THE NEW YORK TIMES – TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2026

European Leaders Push Back as Trump Reinforces Greenland Threats

President Trump fired off a series of mocking social media posts overnight that underscored his designs on Greenland and risked damaging a longstanding diplomatic alignment.

A Venezuelan Political Prisoner Finally Comes Home

Ángel Godoy was jailed after writing columns that angered the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Now his family is trying to make up for lost time.

With Threats to Greenland, Trump Sets America on the Road to Conquest

After a century of defending other countries against foreign aggression, the U.S. is now positioned as an imperial power trying to seize another nation’s land.

Trump’s First Year Could Have Lasting Economic Consequences

President Trump’s policies have so far done little to change the state of the American economy, but economists warn they will ultimately weaken the U.S.

Supreme Court to Hear Case Testing Limits of Hawaii Gun Law

The justices will hear arguments over whether a Hawaii law that imposes restrictions on carrying concealed weapons violates the Second Amendment.

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE – JANUARY 26, 2026

A woman in the subway is looking at her vacation memories under the gaze of onlookers.

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE: The latest cover features Adrian Tomine’s “Post-Vacation” – Staying warm.

Why Trump Supports Protesters in Tehran but Not in Minneapolis

During the President’s second Administration, universal principles such as self-determination and due process are wielded only opportunistically.

By Benjamin Wallace-Wells

The Lights Are Still On in Venezuela

After the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro, some residents fear that one unelected despot has been swapped for another.

By Armando Ledezma

THE NEW YORK TIMES – MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 2026

Starmer Tells Trump Tariff Threat Over Greenland Is Wrong

Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain told President Trump that it would be wrong for him to tariff NATO allies as part of a campaign to control Greenland.

After Trump Reignites a Trade War Over Greenland, Europe Weighs Hitting Back

Europe’s dependence on the U.S. for NATO security limits its options. Its strongest response would be a trade “bazooka,” and other options are possible.

Noem Denies Use of Chemical Agents in Minnesota, Then Backtracks

Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said officers had not used pepper spray and similar measures before being confronted with a contradictory video.

Pentagon Tells 1,500 Troops to Prepare for Possible Deployment to Minnesota

n+1 Magazine – Winter ’26

n+1 Magazine: The latest issue features the ‘Winter 2026 issue, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS’ – H is for hawks. Trump’s cleavage: a semiotic investigation. Haters, waiters, trash containers. Emily Callaci and Dayna Tortorici on intra-feminist debates. Matthew Porges on new space odysseys.

Sinophobic Sinophilia

In the contemporary Chinese context, the idea that crucial parts of the central government could simply cease to operate for more than a month, as part of a procedural standoff between rival governing factions, would beggar belief. And in turn, to an American observer, the thought that miles of new high-speed rail lines could simply materialize by bureaucratic fiat, unencumbered by years of legislative horse-trading, environmental review, suburban backlash, and budgetary overshoot, is no less astonishing.

City of Meh

Adams will be remembered for his petty corruption, his self-mythologizing, and his ignominious dealmaking with the Trump White House; but he should also be remembered as the mayor who got New Yorkers to stop tossing giant bags of trash onto city sidewalks as if there were no alternative. You can laugh at a New York mayor who walks into a press conference wheeling out a trash can, beaming as if he invented the contraption, while “Empire State of Mind” blares triumphantly in the background. But truly, Adams’s proclaimed “trash revolution” represented a tremendous advance over abysmal past practice.

Mere Domination

“Men make their own history,” Marx wrote, “but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” That may be broadly true, but Dick Cheney got to make history under the exact circumstances he would have chosen.

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE- January 18, 2026

Current cover

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 1.18.26 Issue features Robert Draper on Marjorie Taylor Greene; Ferris Jabr on a science experiment to help make the oceans less acidic; Jonathan Mahler on Christian Zionism and MAGA; and more.

Kílian Jornet on What We Can Learn From Pushing Our Bodies to Extremes

Imagine yourself on an isolated mountain pass. The wind is whipping, the air is thin, there is nothing around you except the sky and the sound of your feet hitting the craggy ground. Many of us have experienced the wonder and exertion that comes with a great hike in a wild landscape. These are places we may love to visit, but for Kílian Jornet, this is where he is most at home.

