The Free Press

As part of our celebration of America at 250, we’ve started a weekly newsletter by historian Jonathan Horn. Learn what happened this week in American history, why it matters, and what else you should see and read in The Free Press and beyond. This week, Jonathan writes about General Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright and his wife. And if you are looking for a fantastic history book this remembrance season, you can do no better than Jonathan’s The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines, which is now available in paperback. To get this newsletter in your inbox every week, sign up here. —The Editors

Not many visitors to Arlington National Cemetery make it out back behind the mansion house, where the graves run up against the old cavalry post formerly known as Fort Myer. In the grass past a Japanese cedar is a tombstone bearing four stars and two names carved into military lore: Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright and Adele Holley Wainwright. The engraved text identifies him as “General, United States Army,” and her merely as “his beloved wife.”

As is always the case at Arlington, there is more to be said. The ease with which the Wainwrights lie together belies a story of separation and suffering symbolic of the sacrifices that generations of service members and their families have made for our freedom. With Memorial Day this week, we owe it to remember the general who became the highest-ranking American prisoner of World War II and his long-suffering wife, who became a prisoner of an enemy of a different kind.

“Home is where the husband is.” That was the saying in the military family where Wainwright had grown up, and Adele Holley embraced it in 1911 upon marrying the skinny West Point graduate who had followed his father into the cavalry and loved riding horses, singing, and reading military history. There was no other way to be married to a cavalryman but to be ready to pick up at a moment’s notice and set off wherever duty led. In 1940, that meant going to the Philippines, then a U.S. colony, for what the Wainwrights assumed would be the final assignment in a career that had taken him to Europe during World War I and more recently made him a general officer. Adele would have stuck it out in the Philippines till the bitter end had the military not ordered army wives and children to leave in May 1941, amid fears that the islands would be difficult to defend in the event of war with Japan.

It’s Wednesday, May 27. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Why Trump is his own worst enemy. The J6ers who want millions of dollars of your money. Ben Sasse’s daughter on his parenting rules. Arthur Brooks on the pope’s AI advice. And much more.

But first: The next chapter of The Free Press.

By any standard, we live in the most connected age in human history—AI for everything, social media everywhere, and a device that holds all of human knowledge always in our pockets. And yet, we’ve never been lonelier.

That’s why we’ve launched a new community initiative to bring Free Pressers together, online and in real life, without bots or social media getting in the way. Thousands of paid subscribers have already found their way around our new Forum, where they’re getting job offers and marriage advice, and debating the war in Iran. Introduce yourself and join the conversation.

And that’s just the start. Free Pressers are also signing up for good food and great conversation with other subscribers in cities across three countries. In the first four hours, we had more than 500 reserved seats—and tables will sell out soon. Sign up for a Free Press Supper Club now, or request that we add your city here. Read Bari’s full announcement about what this means, and upgrade your subscription to join the fun:

Now, on to the news.

Ken Paxton’s victory in yesterday’s Republican Senate primary in Texas was, of course, a victory for President Donald Trump as well. A week ago, Trump flexed his political muscles by endorsing the scandal-ridden state attorney general over sitting senator John Cornyn, pretty much guaranteeing Paxton’s victory.

Yet, as our politics editor Mene Ukueberuwa points out in our lead story, promoting Paxton over Cornyn is of a piece with other moves Trump has made since reclaiming the presidency—moves that may satisfy him personally, but are harming the GOP’s chances as the midterms approach. Paxton’s baggage will give his Democratic opponent James Talarico a far better chance of winning than if he had to face Cornyn.

It’s part of a bigger trend: Trump doing things that suit him, but harm his party. Take the funding for his White House ballroom, or his $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” Does Trump care that his actions could cost the Republicans their majority in the House, and perhaps even the Senate? And how high a price will his party pay? Those are the questions at the heart of Mene’s piece today:

Speaking of that $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, Tanner Nau asked some of the January 6 rioters whether they were planning to apply for the fund—and how much they thought they deserved. One man who pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police, and was sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison, told Tanner that he didn’t want any more than his “fair share” of the money. He said $3 million would do it. I know, shocker. Read Tanner’s piece for a window into the mindset of the people the president is prioritizing over the wavering voters he needs come November.

