Eight Absorbing Reads for Independence Day Weekend

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Our editors compiled a list of eight absorbing reads for your Independence Day weekend. Spend time with stories about a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme, the search for America’s Atlantis, why Americans can’t access some of the world’s best sunscreens, and more.

The Reading List

You’re Not Allowed to Have the Best Sunscreens in the World

Newer, better UV-blocking agents have been in use in other countries for years. Why can’t we have them here?

By Amanda Mull

The Billion-Dollar Ponzi Scheme That Hooked Warren Buffett and the U.S. Treasury

How a small-town auto mechanic peddling a green-energy breakthrough pulled off a massive scam

By Ariel Sabar

How Kids Learn Resilience

In recent years, the idea that educators should be teaching kids qualities like grit and self-control has caught on. Successful strategies, though, are hard to come by.

By Paul Tough

The Fertility Doctor’s Secret

Donald Cline must have thought no one would ever know. Then DNA testing came along.

By Sarah Zhang

The Search for America’s Atlantis

Did people first come to this continent by land or by sea?

By Ross Andersen

Can a Boxer Return to the Ring After Killing?

In 2019, Charles Conwell unintentionally ended Patrick Day’s life with his fists. Now he’s trying to make sense of his life, and boxing itself.

By Jacob Stern

Welcome to Pricing Hell

The ubiquitous rise of add-on fees and personalized pricing has turned buying stuff into a game you can’t win.

By Christopher Beam

What the Longest Study on Human Happiness Found Is the Key to a Good Life

The Harvard Study of Adult Development has established a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being. The question is, how does a person nurture those deep relationships?

By Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz

The Week Ahead

1. Fly Me to the Moon , a comedy-drama film starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum about a plan to fake the moon landing (in theaters Friday)
2. The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) , a new album from Eminem (out Friday)
3. Long Island Compromise , a novel by Taffy Brodesser-Akner about a wealthy family that starts spiraling after the patriarch is kidnapped and held for ransom (out Tuesday)

Essay

The Science of Pet Ownership Needs a Reality Check

By Michael Schulson

For more than a decade, in blog posts and scientific papers and public talks, the psychologist Hal Herzog has questioned whether owning pets makes people happier and healthier.

It is a lonely quest, convincing people that puppies and kittens may not actually be terrific for their physical and mental health. “When I talk to people about this,” Herzog told me, “nobody believes me.” A prominent professor at a major public university once described him as “a super curmudgeon” who is, in effect, “trying to prove that apple pie causes cancer.”

Read the full article.

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• The awful ferocity of midlife desire
• Don’t give up on tourism. Just do it better.
• Blood and cheap thrills in ’80s Los Angeles
• Eva Longoria’s escapist charms

Catch Up on The Atlantic

• Anne Applebaum: How Labour defeated populism
• Mark Leibovich: The lie Democrats are telling themselves
• Something has gone deeply wrong at the Supreme Court.

Photo Album

Take a look at these photos from the past week that show wildfires in California, a hot-dog-eating competition on Coney Island, hurricane damage in Barbados, and sumo wrestlers in Washington, D.C.

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