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D E PA RT M E N T S
▾ In Focus ▾ Periscope ▾ Horizons

04 Beirut 08 Crime 18 Alien LIfe

Tensions Boiling Bryan Kohberger’s Scientists Expect
Trial in Idaho Breakthroughs
06 Tokyo

FROM LEF T: JA SON MCD ONALD/NE TF LI X ; GE T T Y

12 Politics 22 Science
Fiery Crash
Immigration Reversing Death?
New Delhi Debate Reshaped
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 In Focus
THE NEWS IN PICTURES

4 NE WSWEEK .COM
 B E I RU T

Tensions Boiling
Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Arouri’s body is carried to
his funeral on January 4 in the Tarik al-Jadida area. The
Hamas leader and four other members were killed by an
alleged drone strike widely assumed to have been carried
out by Israel at a Hamas office in the Dahiyeh suburb the
prior day. In response, Hezbollah chief Hassan nasrallah
gave a speech on January 5 warning Israel that they will
retaliate for the assassination on Lebanese soil, further
raising the threats of a wider outbreak of war in the region.
The U.S. has had a $5 million bounty out on al-Arouri—one
of the founders of the U.S. designated terrorist group’s
military wing—since 2018 for terrorist activities.

▸ M A RWA N TA H TA H
GE T T Y

January 1 9, 2024 NE WSWEEK .COM 5

In Focus

GE T T Y [3]

6 NE WSWEEK .COM JanuarY 1 9, 2024

 TOKYO
Fiery Crash
A Japan Airlines plane landing
on the runway of Haneda Airport
on January 2 burst into flames
after colliding with a Coast
Guard aircraft on its way to bring
relief supplies to victims of the
earthquake. Five of the six crew
members of the smaller plane were
killed, while all 379 passengers
and crew of the Airbus A350
were evacuated safely before the
plane was engulfed in flames.
▸ STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP
NEW DELHI
Republic Array
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police
Force rehearses on January 4
for the Republic Day parade. The
national holiday, observed annually
on January 26, marks the day in
1950 when the Republic of India’s
constitution came into effect.
Celebrations last four days, of which
the first day’s colorful parade on
Kartavya Path is the largest and
most public event. It includes music,
dancing, military displays and more.
▸ MONEY SHARMA/AFP
WAJI MA, JAPAN
Cataclysmic Quake
A man on a scooter passes a
collapsed high-rise building in the
Ishikawa Prefecture on January
3, following the 7.6-magnitude
earthquake that rocked the Noto
Peninsula on New Year’s Day.
More than 100 people have been
reported dead and hundreds more
are still missing from the quake and
subsequent aftershocks in western
Japan. Landslides, rain and falling
snow are all hampering relief efforts.
▸ STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP
NE WSWEEK .COM 7
 Periscope N E W S , O P I N I O N + A N A LY S I S

SILENT DEFENSE
Bryan Kohberger, who is
accused of the murders,
refused to enter a plea at
an earlier hearing and is
not expected to take the
stand during the trial. A
legal expert has said this
tactic could harm his case.
 The dog that’s transformed an autistic boy’s life. ▸ P.16

CRIME

How the Trial of

Bryan Kohberger
Will Unfold
The murders of four University of Idaho students shocked the nation. Now
the man accused of their lethal stabbings finally looks set to face a jury

No other murder case attracted as much
public interest in the past year as the lethal
stabbings of four University of Idaho students
in a rented, off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho,
in November 2022.
The early investigation into the deaths of Kaylee
Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Ethan Chapin, 20,
and Xana Kernodle, 20, was on an enormous scale.
Nearly seven weeks after the horrific killings, Bryan
Christopher Kohberger was arrested at his parents’
home in Albrightsville, Pennsylvania, and extradited
to Idaho, where he was charged with four counts of
first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary.
The trial of Kohberger, who was a PhD student
in criminology at Washington State University in
Pullman, just eight miles from Moscow,
was scheduled for October last year. It
was postponed indefinitely in August after
GE T T Y (2)
Moscow and likely to run for at least two months.
Here is what we know about the upcoming trial.
The Judge
If ever there was proof of psychologist Carl Jung’s
theory of nominative determinism—that people
are drawn to professions that fit their name—it’s
Judge John Judge.
Judge Judge, as he is referred to in Idaho legal
circles, has been the Latah County magistrate since
October 1, 2008, and was reelected with nearly 90
percent of the vote in 2014.
“Judge Judge loves his work, his family, and his
life. When he is not working, he is playing out-
side,” according to a profile on the Idaho Judicial
Council website.
The Allegation

Kohberger waived his right to a speedy
trial. It is now expected to be held this
year at the Latah County Courthouse in
by
Prosecutors allege that in the early morn-
SEAN
O ’ D R I S CO L L ing hours of November 13, 2022, Koh-
berger broke into an off-campus home

