Americanness isn’t rooted in blood and soil, but rather in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Let’s keep it that way, writes @MattHennessey. Read today’s newsletter here: https://t.co/gW6Sy8xOJp

As timeless, beautifully illustrated children’s books disappear from shelves, they are replaced by badly written titles focused on “big feelings,” identity, and social activism. It's no wonder kids are losing interest in reading, writes @katebachwsj. https://t.co/Q2xFMlFyWg

What it’s really like selling Christmas trees round-the-clock in peak season? @mj_koch stopped by the Romp Family Christmas Tree Market to find out. https://t.co/p5S35wzYIf

The heritage-American concept excludes those who don’t qualify by virtue of ancestry, including all recent arrivals. It rejects something fundamental about being an American, writes @jackbutler4815 https://t.co/sFD4TxdWa5

The children’s book scene is dominated by cultural and political progressives—woke stuff. But the much bigger problem: The books aren’t compelling, writes @katebachwsj https://t.co/VRwyPy2vgo

Meet Free Expression columnist @continetti: The veteran political journalist sits down with associate editor @MJ_Koch. https://t.co/iwU2T0iR3G

The studio that gave us ‘The Maltese Falcon, ‘Cool Hand Luke’ and ‘Goodfellas’ is about to disappear, writes @rkylesmith https://t.co/wwargCcSMB

You don’t need a connection to the Mayflower to be an American. We are a creedal people, not a hereditary aristocracy, writes @MattHennessey https://t.co/a0u5pvGZfz

The Romp family has sold Christmas trees in Greenwich Village for 38 years. Spanning three generations, the operation now even includes a one-month-old grandson. Free Expression associate editor @MJ_Koch spoke with the Romps during their busiest season. https://t.co/ozGJNyFQ09

How did a Greenwich Village tree stand become a beloved family tradition and a street-corner staple? @mj_koch stopped by the Romp family market to hear how their tradition began. https://t.co/ByPlRO8KuW

The Founders left us something unique: a country with the ability to grow and incorporate new arrivals. To limit access to American identity to the direct descendants of those who got here first is inherently self-limiting, writes @jackbutler4815 https://t.co/NoAKJenE4a

There are thousands of children’s books that train the ear in language and form the moral imagination. But many are now hard to find, and most of the latest titles can be fairly described as awful, writes @katebachwsj https://t.co/Q2pRer2sbo

Whether Warner gets swallowed up by Netflix or Paramount, it’s about to disappear. But Warner Bros. is something special, even unique: the single greatest studio in Hollywood history, writes @rkylesmith https://t.co/tdjNYTREPe

Like pop-culture cicadas, Avatar fans emerge en masse when an Avatar movie hits theaters, but disappear once they have seen it. The wildly successful sci-fi franchise has a curiously light footprint. Why? asks @jackbutler4815 https://t.co/cs31oxNRA9

“If there’s just one thing that I would say to the mayor about choosing the next FDNY commissioner: That person has to love this place,” Commissioner Robert Tucker says in an interview with @mj_koch. https://t.co/QTFrH4yo1v

What makes conspiracy theories so irresistible? They give their followers a sense of power, writes @jamesbmeigs https://t.co/uY87AbN7BK

Norman Podhoretz sensed that the intellectual class was blind to what ordinary Americans could see, writes @ElliotKaufman6 https://t.co/RQ92tJvxAh

How is it possible that our popular music has gotten so bad that AI, still in its infancy, can already substitute for it without anyone noticing? asks John Masko https://t.co/JQAHWWnQO9

The quickest route to online success is to be the ugliest, loudest and most obnoxious person in the room. We now live in a world of “influencers,” where the meanest among us are rewarded for becoming even meaner, writes @BecketAdams https://t.co/IzN8eemSrp

American poetry is still around today. But it’s languishing in institutional capture, writes @jmasseypoet https://t.co/SuTJpZpVVx