Author Archive
Robinson Meyer
Staff writer

Ideas
The Final Pandemic Surge Is Crashing Over America
For the first time, the U.S. recorded 1 million COVID-19 cases in one week.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Threats
A Dreadful New Peak for the American Pandemic
The country recorded more than 100,000 coronavirus cases today—the highest single-day total since the pandemic began.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Coronavirus Surge That Will Define the Next 4 Years
Cases are rising in all but nine states. Unlike the past two waves, this one has no epicenter.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Fog of the Pandemic Is Returning
Millions of coronavirus tests may be happening without their results being made public.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Plan That Could Give Us Our Lives Back
The U.S. has never had enough coronavirus tests. Now a group of epidemiologists, economists, and dreamers is plotting a new strategy to defeat the virus, even before a vaccine is found.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
America Is Giving Up on the Pandemic
Businesses are reopening. Protests are erupting nationwide. But the virus isn’t done with us.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
The State and Federal Data on COVID-19 Testing Don’t Match Up
The CDC has quietly started releasing nationwide numbers. But they contradict what states themselves are reporting.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
There’s One Big Reason the U.S. Economy Can’t Safely Reopen
The country faces the same problem today that it did two months ago: There are not enough tests to contain the virus.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
A New Statistic Reveals Why America’s Coronavirus Numbers Are Flat
Few figures tell you anything useful about how COVID-19 has spread through the U.S. Here’s one that does.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
How the Coronavirus Became an American Catastrophe
The death and economic damage sweeping the United States could have been avoided—if only we had started testing for the virus sooner.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Threats
The US Has Tested Fewer than 5,000 People for the Coronavirus — and That's a Big Problem
By this point in its outbreak, South Korea had tested more than 100,000 people. The lack of data hurts U.S. government, corporate, and personal attempts to make decisions.
- Alexis C. Madrigal and Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Threats
The Strongest Evidence Yet That America Is Botching Coronavirus Testing
“I don’t know what went wrong,” a former CDC chief told The Atlantic.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
Trump Isn’t a Climate Denier. He’s Worse.
Leaving the Paris Agreement and other efforts to slow the globe's transition from fossil fuels will ultimately undermine U.S. power.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Threats
Brazil's Bolsonaro Is Endangering the World
As a store of carbon, the Amazon is fundamental to the survival of every person. If destroyed or degraded, the giant rain forest is simply beyond humanity’s ability to get back.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
No One’s Going to Be Happy Giving Up Land to Fight Climate Change
Here are seven ways of understanding the IPCC’s newest climate warning.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Threats
No Climate Event in 2,000 Years Compares to What’s Happening Now
While parts of the world have warmed or cooled in the past, modern climate change is happening just about everywhere at the same time.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
Democrats Still Don’t Know How to Talk About Climate Change
They did try, though.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Ideas
The Next ‘South China Sea’ Is Covered in Ice
The State Department will soon have a permanent presence in Greenland for the first time since the 1950s.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic
Threats
Greenland Is Falling Apart
Its ice sheet, which holds enough water to raise sea level by 25 feet, may now be melting from the bottom.
- Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic