It’s Wednesday, February 18. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: David Mamet remembers Robert Duvall. Jonathan Eig remembers Jesse Jackson. In defense of processed foods. Peter Savodnik sits down with the Republican reality TV star looking to unseat LA mayor Karen Bass. And more.
But first: Are we at an AI turning point?
Will human intelligence soon go the way of the fax machine? One tech founder thinks so. In a viral X essay last week, Matt Shumer argued that “something big is happening” in the world of AI, and racked up some 80 million views for saying so.
We are on the edge of a precipice, Shumer claimed, urging that anybody who wasn’t fully taking advantage of AI in their work needed to start doing so immediately—and that everyone should get their finances in order to prepare for the upheaval that is very quickly coming.
Shumer’s essay was shocking, and it seemed to catch a major change in the mood of the tech world. That AI is transformative is no secret. But for those closest to the tech, the changes suddenly seem to be happening with lightning speed. Are we, in fact, on the edge of the great AI cliff? And should we be terrified, excited, or more sanguine? We asked some of the best thinkers on AI—both believers and skeptics—a simple question: Is something big happening? Read what they had to say.
—Mark Gimein
Oscar-winning actor Robert Duvall died Sunday at age 95. But before the acclaimed performer began racking up Oscar nominations, there was a different, edgier Duvall: one who flipped the bird and kicked set materials into livid Broadway audiences while starring in the 1977 production of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo.” Today, Mamet remembers Duvall’s grit, heart, and raw talent: “There was, in his performance, no embellishment, no interpretation, no ‘character’; only a man onstage, with a simple objective—telling the truth.”
For the Make America Healthy Again movement, processed foods are public enemy number one. But just how bad are they, really? That’s the central question in a new book by professors Jan Dutkiewicz and Gabriel N. Rosenberg, “Feed the People! Why Industrial Food Is Good and How to Make It Even Better.” In an adapted excerpt from the book, the authors argue that Big Food has dramatically improved food access and safety—and that vanquishing MAHA’s dietary demons might actually leave us worse off.
Spencer Pratt, best known for his role on MTV’s “The Hills,” has entered the crowded race for the mayor of Los Angeles—as a Republican. He says homelessness, illegal immigrant crime, and LA’s response to the Palisades fire—which destroyed his home—persuaded him to take on the city’s wildly unpopular incumbent, Karen Bass. Peter Savodnik sat down with Pratt over tacos this week to see if he can parlay his Hollywood star power into a successful campaign—or whether Angelenos will dismiss his bid as little more than a celebrity vanity project.
Whether or not you agreed with his politics, it’s difficult to deny the courage of Jesse Jackson, who died yesterday at 84. Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Jonathan Eig knew Jackson personally through his work as a biographer, and saw his strengths and weaknesses up close. Read Eig’s tribute to a “straight shooter” with a “complicated” career.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS
THE NEWS
The U.S. and Iran made “good progress” in nuclear talks in Geneva yesterday, the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said. A U.S. official confirmed to The New York Times that the two nations had indeed made headway at the meeting, though diplomats from both countries declined to share specifics.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin will leave her post this week, Politico reported yesterday. McLaughlin’s departure marks the second of two major communications staff shake-ups in the Trump administration recently, following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s firing of Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Butler last week.
Ukraine and Russia began another round of peace talks in Switzerland on Tuesday, though expectations of a ceasefire deal remain low. The U.S.-brokered negotiations mark the third attempt at such discussions in recent weeks, with Russia refusing to reconsider its demands for Ukrainian-held territory in the east, and Ukraine and its allies pushing for guarantees against future invasions.
A psychedelic treatment for depression may be up for approval by the Food and Drug Administration as soon as late 2026, after the successful results of a clinical trial were released yesterday. The data from the trial “probably meets the bar for approval,” according to one neuroscientist unaffiliated with the study.
Goldman Sachs will do away with DEI criteria when considering candidates to serve on its board, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Race, gender identity, ethnicity, and sexual orientation are among the factors to be removed from the diversity considerations, while viewpoints, background, work, and military service will remain.
Warner Bros. Discovery said yesterday it would resume talks with Paramount Skydance, offering another chance for the media company to beat Netflix and acquire the company. Warner Bros. has given Paramount, the parent company of The Free Press, until February 23 to make its “best and final offer.”
The German chemical company Bayer has agreed to pay more than $7 billion to resolve a spate of current and future cancer lawsuits over its weedkilling product Roundup, the company said yesterday. The firm has already paid at least $3 billion in existing settlements for cases in which plaintiffs claimed the chemical caused non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
New Mexico lawmakers approved bipartisan legislation to investigate alleged sex crimes that took place at Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro ranch, located about 30 miles south of Santa Fe. The $2.5 million probe began yesterday and will present preliminary findings in July and a full report at the end of 2026.
MAHA is not against all processed foods. As my AI search result confirmed: "MAHA specifically targets "highly" or "ultra-processed" foods."
From the news section:
"The U.S. and Iran made “good progress” in nuclear talks in Geneva yesterday, the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said. A U.S. official confirmed..."
What kind of batter-brained idiot would imagine that the mullahs will ever give up on their Ming the Merciless LARP?
I wish that TFP would break the habit of just repeating such nonsense. We've all been down that road, repeatedly. Please talk to us like adults in future.