By Michael Scherer, Photographs by Elinor Carucci

This Atlantic profile delivers an unsettling portrait of American institutional collapse through the lens of its most polarizing health official. The piece captures Kennedy as both true believer and tragic figure—a recovering addict who transformed personal redemption into crusading certainty, now wielding federal power to reshape public health based on contested science. The reporting reveals the terrifying gap between Kennedy's litigator's instinct to cherry-pick evidence and the nuanced uncertainty that actual science requires. Most chilling: the article demonstrates how impossible it has become to establish shared factual ground, even when the stakes involve children's lives. Whether Kennedy represents overdue skepticism of captured institutions or dangerous rejection of expertise, this profile shows we're conducting a massive public health experiment with no control group. Required reading for understanding how distrust metastasizes into policy.

by Brian Phillips

Brian Phillips tackles the RFK Jr./Olivia Nuzzi affair with the perfect mix of horror and clarity. Yes, there are lurid details (including a truly unfortunate poem), but the real story cuts deeper. Phillips refuses to treat this as mere gossip. If the allegations are accurate, Nuzzi was actively working to advance RFK's campaign while reporting on the presidential race for New York magazine. That's not just an ethics violation. That's potential election interference disguised as journalism. Phillips also delivers a sharp analysis of Nuzzi's memoir excerpt, suggesting her reputation as a talented writer may have depended entirely on skilled editors. The piece captures something essential about how fame and access corrupt in predictable yet spectacular ways. The affair's consequences tell their own story: her career destroyed, his barely dinged. Meanwhile, one of these people now controls American health policy. Phillips makes the case that this scandal matters precisely because it reveals how personal corruption becomes institutional failure.

by Sheima Benembarek

Sheima Benembarek exposes the maddening gap between how we understand stalking and how the law treats it. Through survivor testimonies, she reveals a legal system that demands victims prove they're terrified while simultaneously questioning why they didn't report sooner, didn't fight back harder, or wore the wrong clothes. The piece cuts through romantic myths about persistence in love to show the grim reality: stalking is often a prelude to violence, yet prosecuting it requires meeting subjective standards about what a "reasonable person" would fear. A detective dismissing daily unwanted flowers as nice. Police suggesting a victim consider dating her stalker. These aren't outliers but patterns that reflect how gender, race, and sexuality shape who gets believed. Benembarek's reporting on marginalized communities is particularly strong, showing how queer survivors and people of color face impossible choices between seeking help from systems that harm them or staying silent. The statistics are stark: over 80,000 Canadians experienced stalking in just one year, likely a vast undercount. Required reading on why legal frameworks built around proving fear rather than preventing harm keep failing the people they're meant to protect.

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By Niamh Rowe

Niamh Rowe pulls back the curtain on Northwestern Mutual's recruitment machine with devastating precision. The Fortune 500 company markets itself to college students as a gateway to prestigious financial careers. Instead, as Rowe documents through 21 interviews, it harvests their contact lists and pushes them to sell expensive, often inappropriate life insurance policies to everyone they know. The economics are brutal: reps earn roughly $5.50 an hour while being told they're on track to make six figures. Most quit within months, leaving friends holding policies they don't need and relationships in tatters. The piece excels at explaining how Northwestern exploits legal gray areas, calling insurance agents "financial advisers" despite lacking proper credentials. The company can recommend whole life insurance to young people with no dependents because insurance sales carry no fiduciary duty. Rowe traces how decades of industry lobbying has kept this system intact despite costing customers billions. What makes this investigation vital is how it connects individual exploitation to institutional failure. Students desperate for career launches become unwitting participants in what sources describe as predatory sales tactics. Required reading on how a "World's Most Admired Company" legally ruins lives while maintaining its reputation.

Really hope you enjoyed the selection of stories today. I am always interested in hearing from you. If you have thoughts on how I can make this email even better, do not hesitate to reach out.

Brett

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