It’s Wednesday, February 4. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: An AI tool to hold politicians to account. The problem with Mamdani’s gifted and talented plan. Can we get politics out of the Fed? Nellie Bowles livestreams the news. And much more.
But first: Epstein.
The Jeffrey Epstein saga is a controversy without end. It is also, arguably, the defining scandal of our age. Even now, more than six years after the suspicious death of the shadowy financier and convicted sex criminal in a New York prison cell, his crimes and connections drive the news and loom large in our public life.
That’s been as true this week as any, after last Friday’s Justice Department release of more than three million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images from the so-called Epstein files.
Today, we bring you three perspectives on the meaning of the latest twist in the Epstein account.
Up first is Rod Dreher, who tries to make sense of the larger meaning of the Epstein story. If you want to understand the “tear it all down” rage that drives so much of our politics today, look no further than these documents, says Rod. Drawing ominous parallels with pre-revolutionary Russia and Weimar Germany, Rod argues that “the real meaning of the Epstein files is not likely to be found in its pages, but in what some ambitious genius convinces an increasingly polarized, increasingly anxious American populace to think they mean.” Read Rod on how Epstein and his elite can be anything you need them to be—and why that’s so dangerous.
Is this justice? That’s one question we’ve found ourselves debating in the newsroom this week, as the document dump dragged innocent names into the sordid story—and even inadvertently revealed the identity of Epstein’s previously anonymous victims. To Robby Soave, the answer is a clear no. Writing for The Free Press today, he argues that the push to release the Epstein files—something that Trump was in favor of, then opposed to, and Democrats were opposed to, then in favor of—sets a dangerous precedent. Welcome to a world where gossip, unverified information, and outright lies can be released into the world, consequences be damned.
And finally, Nellie Bowles, whose name was in the documents released this week because she once, as a business reporter at The New York Times, met Epstein for coffee. Her regret, she writes, is not that she met Epstein, or emailed him, but that she “had the chance to profile one of the darkest, most interesting characters of that moment, and I didn’t.” Read Nellie on the time she went to Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion to meet the man whose twisted life still drives investigations, conspiracy theories, and headlines today:
—Oliver Wiseman
New York City’s gifted and talented curriculum once again finds itself on the chopping block in the name of equity. Mayor Zohran Mamdani is poised to phase out the program, despite the greatest beneficiaries being black and Hispanic families. Maud Maron says that the move threatens “to do the most harm” to the very people the mayor claims to want to help the most.
Why is the Federal Reserve modeling climate risk? Why are Fed social media accounts suggesting people have a “soybean-based dinner” at Thanksgiving? These questions, writes David A. Price, show that the Federal Reserve has been dipping its toe into politics for years. It is something Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to lead the Fed, needs to take seriously if he wants to restore trust in the Fed’s monetary policymaking, he argues. But what will it take to course correct?
The CEO of a government watchdog group and a founder of Ancestry.com are combining forces to create an AI surveillance state—but with citizens watching the government’s every move. Gabe Kaminsky reports on how the new venture is looking to harness the power of AI to hold politicians accountable.
There’s a lot going on in the world, from ICE to Epstein, and the Melania doc to Kanye West’s apology tour. Catch up on our latest livestream, featuring Nellie Bowles, Will Rahn, Suzy Weiss, and Mene Ukueberuwa, to make sense of the latest on politics, culture, and more.
BOOK NOW: Coleman Hughes, Ambassador Andrew Young, and Jonathan Eig Talk MLK at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church
On March 9, The Free Press is coming to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to talk about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy today. Coleman Hughes will be joined by Ambassador Andrew Young, who marched alongside King, and Jonathan Eig, whose biography King: A Life won a Pulitzer in 2024. At the church led by King, they’ll explore how the civil rights movement used nonviolence to bring Americans together and change the country—and what that strategy can teach us today at a time when America is at a boiling point. Book now to grab a seat for this unmissable conversation. Tickets and more details are available here:
On Tuesday, French prosecutors raided the Paris office of the social media platform X as part of an investigation into child sex abuse images and deepfakes on the site. The prosecutors also requested Elon Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino sit for interviews in April.
U.S. Forces shot down an Iranian drone on Tuesday after it “aggressively” approached the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln positioned 500 miles off the coast of Iran. The escalation comes as White House negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are slated to meet with Iranian officials on Friday in Istanbul to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.
Blood was discovered in the home of Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie. The 84-year-old was reported missing around noon Sunday, according to local authorities. The sheriff’s department believes that Guthrie was abducted.
After a four-day standoff, the House of Representatives voted 217 to 214 to approve a $1 trillion spending package that will end the partial government shutdown. Now they can tee up a new fight over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
President Trump met with Colombian president Gustavo Petro at the White House on Tuesday, marking the first in-person meeting between the two leaders. “We’re going to be talking about drugs,” Trump said before the meeting, “because tremendous amounts of drugs come out of his country.”
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons became the first major medical association to shift its guidance on gender transition surgery for minors on Tuesday. The decision came after a New York plaintiff won $2 million in damages this week for a mastectomy received as a teenager that she said left her disfigured. (Read Benjamin Ryan’s piece on that case: “A Legal First That Could Change Gender Medicine.”)
Volodymyr Zelensky implored European allies to apply “maximum pressure” against Moscow after Russia launched hundreds of missiles and drones early Tuesday morning, targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Trilateral peace talks resume today.
The Walt Disney Company named Josh D’Amaro, a nearly 30-year veteran of the company, as its next CEO, succeeding Bob Iger, who served in the post for nearly 20 years. D’Amaro currently oversees Disney’s global portfolio of theme parks and hotel resorts.
The Free Press earns a commission from any purchases made through all book links in this article.
Ah.... The G&T program in New York Schools. They are going to find out that NO ONE in a Socialist society has either gifts *OR* talents... and those attributes are NOT to be admired, much less encouraged or nurtured. EVERYONE in a Socialist society gets to be mediocre!!
How sweet would it be at the super bowl during halftime if every time bad Bunny opened his mouth ten thousand whistles were to be blown to show solidarity with his comrades in Minneapolis? And the jumbotrons show pictures of Che who no doubt is a hero to the silly wabbit and so many others who have made clear that violence is acceptable to achieve THEIR political ends ( look up Che's commitment to due process by the way ). TFP might produce a brief article with stats and quotes and even photos to remind us all where the justification of violence leads.