Photograph by Z ACH WILK INSON-POOL NE WSWEEK .COM 9

Periscope
on King Road in Moscow and stabbed
the four students to death.
Newsweek reached out to Koh-
berger’s lawyer, Anne Taylor, via
email for comment.
After a six-week hunt, police
zeroed in on Kohberger as a suspect,
saying they tracked his white Hyun-
dai Elantra and cellphone signal data,
and recovered what authorities said
was his DNA on a knife sheath found
next to one of the victims’ bodies.
At his arraignment, he declined
to offer a plea, so the judge entered a
not-guilty plea on his behalf.
The Potential Punishment
Prosecutors are seeking the
death penalty.
“Considering all evidence currently
known to the State, the State is com-
pelled to file this notice of intent to
seek the death penalty,” prosecutors
wrote in a filing in June.
They also said that they have
10 NE WSWEEK .COM
CRIME
not been provided with any mit-
igating evidence that would
lower the punishment.
The Motive
One of Kohberger’s former friends,
Jack Baylis, spoke to Fox Nation
about the case and the arrest, say-
ing that Kohberger was often frus-
trated with women.
It’s not known if Baylis will
give evidence.
He told Fox that Kohberger
“Prosecutors would
love to have the
murder weapon,
especially any DNA
on it, but it’s not
fatal to their case.”
expressed issues to him about his
dating life and how he would be
“ghosted a lot” by women.
Jennifer Coffindaffer, a former
FBI agent, told Newsweek in January
that she believed Kohberger’s deep-
est motivation for the alleged crimes
“would be this incel theory.” Coffindaf-
fer is not directly involved in the case.
Incel is an abbreviation for “invol-
untary celibate.” Incels are described
as men who consider themselves
unable to attract women sexually,
and are typically associated with
views that are hostile toward women
and men who are sexually active.
“In terms of his rejection by
women and his aggression toward
women, that continued to build over
just being rejected and not being
accepted by women throughout his
journey in life,” Coffindaffer said.
The Missing Murder Weapon
Despite an extensive search of the
house where the killings occurred,
as well as Kohberger’s university
accommodation and his family home
in Pennsylvania, the knife used in the
killings has never been recovered.
According to former federal pros-
ecutor Neama Rahmani, who is
now president of West Coast Trial
Lawyers law firm, the lack of a mur-
der weapon does not sink the case
against Kohberger.
“Prosecutors would love to have
the murder weapon, especially
any DNA on it, but it’s not fatal to
their case,” Rahmani told Newsweek.
“They’ll argue that Kohberger is more
sophisticated than your typical
accused murderer and probably dis-
posed of it somehow.”
SCENE OF THE CRIME The rented house
on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, where
the four university students were
stabbed to death in November 2022.
JANUARY 1 9, 2024
 Kohberger’s Testimony
As Kohberger stayed silent in court,
even when asked whether he was
pleading guilty or not guilty, it is
unlikely that he will give evidence
on his own behalf. Although the
judge will tell the jury that they
cannot draw any negative inference
from Kohberger’s lack of testimony,
it may still weigh against him.
“Even though jurors are
instructed that they can’t infer
guilt from the defendant’s silence,
implicitly it may have an effect,”
Rahmani said. “ That’s why we’re
seeing a trend with more defen-
dants taking the stand, particularly
in high-profile cases like Elizabeth
Holmes and Alex Murdaugh.”
The Vehicle
According to a police submission
to the court, CCTV footage in the
area of the house identified a white
car speeding down the street soon
after the killings.
Police took the video footage to
an FBI agent who specializes in iden-
tifying vehicles. Not only was the
agent an expert on types and makes
of vehicles but also knew that there
were regional differences in the same
make of car—sometimes a certain
part may be used for cars sold in one
part of America but not in another.
FROM LE F T: DAVID RYD ER /G E T T Y; AUG UST FR AN K-POOL /G E T T Y
The agent initially identified
the car as a Hyundai Elantra made
between 2011 and 2014, but, after
reviewing the footage over and over,
looking for small clues, expanded the
range from 2011 to 2016.
That evidence will be
introduced in trial.
A police officer will also testify
that he identified a white Elantra
belonging to Kohberger in a drive-
way in Pullman, Washington, about
a 10-minute drive from the house
in Moscow, Idaho.
IN CHARGE OF PROCEEDINGS Judge John Judge, who
is set to hear the Kohberger trial, has been the
magistrate for Latah County in Idaho since 2008.
The Witnesses
Two surviving roommates may pro-
vide vital evidence about what hap-
pened on the night of the killings.
According to a probable cause affi-
davit filed in court, Bethany Funke
and Dylan Mortensen “were inside
the King Road Residence at the time
of the homicides and were room-
mates to the victims.”
Funke was staying in the base-
ment of the house at the time of the
killings and didn’t witness the attack.
Mortensen said she saw the killer
on his way out of the house. She told
police that she opened her bedroom
door on the second floor of the
house several times shortly after 4
a.m. She was first awakened by what
she thought was Goncalves playing
with her dog in one of the third-
floor bedrooms. Later, Mortensen
said she thought she heard Gon-
calves say something along the lines
of “There’s someone here.”
Mortensen looked out of her bed-
room again when she thought she
heard crying from Kernodle’s room
and a male voice saying something
like, “It’s OK, I’m going to help you.”
When Mortensen opened her
door a third time, she said she
saw a male figure clad in black
clothing and wearing a mask over
his mouth and nose.
Mortensen told police that she
stood in a “frozen shock phase” as
the figure walked past her and out
the sliding door that allowed access
to the second- and third-floor bed-
rooms. She described the man as
being white, slim but not athletic,
and having bushy eyebrows.
Attempts to Have Case
Thrown Out
The judge this month refuse d
a defense re quest to have the
case dismissed.
Justin Murray, a professor at
New York Law School, told News-
we ek that pretrial motions to
dismiss the indictment “are less
commonly made” than requests
for a judge to deliver a directed
verdict of not guilty after the evi-
dence has been heard.
“Pretrial motions to dismiss are
very difficult to win—our legal sys-
tem purports to rely on adversarial
trials to figure out who’s guilty and
innocent,” Murray said, adding that
the motion to dismiss before trial
was “a long shot.”
“No one should fault the pub-
lic defender for making these
arguments on Kohberger’s behalf.
Quite the opposite: We should
celebrate that Kohberger’s legal
team is putting up a vigorous fight
on his behalf, ensuring that his
rights are respected throughout
the legal process.
“All too often, public defenders...
put up no real fight, often because
the system deprives them of the
resources needed to function well.”
▸ Sean O’Driscoll is newsweek’s
Senior Crime and Courts Reporter.
Follow him on X @seanpodriscoll
NE WSWEEK .COM 11
Periscope

P O LI T I C S Texas Governor GreG abboTT

has altered the U.S. political

Greg Abbott’s Bid To landscape on immigration by busing

migrants from Texas to Democrat-

Shake Up Immigration ic-led sanctuary cities.

In 2022 the Republican began

Debate Is Succeeding
By sending thousands of migrants to sanctuary cities
in the north, the Republican Texas governor has forced
Democrats to face the hot-button political issue head on
b y ANDREW STANTON
sending migrants from the U.S.-Mex-
ico border to cities that protect
undocumented peoples from depor-
tation, amid an influx arriving to the
southern frontier. There were more
than 2.4 million encounters between
migrants and border control officers
at the U.S.-Mexico border during the
2023 fiscal year, up from roughly
1.7 million in 2021, according to
data from U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP).
The governor has faced substan-
tial backlash over the policy, as crit-
ics accuse him of using migrants as
political pawns. The White House
has slammed it as a “cruel, danger-
ous and shameful stunt.” Abbott,
however, has defended the move as
necessary, pointing to Texas’ border
towns becoming overwhelmed with
migrants, and that sanctuary cities
should be prepared to take in more.
The divisive tactic has upended
the political discourse surrounding
immigration, adding pressure to
President Joe Biden, who faces new

FROM LE F T: JONATHA N BACHMA N/G E T T Y; PATRICK T. FA LLON/A FP/GE T T Y

criticism from fellow Democrats
over his handling of immigration
as sanctuary city mayors plead with
the federal government to provide
more resources to grapple with
the migrant influx.

Pleas For More Funding

A coalition of Democratic mayors
from Chicago, Denver, Houston,
Los Angeles and New York City in
November wrote a letter to Biden
expressing their concerns about the
arrival of more migrants to their
cities, urging him to allocate more
federal funding.

