“Past episodes in American history suggest that the United States — despite its democratic traditions — is vulnerable to the creation of zones of authoritarianism,” Amanda Taub writes. “But history also shows that the zone of legality can fight back.”

To date, the Trump Administration has refused to share the names of the men it has sent to El Salvador. One attorney involved in the advocacy efforts described her clients as “ghosts.”

In our May issue:

@anneapplebaum.bsky.social on how Orbán’s Hungary could be America's future

George Packer on how Trump got GOP leaders to betray an entire worldview

Aziz Huq on America’s dual state

Plus, @markleibovich.bsky.social profiles Ringo Starr

Read it all: theatln.tc/VIJv6P3O

In the past seven weeks, Donald Trump has been hard at work on his long-standing pet project: decimating free and fair elections. And, as with the rest of the President’s calamitous agenda, he is doing it in full view of the American people.

Could a crisis of speech and internal conflict, amplified by outside pressures, run American universities aground?

At a time when many social-media sites have abandoned their safeguards against mis- and disinformation, Wikipedia is a bastion of transparency and accessible knowledge. So maybe it should come as no surprise that Elon Musk has been attacking it.

"Trump has seized on his reelection as an opportunity to rewrite the story of January 6," writes Quinta Jurecic. "But in the long term, the truth of what happened will prove difficult to bury":

Here are the 100 notable books from 2024 — including standout fiction, poetry and nonfiction, all chosen by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.