Table of contents for Jan. 30-Feb. 6, 2026 in Newsweek

1971 “In his dual role as a man of letters and a man of science, [Aleksandr] Solzhenitsyn, 52, personifies a turning point for the Soviet Union,” Newsweek wrote of the dissident who helped raise global awareness of repression in the USSR. After spending eight years in Soviet prisons and labor camps for writing a letter criticizing Josef Stalin, he wrote novels about his experiences, eventually winning a Nobel Prize in Literature. Open expression is still a risk in today’s Russia; the most prominent recent dissident is Aleksei Navalny, who died in February 2024 under mysterious circumstances while incarcerated in a Russian penal colony. 1990 “No matter what your problem, there’s almost certainly a support group for you,” Newsweek said as the U.S. experienced a boom in support-group self-help. In 2023,…

THE TOWN OF WARSAW, INDIANA, IS ONLY 10 years older than the R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company printing company, with their histories linked for generations—something that recent arrival Slate Auto will be hoping to replicate. R.R. Donnelley is an American Midwest success story. At the dawn of the 20th century, the company was one of the largest publishing houses in the U.S., printing Encyclopedia Britannica, Sears, Roebuck & Co and JCPenney catalogs, Time magazine, Life magazine, maps, promotional materials for the Ford Model T and Random House books. By mid-century, the business was booming and expanding, including a 1.4 million-square-foot plant in Warsaw. Located along U.S. Route 30 and about an hour from the cities of Fort Wayne, South Bend and Valparaiso, Indiana, Warsaw is in the heart of Middle…

TEAM USA SKI RACER BREEZY JOHNSON IS HEADING BACK TO Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy’s Dolomites where her Olympic dream was upended four years ago. One month ahead of the 2022 Beijing Games, Johnson crashed while training in Cortina, tearing her right knee and causing severe cartilage damage. The incident forced her to withdraw from the Winter Games and sent her on a monthslong recovery journey. “My issue with Cortina has been that I can generate speed really quickly on that hill and it often gets out of my control,” Johnson tells Newsweek from nearby San Pellegrino. The crash wasn’t her first career setback. Johnson had previously suffered several other knee injuries, including ACL, MCL and PCL tears, underscoring the brutal physical toll of elite ski racing. Despite each injury, Johnson…

Caskets of fallen Iranian soldiers, who authorities say were killed by anti-government protesters, are carried through crowds at a mass funeral in the capital on January 14. In response to demonstrations sparked by the collapse of the rial, Iran’s security forces have killed over 2,650 protesters, according to activists. The U.S. warned at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting that “all options are on the table to stop the slaughter.”…

AT 17, ILIA MALININ PULLED OFF THE unthinkable on ice, becoming the first skater in the world to complete the sport’s hardest jump in competition. He launched forward, snapped his body through four-and-a-half revolutions midair and landed on one blade, completing the quadruple axel. That 2022 performance at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Lake Placid and his subsequent regular inclusion of the move have cemented his nickname “Quad God.” But this spectacular feat is just the beginning of his legacy, as he continues to change the sport and its future ahead of his Olympic debut in February. In sweats stamped with his black-and-gold Quad God insignia, the young athlete spoke with Newsweek ahead of a show at the University of Pennsylvania’s ice rink in December. He had just…

FLAVOR FLAV ISN’T JUST HYPING TEAM USA THIS WINTER—HE’S eyeing a future spot on it. The rapper and television personality, who made headlines for backing the U.S. women’s water polo team at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, says he wants to start training with the hopes of eventually qualifying for the skeleton team. But first he’s headed to Italy in February to crank up the volume for Team USA’s bobsled and skeleton squads, expanding his personal Olympic sponsorship roster. As the team’s official hype man, Flavor Flav will be whipping up the crowd and the athletes to push for gold medals in Cortina d’Ampezzo, he tells Newsweek via Zoom from Las Vegas while drinking a Capri-Sun. “They seem like some real go-getters, and I really feel that they’re going to…

AFTER THE HUGE SUCCESS OF HER MEMOIR, I’M GLAD MY MOM DIED, JENNETTE MCCURDY MARKS a bold transition to fiction with new novel Half His Age. But to McCurdy, no matter the genre, it’s all about the voice, and she’s confident about hers. “I feel like my voice is my voice.” Half His Age explores the “funny-sad” tightrope of Waldo, a girl with an unconventional attraction toward her teacher. “Though this is told through Waldo’s perspective as a 17-year-old senior in high school, there’s certainly a lot of overlap in our voices, in our point of view.” The story had an impact on McCurdy. “For this book, I had a lot of experiences where I’d feel so much rage that I’d be crying.” To hone this energy, she rids herself…

IT’S A MISTY WEDNESDAY IN SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, WHICH is not uncommon for the season and, for most residents, is not particularly noteworthy. But on Wednesdays, Dr. Michael McNamara doesn’t drive to work—he flies. So today, the fog is an issue. McNamara is a maternal-fetal medicine physician at Sanford Health, the largest rural health system in the United States, spanning the Upper Midwest. He manages high-risk pregnancies requiring frequent physical exams and ultrasounds to ensure the health of both mother and child. Some of McNamara’s patients live in Sioux Falls, where both he and Sanford are headquartered. Others live in some of the most remote stretches of the country—on farmland, military bases and Native American reservations—and would have to travel between four and six hours to visit him in…

CHOOSING A COLLEGE IS ONE of the most important decisions in a young woman’s life. It’s about more than academics—it’s about finding a place to thrive, to lead and to build the foundation for a successful future. The college experience should empower every student to reach their full potential, and for women, that can mean attending an institution with female academic role models (who are fairly paid) which prioritizes campus safety and meaningful pathways to success. Women’s colleges have long championed these values, creating environments where female students can flourish without barriers. But many coeducational institutions are also making significant strides in fostering gender equity, ensuring that women have access to the resources, support and opportunities they need to excel. To help prospective students and their families make informed decisions,…