The Free Press
Could AI Videos Change Political Campaigns Forever?
- Title
- Could AI Videos Change Political Campaigns Forever?
- Runtime
- 1:08
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- Could AI videos change political campaigns forever?
Austyn Jeffs met a video creator who thinks Spencer Pratt's campaign for LA mayor is changing the way politicians use social media.
- Title
- The Greatest WWII Novel
- Runtime
- 53:38
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- In this special episode, Shilo Brooks is joined by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Jon Meacham at the Jack Miller Center’s annual summit on civic education.
They took the stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the perfect setting for a discussion about one of Meacham’s favorite books: The Winds of War. Written by Herman Wouk and published in 1971, The Winds of War is an epic historical novel that follows an American family through the tumult of World War II.
In their smart, often funny, and deeply moving conversation, Meacham also reflects on why World War II was such a pivotal moment in shaping the unique American identity; the other essential books, events, and moments every citizen should know about to better understand America; and the differences between patriotism and nationalism.
At a moment when our politics feel so fractured, studying history reminds us of an enduring truth: Ordinary people can rise to extraordi...
- Title
- Inside Spencer Pratt’s Viral Video Machine
- Runtime
- 12:58
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- With many Angelenos frustrated by the current state of their city, former reality star Spencer Pratt has become the unlikely voice for LA's discontented. Running an upstart campaign for mayor of Los Angeles, Pratt has tapped into a nerve, inspiring a grassroots movement and filling Angelenos' social media feed with fan-created AI content.
From animated music videos set to Latin beats to superhero videos featuring Pratt as the city’s savior, these videos are popping up faster than ever, and helped ensure his second-place finish in the primary.
But who’s behind these videos? Video reporter Austyn Jeffs spent a day with AI creator Alex Leibow, who has helped make Pratt's campaign messaging go viral. Leibow originally moved to LA for a career in the traditional TV and film industry, but after his Pacific Palisades home burned down, he found himself pulled into politics by Pratt. Now he spends his days trying to help Pratt turn the city around.
- Title
- Britain's "I Can't Breathe" Moment
- Runtime
- 2:08
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- What happens when police are more scared of being called racist than they are of watching someone die?
Esther Krakue on the death of Henry Nowak.
- Title
- Is California About to Be Led by Republicans? | Michael Shellenberger, Caitlin Flanagan & More
- Runtime
- 46:38
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- Yesterday, Californians went to the polls in primaries that could change the face of the state.
They are still counting the votes, but as we tape early Wednesday morning, Steve Hilton, the Republican and former British political strategist, is leading the governor’s race with nearly 28 percent of the vote, more than 2 percent ahead of expected front-runner Xavier Becerra.
And in the LA mayor’s race, Spencer Pratt, the former reality television star, came in a close second behind embattled Mayor Karen Bass, and outpaced the uber-progressive City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who was described as LA’s answer to Zohran Mamdani. Pratt has done all this by waging an unorthodox, even Trumpy, war of common sense. As of now, Bass has 35 percent of the vote, Pratt has 30 percent, and Raman has 22 percent.
As no one secured a clear 51 percent majority, both the mayor’s and the governor’s race will go to the general election in November.
- Title
- The Making of a Teen Terror Suspect
- Runtime
- 1:50
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- How does a 14-year-old autistic teenager end up in the crosshairs of the FBI?
Maya Sulkin investigated the story of a young man sucked into the dangerous world of Discord radicalization.
Read her full story at TheFP.com
- Title
- From American Teen to Terror Suspect
- Runtime
- 2:31
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- “No one is talking about the fact that ISIS and al-Qaeda are our kids.”
A 16-year-old autistic boy in Ohio was radicalized on Discord by Islamic extremists. His parents found jihadist messages, secret accounts—and a son they barely recognized. Then the FBI raided their home.
This is the first time they’re speaking publicly. @SulkinMaya reports.
Read the full story: https://www.thefp.com/p/teenage-terror-suspect-discord-radicalism-jihad-autism
- Title
- How Online Jihadists Radicalized an American Teen
- Runtime
- 17:09
- Date posted
- 5 months ago
- Description
- How does a teenager from a nice family in Ohio end up charged with a third-degree felony for making terrorist threats?