—Joe Nocera

Across the West, legalized assisted dying is surging. In Canada, 5 percent of all deaths in 2024 were voluntary, as part of the country’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program. The Free Press’s Rupa Subramanya has covered this important, controversial and, to many, disturbing story from the start. In her latest piece, she reports on one of the most morally complex aspects of the issue: How should a parent react when their son or daughter tells them they want to die? That was the gut-wrenching question faced by the parents of Iris Dekker, a 19-year-old Dutch woman. They talk to Rupa about how loving parents could willingly accede to a child’s right to die, and she investigates the system that is putting more and more parents in that position. Read her report:

And for more on this story—and Rupa’s other reporting on assisted dying—listen to the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman. Rupa and Coleman Hughes are both supporters of the right to die for the terminally ill, but they both have major concerns about the way this issue is being handled in countries across the West.

Today at 8:00 p.m. ET, Arthur will speak with Father Mike Schmitz about artificial intelligence, human dignity, meaning, and the future of humanity. You can tune in here.

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that a peace deal with Iran may take “a few more days.” Following his comments on Monday that the U.S. would “deal with it another way” if a satisfactory agreement isn’t reached, Rubio added that President Trump is “either going to make a good deal or no deal.”

• After losing the Republican primary to a Trump-backed challenger last week, Rep. Thomas Massie filed paperwork on Monday to run for office again in 2028. “This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current office holder and as a potential candidate for federal office,” he wrote on X. He said he hadn’t decided which office to run for—if any.

• Legendary jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins has died at 95. Known for his soaring improvisations and constant experimentation, he was the last musician living from the famous 1958 Esquire photograph, A Great Day in Harlem, that gathered 57 of the greatest jazz artists in one of the most iconic images from jazz’s Golden Age.

• American journalist Thomas Pauken II, who was arrested by the FBI in February, was charged with acting as an unregistered agent for China. Pauken, who has lived in China for over a decade, allegedly prepared confidential reports his Chinese handler said were sent to Chinese president Xi Jinping. He also allegedly equipped a U.S.-based associate seeking a Trump administration job with a cell phone and laptop, and connected that person with his handler—believing the associate would pass classified information to China.

• Vice President J.D. Vance and his anti-fraud task force held a roundtable meeting yesterday, with 15 Republican state attorneys general in attendance. Twenty-four Democratic attorneys general declined a last-minute invitation to attend. During the meeting, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller claimed that “we could balance the federal budget” if fraud were eliminated.

• Landlords who own the most distressed rent-controlled apartments in New York City will be spared from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s proposed rent freeze, he announced. Eligible owners will be able to charge a onetime rent increase on certain vacant units, to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

• Hoping to crack down on leaks to the media, the Trump administration proposed a rule that would require all current and future federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements. The Office of Personnel Management filed a notice in the Federal Register, citing “several recent instances” of leaks, including planned immigration enforcement action and details on the U.S. raid in Venezuela.

As America approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, a quiet war is being waged over what the Declaration of Independence really means—with some on the new right dismissing it as globalist fantasy, and some on the left reducing it to a document written by slaveholders. Writer and former national security official Michael Anton joins Eli Lake to …

President Donald Trump hasn’t lost interest in the midterm elections. On the contrary, he’ll likely be furious if the GOP loses the House, not to mention the Senate. Yet the president seems totally committed to winning the midterms on his own terms—not the terms set by American voters, the people who decide elections.

His recent actions suggest that he’d prefer to see Republicans fall than sacrifice a single one of his personal interests. Nowhere is that clearer than in Texas. Ken Paxton’s blowout victory in the state’s GOP Senate primary on Tuesday is the latest consequence of Trump’s my-way-or-the-highway approach to November. Just over a week before the primary election, the president sealed the result by endorsing the state’s attorney general over his opponent, sitting senator John Cornyn. Paxton said as much in his victory speech Tuesday. “President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics.”

Trump preferred Paxton because he believes he’ll lend himself to the president’s plan to remake the Senate, along with election rules across the country. “Ken is a Strong Supporter of TERMINATING THE FILIBUSTER and, very importantly, THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump said on Truth Social last week. He wants allies in the Senate who will eliminate the barrier to simple majority rule and push through the SAVE America Act, which would impose strict voter ID and mail-voting rules on all 50 states.

