“Nobody in Greenland takes such an absurd scenario seriously.” That was the assessment of James Meek in the London Review of Books last April, after he had discussed the possibility of a U.S. Marine-led invasion with the island’s inhabitants. 

But in the wake of the U.S. special forces operation in Venezuela and President Donald Trump’s rebooted desire to claim Greenland for the U.S., that “absurd scenario” looks a little less absurd, although economic coercion appears a more likely route. U.S. officials apparently have discussed “sending lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the U.S.,” said Reuters. 

What did the commentators say? 
Greenlanders are “taking it in their stride,” said Dominic Waghorn at Sky News. “A very small minority welcomes” the U.S. attempt to annex their land, but most reject it outright. 

Their feelings toward Denmark, however, are not warm. Many people are “angry at being treated as inferiors,” said Dennis Lehtonen, who has lived in Greenland for three years, at The Independent. “We are already losing a lot from being under the Danish government,” said Aleqatsiaq Peary, an Inuit hunter, to the BBC. Coming under U.S. control would be “switching from one master to another, from one occupier to another.” 

The leader of Greenland’s main opposition party said this week that their government should have a direct dialogue with the U.S., without interference from Copenhagen. Danish officials are “antagonizing both Greenland and the U.S. with their mediation,” said Pele Broberg, the leader of Naleraq, a political party that won 25% of the national vote last year. 

What next? 
The Trump administration has stressed its intention to buy Greenland from Denmark, but isn’t taking a military intervention off the table. Many Greenlanders feel the American rhetoric is pushing them to choose between the U.S. and Denmark — something that nobody in Greenland wants. “We are not for sale,” and “we will not be annexed,” said Jess Berthelsen, the chair of Greenland’s national trade union confederation, to The Guardian. “We will determine our own future, and we will continue to work with Denmark and the United States.”

Utah has emerged as a powerhouse in the media sphere. While interest in wholesome family content, particularly of the Mormon variety, has garnered the region growing attention in recent years, the state’s online popularity has also resulted in a new set of child protection laws.

Social media hub
Amid the trad wife phenomenon, Utah has become “known as a hotspot for social media content creators,” Fox 13 said. The state is also a hub for Mormons, and the Church of Latter-day Saints has been a “source of public fascination for years,” said A Frank Voice. LDS culture emphasizes “documentation, memory-keeping and family presentation,” so when social media came along, “many LDS women were basically already halfway to being influencers.” 

The stars of the Hulu series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” particularly epitomize the power of Utah momfluencers; the series follows a #MomTok group as they navigate faith, relationships and public perception. Another Mormon creator, Hannah Neeleman — a former ballerina and mother of eight — has gained an immense following by chronicling her life on the aptly named Ballerina Farm. 

Reality staples
Reality TV staple Bravo has two Utah-based shows: “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” which debuted in 2020, and “Sold on SLC,” which came out last year. Their casts have to “battle between the religious and social standards in Utah” and “external temptations from the media and pop culture,” said Collider, a conflict that creates a welcome new dynamic for reality TV.

The backlash
Even as family vloggers and parenting influencers have surged in popularity, a pall was cast over the community by the 2023 arrest of Ruby Franke, a Utah mother of six who gave parenting advice on YouTube. Franke was charged with child abuse alongside her partner in crime, therapist Jodi Hildebrandt. 

Last year, Utah added new protections for the children of online content creators following Franke’s conviction. The law gives adults a path to “scrub from all platforms the digital content they were featured in as minors” and requires parents to set aside money for kids spotlighted in content, said The Associated Press.

Kimono-clad women take photos after their Coming of Age Day ceremony in Japan’s second-largest city, Yokohama. The centuries-old tradition is marked with a national holiday dedicated to celebrating all those who are turning 20, seen as the milestone between childhood and adulthood.
Franck Robichon / EPA / Shutterstock

January is the height of winter, a time of year when people tend to consume a lot of television. With several new and returning series headlining this month’s streaming options, there will be plenty to choose from.

‘The Night Manager’
The second season of “The Night Manager” has dropped a full decade after the widely praised first. Tom Hiddleston reprises his role as Jonathan Pine, the night manager at a luxury hotel in Cairo who is hired by MI6 to infiltrate and take down an international arms dealer. In season two, he is drawn back into high-level intrigue, a “comeback” resulting in the “first must-watch show of 2026,” said The Guardian. (on Prime Video now)

‘The Pitt’
Season one of this hospital drama was a discourse-driving hit, unfolding over the course of a single day following a mass shooting. In season two, emergency doctor Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) is heading in for his final shift before taking a well-deserved leave. This season “shows little interest” in “hysterical stake-raising,” focusing instead on the “subtler pleasures of observing how characters evolve and connect,” said Time. (on HBO Max now)

‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’
With the success of 2024’s “Dune: Prophecy” prequel, HBO is trying a similar approach with the second “Game of Thrones” spinoff after “House of the Dragon.” Peter Claffey plays Ser Duncan “Dunk” the Tall (pictured above), who is accompanied by his adolescent squire Egg as they travel around Westeros. The series will be lighter in tone than its epic counterparts. (Jan. 18 on HBO Max)