The Atlantic

A Nonfiction Writer’s Biggest Challenge

To explain how the world works, authors have to break down complicated systems—without being boring.
Source: Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.
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In the summer of 2018, shortly after I’d moved to Washington, D.C., the city’s water utility sent out . Looking back now, this wasn’t as alarming as it seemed then—I did as I was told, and the advisory was lifted two days later. But as I griped with my friends and roommates in the first hours after the announcement, I didn’t admit that I wasn’t totally sure what the problem actually . I

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