have included the Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (Wood appends heart emojis to their correspondences) and Kyle Rittenhouse (“a hero”), and he has litigated on behalf of Donald Trump, whose election-fraud suits in Georgia had failed under Wood’s watch....…Two weeks before Joe Biden’s Inauguration, L. Lin Wood answered his telephone. The defamation attorney and conspiracy theorist was at home, in Atlanta, watching a human-trafficking segment on the One America News Network. “I saw there was a warning out,” Wood told the caller. Maybe there was work in it for him? His recent clients have included the Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (Wood appends heart emojis to their correspondences) and Kyle Rittenhouse (“a hero”), and he has litigated on behalf of Donald Trump, whose election-fraud suits in Georgia had failed under Wood’s watch....WW…

The grubby part of a glistening Inauguration Day played out just before 9 A.M., at Joint Base Andrews, where had come to say goodbye to the Presidency. Or almost goodbye. He was still entitled to take one last flight on Air Force One, to Florida. Mar-a-Lago awaited. Trump’s adult children, their partners, and a few of his grandchildren stood in line for review, near a small crowd of supporters or, perhaps, curiosity seekers. There were also cannons set up to fire a salute for Trump—who had, two weeks earlier, sent to try to overturn the election—or at least to make some noise for him.When...…The grubby part of a glistening Inauguration Day played out just before 9 A.M., at Joint Base Andrews, where had come to say goodbye to the Presidency. Or almost goodbye. He was still entitled to take one last flight on Air Force One, to Florida. Mar-a-Lago awaited. Trump’s adult children, their partners, and a few of his grandchildren stood in line for review, near a small crowd of supporters or, perhaps, curiosity seekers. There were also cannons set up to fire a salute for Trump—who had, two weeks earlier, sent to try to overturn the election—or at least to make some noise for him.When...WW…

Senator William H. Seward’s enemies in Congress called him a villain and a traitor, but they rarely missed his parties. Invitations to his soirées—which took place several times a week in the eighteen-fifties, during Washington’s winter social season—were more coveted than those to the White House. Seward was an impresario of dinner diplomacy. He thought entertaining was indispensable to his political success, and, as of 1854, to the future of the new Republican Party. In those days of polarized politics, it was Republicans who espoused the rights of Black men, and reactionary Democrats who...…Senator William H. Seward’s enemies in Congress called him a villain and a traitor, but they rarely missed his parties. Invitations to his soirées—which took place several times a week in the eighteen-fifties, during Washington’s winter social season—were more coveted than those to the White House. Seward was an impresario of dinner diplomacy. He thought entertaining was indispensable to his political success, and, as of 1854, to the future of the new Republican Party. In those days of polarized politics, it was Republicans who espoused the rights of Black men, and reactionary Democrats who...WW…

By the end of President crusade against American democracy—after a relentless deployment of propaganda, demagoguery, intimidation, and fearmongering aimed at persuading as many Americans as possible to repudiate their country’s foundational principles—a single word sufficed to nudge his most fanatical supporters into open insurrection. Thousands of them had assembled on the Mall, in Washington, D.C., on the morning of January 6th, to hear Trump address them from a stage outside the White House. From where I stood, at the foot of the Washington Monument, you had to strain to see his image on...…By the end of President crusade against American democracy—after a relentless deployment of propaganda, demagoguery, intimidation, and fearmongering aimed at persuading as many Americans as possible to repudiate their country’s foundational principles—a single word sufficed to nudge his most fanatical supporters into open insurrection. Thousands of them had assembled on the Mall, in Washington, D.C., on the morning of January 6th, to hear Trump address them from a stage outside the White House. From where I stood, at the foot of the Washington Monument, you had to strain to see his image on...WW…

The Navajo Times, based in Window Rock, Arizona, is the only newspaper focussed on reporting the news of the Navajo Nation—which covers an area larger than West Virginia and is home to more than a hundred and seventy thousand people. Many residents of the reservation don’t have Internet service, so the paper is vital to the community in a way that is increasingly rare these days, as local-news outlets around the nation are , sometimes supplanted by social media and sometimes by nothing at all.Eléonore (Léo) Hamelin’s short documentary “The People’s Newspaper” follows staff members of the...…The Navajo Times, based in Window Rock, Arizona, is the only newspaper focussed on reporting the news of the Navajo Nation—which covers an area larger than West Virginia and is home to more than a hundred and seventy thousand people. Many residents of the reservation don’t have Internet service, so the paper is vital to the community in a way that is increasingly rare these days, as local-news outlets around the nation are , sometimes supplanted by social media and sometimes by nothing at all.Eléonore (Léo) Hamelin’s short documentary “The People’s Newspaper” follows staff members of the...WW…