Yet Trump won’t get either wish if Paxton loses his race in November, which the polls suggest is fairly likely. He trails Democratic nominee James Talarico by 1.5 percent in the Real Clear Politics poll average, and the largest poll, released in late April, showed Paxton down by 8 points.

That may be because he’s covered in more than a decade of serious scandals. Former members of his own staff claim he used his connections to the Trump Justice Department to help out a donor under federal investigation, to take one example. Cornyn’s record is clean, in contrast, and the final polling average showed him modestly but consistently outperforming Paxton in the general election.

For three years at their home in the historic town of Bergen op Zoom in the Netherlands, Omar and Cissy Dekker began each day the same way: waking their teenage daughter, Iris, lifting her out of bed, and trying to coax her into a life she no longer wanted.

When Cissy, a former forensic nurse, asked Iris what else she could do for her before leaving for work, the answer never changed: “Can you put a pillow over my head so I can die? Please make my suffering stop.”

Depression was not new to the Dekkers. Omar has a history of it, as do other members of his family. But Iris’s was different. Her symptoms were psychological and physical—a condition called functional neurological disorder, associated with severe psychological distress and depression. It often presents with symptoms like paralysis, seizures, and chronic pain, and was once referred to in medical psychology as hysteria. Iris had spent more than two years in a wheelchair after a seizure left her unable to walk.

Cissy described the look in her daughter’s eyes as “empty,” and her father called it a “black hole of depression.”

The symptoms began early in Iris’s adolescence. In 2019, at the age of 13, she began complaining of constant pain in her back, head, and stomach. At first, she pushed through it at school, during shifts at a bakery, while babysitting, and playing tennis, relying on a combination of painkillers and antidepressants, counseling at school, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

On Monday, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence. At roughly 42,300 words, the document is a sweeping open letter warning of the risks and ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

Papal encyclicals aren’t typically known for provoking controversy. But Pope Leo’s decision to grapple with one of the most powerful and least understood technologies of our age has inspired intense debate. Matthew Walther, editor of Catholic literary journal The Lamp, called it “disappointingly measured and cautious.” AI safety researcher and blogger Zvi Mowshowitz criticized the pope’s assertion that AI cannot truly think. Others, including critics, developers, and religious leaders, praised the encyclical for the breadth and seriousness of its approach.

These subjects aren’t relevant to Catholics alone; indeed, we wrestle with them every day here at The Free Press. So we were thrilled to learn that Free Press columnist Arthur Brooks was invited to write the foreword for the English edition of the encyclical, published by Ascension Press. Today, we’re sharing an adapted version of the foreword, in which Arthur reflects on the pope’s lessons during a moment of profound technological change. For more, tune in to Arthur’s live conversation with Father Mike Schmitz Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, about artificial intelligence, human dignity, meaning, and the future of humanity. —The Editors

There’s an expression that artificial intelligence developers in California use to refer to their work: “Building God.” In fact, one of them, Avital Balwit, the chief of staff to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, just did so in a May 22 essay for The Free Press. The use of the phrase, she wrote, is intended as a form of sardonic humor, acknowledging the awesome power and potential consequences of AI.

But is it a joke, really? The timing of Balwit’s piece was serendipitous, for only three days after it was published, Pope Leo XIV made headlines around the world for writing about artificial intelligence. On Monday, he issued his first encyclical—a major papal declaration on contemporary issues that is intended to guide the Catholic Church—titled Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.

AI, Leo writes, isn’t the first time people have tried to build something godlike. Indeed, he opens his encyclical with the biblical story from Genesis of the Tower of Babel, which was a human attempt to reach “to the heavens.” What was the builders’ motivation? By their own account, “so that we may make a name for ourselves.”

After President Trump’s weekend talk of an agreement with Iran, the past 36 hours have seen a flurry of military activity in the Middle East. On Monday, the United States launched a series of “self-defense” strikes on sites in southern Iran, sinking two boats that were laying mines. The move prompted Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to vow retaliation for what it called a “grave violation” of the ceasefire in a war now nearing its fourth month. And all of this is only the latest twist in a conflict that seems to change shape with every passing moment—often because of a social media post by the president himself.

