Work in Progress Newsletter

3 days ago | theatlantic.com | Francis X. Rocca

Pope Francis, who died this morning at the age of 88, may go down in history as the most quoted pontiff. His statements to the press will shape his legacy far more than his official teachings; in terms of attention and influence, there was no contest between the two. Despite his reputation as a progressive reformer, Francis took a relatively cautious approach to doctrine.

3 days ago | theatlantic.com | Stephanie McCrummen

The clinic was at the end of a craggy parking lot, in the husk of an old Dollar General, and on a morning in March when its future was more tenuous than ever, people were lining up to see a doctor while they still could. A woman worried she was having a relapse of tuberculosis. A man had a mysterious cyst on his neck. An 87-year-old woman hobbled to the check-in desk. “How’re you doing this morning, Ms. Birdie?” the receptionist said to Birdie Nelson.

5 days ago | theatlantic.com | Isabel Fattal

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. American grandparents in earlier generations had many identities, but caregiver was not first among them. Now, “America is in an age of peak grandparenting—particularly grandmothering,” my colleague Faith Hill wrote recently.

5 days ago | theatlantic.com | Justin Gest

In the north of Costa Rica, an irregular dirt path runs parallel to the highway that connects the country with Nicaragua at the Las Tablillas border post. When torrential downpours flood the Río Frío and drench the surrounding lowland forest, the trail turns into a viscous paste that sucks at the shoes of migrants crossing the border by foot; they often leave their ruined sneakers behind once they make it across.

6 days ago | theatlantic.com | Damon Beres

This is Atlantic Intelligence, a newsletter in which our writers help you wrap your mind around artificial intelligence and a new machine age. Sign up here. Earlier this week, The Verge reported that OpenAI is developing its own social network to compete with Meta and X. The product may never see the light of day, but the idea has a definite logic to it. People create data every time they post online, and generative-AI companies need a lot of data to train their products.