Among the more striking aspects of the Republicans’ response to last week’s historic second impeachment of Donald Trump, for “incitement to insurrection,” were their warnings that holding the President to account for his role in the assault on the Capitol, on January 6th, would only lead to more violence. On Wednesday night, just hours after the House vote, Senator Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, told Sean Hannity, on Fox News, that the impeachment was itself an incitement. Graham, who had flown with Trump to Texas the day before, said that President-elect Joe Biden should tell Chuck...…Among the more striking aspects of the Republicans’ response to last week’s historic second impeachment of Donald Trump, for “incitement to insurrection,” were their warnings that holding the President to account for his role in the assault on the Capitol, on January 6th, would only lead to more violence. On Wednesday night, just hours after the House vote, Senator Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina, told Sean Hannity, on Fox News, that the impeachment was itself an incitement. Graham, who had flown with Trump to Texas the day before, said that President-elect Joe Biden should tell Chuck...WW…

When Luke Mogelson attended ’s speech on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., on January 6th, he was prepared for the possibility that violence might erupt that day. , a veteran war correspondent and a contributing writer at The New Yorker, had spent the previous ten months reporting on the radical fringe of Trump supporters, from anti-lockdown militias to fascist groups such as the Proud Boys. After Election Day, he interviewed Trump supporters who showed up at ballot-tabulation sites, and who believed the President’s lies that the results had been “rigged” and his victory “stolen.” At...…When Luke Mogelson attended ’s speech on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., on January 6th, he was prepared for the possibility that violence might erupt that day. , a veteran war correspondent and a contributing writer at The New Yorker, had spent the previous ten months reporting on the radical fringe of Trump supporters, from anti-lockdown militias to fascist groups such as the Proud Boys. After Election Day, he interviewed Trump supporters who showed up at ballot-tabulation sites, and who believed the President’s lies that the results had been “rigged” and his victory “stolen.” At...WW…

Which Web sites get the most traffic? According to the ranking service Alexa, the top three sites in the United States, as of this writing, are Google, YouTube, and Facebook. (Porn, somewhat hearteningly, doesn’t crack the top ten.) The rankings don’t reflect everything—the dark Web, the nouveau-riche recluses harvesting bitcoin—but, for the most part, people online go where you’d expect them to go. The only truly surprising entry, in fourth place, is Reddit, whose astronomical popularity seems at odds with the fact that many Americans have only vaguely heard of the site and have no real...…Which Web sites get the most traffic? According to the ranking service Alexa, the top three sites in the United States, as of this writing, are Google, YouTube, and Facebook. (Porn, somewhat hearteningly, doesn’t crack the top ten.) The rankings don’t reflect everything—the dark Web, the nouveau-riche recluses harvesting bitcoin—but, for the most part, people online go where you’d expect them to go. The only truly surprising entry, in fourth place, is Reddit, whose astronomical popularity seems at odds with the fact that many Americans have only vaguely heard of the site and have no real...WW…

One of the most quoted lines in American nonfiction is Joan Didion’s “we tell ourselves stories in order to live.” It’s the first sentence of “,” an essay in which Didion recounts some facts, some images, and some reporting notes from 1968. Didion felt that she had lost the ability to string the stuff of stories into narratives, and, as a result, life itself seemed to drain away. She was plagued with symptoms that were variously interpreted as neurological or psychiatric—or, after the fact, by Didion herself, as a normal reaction to 1968, which could have given anyone a case of vertigo and...…One of the most quoted lines in American nonfiction is Joan Didion’s “we tell ourselves stories in order to live.” It’s the first sentence of “,” an essay in which Didion recounts some facts, some images, and some reporting notes from 1968. Didion felt that she had lost the ability to string the stuff of stories into narratives, and, as a result, life itself seemed to drain away. She was plagued with symptoms that were variously interpreted as neurological or psychiatric—or, after the fact, by Didion herself, as a normal reaction to 1968, which could have given anyone a case of vertigo and...WW…