What are we to make of it all? To bring clarity on where the war is—and what to expect next—we turn to historian and Free Press columnist Niall Ferguson. —The Editors

Like all our fellow citizens, Rieux . . . was torn between conflicting fears and confidence. When a war breaks out, people say, “It’s too stupid; it can’t last long.” But though a war may be “too stupid,” that doesn’t prevent it lasting. Stupidity has a knack of getting its way; as we should see if we were not always so much wrapped up in ourselves. —Albert Camus, The Plague, part I, chapter 5

Since February 28, we have experienced the geopolitical equivalent of a roller-coaster ride on magic mushrooms. We hurtled from Operation Epic Fury to Operation Economic Fury to Project Freedom to no fury at all, and not much freedom of navigation either. We sped from the impending obliteration of Iranian civilization to “a Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to PEACE . . . largely negotiated, subject to finalization.” If you have not experienced the psychological equivalent of whiplash in the last 12 weeks, you have not been paying attention. How many nearly-peace nearly-deals have we nearly had? Four? Five?

On Sunday, there was once again media speculation that a deal to end the war was close to being done. According to Barak Ravid of Axios, quoting an unnamed “U.S. official,” Donald Trump’s nearly-but-not-quite-finalized, still-could-fall-apart draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) had seven key elements:

Robert Gieswein was wearing a “camouflage paramilitary kit” and carrying a baseball bat when he began marching with members of the Proud Boys far-right militia group toward the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to the Justice Department. After they arrived, he sprayed an aerosol irritant at three Capitol Police officers, entered through a broken window frame, threw a punch at another officer, and tried but failed to break through a line of officers guarding a hallway to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding police and was sentenced in 2023 to four years in prison. But now he wants up to $10 million from the Justice Department’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund, though he told me in an interview that he would be willing to settle for $3 million.

“I’m going to 100 percent apply,” Gieswein said, adding that he is “very good at business and bargaining.” He insisted that he is “100 percent” entitled to the money, “based on the law.”

Last week’s announcement of the $1.776 billion fund by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche didn’t include a word about those who were convicted for the Capitol riot. But about 1,500 of them received a pardon from President Donald Trump hours after he was sworn in for his second term. “These people have been destroyed,” he said.

Several January 6 rioters told me Trump’s words and actions—not to mention the document signed by Blanche containing vague details about how the money will be awarded—give them confidence they will benefit financially once the Anti-Weaponization Fund is up and running.

When we launched The Free Press, the plan was simple: Tell the truth plainly, and let readers come to their own conclusions. I thought there would be a sizable enough group of people who would pay the cost of one coffee a month to read high-quality news and opinion journalism.

But what happened next surprised even me.

Yes, you came for the stories—for the investigations, essays, debates, interviews, podcasts, and arguments. But over the past few years, you also found one another.

I’ve watched strangers become friends in the lobby before our debates. I’ve seen people trade numbers after live recordings of Honestly, launch businesses after Free Press dinners, fall in love after our meetups—even get married (!?), and say some version of the same sentence over and over again:

I thought I was the only one.

We live in the most connected age in history, and yet, millions of people feel isolated, alienated, politically homeless, and starved for real conversation. We have followers and no neighbors. Algorithms instead of interlocutors. Our social media feeds are like troughs, but what we really need is a table to gather around.

The Free Press is a publication, yes, but it is also a gathering place for independent minds.

So today, I’m thrilled to share our new investment in you.

We are launching a new world of community experiences for our paid subscribers, designed to bring Free Pressers together online and in real life.

Introducing Our Community Launch

The Free Press Forum

Our new digital home for paid subscribers, the Forum, is now live.

This is where Free Pressers can meet, debate, recommend, organize, joke, argue, and converse like civilized people. Imagine that.

This is not social media as you know it. No bots. No algorithmic rage bait. No performative nonsense. Just smart people talking to one another.

Inside the Forum, you’ll find conversations on the things our readers already care about most: the issues of the day, recommendations (books, music, travel), work and networking, parenting, dating, and where to find your people—online and in real life.