That’s the question that Angela and Marcus Reed* found themselves asking after their house was raided by the FBI. Their son Caleb had been plotting attacks on religious sites and was radicalized by Jihadists through the messaging app Discord after converting to Islam.
As Caleb’s mom put it: “Terrorists broke into our home,” through their computer screen, in the middle of the night. They wanted “to destroy our family, destroy our son, and destroy our community,” she said.
Maya Sulkin set out to investigate how extremist groups are increasingly seeking out isolated and often autistic young men and trying to turn them into terrorists.
In our age of political violence—with presidential assassination attempts, lethal assaults on places of worship, an arson attack on a governor’s mansion, the murder of Ch...
- Title
- Land Acknowledgements Were "Performative"
- Runtime
- 1:03
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- “Committees are the biggest sham.”
A former university DEI official describes sitting through endless land acknowledgment meetings where the people supposedly being represented were barely even consulted.
“They had an entire committee on land acknowledgments—and didn’t ask a single Native person in the room what they thought.”
Watch the full episode of Confessions with Maya Sulkin on our YouTube channel. Or go to TheFP.com.
- Title
- Introducing Free Press Forum
- Runtime
- 0:56
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- We’ve just launched an online community for paying subscribers called Free Press Forum.
Check it out: TheFP.com/Forum
- Title
- Agatha Christie, Murder, and the Crime That Shook America
- Runtime
- 53:03
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- In this episode, Shilo sits down with veteran journalist Joe Nocera for a deep dive into the world’s best-selling novelist, Agatha Christie.
Nocera’s new investigative podcast is all about the Charles Lindbergh, Jr., kidnapping, one of history’s most infamous crimes, and a key inspiration behind Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
They dig into why mystery fiction matters so deeply, the puzzle-like satisfaction of solving the crime, the bloodless elegance of Christie’s plots, and the rare comfort of a story that always resolves with true justice. They break down how Christie drew directly from the Lindbergh kidnapping to craft her most famous work and examine what the Lindbergh case reveals about a society so hungry for retribution that it may have sent the wrong man to the electric chair.
- Title
- Confessions of a Former DEI Officer
- Runtime
- 1:09:51
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- For the last five years, if you walked onto almost any American college campus, you would have found an office and staff dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion. DEI in higher education grew out of civil rights-era efforts in the 1960s and ’70s as a well-meaning attempt to recruit more diverse faculty and students—but the movement exploded after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
DEI officers at higher education institutions tripled after July 2020. At the University of Michigan alone, DEI staff grew to 241 people at an annual cost of over $30 million.
And it wasn’t just universities. There was a moral panic about structural racism in nearly all of our most important institutions. What followed was a cultural shift that permeated into job interviews, mission statements, and email signatures across the Western world.
At face value, those missions––diversity, equity, inclusion––seemed pretty noble.
But what did it look l...
- Title
- Is This The Original American Conspiracy?
- Runtime
- 0:42
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- From the creator of The Shrink Next Door, Joe Nocera has a new podcast.
Listen to The Lindbergh Conspiracies wherever you get your podcasts.
- Title
- Is LA Undercounting its Homeless?
- Runtime
- 1:19
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Is homelessness in LA really down? Austyn Jeffs reports.
- Title
- Why Euphoria is bad for young women
- Runtime
- 2:10
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Author and Free Press contributor Freya India explains why she found ‘Euphoria’ so uniquely bad to watch and the troubling messages she thinks the show is teaching young women.
- Title
- Amy Coney Barrett on Old School
- Runtime
- 1:34
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett explains how she bases her decisions not on her personal beliefs but on the law.
- Title
- Inside the Supreme Court with Amy Coney Barrett
- Runtime
- 50:23
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- In this special episode, taped live at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Shilo sits down with Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett for a wide-ranging interview on the law.
They discuss Barrett’s lifelong love of reading, her tumultuous confirmation process, the Constitution and what it should take to amend it, how she approaches cases where her interpretation of the law differs from her personal beliefs, why the Court is not the hyper-partisan institution that people think it is, and much more.
It’s a thoughtful conversation that offers a more nuanced look at the highest court in the land.
- Title
- Meet the Mangione Press Corps
- Runtime
- 2:45
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Outside the Luigi Mangione hearing, two women wearing press passes celebrated Brian Thompson’s murder on camera. The FP’s Olivia Reingold investigates who they are and what could have led them to say such heartless things in public.
- Title
- Why We’re Reopening the Lindbergh Files
- Runtime
- 3:47
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- The Lindbergh kidnapping gripped America like nothing before or since. More than 90 years later, our new podcast series investigates a story stranger than anyone realized.
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lindbergh-conspiracies/id1896345032
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4WBlLD4ZK6f4X6jMWDYYxm?si=337df97c78754cb7
- Title
- Banned From Britain For Wanting to Attend a Protest?
- Runtime
- 1:30
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Is the British government barring American and European commentators from entering the UK over their political opinions?
@EstherCKrakue reports.
- Title
- Is this school in San Francisco the future of education?
- Runtime
- 1:22
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- There’s a school in San Francisco where there are no teachers, classes last two hours, and students earn $100 for a perfect test. Is it the future of education?
Maya Sulkin investigates.
- Title
- Coleman Hughes & Haviv Rettig Gur on the New Antisemitism
- Runtime
- 1:07:32
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- In the nearly three years since Hamas’s attack on October 7, as the world has changed, I’ve often wondered what future there is for Jewish life in the West.
It doesn’t take much prompting to think about: One scroll on social media and you’re flooded with blood libel conspiracies. When I turn my phone off, in the hopes of touching some grass, I look up to see graffitied swastikas in subway stations or protests in a park calling for the death of America and Israel.
It’s not only Jews who are faced with this question, but everyone who believes the West is exceptional and worth fighting for.
Earlier this month, I spoke with two of the clearest thinkers in this moment: Coleman Hughes and Haviv Rettig Gur. Both are essential voices on this topic, and I’m proud to call them my Free Press colleagues. We were speaking in a Toronto synagogue, at an event hosted by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center. The backdrop was that Canada, a country...
- Title
- This Is Suicidal Empathy
- Runtime
- 1:26
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Why the West is on a suicide mission.
- Title
- Zohran Mamdani's Taxpayer-Funded “Office of Mass Engagement”
- Runtime
- 11:30
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Mayor Mamdani is using a vehicle called “Organize NYC” to get NYC tenants to attend Rent Guideline Board meetings and push for a rent freeze, which he promised in his campaign but can’t deliver on his own.
- Title
- Could Outraged LA Residents Elect Spencer Pratt?
- Runtime
- 13:51
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Could frustration over crime, homelessness, and general dysfunction be enough to elect a Republican reality TV star in a city that hasn’t had a Republican mayor in over 30 years?
- Title
- Inside China's Shocking Persecution of Christians
- Runtime
- 15:03
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- When President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping meet in Beijing this week, there will be a lot to discuss: war, peace, Iran, Taiwan, trade. Trump has vowed to bring up another issue too: the case of Ezra Jin. A Christian pastor and the leader of the Zion Church, Jin was arrested by Chinese police in October and his family hasn’t been able to speak with him since.
Frannie Block has been following the case ever since Jin’s arrest, and has obtained exclusive access to never-before-seen footage of Chinese police arresting Christians, audio recordings of police interrogations, and testimonies from those who have witnessed the raids firsthand. She also sat down with Jin's daughter and son-in-law, Grace and Bill Drexel, who live in D.C., and Sen. Ted Cruz, to speak about treatment of Christians by the CCP, and the intimidation they can face, even on American soil.
Jin’s case has become a flashpoint for the Communist Party’s attempt to control the mo...
- Title
- Reform UK Wins Big
- Runtime
- 1:40
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Results are still rolling in, but the UK’s Reform Party won big in yesterday’s elections.
- Title
- THE UFO FILES: All Video Declassified by U.S. Government | May 8, 2026
- Runtime
- 35:39
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- On May 8, The U.S. Department of War announced the release of declassified documents relating to the "government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena."
The Free Press put together all video files from the initial release to make them easily viewable.
- Title
- How Did Epstein's Assistant Get Off Unscathed?
- Runtime
- 2:31
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Lesley Groff was mentioned more than 150,000 times in the Epstein files. She managed Jeffrey Epstein’s world for nearly 20 years, so how has she gotten away largely unscathed?
In a statement to The Free Press, her lawyer Michael Bachner insisted that throughout her tenure with Epstein, which included managing his massage schedule, Groff “never witnessed or was told of anything illegal related to these massages.”
We investigated the world of Lesley Groff—watch the full video on our YouTube channel.
- Title
- UK Citizens Are Fed Up.
- Runtime
- 7:15
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- In the UK, it appears Labour will suffer historic losses in local elections, while Reform is surging.
After traveling across her home country, Esther Krakue says this isn’t surprising. Voters are done with a status quo that has led to a stagnant economy, unaffordable housing, and rising immigration.
- Title
- The Problem with Hasan Piker and Megyn Kelly
- Runtime
- 1:12:31
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- This week, a few news stories caught my attention.
Former congresswoman Katie Porter said she supports taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal immigrants, during the Democratic California governor’s debate.
Closed-circuit television cameras helped catch two men who violently attacked a 77-year-old man in Seattle, undermining mayor Katie Wilson’s claim that “turning on more cameras won’t magically make our neighborhoods safer, but it will certainly make our neighborhoods more vulnerable.”
And the judge presiding over the case of accused White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Tomas Allen said about his jail conditions: “At a minimum, I should be apologizing to him. We are obligated to make sure he’s taken care of. Mr. Allen, I’m sorry that things have not been the way they are supposed to.”
In each example, a form of empathy was on display. But what happens when it misfires?
In the new book Suicidal Em...
- Title
- Roald Dahl: Genius and Bigot
- Runtime
- 48:28
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Title
- Are UFOs Actually Demons in Disguise?
- Runtime
- 44:12
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Speaking on a podcast earlier this year, Vice President J.D. Vance—a convert to Catholicism—theorized that UFOs might be a demonic trick.
“I don’t think they’re aliens, I think they’re demons,” Vance said. When asked to expand, he noted that “every great world religion, including Christianity, the one I believe in, has understood there are weird things out there. . . there’s a lot of good out there, but there’s also some evil out there.”
Vance made sure to note that his views weren’t grounded in any sort of secret information to which he was privy, saying he had not had time to dive into any confidential government information about UFOs. But the idea that UFOs should be seen through more of a religious lens than a strictly scientific one is not new, and one we’ve even touched on earlier.
As we close out this four-part series about what everyday Americans should think about UFOs, we are joined by two people who have put a...
- Title
- Does Israel Want Lebanon’s Land?
- Runtime
- 1:54
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Israel’s actions in southern Lebanon are not a land grab, but are defensive responses to sustained attacks by Hezbollah, says Haviv Rettig Gur.
“The Israelis have said a thousand times, we don’t want Lebanon. . . stop shooting rockets at us. And Hezbollah was unable to meet that standard—that very low bar.”
- Title
- The Battle Over Hormuz, Settler Violence, and Turmoil in the Gulf
- Runtime
- 57:21
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- The Middle East remains in turmoil. Trump is waging “Project Freedom” to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; the war with Iran continues; the United Arab Emirates just dramatically departed from OPEC; Israel is still fighting on its northern border with Lebanon; and Hamas’s grip on Gaza persists.
It can be hard to keep track of this—much less make sense of it. Which is why I sat down with Free Press Middle East analyst Haviv Rettig Gur to ask him about all of it. We also examined escalating settler violence in the West Bank, and why Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tacitly supports it; UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s appearance on the cover of British Vogue; the latest Gaza flotilla; and likely presidential candidate Rahm Emanuel’s recent declaration that “the days of taxpayers subsidizing Israel militarily are over.” And overall, can the region shake its martyrdom ideology?
Find Unpacking Israeli History — a production ...
- Title
- Have LA Voters Finally Had Enough?
- Runtime
- 4:46
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- One issue is shaping Los Angeles’ mayoral elections: homelessness.
Peter Savodnik spoke to voters.
- Title
- The Biggest Concern For LA Voters: Homelessness
- Runtime
- 1:07
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- One issue is shaping Los Angeles’ mayoral elections: homelessness.
- Title
- NASA Mission Commander on Why You Should Care About Our Return To The Moon
- Runtime
- 0:43
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- “We need to keep pushing the boundaries, making new discoveries, and we need to bring the whole world along with us.” —says Artemis mission commander Reid Wiseman, explaining with astronaut Jeremy Hansen why everyone should care about NASA’s return to the moon.