JANuARY 1 9, 2024
 “Cities have historically absorbed
and integrated new migrants with
success, but the challenges brought
by the new border arrivals are due
not only to the high numbers but
also the diversity of nationalities,
the large share arriving as families,
and the overwhelming number who
seek asylum,” the letter reads.
The mayors of New York City,
Chicago and Denver last month
renewed their joint plea for more
federal aid, with New York’s Eric
Adams claiming his city had received
over 161,000 migrants who had been
bused north since August 2022.
“We need the state and federal
government’s help in resettling the
68,000 migrants currently in our
care,” he said. In September, Adams
sparked controversy after claim-
ing migration would “destroy New
York City” unless additional assis-
tance was provided.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson
last month claimed, “it’s the entire
country that is now at stake,” adding: policy front and center to many INFLUX Above: Migrants wait by the wall
“All of our cities have reached a point places in the country that are not in El Paso, Texas, to surrender to U.S.
where we are either close to capacity border locations.” Customs and Border Protection. CBP
recorded 2.4 million encounters in 2023.
or nearly out of room.” Bose noted that the U.S. has not
Far left: Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Meena Bose, executive dean of had “any sort of comprehensive
Hofstra University’s Peter S. Kali- immigration reform,” and that
kow School of Government, Public Abbott’s busing of migrants threat- does not bode well for Democrats
Policy and International Affairs, ens to further complicate the issue in 2024, as immigration remains a
told Newsweek that Abbott’s tactic as the country considers long- hot-button issue. Biden must offer a
brings the “question of immigration term questions about resources “positive counter-narrative on immi-
for migrants, as well as moral and gration” or risk backing Republicans’
humanitarian concerns. stance, Kleinberg said.
“If they adopt an anti-immigrant
Abbott Puts Democrats stance like the Republicans, they
“It is a lose-lose in a Lose-Lose Situation will also alienate the voters who vote

situation unless Mona Kleinberg, assistant professor Democratic because Democrats have

Democrats can
at Queens College of the City Univer- historically been more friendly—or
sity of New York, told Newsweek that shall we say—less hostile, toward
present policy Abbott has put Democrats in a lose- immigrants than the Republicans.

solutions that include lose situation by convincing a “noto- So it is a lose-lose situation unless

positive messaging
riously immigrant-friendly city that Democrats can present policy solu-
immigration is a burden.” tions that include positive messag-
on migration.” She warned that Abbott’s success ing on migration.”

NE WSWEEK .COM 13
Periscope
Republican strategist Matt Klink
“There is no doubt
told Newsweek that immigration is
forcing progressive Democrats to con-
front “political realities.” He said that
Democratic leaders have “radically
changed their tune about the costs of
illegal immigration” and “now under-
stand what Texas border communities
have endured for years.”
“Because it takes already
scarce resources from Democrat
bread-and-butter social welfare
POLITICS
programs, it’s forcing the progres-
that Biden has
sive left to make some really difficult
choices and acknowledge political
focused on reducing realities,” he said.
immigration because New York City Mayor Adams, who
he believes it is
has been among the more vocal critics
of Biden on immigration, “sees polling
costing him support that highlights how upset his voters
among voters.” are with the real-world costs of illegal
immigration,” Klink said.
Robert Y. Shapiro, professor
of political science at Columbia
 University, told Newsweek Abbott has
forced the Democratic Party “overall
to move to the center or right” on
immigration matters.
It is clear that Biden is working
harder on border security issues amid
the backlash, Shapiro said.
The Biden administration has
taken new action on immigration
in recent months.
The president is working with Sen-
ate leaders to strike a deal for a bipar-
tisan immigration bill, an issue on
which Congress has struggled to reach
consensus for years. He has also pro-
posed new funding for the U.S.-Mexico
border in a package that would also
provide money to Israel and Ukraine
amid their conflicts. Additionally, U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken last
month traveled to Mexico for discus-
sions on immigration.
“That the southern border issue
has been tied to funding the wars in
Ukraine and Israel has made this more
pressing on Biden to compromise
with the Republicans on this in a way
that has been less acceptable than past
proposals,” Shapiro said.
Pressure Brings About Change
David Bier, associate director of
immigration studies at the Cato
Institute, told Newsweek that the
arrival of migrants to Democrat-
ic-led cities, both those sent by
FROM LE F T: SPE NCER PL AT T/GE T T Y; TAYLOR HILL /G E T T Y
Abbott and others who willingly
chose to move there, is “certainly
changing some minds” of Demo-
cratic voters. He noted that many
migrants have chosen to live in sanc-
tuary cities independent of Abbott’s
busing, also adding to the strain
CLOSE QUARTERS Dozens of recently
arrived migrants to New York City camp
outside of the Roosevelt Hotel, which
has been made into a reception center.
The city’s resources have been stretched.
CRY FOR HELP New York Mayor Eric Adams has on
numerous occasions asked for more state and
federal support to deal with migrants to his city.
warned of by Democratic mayors.
“Polls consistently show lower sup-
port for more immigration among
Democrats under the Biden admin-
istration, though they have overall
remained positive with more sup-
porting an increase in immigration
than a decrease,” he said.
This pressure has resulted in
changes in how Biden is tackling
immigration, according to Bier.
“There is no doubt that Biden has
focused on reducing immigration
because he believes it is costing him
support among voters.
“He desperately wants to make the
issue less chaotic and reduce costs for
cities. That’s why he has taken mea-
sures to authorize more immigrants
to work legally, but he cannot change
local shelter policies in cities that are
creating the problems.”
Flight From Sanctuary Cities
The problems created by this recent
surge has meant that even migrants
who sought refuge in New York
City are leaving to pursue oppor-
tunities in other states, with more
than 3,000 returning to places like
Texas and Florida.
Mayor Adams’ administration
has spent more than $4.6 mil-
lion between March 2022 and
November 2023 booking one-way
plane tickets to relocate more than
19,000 migrants.
City Hall spokesperson Kayla
Mamelak told Newsweek that 19,366
tickets have been issued across the
New York City Health and Hospi-
tals Corporation, the New York City
Department of Housing Preservation
and Development, the New York City
Emergency Management and the
Department of Homeland Security.
New York City Hall data provided
to Newsweek shows that the top desti-
nation for migrants leaving the city is
Illinois, for which 2,369 plane tickets
have been issued. The second-most
popular destination is elsewhere
in New York state.
Texas, notably, ranks third. More
than 1,800 migrants have sought
tickets to the Lone Star State, sug-
gesting that many are returning to
the place that likely sent them up
north to begin with. There are also
nearly 1,200 migrants who have left
New York City for Florida. Minne-
sota, Colorado, Georgia, California,
Virginia and Ohio rounded out the
top 10 destinations.
Figuring it would be cheaper to
issue plane fares for anywhere in
the world than to house migrants
for months on end, Adams steered
migrants vacated from city shel-
ters to a “reticketing center” at
the end of October.
“Here, the city will redouble efforts
to purchase tickets for migrants to
help them take the next steps in their
journeys, and it helps us triage opera-
tions at The Roosevelt [Hotel] for new
arrivals,” Mamalek told local outlet
THE CITY at the time.
▸ Andrew Stanton is a weekend
staff writer at newsweek. With
additional reporting from James
Bickerton and Katherine Fung.
NE WSWEEK .COM 15
Periscope