Cleveland Grover Meredith, Jr., who goes by Cleve, grew up in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta in the nineteen-seventies and eighties. His father owns a hundred-year-old company that makes utility poles, and his mother was a homemaker who later became an interior decorator. He had two sisters, one of whom died young, of brain cancer. He attended the prestigious Lovett School, in north Atlanta, where nearly all his classmates were white, and where, a few of those classmates told me recently, the N-word was occasionally heard in the hallways—making it “depressingly similar,” one said, to many...…Cleveland Grover Meredith, Jr., who goes by Cleve, grew up in a wealthy suburb of Atlanta in the nineteen-seventies and eighties. His father owns a hundred-year-old company that makes utility poles, and his mother was a homemaker who later became an interior decorator. He had two sisters, one of whom died young, of brain cancer. He attended the prestigious Lovett School, in north Atlanta, where nearly all his classmates were white, and where, a few of those classmates told me recently, the N-word was occasionally heard in the hallways—making it “depressingly similar,” one said, to many...WW…

This time was no different. At least not for the vast majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives. Never mind the deadly rampage of the pro-Trump mob that endangered their own lives, and the President’s direct role in setting that mob loose on the Capitol. When the House of Representatives returned to the scene of the crime on Wednesday, for the first-ever second impeachment of a President, the result was drearily predictable: Democrats supported it and, with a few exceptions, Republicans didn’t.And so the second impeachment of Donald John Trump, just like his first impeachment,...…This time was no different. At least not for the vast majority of Republicans in the House of Representatives. Never mind the deadly rampage of the pro-Trump mob that endangered their own lives, and the President’s direct role in setting that mob loose on the Capitol. When the House of Representatives returned to the scene of the crime on Wednesday, for the first-ever second impeachment of a President, the result was drearily predictable: Democrats supported it and, with a few exceptions, Republicans didn’t.And so the second impeachment of Donald John Trump, just like his first impeachment,...WW…

“It’s alright, Ma, I’m only bleeding.”You live your life alone but tethered to the deed of a mother. You live your life naked to the world and what it will pile upon you. And, no, you will not avoid death. You won’t survive it. And by “you” I mean not just Jesus, who is invoked in this song, whether intentionally or not, but you as in you, the person reading this. Someone loves you. That’s not small. You suffer and she watches, living or dead. She can’t protect you, but it’s alright, Ma, I can make it.Jimmy Carter used a famous line from the same Dylan song—“he not busy being born is busy...…“It’s alright, Ma, I’m only bleeding.”You live your life alone but tethered to the deed of a mother. You live your life naked to the world and what it will pile upon you. And, no, you will not avoid death. You won’t survive it. And by “you” I mean not just Jesus, who is invoked in this song, whether intentionally or not, but you as in you, the person reading this. Someone loves you. That’s not small. You suffer and she watches, living or dead. She can’t protect you, but it’s alright, Ma, I can make it.Jimmy Carter used a famous line from the same Dylan song—“he not busy being born is busy...WW…

On New Year’s Eve, music fans were stunned to learn that the rapper and producer Daniel Dumile had died months earlier, on Halloween. Dumile’s career began in the late nineteen-eighties as a member of the beloved group KMD, but he was best known for his , in the two-thousands, when he performed from behind a metallic mask, cycling through a series of exaggerated comic-book alter egos with names such as MF Doom, King Geedorah, and Viktor Vaughn. His passing was confirmed by his family, on Instagram. No cause of death was reported, nor was there any explanation as to why this news was being...…On New Year’s Eve, music fans were stunned to learn that the rapper and producer Daniel Dumile had died months earlier, on Halloween. Dumile’s career began in the late nineteen-eighties as a member of the beloved group KMD, but he was best known for his , in the two-thousands, when he performed from behind a metallic mask, cycling through a series of exaggerated comic-book alter egos with names such as MF Doom, King Geedorah, and Viktor Vaughn. His passing was confirmed by his family, on Instagram. No cause of death was reported, nor was there any explanation as to why this news was being...WW…

Throughout ’s Presidency, the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie has been an informal adviser to the White House. His embrace of the Trump Administration has been complicated. Christie led Trump’s White House transition team but was removed shortly after Trump won the election. A contributor to ABC News, Christie has frequently criticized Trump for errors of policy and messaging, while keeping a line open to the President, whose election and reëlection he supported. He also helped the President with debate preparation last year, and announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19...…Throughout ’s Presidency, the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie has been an informal adviser to the White House. His embrace of the Trump Administration has been complicated. Christie led Trump’s White House transition team but was removed shortly after Trump won the election. A contributor to ABC News, Christie has frequently criticized Trump for errors of policy and messaging, while keeping a line open to the President, whose election and reëlection he supported. He also helped the President with debate preparation last year, and announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19...WW…

