Cormac McCarthy’s Midlife Crisis
Heading west at 40 transformed his writing—and American literature.
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Kurt Markus / Trunk Archive Movies Are Good, Actually
A film critic’s new book attacks the medium for diminishing culture. Rarely has David Thomson been more wrong.
Illustration by Akshita Chandra / The Atlantic. Source: Getty. What Spielberg, Lucas, and Coppola Got Right
In revisiting the trio of auteurs who reinvented filmmaking in the 1970s, a new book shows that creativity thrives on collaboration.
Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic* What Sam Shepard Couldn’t Outrun
The actor, playwright, and self-made cowboy was also a poet of masculine angst.
AGIP / RDA / Everett Collection The Would-Be Savior of Patagonia
Are environmental crusaders like Douglas Tompkins good for the planet?
Chris Jones The Supreme Court’s Enduring Bias
Over the past half century, siding with the powerful against the vulnerable has been the rule in almost every area of the law.
Rodrigo Corral Deconstructing Clarence Thomas
The justice’s reactionary legal philosophy rests on faith in the power of adversity to fuel black progress.
Illustration: Paul Spella; Diana Walker / The Life Images Collection / Getty; Eddie Adams / AP John Roberts’s Biggest Test Is Yet to Come
The chief justice writes fiercely conservative opinions, yet champions the Court’s political independence. How will he respond to a constitutional crisis?
Denise Nestor Commander v. Chief
The lessons of Eisenhower’s civil-rights struggle with his chief justice Earl Warren
Mike McQuade Thurgood Marshall, Badass Lawyer
The Supreme Court justice may have left a stronger legacy off the bench.
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