As cool as the space battles that "Star Wars" popularized are, there is something undeniably thrilling about a high-flying aerial battle sequence. Whether it's biplanes in the earliest days of aerial ...

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.

Tom Cruise keeps returning as the face of airborne spectacle, but Top Gun lasts because aircraft already carry deep cultural ...