It’s Monday, February 2. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: from pro-MAGA to anti-ICE. Jason Furman on Trump’s pick for Fed chair. Tyler Cowen and Coleman Hughes on our brave new world. Jed Rubenfeld on the arrest of Don Lemon. And much more.

But first: The detransitioner who sued her doctor.

At the age of 15, Fox Varian began questioning her gender during sessions with a psychologist. At 16, she underwent surgery to remove her breasts. Three years later, she bitterly regretted the surgery and went back to identifying as female.

Then Varian sued her doctor. Hers is the first medical malpractice case by a detransitioner to ever go before a jury. I was the only reporter to attend all three weeks of a heart-wrenching and historic trial in White Plains, New York, that ended Friday. “No amount of reconstruction,” said Varian, “is ever going to bring back what I lost.”

The gender transition field is in precipitous decline. More than half of all U.S. states have banned gender-transition interventions for minors. The Supreme Court ruled last year that states can restrict the ability of minors to get transition treatment. Varian’s trial was closely watched as a harbinger of a long-overdue legal reckoning.

Varian’s lawyer characterized her psychologist as heedless, sloppy, and out of his depth given the teenager’s complex constellation of gender dysphoria and serious psychological problems. And the plastic surgeon who did the mastectomy was inattentive to critical red flags, the lawyer argued.

Read my piece to learn about the verdict reached by the jury on Friday and what it means for the future of so-called “gender-affirming” medical care for minors.

—Benjamin Ryan

The Bots Are Building Their Own Society

Tyler Cowen

Last week, something unnerving happened: Hundreds of autonomous AI agents started a forum and started talking to one another. They argued, philosophized—and plotted against humanity. How worried should we be? That’s the question Tyler Cowen answers in his look at the strange new world of bot culture. Read full story

They Voted for Trump—and They’re Appalled by ICE

Maya Sulkin

In 2024, Nivriti Agaram voted for Donald Trump. This weekend, she flew to Minneapolis to protest against ICE. She’s one of the voters Maya Sulkin spoke to for her latest piece on how the administration’s deportation strategy is turning off voters and risks cracking up his coalition. Read full story

Four Rules for the New Fed Chair

Jason Furman

Donald Trump’s ongoing clash with the Federal Reserve means the president’s announcement of his pick to succeed Jerome Powell as chair will be more closely scrutinized than ever. On Friday, Trump unveiled Kevin Warsh as his choice. Is he a good candidate? And will he be able to maintain the central bank’s independence? We asked Jason Furman, who was Barack Obama’s top economic adviser, for his view. Read full story

Freedom of the Press Won’t Protect Don Lemon

Jed Rubenfeld

CNN host turned independent journalist Don Lemon was arrested on Friday for his alleged role in a protest that obstructed a church service in Minneapolis. The move was met with condemnation as an attack on press freedom. Jed Rubenfeld dives into the legal rights and wrongs of the case. “There is no such thing as journalistic immunity in criminal law,” he argues. Read full story

The Greatness of Catherine O’Hara

John Podhoretz

Catherine O’Hara was always on top of her game. That’s what made her great, writes John Podhoretz in his tribute to the great comedienne who died at 71 last week. Read his tribute to the once-in-a-generation talent who had us laughing from SCTV to Schitt’s Creek. Read full story

Conversations with Coleman: Designer Babies and AI Jobs Are No Longer Sci-Fi

In the aftermath of Covid, one lesson was obvious to Coleman Hughes: Our ability to generate powerful technologies has far outpaced our ability to talk honestly about their risks. That gap between capability and judgment is why he wanted to sit down with Jamie Metzl, a former National Security Council official turned biotech futurist, and one of the earliest public figures to argue that Covid most likely emerged from a lab accident rather than a wet market. They talk about everything about our brave new world, from genetic selection to AI, and discuss whether we are ready for the ethical and social consequences. Catch their conversation wherever you get your podcasts, or at the link below: