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Niall Ferguson: What Comes After Trump’s ‘Surgical Strikes’?

War in the Middle East

As Kissinger often said, every success in foreign policy is just an admission ticket to the next crisis.

Niall Ferguson

— 06.23.25

Bari’s Picks of the Week: Will We or Won’t We?

Inside the MAGA civil war over Iran, the unlikely AOC–MTG alliance shaking up Washington, and Niall Ferguson on why Trump should go full Churchill.

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Bari Weiss

— 06.20.25

Victor Davis Hanson: Why Trump’s Iran Strike Worked

The surviving command may wish to redirect public ire from themselves onto the theocrats. That may be the only way to end this evil regime and the ruin…

Victor Davis Hanson

— 06.23.25

WATCH: Is Iran’s Nuclear Program Damaged or Destroyed?

Michael Oren, Jay Solomon, and Matti Friedman join Bari for a full briefing on the state of Iran’s nuclear program.

155

Bari Weiss

— 06.23.25

What Happens If Iran’s Regime Collapses?

Trump says it’s time to Make Iran Great Again. But what’s more likely if the mullahs fall: democracy or anarchy?

Eli Lake

— 06.23.25

Nicholas Clairmont

— 06.14.25

Stop Striving and Have a Baby

Growing up rich in Manhattan, I was taught that becoming a parent meant your life was over. My baby daughter has taught me something else.

U.S. Politics

What Happens After ICE Raids Your Company?

Gary Rohwer thought all the employees at his Nebraska meatpacking plant were legal. Then the government arrested nearly 80 of them.

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115

Frannie Block and Madeleine Rowley

— 06.19.25

Escape from New York: Business Leaders Say They’ll Flee If Mamdani Wins

‘It only takes a handful of successful people to leave to decimate the city’s tax base,’ Bill Ackman told The Free Press.

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336

Olivia Reingold

— 06.18.25

What Unites AOC and Marjorie Taylor Greene?

A coalition of progressive anti-Zionists, MAGA Republicans, and libertarians are unified in their opposition to U.S. involvement in the Iran war.

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131

Peter Savodnik

— 06.18.25

Trump, Tucker, and the War Tearing Apart MAGA

As the president dunks on the influential podcaster, officials inside the White House are feuding privately over Iran.

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242

Gabe Kaminsky

— 06.18.25

Niall Ferguson: America Is in a Late Republic Stage—Like Rome

The historian and Free Press columnist on why America makes a terrible imperial power, how we got ourselves into Cold War II, and why the real culture…

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341

Nathan Gardels

— 06.17.25

International

Niall Ferguson: What Comes After Trump’s ‘Surgical Strikes’?

As Kissinger often said, every success in foreign policy is just an admission ticket to the next crisis.

Niall Ferguson

— 06.23.25

Did Trump Just End a War—or Start One?

The risks of escalation—and mission creep—are real.

153

Michael Brendan Dougherty

— 06.22.25

Matti Friedman: After the Bombs

American B-2s just changed the Middle East. Now it’s time to return the region to the humans who live here.

209

Matti Friedman

— 06.22.25

My Pacifist Grandfather Was Murdered by Iran. Here’s What the World Should Know.

Albert Votaw was based at the U.S. embassy in Beirut when he was killed. Justice has been a long time coming.

239

Albert Eisenberg

— 06.22.25

Niall Ferguson and Yoav Gallant: Israel Has Done Most of the Job. Only Trump Can Finish It.

Only one air force has the power to finish off Iran’s last standing nuclear enrichment site, write the noted historian and the former Israeli defense…

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Niall Ferguson and Yoav Gallant

— 06.19.25

The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling

Chapter 7: What If You're Wrong?

Host Megan Phelps-Roper asks J.K.

Raising Parents with Emily Oster

Ep 8: Should You Have Kids?

For most of human history, having kids wasn’t much of a choice.

Honestly with Bari Weiss

WATCH: Niall Ferguson and Dexter Filkins: The Iran-Israel War

Watch now: Niall Ferguson and Dexter Filkins discuss whether Israel will be able to fulfill its goals in this war and what Iran is capable of doing.

Conversations with Coleman

Tim Urban on the Right Way to Be a Skeptic

On this episode of Conversations with Coleman, Urban calls out tribal thinking, says both parties are being pulled down by extremists, and gives advice on political disagreements with family members.