SPECIAL NEEDS

Boy’s Best Friend

Autism service dog transform’s 9-year-old’s life,
helping him de-escalate aggressive tendencies

Bringing home a golden realized that although he was a little

retriever named Topaz has
been a “life-altering opportunity” for
a Pennsylvania family.
Topaz lives with “her boy,” 9-year-
old Chaise Clouser, as well as his
mom Ashley, dad Justin and 5-year-old
brother Conner, in Shelocta, about 50
miles from Pittsburgh.
The 3-year-old service dog was
trained to help Chaise cope with his
symptoms stemming from autism
and ADHD, the 9-year-old’s mom,
Ashley Clouser, told Newsweek in
a series of interviews in Novem-
ber and December.
“She has a love for
Chaise that I have never
seen a dog have with any-
one,” Ashley said. MAUR A
Ashley said their lives ZURICK
were “pretty normal” until
COVID-19 shut down the world in
2020 and the Clousers began notic-
ing concerning behaviors they had
never witnessed before. She said
Chaise began to engage in “severe
aggressive behaviors” that no de-esca-
lation strategy could calm, leaving his
parents no choice but to restrain him
so he wouldn’t hurt himself, them or
his little brother.
“His world was now turned upside
down and he had no other way to deal
with that than turn to aggression,”
she said. “In June of 2020, we had to
make the most difficult decision that
I believe we have ever had to make and
commit Chaise to a psychiatric hos-
pital for treatment. Once home, we
more manageable, this was our new
normal, and it was frightening.”
She said there is “no manual” for
how to help children with autism
and they were running out of options,
so she reached out on Facebook and
a friend told them about 4 Paws for
Ability, a nonprofit located in Xenia,
Ohio, that provides service dogs to
children and veterans with disabil-
ities. The nonprofit, which aims
to “enhance the lives of people with
disabilities,” has trained more than
1,800 service dogs since 1998, 4 Paws
for Ability spokesperson KaLynn Clark
told Newsweek in an email.
“Our lives revolved around credited an anonymous donation for
by not doing much as a family covering more than $8,000, saying
and walking on eggshells, they received a call from a couple in
afraid to set him off,” Ashley September 2020 offering to pay what-
said. “It was important to ever the Clousers had left to raise.
get Chaise a service dog to allow our “Their belief was that we should be
family to be just that, a family, being focused on raising our children, not
able to do things together without worrying about raising money for his
fear of what could happen and who medical equipment,” Ashley said.
might get hurt.” With the cost of a service dog cov-
ered, the Clousers now had to raise
Bringing Topaz Home money for their trip to Ohio to meet
The Clousers’ journey to get Topaz the dog and go through a training pro-
was “long,” especially considering cess before bringing her home.
they had to raise a daunting sum of In March 2023, the family was
$17,000 before they could even be put financially ready and prepared to take
on a list for a service dog, Ashley said. home a service dog, and two months
However, thanks to “an amazing net- later the Clousers headed to Xenia,
work” of loved ones and community Ohio, “with excitement” to meet
members, a series of fundraisers and Chaise’s “hero,” Topaz, Ashley said.
a front-page feature in their county “We learned so much from 4 Paws,
newspaper, The Indiana Gazette, they and it is uplifting to know that we have
were able to reach their goal. Ashley their support for a lifetime,” she said.

16 NE WSWEEK .COM January 1 9, 2024


Getting School Approval
Despite the high price tag for Topaz,
Ashley said the biggest hurdle was
the battle for the dog’s clearance to
attend school with “her boy.”
Immediately after bringing Topaz
home, the Clousers started on their
next journey to advocate for Chaise
to bring her to school with him.
“No one ever prepares you for the
amount of time you must spend edu-
cating yourself as a parent of a child
with special needs, especially one
with a service dog,” Ashley said. “We
dove into all things ADA [American
with Disabilities Act] to ensure we
knew what Chaise’s rights are within
the world, including school, when it
came to Topaz. Although it wasn’t an
A SHLE Y CLOUSER
easy hurdle to tackle, it was one that
was necessary for his educational suc-
cess as a child having autism.”
After many emails, phone calls
FRUSTRATION FIX Service dog
Topaz helps Chaise manage his “big
emotions,” enabling him to participate
safely in school and with his family.
and conversations with the family’s
attorney in addition to meeting with
Indiana Area School District officials,
Topaz was finally approved to attend
school with Chaise in July 2023. The
school district also provided a “facil-
itator” for Topaz to help teach Chaise
how to be more independent with
the dog’s commands.
A spokesperson from the school
district told Newsweek the process
to integrate Topaz “has been chal-
lenging, but very positive,” saying it
serves as an example of the positive
outcomes possible through coopera-
tion between families and the district.
“Although this was all new waters
for all parties involved, we are
happy to report that the transition
was somewhat smooth and Topaz
has been working very hard to
assist Chaise throughout his school
day so that he may receive an
appropriate public education while
helping to manage his big emotions,”
Ashley told Newsweek.
She said Chaise has had to be
physically restrained far less now that
he has Topaz by his side. “Even when
he gets frustrated, he is quicker de-es-
calated by Topaz than any other tech-
nique we have used,” she said. “Our
lives have changed in more ways than
“No one ever prepares
you for the amount of
time you must spend
educating yourself
as a parent of a child
with special needs.”
one for the positive. I would be lying
if I said that this has been an easy
process and adjustment, but it has
been worth it, and Topaz has settled
into her role as a ‘hero’ in our books.”
Meet Topaz
Topaz is a female yellow golden
retriever who was born on October
2, 2020, at 4 Paws for Ability and
named after the “beautiful yellow
fairy in the Barbie movie, Fairytopia.”
From early on, she was part of the
4 Paws Puppy Enrichment Program
(PEP), which the nonprofit calls
“kindergarten for puppies.” After
graduating from PEP, Topaz worked
with trainers to learn basic obedience
commands and get used to being in
public before moving on to advanced
service-dog training.
Clark said the puppies undergo a
“rigorous” two-year training program
to prepare for their future partners’
lifestyles and specific disabilities.
“Topaz is absolutely amazing,” Ash-
ley said. “She has exceeded all of our
expectations and continues to each
and every day. Topaz is ready and
on-point the minute that she even
senses that he is getting upset. She
runs to his side and starts circling
him, nudging him, getting close to
him or pawing at him, while looking
to us for a command to start working.
“We are blessed beyond words
for this life-altering opportunity
for Chaise and our family and we
couldn’t be more thankful for 4
Paws,” Ashley said.
“Chaise absolutely loves her
and won’t allow us to leave the
house without her, even if we are
just going to be gone for five min-
utes,” she added.
▸ Maura Zurick is the newsweek
Weekend Night Editor. Follow her on
X @MauraZurick
NE WSWEEK .COM 17
 Horizons S C I E N C E , T E C H N O L O G Y + H E A LT H

