The Atlantic Out Loud

Telling the full story of the town’s past is an easy way to make a lot of people mad. By Clint Smith From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The idea that everyone has intrinsic rights to life and liberty was a radical break with millennia of human history. It’s worth preserving. By Elaine Pagels From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The question of what Jefferson meant by “all men” has defined American law and politics for too long. By Annette Gordon-Reed From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What the Founding Fathers ate—and drank—on July 4, 1777 By Victoria Flexner From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How a lost copy of the Declaration of Independence unlocked a historical mystery By Danielle Allen From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Benedict Arnold’s boot wouldn’t come off, and other hardships from my weekend in the Revolutionary War. By Caity Weaver From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of African Americans fought for the British—then fled the United States to avoid a return to enslavement. By Andrew Lawler From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most influential and ardent Patriots couldn’t persuade his son to join the Revolution. By Stacy Schiff From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The co-directors dive into the complexities of filming a documentary about a long-ago war shrouded in myth. They discuss the challenges faced when recreating a pre-photography era, tackling personal narratives and diverse experiences of those impacted by the Revolution. The team also highlights the role of weather and disease in shaping history, underlining how civilian labor was crucial during wartime. Through letters and first-hand accounts, they bring emotional depth to the narrative, exploring the Revolution's legacy in shaping a new nation.

The geological origins of the American Revolution By Robert A. Gross and Robert M. Thorson From the ⁠November 2025 issue⁠. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices