By The Free Press | Created at 2026-09-01 10:12:00 | Updated at 2026-09-05 03:55:25
3 days ago
Produced by ElevenLabs using AI narration
It’s Tuesday, September 1. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: A dispatch from a Free Press Supper Club. Arthur Brooks on why the Baby Boomers won’t grow up. An Air Force general’s lessons about leadership and our next war. And much more.
But first: Suzy Weiss on John Galliano, Anna Wintour, and the Met Gala disaster.
John Galliano has been pumping out fanciful garb, favored by the A-listers who swan red carpets, for over four decades. His designs, figure-hugging gowns with dramatic proportions in sumptuous fabrics, are unmistakable—and beautiful. Still, it was a shock when the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute announced that it would dedicate its yearly exhibit, and the accompanying gala, which is chaired by Anna Wintour, to the British designer.
It was shocking because 15 years ago, Galliano went on a series of drunken antisemitic tirades at a café, telling two women, “Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be fucking gassed,” and “Dirty Jewish face, you should be dead.” He was fired from Dior but made his return to the industry a few years later.
On Monday, after an outcry following the announcement, Galliano and Wintour called off the exhibit. “I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time,” Galliano wrote in a statement. Wintour called the move “courageous.” Yet the outcome is even worse than the original decision to honor Galliano with a lifetime retrospective. Read my piece to find out why the show ought to go on.
—Suzy Weiss
Last month, thousands of Free Pressers sat down for dinner together. One of them was Andy Brehm, a columnist for The Minnesota Star Tribune, who met four strangers with different jobs, different lives, and different politics. They inspired Andy so much that he wrote an article about his evening. We were so touched by Andy’s piece, and want to share it with you today:
And if you have FOMO after reading his column, fear not! Tickets for our next supper club, on September 17, are now on sale. Join us in more than 50 cities worldwide for a delicious meal, great conversation and, as Andy writes—“something I had nearly forgotten existed in modern American life: genuine curiosity and civility.”
Arthur Brooks • The Pursuit of Happiness with Arthur Brooks
Baby Boomers have been getting busy. The generation born in the years following World War II are now the fastest-growing age group among those infected by sexually transmitted diseases and those who use cannabis. In his latest column, Arthur Brooks probes the raucous behavior spreading in American retirement communities: what it has to do with the decline in multigenerational living, why the Woodstock generation is more liberal with sex and drugs than Gen X, and what idle Boomers can do to make their later years more meaningful.
Aaron MacLean • School of War
The story of Air Force General David Goldfein, who miraculously survived after his plane was shot down over Serbia in 1999, has since become military legend. Today, he joins “School of War” to recount the harrowing rescue mission that saved him, how he stayed alive behind enemy lines, and the lessons that his remarkable career offers about leadership, air power, and preparing America for the next war.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS
THE NEWS
The Army’s top civilian leader, Daniel P. Driscoll, handed in his resignation to President Trump on Monday, according to administration officials. The Army secretary, who often found himself at odds with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was a rarity among Pentagon officials in his willingness to work with lawmakers from both parties, two congressional aides told The New York Times.
Argentine football legend Lionel Messi confirmed his retirement from international soccer in an Instagram post Monday, saying the decision “hurts deep in my soul.” The 39-year-old Messi played in his sixth and final World Cup this summer, where Argentina lost in the final round to Spain.
A woman stabbed two people in Times Square on Monday—one of them fatally—before police shot her dead. Police repeatedly attempted to convince the woman, 49-year-old Pamela Cisneros, to disarm before using lethal force, according to New York City police commissioner Jessica Tisch. Cisneros reportedly responded: “I’m not dropping anything. I would rather kill both of you.”
President Trump redoubled his threats against Iran, suggesting that Kharg Island, a major oil hub, could be targeted. The warning followed a slew of ballistic missile strikes from Iran over the weekend aimed at American military bases in the region. Most of the strikes were intercepted by air-defense systems.
A flash flood in the Grand Canyon over the weekend killed at least two people and left one person missing, authorities said Monday. About 80 people were rescued from the flooded area.
The Supreme Court said Monday it will allow Trump to continue building a new White House ballroom, denying the claims of the historic preservation group that said it was harmed by the project. The new construction, which the Trump administration said is 65 percent complete, will be larger than the White House mansion and West Wing combined.
The prediction market Kalshi said Monday that it has permanently banned former GOP congressman George Santos from its platform after he allegedly bet on his own attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address earlier this year. “Hey @Kalshi thanks for the lifetime ban from your gambling platform,” Santos said on X. “Let’s see how much longer you guys are around for.”
