Winter 2023

Cover Story

The Road to Paradise and Back

Fires in the West, hurricanes in the East—what it’s like on the ground as we confront our rapidly changing world

by David Gessner

Cover Story

The Corals and the Capitalist

The key to avoiding an ecological catastrophe might be found in the wealth of nations and the spirit of innovation

by Juli Berwald

Articles

In the Frame of the Father

The lyrical, spiritual work of Darrel Ellis began with a precious inheritance

by Our Editors

The End Is Only the Beginning

Our species may soon evolve, with the help of technology, into something more than human

by Adam Kirsch

I Am Become a Name

The uncle I never knew and the war that was his

by Karl Kirchwey

Foreign Af fairs

The many lives and loves of the mysterious Saint-John Perse

by Rosanna Warren

Anatomy of a Collision

The sudden intersection of one’s professional and parental identities can lead to a strange kind of work-life imbalance

by Jessica Love

Departments

Book Essay

The Friend Zone

The Friend Zone

Mary Wollstonecraft’s ideas on what makes a marriage tick were downright radical for their time

Robert Zaretsky
Declassified

Declassified

How genre-bending tales of espionage emerged from a childhood of pain, anger, and deception

James Gibney

Book Reviews

Our Founding Contradiction

Our Founding Contradiction

The entrenched dichotomy at the center of the national story

Fergus M. Bordewich
Head of the State

Head of the State

How the FBI’s founding director ruled from the shadows

Charles Trueheart
Structural Foundations

Structural Foundations

The buildings that defined the Western world

Amanda Kolson Hurley
Quark of Habit

Quark of Habit

Scientists keep pushing for larger particle colliders—but is this really wise?

Sabine Hossenfelder
Beauty Born of Ashes

Beauty Born of Ashes

The story of a lyrical masterpiece that almost wasn’t

A. E. Stallings