A selection of recent and most read stories from The Atlantic to start your day

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How We All Came to Live in Taylor Swift’s Version of the World

The tidiest explanation for the pop star’s success is that she befriended an underestimated audience of girls and young women. That’s only part of the story.

Welcome to the Vaccine Free-for-All

States are making their own rules.

I’m a High Schooler. AI Is Demolishing My Education.

The end of critical thinking in the classroom

Goodbye, FEMA. Hello, Disaster Consultants.

Pushing more responsibility for disaster response onto the states will mean depending more on private contractors.

The Fight for Truth

Jonathan Rauch on the “constitution of knowledge,” disinformation’s dangers, and why reality always wins. Plus: What a J. D. Vance presidency would look like.

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