Jump in! Introduce yourself and join the first conversations in the Free Press Forum here.

You’ll also find announcements from us (paid subscribers are first to hear!) and our writers, hosting regular Ask Me Anythings (AMAs)—live conversations where subscribers can ask questions, push back, and continue the discussion beyond the page. This Thursday, subscribers can chat with our brilliant reporter, culture vulture, and co-founder Suzy Weiss. Friday, I’ll be lending you Nellie Bowles, queen of TGIF, to answer subscriber questions live. Read more about The Forum directly from Nellie here.

The Free Press Supper Club

The best part of being a Free Presser is meeting other Free Pressers.

So we’re inviting you all to dinner to do just that. It’s part salon, part blind date, part old-fashioned dinner party.

Here’s how it works: You answer a short questionnaire. We match you with a small group of Free Pressers in your city. We send you to a great restaurant. You show up for supper. The rest is up to you.

Your next best friend, co-founder, or future spouse may already be waiting at the table.

Learn more and sign up here for our first Supper Club in 12 cities in three countries taking place on June 18.

Don’t see your city? Raise your hand if you’d like a Free Press Supper Club near you. Yes, St. Louis—we hear you.

The Free Press Retreats and Excursions

We’re also building something new for 2027: immersive experiences for Free Press readers who want to continue the conversation trailside, poolside, or around a fire long after dessert.

The Free Press Retreat will be an intimate long weekend built around big ideas, outdoor adventure, great meals, and the kinds of discussions that happen when curious people spend meaningful time together. Bring your spouse, your parents, your children—or come on your own.

Free Press Excursions will take us farther afield: curated trips with Free Press writers and contributors exploring places that help explain the world we live in, from the battlefields of Gettysburg and Normandy to the Vatican in Rome.

We’ll share more details this summer. If you’d like an early look when these experiences open for registration, show your interest here.

A Note to Our Subscribers

These new offerings exist because of our paying subscribers. If you’re already one: Thank you. You built this. And you keep us going.

If you’ve been reading us for free and wondering whether to join, this is a very good time.

For a short while only, we’re offering a rare 20 percent discount for you to join our community as a paid subscriber. You’ll unlock everything we publish, plus exclusive access to our members-only Forum, Supper Clubs, and more insider perks.

Thinking for yourself shouldn’t mean thinking by yourself.

See you there.

—Bari

There are a lot of places on the internet to talk or, more likely, yell incoherently. Yet there are very few places left for us to think together.

One trend we kept noticing at The Free Press was that our readers didn’t just want to engage with our stories. They wanted to engage with each other. Honestly, some of you seem more interested in the comments section than the articles themselves. Which, okay. Fair enough.

So we built The Free Press Forum: a members-only digital space built right into The Free Press website and app, where subscribers can go from reading a story to talking about it with other Free Pressers.

In other words: the comments section, but better.

Inside the Forum, you’ll find spaces for:

• News of the Day

• Introductions

• Networking

• Parenting

• Dating

• Recommendations

• Letters to the Editor

• Ask Me Anythings (AMAs) and conversations with Free Press staff

• And more to come!

Want to debate whether the David Mamet cartoon in this week’s TGIF was actually funny? Go wild! He can handle a bad review.

Want to share your own parenting advice that differs from Abigail Shrier’s? (We dare you.)

Need to hire a hardworking, critical-thinking Gen Zer for your startup? At the risk of exaggerating, this might be the only place on the internet to find such a person.

Want to recommend the podcast episode that had you fired up at dinner with your family? Then bring it to your other family. And, by that, I mean your fellow Free Pressers.

Did you read a book so good you immediately texted three people about it? This is where you can get the word out. Maybe it even makes the bestseller list because of you. Who knows?! Give it a shot.

Go ahead and post about it. You can make it weird. Just keep it kind. There are Guidelines. We’re trusting you people. I’ve been ranting about a comments-section expansion for years now. I finally won. Don’t make Bar regret it!

The internet can feel strangely lonely. We hope this feels different.

A place to think for yourself, but not by yourself. Come and reason together, my friends. It’s practically a civic duty as we make it to America’s 250th birthday.

The Forum is now open to Free Press paid subscribers.

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