A LI E N LI F E

Are We
Really
Alone?
Scientists are analyzing the
possibilities of extraterrestrial life
and technologies as never before—
and expecting big breakthroughs

18 NE WSWEEK .COM January 1 9, 2024

 S E E I N G T H E LI G H T
Scientists say that death may not be a sudden, on-off switch,
but rather a process—that could be reversible.▸ P.22

A breAkthrough in scientific reseArch

into extraterrestrial life could be on the hori-
zon, leading scientists have said, as both political
and scientific minds delve into the murky world of
unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) with
new determination.
UFOs refer to aerial phenomena that cannot be
immediately identified or explained, while the term
UAPs is broader.
“Within our lifetime—even very soon—I think we
are going to discover if there is life on other planets,”
Ravi Kopparapu, planetary scientist with the NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center, told Newsweek. We are
approaching a “golden moment” to which more and
more scientific minds are turning their attention, he
said. “I would say within our lifetime we would be
able to find life on other planets, there’s no question.”
It is “quite possible” that evidence counting as a
breakthrough on unknown phenomena could be
discovered within even a year or two, said theoretical
astrophysicist Avi Loeb, profes-
sor at Harvard University, who
by is leading its pioneering Galileo
ELLIE Project looking into extraterres-
CO O K trial technologies.
“The Galileo Project is the first
scientific project that is analyzing UAPs in a system-
atic fashion over a long period of time, using instru-
ments that are fully calibrated and under control,”
he told Newsweek. “Whenever you take a path that
was not taken, there is a good chance you will find
low-hanging fruit. And that is the way I look at it.”
The past few years have seen conversations about
extraterrestrial life move from the fringe to the
mainstream in both politics and science. Research-
R A STAN /G E T T Y; TOP RIG HT: GE T T Y

ers describe a marked difference in how the search

for aliens or life inside and beyond our solar system
is now treated by lawmakers and the scientific com-
munity, fueled by a surge in public interest.
The U.S. military and others have logged many
examples of unknown phenomena over decades, but
there has been no concrete proof any are related to
extraterrestrial life. Yet dramatic footage released by
the likes of the U.S. Navyas well as veterans’ testimo-
nies, intrigue Congress, members of the public and
scientists dedicated to looking beyond our world.

NE WSWEEK .COM 19
Horizons
This curiosity will build, Kop-
parapu said. In the past 18 months,
committees and research programs
have sprung up to investigate possi-
ble life on other planets, and reported
UFO sightings. NASA has also held
its first public briefing on UFOs, and
experts say we can look to the past
for missed signals and systematically
monitor our skies like never before.
“I see more and more people
wanting to come and work on this,”
Kopparapu said. “Interest is only
going to increase.”
This hunger for evidence about
extraterrestrial life has been fed by
explosive statements from former
U.S. intelligence officer David Grusch,
who claimed in June that “nonhuman”
objects and “intact and partially intact
vehicles” had been collected and hid-
den by the U.S. government.
Grusch then told the NewsNation
network that the U.S. government
had “quite a number” of these nonhu-
man craft, and that “sometimes you
encounter dead pilots.”
Grusch, who steered UAP analysis
for U.S. defense authorities until ear-
lier this year, doubled down on his
claims, telling the House Oversight
Committee in July 2023 that he had
ALIEN LIFE
been barred from secret investiga-
tions run by the U.S. government.
He also told lawmakers that he had
not seen evidence of alien spacecraft
himself, but his testimony was based
on interviews with “high-level intelli-
gence officials.” He has also claimed
to have seen official documents and
compelling photographs.
The Pentagon has denied the claims,
saying it has not found “any verifiable
information to substantiate claims
that any programs regarding the
possession or reverse-engineering of
extraterrestrial materials have existed
in the past or exist currently.”
Grusch’s claims were met with both
new interest and a dose of skepticism,
not least as he told politicians that
he could not divulge classified infor-
mation without risking jail time. But
researchers are now knuckling down
to sift anecdotes from facts, and the
storytelling from the science, with
Congress sure to be watching.
Loeb’s Galileo Project applies
rigid scientific analysis to UAPs and
UNVERIFIED David Grusch testifying to
Congress in July. He says the government
is hiding “nonhuman” objects and
vehicles, which the Pentagon denies.
analyzing data from its observatory at
Harvard University.
“It’s the first time that such a
systematic study [has been] done,”
Loeb told Newsweek.
The Galileo Project is scouring the
sky with infrared, optical, radio and
audio technologies. “We are basically
taking a movie of the sky.”
Loeb said: “As a scientist, I’m really
after the evidence that is of high qual-
ity. And without it, there is nothing for
me to work with.”
Without the proof that can be
checked by others and explored,
“there’s no science in this, this is just
all folklore,” Seth Shostak, senior
astronomer for the space exploration
nonprofit, the SETI Institute, told
Newsweek. He heaps no small amount
of doubt on American-centric ideas
of alien discoveries and rampant con-
spiracy theories, but looks forward to
new methods of scientific analysis and
the many avenues open to researchers.
Research has morphed in the past
year or so, Kopparapu said, to a search
for technology in our solar system
and beyond it. Just as we burn fossil
fuels or use chemicals, so may other,
unknown civilizations, and research
is now trying to find these types of
signatures, he said.
Kopparapu is working to find
habitable planets that could have
either biological or technological
life, searching for any indicators
that civilizations have developed out-
side our solar system. Technological
life can mean anything, from signs
of farming to technology far more
advanced than our own.
Any moment could herald a
breakthrough, Kopparapu said
DRE W A NG ERER /G E T T Y
with confidence.
▸ Ellie Cook is a newsweek security
and defense reporter. Follow her on X
@ellliecoook
JANuARY 1 9, 2024
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Horizons

death, CliniCally and legally,

is generally considered to be a
well-defined state characterized by a
complete and irreversible cessation
of brain activities and functions.
The moment of death, according
to this view, is represented by a dis-
crete event in which all brain pro-
cesses suddenly cease.
But from a neurological point
of view, death is a difficult concept
to define. A growing body of evi-
dence is demonstrating that death
in the brain that appears at the
end of consciousness is not marked
by an abrupt switch that ends life
but involves a process that can last
several minutes. It is also accompa-
nied by a complex set of changes
in brain activity that, in some
cases, is reversible.
Now a study of rats published in
the journal Neurobiology of Disease
has shed new light on the process of
dying. The study authors believe the
research could help scientists under-
stand which groups of neurons, or
nerve cells, in the brain are most vul-
nerable in the event of cardiorespi-
ratory arrest. This could reduce the
risk of neurological complications in
these cases, they say.
SCIENCE Previous research has shown that
after a long period of oxygen depri-

Riding the ‘Wave vation, known as anoxia, activity

in the brain undergoes a series of

of Death’ Back to successive changes.