When one of the sergeant-at-arms staffers on the floor of the House of Representatives said that people were starting to move toward the Capitol, we didn’t think much of it. We’ve had plenty of protests. But then you started seeing more worry. You could feel the energy. It wasn’t the tone, it was the face. Next they said, “They’ve breached a wall, but everything’s fine.” Then there was another breach over here, a breach over there. It just kept cascading. That was when we started hearing, “Do we have to bring the Speaker down from the rostrum?”I’m the floor director for Speaker Nancy...…When one of the sergeant-at-arms staffers on the floor of the House of Representatives said that people were starting to move toward the Capitol, we didn’t think much of it. We’ve had plenty of protests. But then you started seeing more worry. You could feel the energy. It wasn’t the tone, it was the face. Next they said, “They’ve breached a wall, but everything’s fine.” Then there was another breach over here, a breach over there. It just kept cascading. That was when we started hearing, “Do we have to bring the Speaker down from the rostrum?”I’m the floor director for Speaker Nancy...WW…

As insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol this week, a few figures stood out. One man, clad in a combat helmet, body armor, and other tactical gear, was among the group that made it to the inner reaches of the building. Carrying zip-tie handcuffs, he was captured in photographs and videos on the Senate floor and with a group that descended on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite. In a video shot by ITV News, he is seen standing against a wall adjacent to Pelosi’s office, his face covered by a bandana. At another point, he appears to exit the suite, face exposed, pushing his way through...…As insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol this week, a few figures stood out. One man, clad in a combat helmet, body armor, and other tactical gear, was among the group that made it to the inner reaches of the building. Carrying zip-tie handcuffs, he was captured in photographs and videos on the Senate floor and with a group that descended on Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite. In a video shot by ITV News, he is seen standing against a wall adjacent to Pelosi’s office, his face covered by a bandana. At another point, he appears to exit the suite, face exposed, pushing his way through...WW…

By the end of the day, we knew remarkably little, but we knew this: the Capitol Police had been woefully unprepared for an invasion that had been easy to predict—that had, in fact, been virtually declared by the man with the world’s biggest megaphone. There had been violence, destruction of government property, tear gas, stun grenades, and gunshots. As of Wednesday night, four people were known to have died, one of them shot by the police. Fifty-two people were known to have been arrested, out of several thousand who had stormed the building.It was an attack without precedent but with many...…By the end of the day, we knew remarkably little, but we knew this: the Capitol Police had been woefully unprepared for an invasion that had been easy to predict—that had, in fact, been virtually declared by the man with the world’s biggest megaphone. There had been violence, destruction of government property, tear gas, stun grenades, and gunshots. As of Wednesday night, four people were known to have died, one of them shot by the police. Fifty-two people were known to have been arrested, out of several thousand who had stormed the building.It was an attack without precedent but with many...WW…

Just after 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, Representative , Democrat of western Pennsylvania, rose on the floor of the House to defend the franchise of the people in his state. Even at that late hour, and even after a Trumpist mob urged on by the President had , a group of Republican House members, joined by Senator Josh Hawley, of Missouri, was trying to get the state’s electoral votes thrown out. Their objections, Lamb said, “don’t deserve an ounce of respect—not an ounce.” His colleagues, he said, had to be clear about what had happened that day: “Invaders came in for the first time since the war...…Just after 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, Representative , Democrat of western Pennsylvania, rose on the floor of the House to defend the franchise of the people in his state. Even at that late hour, and even after a Trumpist mob urged on by the President had , a group of Republican House members, joined by Senator Josh Hawley, of Missouri, was trying to get the state’s electoral votes thrown out. Their objections, Lamb said, “don’t deserve an ounce of respect—not an ounce.” His colleagues, he said, had to be clear about what had happened that day: “Invaders came in for the first time since the war...WW…