- Title
- These California Democrats Are Clowns
- Runtime
- 7:31
- Date posted
- 6 months ago
- Description
- Think for yourself. Subscribe to The Free Press today: https://thefp.pub/3DmLpLi
The California governor’s race is probably the most entertaining race in America this year. Will and Reihan discuss Eric Swalwell, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, and how one Democratic frontrunner after another has imploded in the Golden State.
- Title
- Is The U.S. Government Hiding The Truth?
- Runtime
- 1:12
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- The admiral who says Atlantis is real and that aliens are already among us.
- Title
- The Admiral Who Says Atlantis Is Real & the Aliens Are Already Here
- Runtime
- 59:54
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Timothy Gallaudet says he knows aliens have come to Earth; he just doesn’t know what their intentions are.
- Title
- ESPN Reporter: How Sports Became Our Civic Religion
- Runtime
- 50:02
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- In this episode, Shilo sits down with sportswriter Wright Thompson to explore what the ESPN mainstay has learned from decades of covering elite athletes such as Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan. Does greatness require rage, dysfunction, or “daddy issues”? And what does GOAT culture teach young men about winning—and losing?
They dig into why sports matter so deeply: tribal belonging, meritocracy, tradition, and the rare intensity of collective experience that borders on the religious. Thompson also explains why the most passionate fandoms often emerge in poor, deindustrialized towns. They also examine the controversies and contradictions of modern sports, from coaches and universities running de facto professional programs to the rise of gambling and debates over salary caps.
- Title
- Ibogaine Could Change Addiction Treatment
- Runtime
- 1:44
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Why President Trump’s recent executive order on psychedelics is a “game changer” for addiction treatment in America.
- Title
- Her Son Was Kidnapped & Killed by Hamas. This Is Her Story.
- Runtime
- 47:09
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- “There is nothing like the feeling of putting someone you carried for nine months inside of your body into the ground wrapped in white fabric. I was burying part of myself. Not just my DNA and my soul, but my essence, my identity, my Before, my mouth, my personality, my breath, my rest of my life. Me.”
These are the words of Rachel Goldberg-Polin in her new memoir, When We See You Again.
Many will recognize Rachel as the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was abducted by Hamas from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
Hersh survived 328 days in captivity. And during that time, Rachel and her husband did everything in their power to bring him home—traveling to Davos, meeting with Pope Francis, addressing the UN, speaking at the Democratic National Convention, and making countless trips to Washington, D.C.
And still, after nearly a year in captivity, Hersh was murdered, shot six times at close range by Hamas. There was g...
- Title
- Do New Yorkers Support Political Violence?
- Runtime
- 3:05
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- On social media, discourse around political violence has never been more toxic.
But, just two days after another assassination attempt on president Trump, our reporter asked New Yorkers if they thought political violence is ever justified.
- Title
- Political violence is getting worse. It's up to all of us to stop it.
- Runtime
- 2:36
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Political violence is once again a norm after several generations. But it didn't happen overnight.
Tanya Lukyanova reports on the permission structure that made this possible.
- Title
- Do American Jews Need to Arm Themselves?
- Runtime
- 7:35
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- As the tidal wave of antisemitism grows, some Jews are finding ways to fight back, from concealed carry to Krav Maga.
- Title
- The Southern Poverty Law Center: What's Going On?
- Runtime
- 2:51
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- What’s really going on with The Southern Poverty Law Center? Rafaela Siewert reports.
- Title
- Former Binance CEO Speaks: From Crypto's Richest Man to Prison
- Runtime
- 1:05:57
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Some of you may know the name Changpeng Zhao—or CZ, as he’s almost universally known in the tech and finance worlds—as crypto’s richest man. Forbes calculated his net worth as greater than $110 billion. That puts him ahead of Bill Gates, though CZ denies it.
He founded Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, transforming it from a start-up in 2017 into one of the most powerful companies in finance.
Then, in November 2023, CZ pleaded guilty to violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act by failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. He stepped down as CEO and paid a $50 million fine, while Binance paid $4.3 billion.
When I asked him about this charge, he acknowledged that Binance’s “earlier compliance program was weak,” and that Binance “could have done better.”
The case also led to a four-month sentence at a correctional facility in Long Beach, California, where he taught fellow inmates—...
- Title
- The Founding Fathers Were Young
- Runtime
- 1:37
- Date posted
- 7 months ago
- Description
- Watch the Gen Z Debate with Isabel Brown and Harry Sisson.
