Free Expression (Newsletter)

The world finally got a look this week at Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” a big-screen adaptation of Homer’s epic poems starring Matt Damon and a cast of many. The internet naturally wondered: Is it woke? Free Expression columnist John J. Miller and contributor Spencer A. Klavan explore the poem’s origins, the film’s casting and Mr. Nolan’s creative choices. Goodbye Darkness, My Old Friend A startup wants to light up the night using giant space mirrors.

Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Good morning. Welcome to Free Expression, a daily newsletter on life, culture and politics from WSJ Opinion. If someone forwarded you this email, please take a moment to subscribe. You can follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Substack and TikTok.

Vice President JD Vance boards Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews, Md., July 1.Photo: Ken Cedeno/Pool/Getty Images Free Expression is a daily newsletter on American life, politics and culture from the Opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal. Sign up and start reading Free Expression today. Radio host Hugh Hewitt asked President Trump on Monday if he’d be interested in moderating a 2028 presidential debate. It was a question Mr. Trump hadn’t heard before—but one he found appealing.

By Jonathan Alpert Free Expression is a daily newsletter on American life, politics and culture from the Opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal. Sign up and start reading Free Expression today. During a recent therapy session, a patient showed me screenshots of a Hinge conversation with one of her matches. She wasn’t asking whether she liked him or whether he liked her. She wanted to know whether he was emotionally unavailable, had an avoidant attachment style or was love-bombing her.

Photo: Disney/Associated Press Free Expression is a daily newsletter on American life, politics and culture from the Opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal. Sign up and start reading Free Expression today. Everything you need to know about Disney’s live-action remakes of its own animated films, of which this past weekend’s “Moana” is the latest, you can learn by watching the first four minutes of “The Lion King”—both versions.

Photo: Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/ZUMA Press Good morning. Welcome to Free Expression, a daily newsletter on life, culture and politics from WSJ Opinion. If someone forwarded you this email, please take a moment to subscribe. You can follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Substack and TikTok. Today in Free Expression, columnist James B.

A scene from “The Odyssey” by Christopher Nolan.Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures Free Expression is a daily newsletter on American life, politics and culture from the Opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal. Sign up and start reading Free Expression today. It isn’t exactly news that Homer’s “Odyssey” is a very, very good poem. But seeing Christopher Nolan’s screen adaptation drove this home again for me. The hotly anticipated mega-spectacle is, in the end, pretty good.

Photo: Javad Parsa/NTB Scanpix/ZUMA Press Free Expression is a daily newsletter on American life, politics and culture from the Opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal. Sign up and start reading Free Expression today. When America’s democratic socialists want to sell their platform, the Nordic model is their go-to reference.

By James B. Meigs June 2, 2025, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Photo: Henning Kaiser/Zuma Press Free Expression is a daily newsletter on American life, politics and culture from the Opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal. Sign up and start reading Free Expression today. In Genesis, God said, “Let there be light,” and then saw that “the light was good.” Later this year, a satellite company called Reflect Orbital will attempt a similar miracle of illumination.

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images Good morning. Welcome to Free Expression, a daily newsletter on life, culture and politics from WSJ Opinion. If someone forwarded you this email, please take a moment to subscribe. You can follow us on X/Twitter, Instagram, Substack and TikTok.