At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, police reinforcements were starting to clear a mob of supporters from the United States Capitol, which they had occupied for almost three hours. The representatives and senators, who were holding a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the Electoral College when the Trump supporters broke through security lines, are still in lockdown. Amid unprecedented scenes of mayhem, the joint session, which should have been a formality, has been suspended, and it’s not clear when the session will resume.Earlier in the day, there were alarming clashes. At the doors...…At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, police reinforcements were starting to clear a mob of supporters from the United States Capitol, which they had occupied for almost three hours. The representatives and senators, who were holding a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the Electoral College when the Trump supporters broke through security lines, are still in lockdown. Amid unprecedented scenes of mayhem, the joint session, which should have been a formality, has been suspended, and it’s not clear when the session will resume.Earlier in the day, there were alarming clashes. At the doors...WW…

Last October, a fire tore through the apartment complex in Stockton, California, where Laura Kidd-Plummer had lived for five years. Nearly a decade earlier, Kidd-Plummer, who will turn seventy this year, had retired from her job in the wardrobe department at the Oakland Coliseum, where she had worked for twenty-one years. She eventually moved to Stockton in search of cheaper rent. After the fire, she and her dog, Poopee, a Pomeranian-Yorkie mix, were left homeless. Ever since, she told me, “I’m just trying to keep my head above water.” She stayed in a motel for a couple of months, which was...…Last October, a fire tore through the apartment complex in Stockton, California, where Laura Kidd-Plummer had lived for five years. Nearly a decade earlier, Kidd-Plummer, who will turn seventy this year, had retired from her job in the wardrobe department at the Oakland Coliseum, where she had worked for twenty-one years. She eventually moved to Stockton in search of cheaper rent. After the fire, she and her dog, Poopee, a Pomeranian-Yorkie mix, were left homeless. Ever since, she told me, “I’m just trying to keep my head above water.” She stayed in a motel for a couple of months, which was...WW…

If there were any doubt remaining that still represents a to American democracy, the events of this weekend dispelled it. As a new Congress gathers to confirm that the voters chose to be the next President, a proceeding that should be a mere formality, Trump is desperately trying to overturn the result and stay in office. Even more disturbing, large numbers of elected Republicans are joining in this unprecedented effort to reject the popular will. If the Republic gets through the next two weeks without a catastrophe, we must surely take steps to protect ourselves against the next would-be...…If there were any doubt remaining that still represents a to American democracy, the events of this weekend dispelled it. As a new Congress gathers to confirm that the voters chose to be the next President, a proceeding that should be a mere formality, Trump is desperately trying to overturn the result and stay in office. Even more disturbing, large numbers of elected Republicans are joining in this unprecedented effort to reject the popular will. If the Republic gets through the next two weeks without a catastrophe, we must surely take steps to protect ourselves against the next would-be...WW…

On March 10th, the day before Tom Hanks announced that he had tested positive for , I drove my three-year-old daughter to her day care in Berkeley, California. The drive took us up College Avenue, where white-haired professors huddled at sidewalk café tables; we passed the fraternity houses where students gathered on the lawns. Just a few blocks from my daughter’s school, there’s a coffee shop with a clientele split equally between students and senior citizens. I sat there until noon, working on my laptop, before moving to one of the food courts frequented by international students from...…On March 10th, the day before Tom Hanks announced that he had tested positive for , I drove my three-year-old daughter to her day care in Berkeley, California. The drive took us up College Avenue, where white-haired professors huddled at sidewalk café tables; we passed the fraternity houses where students gathered on the lawns. Just a few blocks from my daughter’s school, there’s a coffee shop with a clientele split equally between students and senior citizens. I sat there until noon, working on my laptop, before moving to one of the food courts frequented by international students from...WW…

Joe Biden knows Iran better than any American President since its 1979 revolution. He has personally dealt with its top officials—a few of them for decades. “When I was Iran’s representative to the U.N., I had several meetings with Biden,” the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister, , after the U.S. election, in an interview with Entekhab, a Tehran publication. The two aren’t exactly friends. Their meetings “can be described as professional relations based on mutual respect,” Zarif said. But Biden does have the Iranian’s personal e-mail address, as well as his cell-phone number.As one of his...…Joe Biden knows Iran better than any American President since its 1979 revolution. He has personally dealt with its top officials—a few of them for decades. “When I was Iran’s representative to the U.N., I had several meetings with Biden,” the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Minister, , after the U.S. election, in an interview with Entekhab, a Tehran publication. The two aren’t exactly friends. Their meetings “can be described as professional relations based on mutual respect,” Zarif said. But Biden does have the Iranian’s personal e-mail address, as well as his cell-phone number.As one of his...WW…