Welcome back to The Weekend Press! Today, Abigail Shrier writes to a Catholic father who’s upset that his daughter is no longer a virgin. Eli Lake visits the home of the eccentric military strategist Edward Luttwak. John Stossel explains why libertarians have happier retirements. And more! But first: River Page reports on the dark world of looksmaxxing.
There’s a corner of the internet where teenage boys are encouraging each other to take meth and punch themselves in the face. Their goal is a higher one: physical perfection. These are the looksmaxxers, the kids who’ve swallowed the manospheric idea that the only way to have a decent life—to succeed at work, to hold onto a girl—is to be as attractive as possible. And they’re going to extreme lengths.
I’ve spent the last couple weeks talking to the guys who spend their days on looksmaxxing forums, where people write things like, “So I started meth like a week ago because I wanted to get hollow cheeks but now my heart has been acting really weird.” They think they can make themselves two inches taller with elastic bands, and talk about how J.D. Vance is “subhuman.” Their algorithms bombard them with pictures of jacked-up hot guys day in, day out, and it’s left them feeling woefully inadequate.
If you want to be prepared for when your 14-year-old nephew starts talking about bone smashing or “Maasai jumps,” you need to read my piece. —River Page
When the most powerful people in the world want advice about war, they go to Edward Luttwak. And if the start of 2026 is anything to go by, he might have a busy year ahead. So this week, Eli Lake called on the 83-year-old military strategist at home for a couple of Campari sodas. They talked about the protesters in Iran, the operation to grab Nicolás Maduro, the defensive postures of cattle, and the linguistic offenses of President Donald Trump. “He thinks that ‘incredible’ means ‘good.’ He is appallingly ignorant of the English language,” says Luttwak.
It’s not just the boys who are dying to fit in. In an essay published last week in New York magazine, former Disney Channel star Ashley Tisdale set the internet ablaze with the announcement of her exit from a Hollywood mom group that included Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor, and Hilary Duff. Is it loneliness, shared trauma, or something else that drives the formation of mom friend groups, our features editor Dana Schuster wonders—and are they really that different from high school cliques?
“My 18-year-old daughter has been intimate with her first-ever boyfriend,” writes a devoutly Catholic reader, in this week’s letter to our advice columnist, Abigail Shrier. “I’m afraid she’s making terrible mistakes and is choosing infatuation and sin over love of God.” In her response, Abigail reminds him of a truth he may find uncomfortable: “Catholic school carpools across this great land are driven by legions of women in minivans who surrendered their V-cards in college.”
“Industry” is back. The thrilling show, about young bankers in London who earn enormous amounts of money and do silly things with it, returns for its fourth season this weekend—and in her column "Second Thought" this week, Suzy Weiss reviews it. She also visited a gym that’s going to crazy lengths to stay relevant in the Ozempic era. “There’s an oxygen-intake measuring protocol,” she warns.
As a journalist, John Stossel has spent a lifetime going to bat for the American consumer, first on ABC, then on Fox. He found the best products and confronted cheating businesses. “I’d get in people’s faces, asking, ‘Why are you a crook?’ Viewers liked that,” he recalls, in this week’s Ancient Wisdom. But despite seeing the dark side of the free market, he rolls his eyes at the kids these days who elect socialists, insisting: “The only thing that creates prosperity is capitalism.”
A decade ago, in Afghanistan, one of Elliot Ackerman’s friends was killed. “After news of his death arrived in the U.S.,” Elliot writes, “I learned he’d left plans for his own funeral. He wanted me to deliver a eulogy.” A daunting task. But a man should know how to give an address. For tips on how to rise to an occasion, don’t miss the wonderful finale to Elliot’s series of columns.
We have a brand-new Free Press columnist! It’s the legendary Arthur Brooks, an expert in the science of happiness. Don’t miss his first column for us, below. We also ran a stunning piece by Meghan Daum, about her attempts to recover what she lost when her home burned down in LA a year ago, and Shilo Brooks’s profound conversation with a priest who loves “Middlemarch.”
How should you spend your weekend? We asked our brilliant reporter Frannie Block:
🎵Listen . . . to the new Luke Combs song “Giving Her Away.” This song has it all—heart, story, and a beautiful melody. It’s a reminder of the people and the moments that most matter in life. Do yourself a favor, and listen right now.
🍹Mix . . . Apple cider and Sugarlands Distilling Company’s Appalachian Apple Pie Moonshine. It sounds weird, but it tastes like an apple cider doughnut.
📺 Watch . . . The Paper, a mockumentary on Peacock about the employees at the fictionalized Toledo Truth Teller, a struggling local newspaper trying to make a comeback. The show has a lot of fun nods to its antecedent, The Office, but it also stands on its own, with its own brand of dumb humor and lovably odd characters. It’s delightful, though as someone who started my career at a local paper, some of the jokes—and some of the struggles—felt quite close to home.
🍳 Eat . . . my future mother-in-law’s homemade granola. She bases it off of this recipe from Kathyrne Taylor, but she adds in some extra delicious bites—like chopped dates. Start out by mixing some oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon and pouring them over a baking sheet with oats and your favorite nuts. (I prefer pecans.) As a bonus, put some of your best batch in some mason jars and tie a bow around them, and you have the perfect thoughtful gift to bring to family and friends!
Last but not least, a heartfelt thank you to Elliot Ackerman! His limited series, A Man Should Know, comes to an end today, but will live forever right here. Share it with every young man in your life! And don’t worry: Elliot’s officially a contributing writer now, so this is far from the last you’ll hear from him.
To celebrate, we asked him to nominate this week’s beautiful thing to round off The Weekend Press. Here’s what he said: “One of my columns in the series was about friendship. A small group of friends of mine from Special Operations days all exchanged this photo, a print of Royal Air Force pilot Brian Lane. I keep mine on the bookshelf behind my desk. The photo was taken during the Battle of Britain, but what’s most remarkable about it is the eyes, the mix of exhaustion and determination. Each of us recognizes that look, and it’s why we exchanged the photo with one another. It’s one of my most prized possessions.”
That’s all, folks! We wish you a wonderful weekend.
That photo! Stunning.
That picture reminds me of the bravery of seemingly ordinary men. I find it amusing that “learned pundits” can’t see the wisdom in Trump speak. He’s from Queens — high class blue collar — a successful everyman who persuaded (the major point of language) brilliant men and women to join his Cabinet. I get a kick out of his penchant for gilding every cabinet in the White House, too. While Leftists are whining, Trump is winning.