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TIME Magazine - February 23, 2026

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In this issue

The People Of Iran
Five leading Iranian writers reflect on how Iran arrived at this pivotal moment—and where the country might go from here

China, for the Save
As the runaway leader in battery, solar, and other sustainable exports, the People’s Republic has staked its future on the future of the planet
By Justin Worland

ICE Storm
How Minneapolis, and Mayor Jacob Frey, confronted President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign
By Julia Terruso

TIME 100 Health
The voices leading the way in a rapidly shifting global health landscape—advancing care, shaping policy, driving innovation, and transforming lives

THE ORIGINS OF AN OBSESSION

How Greenland became both a prize and a marker in a world Trump is reordering

6 mins

With death penalty off the table, Luigi Mangione heads toward trial

LUIGI MANGIONE, WHO IS ACCUSED of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec.4, 2024, will not face the death penalty if convicted, a federal judge ruled in late January.

1 mins

Does your baby qualify for a $1,000 Trump Account?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAS TOUTED HIS “TRUMP Accounts” as a way to give “every newborn American child a financial stake in the future.” At a U.S. Treasury event on Jan. 28, with a sign proclaiming that TRUMP ACCOUNTS JUMPSTART THE AMERICAN DREAM and an appearance by rapper Nicki Minaj, who referred to herself as the President’s “No. 1 fan,” he broke down how that stake will manifest—and who gets a cut of it.

2 mins

Catherine O'Hara

Singular comedic talent

2 mins

Young adults in China are learning to live alone

TIRED FROM WORK AND CRAVING A SWEET TREAT OR a spa day? Young people in China have a new mantra for that: “Ai ni laoji!”

5 mins

OUR AGE OF DISTRUST

In 1624, the English poet John Donne wrote, “No man is an island entire of itself.” And yet in 2026, the Edelman Trust Barometer finds that 7 out of 10 people across 28 nations are hesitant or unwilling to trust people who have different values, approaches to societal problems, or backgrounds than they do. For most people, distrust is now the default instinct. Only one-third tell us most people can be trusted.

3 mins

The Risk Report

THE MIDDLE EAST HAS LATELY seen a surge of violence and instability. Israel's war with Hamas expanded to include Iranian proxies like Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi rebels. An insurrection ousted Syria's strongman and replaced him with a shaky Islamist coalition. Israel and the U.S. directly struck Iran, which in recent weeks has faced an intense wave of protests within its borders. The regime has responded with a ferocity remarkable even by Iran's standards.

2 mins

The D.C. Brief

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP LAST year successfully wrestled control of one of the nation's dominant performing-arts stages with unheard-of efficiency. He ousted its leader, installed a loyalist at the helm, made himself the chairman of its reconstituted board, scrambled its programming calendar, alienated cultural leaders, exiled its resident opera company, declared himself the M.C. of its biggest fundraising gala, and treated it like an annex of the White House for events that cast him as the headliner.

5 mins

In the Loop

For some parents, the idea of AI toys sounds like an appealing alternative to plopping kids in front of the TV.

1 mins

What winter gives back

IN MY EARLY 30S, I RELOCATED TO RURAL NEW HAMPSHIRE from Florida. It was supposed to be a joyful and exciting time: I was in love and had moved north with the intention of building a life with my husband. It was also stressful. The losses of friends and community hit me harder than I realized.

2 mins

Iran On The Edge

THE MEN WHO RULE THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF Iran came to power in 1979 after millions of ordinary people filled the streets to demand the end of a despotic regime. Looking out their windows in the first days of 2026, they knew exactly what they were seeing on thoroughfares and boulevards.

1 mins

WHEN I THINK OF IRAN, I THINK OF LIGHT

WHEN A FRIEND ASKED HENRY James how he endured the devastation of World War I, the writer replied, “Feel, feel, feel all you can.” His exhortation contains the essence of what it means to remain human. Totalitarian regimes try to dismantle our capacity to feel, render us numb, confiscate our humanity, the way censors black out passages in books.

6 mins

Rebellion vs revolution

On Feb. 1, 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini arrived in Tehran after 15 years of exile in Turkey, Iraq, and a little village outside Paris. Millions of Iranians saw him as a spiritual man who would usher in democracy and deliver a better economic life. They welcomed him. Khomeini and his supporters delivered neither. Instead, they gradually transformed the Shah's authoritarian, secular monarchy into a totalitarian theocracy.

3 mins

IRAN'S EXHAUSTING CHARADE

THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC’S ALREADY lengthy catalog of fears has ballooned of late: alongside the possibility of being overthrown by its own citizens, it is haunted by the prospect of a full accounting of the massacres it has carried out; by the tenuous loyalty of its army, and its empty coffers; and by the shadow of Israeli spies and Islamic State militants. What terrifies Iran’s theocrats the most, the fear that eclipses all their other fears, is the ability of the people at large to clearly see the essential realities of the present regime.

5 mins

THIS ISN'T OVER

TODAY, THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF Iran resembles a half-lifeless body collapsed on the ground, but holding a gun.

3 mins

My dream for Iran

For years now, I have held on to a very specific dream. I am somewhere in Tehran, my hometown, canvassing for an election. I knock on an apartment door, and an elderly woman answers. “Madar Jaan,” I address her, using the Persian term of endearment and respect. “Will you consider voting for the Left Party of Iran?”

4 mins

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

How Mayor Jacob Frey is navigating Trump's immigration crackdown

9 mins

MADE IN CHINA

Beijing's dominance in clean tech could save the planet. Will it get to?

9 mins

Mike Doustdar

MULTIPLYING WEIGHT-LOSS MEDS

2 mins

Thierry Diagana

A NEW TREATMENT FOR MALARIA

2 mins

Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas and Kiran Musunuru

SAVING A BABY FROM GENETIC DISEASE

2 mins

Julie Inman Grant

PROTECTING KIDS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA'S HARMS

2 mins

Chris Hemsworth

PRIORITIZING BRAIN HEALTH

2 mins

TOUGH AND TENDER

Alexander Skarsgard stars in Pillion's surprisingly sweet tale of bikers in love

6 mins

The most under- appreciated movies of the 21st century

WHENEVER I BROWSE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA or Letterboxd to see what movies young film lovers are discovering, I often see the usual suspects: pictures made by Hitchcock, Coppola, and Scorsese, with a smattering of classic films noir or romantic comedies thrown in. Nothing wrong with that! But it got me thinking about all the terrific, surprising, yet undersung films that in the old days of moviegoing—let’s say before the pandemic—would roll by week by week. Sometimes they’d do well at the box office and then disappear from our collective memories; other times, they’d open to lousy reviews and simply fail to find an audience. Where do underappreciated movies go after they’ve had their chance to shine?

10+ mins

Tracey Emin on her biggest ever exhibition, her incendiary artwork, and how losing a few organs gave her a new lease on life

You've said that a lot of your work is about love. What's the hardest thing about depicting love?

3 mins

Read all Stories from TIME Magazine

TIME Magazine Description:

Publisher: Time-Magazine-HK-Limited

Category: News

Language: English

Frequency: Fortnightly

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