It’s Thursday, March 26. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Maya Sulkin and Frannie Block unpack the landmark Meta lawsuit. Coleman Hughes reacts to his debate with Glenn Greenwald, and tackles the myth of the all-powerful Israel lobby. Arthur Brooks sits down with Shilo Brooks to tell us how to live a meaningful life. And much more.
But first: What will it take to finish the job in Iran?
“They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense.” That’s how Donald Trump explained his pivot to negotiations with Iran on Tuesday. Just days earlier, he had threatened strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure—then delayed them “based on the fact we’re negotiating.” But on Wednesday morning, Iran rejected a 15-point peace plan delivered through Pakistani intermediaries, and continued its air strikes across the Gulf region.
Can diplomacy end the Iran war? Or will the violence have to escalate before it concludes? Today, we bring you four pieces grappling with those questions.
Up first, former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant argues that with the Strait of Hormuz closed and the global economy floundering, negotiations aren’t enough. The U.S. must seize Iran’s greatest choke point: Kharg Island. Read his piece to understand why that goal isn’t only within reach—it must happen right now.
According to Aaron MacLean, Trump is following a familiar playbook: “maximum pressure, followed by diplomacy.” But while the pattern echoes his first-term approach to North Korea, the conditions are different. Aaron explains what North Korea 2017 teaches us about Iran 2026—and why “we may get a new version of ‘fire and fury’ after all.”
Next, Eli Lake on why divisions over how to end the war run just as deeply inside the Trump administration as outside it. Joe Kent, former chief of the National Counterterrorism Center, has been claiming Israel manipulated Trump into demanding Iran cease all uranium enrichment—killing any chance of a deal. But Eli says the opposite: that it was bureaucrats like Kent who quietly tried to soften a line Trump has held since 2018, and are now blaming Israel for their failure.
Finally, as Iran’s terms for entering negotiations grow increasingly untenable, the regime has adopted a new tactic: offering Trump gifts. The gesture, writes Amit Segal, suggests the Iranians “clearly understand their audience”—a dynamic that “doesn’t bode particularly well” for how the war ends.
—The Editors
On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for negligent algorithm design, ruling that they should have recognized the harm their platforms were causing—particularly to young users. Maya Sulkin and Frannie Block, who have spent weeks following the trial and reviewing its court documents, break down what the verdict means, and the precedent it could set for the future of social media.
Last night, Ruth R. Wisse became the oldest person in history to deliver the Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities. Born in Romania in 1936 before immigrating to the U.S. as an adult, she used her platform to address a subject she knows all too well: the long struggle for Jewish survival and continuity. Wisse’s talk is both a love letter to her adoptive country and a warning to her fellow citizens. “I am,” she says, “increasingly protective of what can only remain the land of the free if we are determined to conserve it.” We’re honored to publish her words today.
Here at The Free Press, we pride ourselves on fostering free and civil discourse—especially with those we disagree with. That’s exactly what Coleman Hughes did this week in a debate with fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy Glenn Greenwald. One question at the heart of their exchange was this: Just how much does Israel influence American foreign policy? In a piece reflecting on the conversation, Coleman addresses the idea of an “all-powerful Israel lobby,” arguing that this “extraordinary claim” has little evidence to substantiate it.
Life is short. How do we live it well? Harvard professor and Free Press columnist Arthur Brooks has spent years studying that very question. In this week’s episode of Old School, he sits down with Shilo Brooks to explore what neuroscience, faith, and philosophy teach us about the answer. To start, they break down the lessons in Seneca’s Stoic essay, “On the Shortness of Life.”
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THE NEWS
Israel launched another round of air strikes into Tehran on Wednesday as the Islamic Republic continues its strikes across the Gulf region. The persisting violence raises doubts about an end to the war, despite President Trump’s claim on Tuesday that it “has been won.”
On Wednesday, a House committee held a hearing on the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security, now nearing its 40th day. The hearing came amid growing public frustration over unprecedented airport lines nationwide, driven by high callout rates among Transportation Security Administration agents working without pay. (For more, read this firsthand account from a TSA agent.)
Democrat Emily Gregory, a first-time candidate, defeated Republican Jon Maples in a special election for an open state House seat in Florida. The district is home to President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, an especially symbolic victory for the Democratic Party ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Police in London arrested two men accused of setting fire to ambulances parked outside a synagogue last week. The men, ages 45 and 47, will face charges of arson with intent to endanger life, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Trump appointed the first 13 business leaders to his new tech panel dedicated to advising the president on AI regulation and other policy matters. The list includes Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and Jensen Huang, among other major business and tech leaders.
OpenAI announced on Tuesday that they are shutting down Sora, their flagship video creation app. The platform had just announced a licensing deal with Disney last December.
I have always thought of Jesse Waters as News Light
Kinda funny segments on grooming tips, girls in bikinis on Spring Break, and a smattering of news.
BUT last night he was brilliant on a rundown of where we are in the war.
I fought in Desert Storm and until now thought it was the most stunning military accomplishment of my lifetime.
What the guys who came after my cohort have done in Iran makes our efforts look like child's play.
Listen to Water's take.
If after listening to that you don't agree then I can't change your mind about this war.
I really wish you would offer transcripts of your podcasts. I don't listen to them but am interested, especially in Shilo Brooks