The Making of an American Nazi
How did Andrew Anglin go from being an antiracist vegan to the alt-right’s most vicious troll and propagandist—and how might he be stopped?
December 2017
In This Issue
The making of an American Nazi, the evolution of the alt-right, and the rise and fall of ‘Rolling Stone.’ Plus, China’s race to find aliens first, ‘Shark Tank’ nation, and more.
Cover Story
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The Lost Boys
The young men of the alt-right could define American politics for a generation.
What Happens If China Makes First Contact?
As America has turned away from searching for extraterrestrial intelligence, China has built the world’s largest radio dish for precisely that purpose.
The Digital Ruins of a Forgotten Future
Second Life was supposed to be the future of the internet, but then Facebook came along. Yet many people still spend hours each day inhabiting this virtual realm. Their stories—and the world they’ve built—illuminate the promise and limitations of online life.
What Would Miss Rumphius Do?
Barbara Cooney’s beloved stories and illustrations carry lessons for young Americans about moral courage.
Dispatches
Edmon de Haro Republican Is Not a Synonym for Racist
Conservatives must reckon with their policies’ discriminatory effects. That would be more likely if liberals stopped carelessly crying bigot.
John Cuneo The Computer Scientist Who Prefers Paper
Barbara Simons believes there is only one safe voting technology.
Christopher DeLorenzo Can You Be Friends With Your Coffee Maker?
Why people personify machines and gadgets
Illustration by Mark Weaver* Can Unions Stop the Far Right?
If it weren’t for working-class voters, Germany’s recent election could have had a different outcome.
@Menderesturel / Twitter The Strongman in Plaid
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has started a fashion trend among loyalists.
Chelsea Beck / Anki Should Children Form Emotional Bonds With Robots?
For better and worse, toys powered by AI are becoming an intimate part of kids’ lives.
Lever Architecture (Rendering) The Weird, Wooden Future of Skyscrapers
A change to the urban skyline that could make a big dent in carbon emissions.
Joe McKendry The Vagina Readers of the 1890s
A very short book excerpt
The Culture File
Rami Niemi The Cutthroat World of Capitalist Reality TV
Shark Tank, The Toy Box, and Funderdome offer a mesmerizingly shallow view of American entrepreneurship.
Baron Wolman / Getty The Rise and Fall of Rolling Stone
What happened when Jann Wenner traded the hippie dream for pop-star friends and luxury
Juan Esteban Rodríguez / Folio Art How John Wayne Became a Hollow Masculine Icon
The actor’s persona was inextricable from the toxic culture of Cold War machismo.
Hanna Barczyk The Odyssey and the Other
What the epic can teach about encounters with strangers abroad and at home
Departments
The Conversation: The First White President
Readers respond to an October 2017 cover story and more.
Graham Roumieu
Poetry
Landing
A poem