When the brain stops receiving

Consciousness
The end of life is not necessarily an abrupt, final
shutting down of the brain but a series of changes
that, in some cases, can even be reversed
b y ARISTOS GEORGIOU
oxygen, its stores of ATP—a critical
molecule that serves as the primary
energy source for all cellular activ-
ities—are rapidly depleted. This
causes disruption in the brain’s
neurons and a massive release of a
compound known as glutamate—
an essential neurotransmitter
that sends signals in the brain and
throughout nerves in the body.
“Neural circuits seem to shut down

22 NE WSWEEK .COM January 1 9, 2024

 “Neural circuits
seem to shut down
at first...then we
see a surge in
brain activity.”
at first...then we see a surge in brain
activity—specifically an increase in
gamma and beta waves,” neurosci-
entist Séverine Mahon, who is with
the Paris Brain Institute (PBI) and
one of the study’s authors, said in
a press release.
“These waves are usually associated
with a conscious experience. In this
context, they may be involved in
near-death experiences reported by
people who have survived cardiore-
spiratory arrest,” Mahon said.
After this, the activity of neu-
rons gradually diminishes until a
state of perfect electrical silence
in the brain is reached. This state
corresponds to flat lines on an elec-
troencephalogram (EEG)—a test
that measures electrical activity in
the brain using small electrodes
attached to the scalp.
But this silence is quickly inter-
rupted by a wave of death appear-
ing on the flat EEG, which reflects
a sudden phenomenon that scien-
tists call “anoxic depolarization.”
FROM LE F T: GE T T Y; P IJ ITR A PHOMK HA M/G E T T Y
This occurance appears to initiate
cell death in a region of the brain
known as the cortex.
“This critical event, called anoxic
BREATHNG IN NEW LIFE Rapidly re-
oxygenating a patient’s brain after their
EEG goes flat can reverse the effects
of the “wave of death” and even herald
the recovery of brain functions.
depolarization, induces neuronal
death throughout the cortex. Like
a swan song, it is the true marker
of transition towards the cessation
of all brain activity,” Antoine Car-
ton-Leclercq, an author of the study
who is also with the PBI, said in
the press release.
The slow-moving wave of death—
characterized by massive electrical
flows inside the brain—spreads
throughout the cortex until con-
sciousness is finally extinguished.
“Recovering from such a cataclysm
requires so much energy that neu-
rons often die in the minutes and
hours following the wave of death.
This is why, before our work, the
wave of death was thought to be
irreversible,” Mahon and Stéphane
Charpier, another author of the
study who is with Paris’ Sorbonne
University, told Newsweek.
But the wave of death does not
always mark the definitive loss of
brain functions.
If the brain is rapidly re-ox-
ygenated, the effects of anoxic
depolarization can be reversed. This
process, previously discovered by the
team in 2020, is marked by a “wave
of resuscitation,” which heralds a
slow recovery of brain functions.
Until now, researchers did not
know where the wave of death was
initiated in the cortex or whether it
spread evenly throughout all layers
of this region, which makes up the
outer layer of the brain’s surface.
But the latest study, which mea-
sured brain activity in rats before,
during and after anoxic depolariza-
tion induced by respiratory arrest,
managed to identify specific groups
of neurons in a layer of one part of
the cortex—called the neocortex—
where the wave appeared. They also
found that the wave spread in two
directions—upward and down-
ward—from this location at a speed
of a few millimeters per minute.
“ We have observed this same
dynamic under different experimen-
tal conditions and believe it could
exist in humans,” Mahon said.
These findings suggest that the
deeper layers of the cortex where
the wave of death is initiated are the
most vulnerable to oxygen depriva-
tion. The results also could provide a
path to the development of new ther-
apies, according to the researchers.
“ This new study advances our
understanding of the neural mech-
anisms underlying changes in brain
activity as death approaches,” Charp-
ier said in the press release.
“We now need to establish the exact
conditions under which these func-
tions can be restored and develop
neuroprotective drugs to support
resuscitation in the event of heart
and lung failure.”
▸ Aristos Georgiou is a Science and
Health Reporter at newsweek. Fol-
low him on X @AristosGeorgio1
NE WSWEEK .COM 23
 PRODUCED BY

Paving
The Way
For An
Inclusive
Future

I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H
COLLECTIVE EFFORTS BY
GOVERNMENTS, CORPORATIONS,
AND INDIVIDUALS ARE PIVOTAL
IN SHAPING AN INCLUSIVE
FUTURE. BY WORKING
TOGETHER, PEOPLE CAN
CHANGE THE WORLD.

Paving The Way For

NANOSTOC KK /GETTY

by

NATALIE
NOVAKOVA

NEWSWEEK BR AND CONTENT STUDIO


NCLUSIVITY, DIVERSITY, AND
equity—often interlinked—have been
the buzzwords of the past decade.
Recognizing the advantages across
business and society, companies have
intensified their dedication to Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I). A January
2023 report forecasts a twofold surge
in global spending on DE&I initia-
tives, reaching $15.4 billion by 2026.
Globalization and technological ad-
vancements have cultivated the pres-
ent-day world, significantly amplifying
diversity and inclusion in workplaces and
societies. As a result, nations world-
wide are swiftly embracing progressive
policies, such as affirmative action, equal
employment opportunities, anti-discrim-
ination laws, and educational initiatives,
that advocate for a society celebrat-
ing diversity in gender, race, ethnicity,
religion, abilities, and sexual orientation.
Each year, representatives from 100+
countries convene for the World Eco-
nomic Forum Annual Conference in the
picturesque city of Davos, Switzerland.
The 54th meeting in mid-January 2024,
focused on the ‘Rebuilding Trust’ theme,
is a crucial platform for discussions on
Gender equality isn’t just about fairness; it’s about embracing
diverse perspectives and talents, fostering inclusive
communities and workplaces, and benefiting everyone.”
PAV I N G T H E W AY F O R A N I N C L U S I V E F U T U R E
trust, transparency, and accountability.
Historically, it has drawn notable figures,
business leaders, as well as civil society
leaders, experts, youth representatives,
entrepreneurs, and members of the
international press coming from the top
ten most represented countries globally.
The World Economic Forum, head-
quartered in Geneva, Switzerland, has
played a pivotal role in engaging political,
business, cultural, and other leaders since
its establishment in 1971, influencing
global, regional, and industry agendas.
Advocating for diversity has long been
a cornerstone of the Forum’s initiatives
and has now emerged as one of the
most critical global issues worldwide.
Despite much progress toward
inclusivity, many challenges still need to
be addressed, including communication
barriers, entrenched stereotypes and
prejudices, diminished trust, legal obsta-
cles, and cultural differences. These road-
blocks are often hard to overcome, es-
pecially for people from minority groups.
However, efforts are underway globally
to champion and promote DE&I policies.
Tech giants like Salesforce and Microsoft
have dedicated programs ensuring prod-
uct and workplace accessibility for people
with disabilities. Nations like Canada
emphasize multiculturalism in cities like
Toronto and Vancouver, while Stockholm,
Sweden, champions LGBTQ+ rights. Unit- EACH YEAR, DAVOS,
ed Nations’ Sustainable Development SWITZERLAND HOSTS THE
Goals tackle inequality and initiatives WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
CONFERENCE, A GATHER-
like Girls Who Code aim to bridge gender
ING THAT UNITES GOV-
gaps in tech. Australia’s Diversity Council ERNMENT, BUSINESS, AND
promotes inclusive workplaces. These ini- CIVIL SOCIETY LEADERS TO
tiatives represent diverse efforts globally. ADDRESS GLOBAL CHAL-
Inclusive policies are now pivotal LENGES AND SET PRIORITIES
FOR THE YEAR AHEAD.
in society and workplaces, impacting
job decisions as individuals seek orga-
 nizations with more robust inclusivity
measures. Companies emphasize DE&I
policies to affirm their commitment to
diversity, secure financial stability, and
nurture an inclusive environment. This
evolution of diversity promises oppor-
tunities for a more inclusive society,
particularly. evident in policies aimed at
empowering women in the workforce.
Women Leading Change:
Architects of Tomorrow
Globally, only 47 percent of women
actively participate in the labor force,
compared to 72 percent of men. Unfor-
GETTY
tunately, progress in closing the global
gender gap has been slow, with just a 1
percent decrease over the past thirty
years. By not tapping into women’s po-
tential, many economies are missing out.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
estimates that fully integrating women
could increase emerging and developing
economies’ gross domestic product (GDP)
by up to 8 percent in the coming years.
The 2023 Global Gender Gap Re-
port from WEF evaluates 146 countries,
measuring gender gap advancements
in economic opportunities, education,
health, and political leadership. This year,
the overall score stands at 68.4 percent,
marking a slight increase of 0.3 percent
from 2022, and includes an additional
country in this edition. When examined
regionally, Europe leads in gender parity
(76.3 percent). The European Commis-
sion’s March 2023 campaign challenges
gender stereotypes and is part of the
European Union’s comprehensive five-
year gender equality strategy, addressing
inequalities through legislative, edu-
cational, and economic reforms. Con-
currently, local European governments,
organizations, and individuals actively
contribute to this transformative shift.
Not only governments but also
individuals are trying to make a change.
Women have achieved remarkable
NEWSWEEK BR AND CONTENT STUDIO
milestones in recent years, witnessing
increased representation in leadership
and educational progress, amplifying
global advocacy for women’s rights, and
advancing economic empowerment.
These success stories underscore the
urgency of achieving gender equity.
For example, Kamala Harris’s histor-
ic Vice Presidency and Dr. Kizzmekia
Corbett’s pivotal role in developing the
COVID-19 vaccine highlight progress in
politics and healthcare. Ava DuVernay’s
impactful projects spotlight social justice,
senior managerial positions, and a signif-
icant gender imbalance persists in STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Mathematics) sectors. Moreover, women
face financial disadvantages, often due
to maternity leaves impacting their
careers, limited opportunities for career
advancement, and unequal pay for com-
parable roles, making them oftentimes
less desirable hires. These challenges
contribute to a wider economic disparity.
So, why should we prioritize gen-
der diversity and fair representation
The World Economic Forum intro-
duced the “Shaping Future of the New
Economy and Society” initiative to
address the disability gap. Leveraging
the Valuable 500, the world’s largest
network of CEOs committed to disability
inclusion, founded in 2019, this platform
aims to propel the inclusion of disabled
individuals through influential business
leadership. With over 500 private sector
corporations engaged, encompassing
more than 14.8 million employees across
35 countries, this initiative seeks to

Women serve as empowering role models, challenging systemic biases and

while advocates like Tarana Burke and
Malala Yousafzai champion discussions on
gender-based violence and girls’ educa-
tion. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment
as the first female Director-General of the
World Trade Organization signifies wom-
en’s ascent to global leadership. Alongside
prominent figures, Angela Merkel and
Erna Solberg advocated gender equality
policies in governance, and innovators like
Dr. Fei-Fei Li and Reshma Saujani bridged
the gender gap in STEM fields. These are
some of the women changing the world.
However, in Asia and Africa, which
scored below 65 percent in the 2023
Global Gender Gap Report, significant
gender disparities persist. Women face
obstacles like the digital divide, limited
access to education and healthcare, eco-
nomic empowerment challenges, gen-
der-based violence, and underrepresenta-
tion in leadership roles. Cultural norms in
some countries, like Somalia and Pakistan,
hinder women from decision-making roles.
Similarly, Niger and Mali prioritize mar-
riage over education for girls, while Nigeria
and Bangladesh struggle with restricted
technology access for women due to
infrastructural gaps and low digital literacy.
Despite women’s growing ambitions
and desire for workplace flexibility, they
remain underrepresented in corporate
leadership. Reports consistently highlight
the persisting gender disparities: globally,
women hold less than 30 percent of
of women? Women bring boundless
potential to foster an inclusive society.
Their diverse perspectives fuel innova-
tion, drive economic growth, and boost
productivity. Furthermore, their presence
promotes social cohesion and uplifts the
well-being of our communities. Women
serve as empowering role models, chal-
lenging systemic biases and advocating
against discrimination, leading to crucial
legislative measures. Gender equality isn’t
just about fairness; it’s about embrac-
ing diverse perspectives and talents,
fostering inclusive communities and
workplaces, and benefiting everyone.
Breaking Barriers:
People with Disabilities
AROUND 1.3 BILLION PEOPLE, APPROXIMATELY
17 percent of the global population, live
with disabilities. Yet, there remains a
striking need for global awareness and
inclusion, as only 4 percent of businesses
offer disability-inclusive environments.
Beyond moral imperatives, fostering dis-
ability inclusivity holds substantial eco-
nomic potential. Exclusion of individuals
with disabilities in some nations leads to
GDP losses of up to 7 percent. However,
their inclusion in the workforce could
yield remarkable benefits: a potential 28
percent revenue increase, a doubling of
net income, and 30 percent higher profit
margins. But, entrenched stereotypes
complicate efforts to bring about change.

