When President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, news spread about his implementation of Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page document published by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. The debates--and anxiety--surrounding this initiative have only increased as authors of the Project assume positions of power in the second Trump administration. So, what is Project 2025, exactly? Who wrote it, and what does it mean for everyday Americans, across the political spectrum, now and in the years to come? David A. Graham offers context and distills the essential elements of this document. Breaking down the Project's strategy for transforming--and radically empowering--the executive branch, Graham then explains what the architects behind Project 2025 are doing with that power: enforcing traditional gender norms, decimating the civil service, performing mass deportations, reducing corporate regulation and worker protections, and more.