Breaking History

Breaking History: The Buckley Stops Here

Trump and the death of conservative civility.

The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling

Chapter 7: What If You're Wrong?

Host Megan Phelps-Roper asks J.K.

Raising Parents with Emily Oster

Ep 8: Should You Have Kids?

For most of human history, having kids wasn’t much of a choice.

Honestly with Bari Weiss

WATCH: Niall Ferguson and Dexter Filkins: The Iran-Israel War

Watch now: Niall Ferguson and Dexter Filkins discuss whether Israel will be able to fulfill its goals in this war and what Iran is capable of doing.

Conversations with Coleman

Tim Urban on the Right Way to Be a Skeptic

On this episode of Conversations with Coleman, Urban calls out tribal thinking, says both parties are being pulled down by extremists, and gives advice on political disagreements with family members.

My Husband Wants to Be Cremated. I’d Ignore His Dying Wish.

Culture

‘The Mortician,’ HBO’s horrifying docuseries about a sociopathic undertaker, is proof that my family is right: Sitting up with a corpse is the best way…

River Page

— 06.23.25

Tim Urban on the Right Way to Be a Skeptic

On this episode of Conversations with Coleman, Urban calls out tribal thinking, says both parties are being pulled down by extremists, and gives advice…

Coleman Hughes

— 06.23.25

When the Phone Stops Ringing

I enjoyed the prestige of touring with famous singers, but I knew—absolutely knew—that it was not my true destiny.

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Steven Blier

— 06.22.25

Steven Blier on Living Beyond the Spotlight

The musician on performing with the stars, coming to terms with the limits of ambition, and the biggest difference between your 60s and 70s.

Suzy Weiss

— 06.22.25

Suzy Weiss: If Kamala Harris Were President. . .

Plus: A musical that imagines Anne Frank as pansexual and Latinx. No, really.

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Suzy Weiss

— 06.21.25

Ben Meets America

Have San Francisco’s ‘Harm Reduction’ Tactics Worked?

We asked police, addicts, and residents to weigh in—while people appeared to overdose in front of our eyes.

Swing State Debates

Swing State Debates Episode Five: The Youth Vote in Michigan

While talking to Generation Z voters, I discovered a troubling consequence of our political divide: Liberal students are often barely familiar with the ideas they are against.

The Free Press Live

WATCH: The U.S. Bombs Iran’s Nuclear Program

Bari discusses the consequences of the historic U.S. strike with experts from Jerusalem to Washington.

The Freedom Debates

WATCH: A Free Press Debate on Artificial Intelligence in San Francisco

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas and AI “godmother” Fei-Fei Li faced off against computer scientist Jaron Lanier and author Nicholas Carr in our latest live debate, moderated by Bari Weiss.

The America Debates

Our Next Live Debate: Should the U.S. Still Police the World?

Bret Stephens vs. Matt Taibbi October 9 in New York City. Plus: Watch this week’s debate on the economy now!

Hezbollah's Hostages

WATCH Hezbollah’s Hostages Season Finale: A World Without the Terror Group

History proves that tyranny can be overthrown. With Hezbollah now weakened, the brave dissidents of our series ask: How can we push for real political change?

FP Live

WATCH: Is Iran’s Nuclear Program Damaged or Destroyed?

Michael Oren, Jay Solomon, and Matti Friedman join Bari for a full briefing on the state of Iran’s nuclear program.

FP in Israel

Bari Weiss meets Palestinians | FP in Israel

Earlier this year, Bari Weiss and a team of Free Press journalists visited Israel. The result was a series of films, podcasts, and written articles called “FP in Israel.”

Ben Meets America

Have San Francisco’s ‘Harm Reduction’ Tactics Worked?

We asked police, addicts, and residents to weigh in—while people appeared to overdose in front of our eyes.

Swing State Debates

Swing State Debates Episode Five: The Youth Vote in Michigan

While talking to Generation Z voters, I discovered a troubling consequence of our political divide: Liberal students are often barely familiar with the ideas they are against.

The Free Press Live

WATCH: The U.S. Bombs Iran’s Nuclear Program

Bari discusses the consequences of the historic U.S. strike with experts from Jerusalem to Washington.

The Freedom Debates

WATCH: A Free Press Debate on Artificial Intelligence in San Francisco

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas and AI “godmother” Fei-Fei Li faced off against computer scientist Jaron Lanier and author Nicholas Carr in our latest live debate, moderated by Bari Weiss.