The MAGA Plan to Take Over TV Is Just Beginning

Under Trump, the F.C.C. has used obscure regulatory powers to crack down on network TV. Some conservatives are pushing back. By Jim Rutenberg

Trump’s Fight With Minnesota Is About More Than Immigration

The state embodies a civic ideal that the administration in Washington wants to discredit. By Charles Homans

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2026

After Trump Reignites a Trade War Over Greenland, Europe Weighs Going All-Out

Europe’s dependence on the United States for NATO security limits its options. Its strongest response could be retaliating with its own trade “bazooka.”

Why It’s Hard to Run Venezuela

Venezuela sprawls over terrain twice the size of California, with vast tracts of treacherous jungles, steep mountains and cities filled with guns.

Under Patel, F.B.I. Scours Its Records to Discredit Trump Opponents

As the F.B.I. has added payback to its portfolio, Republican lawmakers have emerged as a clearinghouse for leaks and whistle-blowers.

D.H.S.’s Role Questioned as Immigration Officers Flood U.S. Cities

The Department of Homeland Security was formed after 9/11 amid international terrorism threats. Now, its most visible targets are domestic.

Conservative Rally Organizer Chased From Minneapolis Streets by Counterprotesters

How Many People Has the Trump Administration Deported So Far?

An analysis of government data reveals it was the nature of the deportations, rather than their number, that changed the most.

BARRON’S MAGAZINE – JANUARY 19, 2025

30 Stocks to Buy in 2026, According to Our Roundtable Pros

BARRON’S MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The Roundtable, Part 2 – 30 Picks’ – Panelists favor DoorDash, Nestle, Nike and more this year. Why utilities look like a bargain…

Our Roundtable Pros Offer 30 Stocks for ’26

DoorDash, LVMH, and Home Depot are just some of the stocks our panelists favor this year. How AI is changing the game for companies and investors.

Invitation Homes Stock, Rattled by Trump Homebuying Tweet, Now Looks Like a Bargain

This real estate investment trust has a valuable portfolio, trades cheaply on many financial metrics, and carries a safe 4.4% dividend yield.

Electronic Warfare Is Big Business. This Company Is Profiting.

CACI International is growing in the $280 billion national security technology market.

AI Bonds Could Devour Credit Markets. Let Stock Investors Take the Risk.

Amazon, Meta, and other large tech companies are issuing more debt than ever. Why you should steer clear.

1776 Was a Watershed Year for Capitalism, Too

A series of events beginning in 1776, including the writings of Adam Smith, ignited the changes that would produce the modern American economy.

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 2026

Justice Dept. Is Said to Begin Criminal Inquiry Into Minnesota Leaders

The investigation into Gov. Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey is a major escalation in the state-federal battle over the conduct of immigration agents in Minneapolis.

The People of Minneapolis vs. ICE: A Street-Level View

Video Analysis of ICE Shooting Sheds Light on Contested Moments

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Unbending Over Time

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has built his 37-year rule on uncompromising repression. His answer to the current protests is no different.

What to Know About the Protests in Iran

Trump Has Machado’s Nobel Prize, but Neither Got What They Really Wanted

President Trump has María Corina Machado’s medal, but he is not recognized as the Nobel laureate. She did not win his endorsement to become Venezuela’s president.

In Spain’s ‘Little Caracas,’ Venezuelan Exiles Are Still Waiting

In the largest Venezuelan community outside the Americas, many cheered Nicolás Maduro’s capture, but were adapting to the fact that his allies remained in charge.

Orion Magazine – WINTER 2026 – Nature & Culture

ORION MAGAZINE: The Winter 2026 Issue features  the elusive cryptid—creatures that, despite mysterious sightings, dedicated societies, and extensive mythologizing, have not been scientifically proven to exist. Across the issue, writers grapple with questions of belief: Why do we want to believe in the things that we do? What might our enthusiastic focus on creatures like Bigfoot be preventing us from seeing, and protecting, in the real world? What do the stories we tell about the natural world really reveal about ourselves? Ranging from the playful to the impassioned, the fantastical to the deadly serious, Cryptids: On the Trail of Bigfoot and Other Improbable Beasts offers a tour through a menagerie both real and imagined. Inside:


  • Jeff VanderMeer asks what the widespread fascination with Bigfoot might be preventing people from appreciating in the world around them
  • J. Drew Lanham wades into the debates about the extinction of the ivory-billed woodpecker
  • Tove Danovich investigates a bizarre pattern of cattle mutilations in the West
  • Katherine Cusumano dives into the myths and the muck of the Gowanus Canal
  • Lance Richardson retraces the steps of Peter Matthiessen in his legendary quest for the snow leopard

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious