Is Donald Trump Creating the Conditions for Another World War?
“What you’re seeing both abroad and at home are completely optional conflicts created by the character of the President,” Jane Mayer says.
“What you’re seeing both abroad and at home are completely optional conflicts created by the character of the President,” Jane Mayer says.
January 9, 2026
Listen and subscribe: Apple | Spotify | Google | Wherever You Listen
Sign up to receive our twice-weekly News & Politics newsletter.
The Washington Roundtable discusses Donald Trump’s use of force in Venezuela, his desire to take over Greenland, and the historical echoes of the Administration’s new imperialist projects. The panel also considers Trump’s brand of “narcissistic unilateralism” and the increased risks of global conflict when foreign policy is based on one man’s whims. “Donald Trump wants to write his name into history,” the staff writer Susan B. Glasser says. “He wants every single person in the world to have to exchange their map for one of the United States that looks different, that looks bigger, and that everybody for all eternity will say, ‘Donald Trump did this.’ ”
This week’s reading:
Tune in to The Political Scene wherever you get your podcasts.
Read More
Q. & A.
[
What Makes the Iranian Protests Different This Time
](https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/what-makes-the-iranian-protests-different-this-time#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
Unrest has spread across the Islamic Republic as it faces economic disaster at home and a profound weakening of its network of regional allies.
The Lede
[
Donald Trump Was Never an Isolationist
](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/01/19/donald-trump-was-never-an-isolationist#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
He once defied the G.O.P. by blasting military interventions. But what looked like anti-interventionism is really a preference for power freed from the pretense of principle.
The Lede
[
How an Attack on Obamacare Saved Abortion in Wyoming
](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-an-attack-on-obamacare-saved-abortion-in-wyoming#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
In the most conservative state in the U.S., libertarianism can lead in surprising directions.
Critic’s Notebook
[
The Delicious Anticipation–and, Yes, Release—of “Heated Rivalry”
](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/critics-notebook/the-delicious-anticipation-and-yes-release-of-heated-rivalry#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
The show, a sexy romance between two closeted hockey players, began on a small Canadian streaming platform, but has become a huge, unexpected hit.
The Weekend Essay
[
The Robot and the Philosopher
](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/the-robot-and-the-philosopher#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
In the age of A.I., we endlessly debate what consciousness looks like. Can a camera see things more clearly?
Shuffalo
[
Shuffalo: Saturday, January 10, 2026
](https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/shuffalo/2026/01/10#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
Can you make a longer word with each new letter?
Photo Booth
[
Lagos Is a Vortex of Energy
](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/lagos-is-a-vortex-of-energy#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
In a recent book, “Èkó,” the photographer Ollie Babajide Tikare captures the messiness and hope of the Nigerian city.
The Political Scene Podcast
[
Is Donald Trump Creating the Conditions for Another World War?
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/is-donald-trump-creating-the-conditions-for-another-world-war#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
“What you’re seeing both abroad and at home are completely optional conflicts created by the character of the President,” Jane Mayer says.
The Front Row
[
“Dead Man’s Wire” Is a Tangle of Loose Threads
](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/dead-mans-wire-is-a-tangle-of-loose-threads#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
In dramatizing a real-life hostage crisis from 1977, Gus Van Sant teases out enticing themes that remain undeveloped.
The Lede
[
An ICE Killing Puts Minneapolis on the Brink
](https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/an-ice-killing-puts-minneapolis-on-the-brink#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
The city where George Floyd was murdered finds itself again at the epicenter of a national crisis.
The Political Scene Podcast
[
Donald Trump’s New Brand of Imperialism
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/donald-trumps-new-brand-of-imperialism#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
The historian Daniel Immerwahr says that Trump’s embrace of imperialist adventuring is not just about business interests—it’s an appeal to masculinity which “seems to sell.”
The New Yorker Radio Hour
[
Does Every Marriage Need a Prenup?
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/does-every-marriage-need-a-prenup#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_da5bb162-28a9-4fdb-a572-2a44ac255e6c_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
The staff writer Jennifer Wilson explores why prenuptial agreements have boomed in popularity among millennial and Gen Z couples.