The Most Dangerous Words in America

septembre 03, 2025

View in Browser

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

A few years ago, Mitchell S. Jackson—a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author—started writing a regular column for Esquire. Jackson has many gifts, one of which is his fearlessness. He is willing to express ideas about race, culture, and politics that might otherwise seem off limits. His latest column, which we published today, tackles the the way in which language has become a weapon in America. It's a must read.

– Michael Sebastian, editor-in-chief

Plus:

The Most Dangerous Words in America

In the new autocracy—where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength—language itself is now weaponized against us.

The American regime in power for a precipitous second reign is working overtime to not only disappear words but to pervert their meaning—no less than a hallmark of authoritarian rule.

Within the first 100 days of that rule, MAGA made clear that certain words were to be expunged from federal websites and communications—obvious Goebbels-esque shit—were to be disallowed for use by damn near everybody engaging the federal government for funds. At the time, the effort was much written about—recall a thorough, interactive account in The New York Times. But akin to many of this regime's egregious transgressions, the story came and went.

The story did—but not its impact. MAGA's draconian rules on language have resulted in nixed funding for literary organizations and writers themselves, including the jeopardization of prime resources like the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as yielding strict terms on the language used to describe any academic or artistic endeavor seeking government aid. Its mandate couldn't be clearer: Write about what serves the regime or be unfunded. Or worse.

READ THE STORY

What do Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal, and Oscar Isaac all have in common? Mini-mullets. Barbers reveal to Esquire how you can get the coolest hairstyle in Hollywood. >>
So, why did Trump bomb that boat in the Caribbean? Charles P. Pierce sounds off on the "war" on drugs, and whether it's all just another distraction from Epstein. >>

If I Could Only Own One Jacket, It'd Be This One

I'm a sucker for the trucker shape. It's flattering and more workman-like than a double-vented jacket that came from militaria and equestrian riding. It, and it's cousin the station jacket, are more American than the chore coat. Like a shorter body tee, cutting the body at the waist just looks good on every guy.

This short Filson Tin Cloth Cruiser, not the classic long one, does that. I've always found the Flint and Tinder jacket that Pedro Pascal wears in The Last of Us falls slightly too low on my body. A Flison cruiser is cut a little higher, and a bit more snug. It just fits damn-near perfect. I think guys, the ones into fashion, have gone off the rails with some of the shit they'll wear. If you threw on a short Filson cruiser, you'll look better than any of the guys to the left or right of you on the fashion spectrum.

By Luke Guillory

Exclusive: Apple TV+'s The Last Frontier Is a Thrilling Throwback to '90s Hollywood

A sleepy Alaskan suburb. An aircraft with a cargo of prisoners. A lone U.S. Marshal with everything to lose. This is The Last Frontier, a new fist-pumping action series from The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp set to premiere October 10 on Apple TV+. If the show sounds like something you'd find on a VHS shelf at Blockbuster back in the day, that's by design.

"The show is Con Air meets The Fugitive," Bokenkamp tells me via Zoom. "It's grounded in '90s action thrillers. That's what we wanted to do. We're trying to give audiences something fun, and come together for a thrill ride. That was our inspiration."

By Eric Francisco