PAV I N G T H E W AY F O R A N I N C L U S I V E F U T U R E
 set new global benchmarks for disabil-
ity inclusion and workplace equality.
Globally, significant achievements for
people with disabilities have been made.
Legislative standards like the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Unit-
ed Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) have
combated discrimination. In education,
Sweden integrates disabled students into
schools, while Australia’s Disability Stan-
dards for Education ensures accommo-
dations. Technological advancements like
Japan’s robotic exoskeletons aid mobility,
and India’s Accessible India Campaign
improves public accessibility. Countries
like the UK and Norway champion
workplace inclusion, offering support and
advisory services. Globally, advocacy and
public awareness campaigns, such as the
Kenya Society for the Blind and Disabled
People of South Africa, have shifted
social perceptions and promoted rights.
Individuals with disabilities worldwide
have also made significant impacts. From
athletes like Keiichi Kimura and Sae Tsuji
at Japan’s 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games
to advocates like Li Dan and Nujeen
Mustafa challenging societal views, these
individuals have broken barriers and
changed perceptions. Renowned Swedish
composer Ludwig Göransson, born with
partial hearing loss, garnered awards for
the ‘Black Panther’ soundtrack. Born
without legs, Jen Bricker excelled in gym-
nastics, showcasing exceptional talent.
American Josh Sundquist, a Paralympic ski
racer and cancer survivor who lost his leg,
is celebrated for his positive attitude and

advocating against discrimination, leading to crucial legislative measures.”

inspirational speeches.
People with disabilities
WOMEN’S INCLUSION encounter substantial
IN THE WORKPLACE challenges, often being
DRIVES ECONOMIC
overlooked and denied
GROWTH, PRODUCTIVITY,
AND FOSTERS SOCIAL access to employment
COHESION. BY UNLOCKING opportunities, facing
WOMEN’S POTENTIAL, unequal workplace hiring,
GLOBAL ECONOMIES CAN promotion, and pay
ADVANCE AND THRIVE.
standards, with their em-
ployment rate only half
that of non-disabled in-
dividuals. Additionally, they contend with
stigma, discrimination, and a heightened
susceptibility to poverty. Efforts in coun-
tries like the United States through legis-
lative measures such as the Disability In-
tegration Act of 2019 aim to narrow this
gap, while Japan’s labor ministry has set a
target employment rate of 2.7 percent for
people with disabilities by 2026. How-
ever, implementation and enforcement
of these measures often remain lacking.
Closing the disability gap has be-
come more crucial than ever, given that
individuals with disabilities constitute
the world’s most significant minority,
comprising 9 percent in developing
nations. It begins with offering accessible
solutions that foster the establishment
of an inclusive society. Integrating peo-
ple with disabilities into the workforce
expands access to talent, stimulates
GETTY

innovation, enhances reputation, and

boosts engagement and retention.

NEWSWEEK BR AND CONTENT STUDIO

Embracing Diversity in
the LGBTQ Community
THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY REMAINS AN
area where progress in inclusivity and
diversity is lacking, with individuals
facing ongoing discrimination. According
to the latest S&P study, more com-
panies acknowledge LGBTQ policies,
with the United States taking the lead
while the Asia-Pacific region lags.
The World Economic Forum (WEF)
has significantly prioritized advanc-
ing LGBTQ+ inclusivity to strengthen
societies and global economies. Within
their agenda, the WEF has authored
reports, conducted research, facili-
tated discussions, raised awareness,
and offered policy recommendations,
urging businesses to embrace Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) policies.
Although the LGBTQ community
has achieved notable milestones like
increased legal recognition, legalization
of same-sex marriage in certain nations,
improved representation across sectors,
and healthcare advancements, discrimina-
tion remains widespread globally. Leading
countries in LGBTQ inclusion efforts,
such as the Netherlands, Canada, Sweden,
Norway, Spain, New Zealand, Uruguay,
and Portugal, have legalized same-sex
marriage and implemented anti-discrim-
ination laws and protective policies over
the last two decades. Governments drive
this change, bolstered by organizations
and LGBTQ advocacy groups like the
American-based Human Rights Campaign sia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Afghanistan community from discrimination and
and UK-based Stonewall, advocating routinely persecute LGBTQ individuals violence while embracing acceptance and
for equal rights through outreach and due to cultural, religious, and political ensuring equal opportunities is pivotal
education. Individuals are also making factors. The World Economic Forum in creating an all-encompassing society.
a change and increasing the visibility of has served as a platform to address
LGBTQ communities. American TV host LGBTQ issues and bring them to light. Youth Perspectives on Inclusion
Ellen DeGeneres used her platform to Recognizing the heightened signif- GEN Z AND MILLENNIALS ARE POISED TO
bring LGBTQ issues to the mainstream. icance of LGBTQ inclusion, the World drive corporate adoption of diversity
However, globally, the LGBTQ Economic Forum underscores its pivotal and inclusivity practices. As significant
community still encounters widespread role in society and the workforce for drivers for our society’s future and post-
discrimination, evident in sixty-seven global economic advancement. The world COVID-19 recovery, these generations
countries criminalizing LGBTQ acts. must thus continue on its path to becom- constitute around 15 percent of the
Societal stigma persists, leading to social ing more accepting of LGBTQ individuals world’s population, totaling approximate-
exclusion and marginalization. Many and providing them equal opportunities, ly 1.2 billion people, with an expected
nations lack equal legal protections both in upholding fundamental human increase of 10 billion more by the
and restrict LGBTQ rights, while health rights and in creating a diverse, discrim- century’s end. This exponential growth,
disparities, especially in mental healthcare ination-free society. Legal protections primarily from developing and populous
access continue. Countries like Rus- play a critical role in shielding the LGBTQ nations, will demand more resources than

PAV I N G T H E W AY F O R A N I N C L U S I V E F U T U R E
 covery Plan,” involving two
million young people from
LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS ARE 150 countries to develop
GAINING INCREASED 40 policy recommendations
RECOGNITION IN
THE WORKPLACE AS
on crucial issues, including
CORPORATIONS IMPLEMENT workplace inclusivity.
INCLUSIVE POLICIES TO Influenced by the internet
NURTURE DIVERSITY AND and social media, Gen Z and
FOSTER INCLUSION.
Millennials exhibit increas-
ingly inclusive attitudes,
challenging norms, advocat-
ing for gender equality, accessibility for dis-
abled individuals, and acceptance of the
LGBTQ+ community. They will be instru-
mental in shaping a more inclusive future
through advocacy, activism, policy engage-
ment, political involvement, technological
advancements, media influence, education,
and raising awareness while standing
as allies to various minority groups.
Young activists worldwide are making
profound strides for inclusivity, justice,
and equality. Initiatives like Fridays for
Future, led by Greta Thunberg, tackle
climate change’s impact on equality,
while movements like Black Lives Matter
demand racial justice In Taiwan, young
LGBTQ activists championed same-
sex marriage legalization in 2019, while
Latin American feminists in Mexico and
Argentina fight fiercely for reproductive
rights and gender equality. Using tech-
nology, India’s #Section377 campaign
successfully lobbied for the decriminal-
ization of homosexuality in a historic
2018 Supreme Court ruling. These young
ever. The young generation is also most activists worldwide are already positively
affected by the world’s political, so- impacting our world and will contin-
cio-economic, and environmental crises. ue to do so in the upcoming years.
The World Economic Forum’s communi- One of the reasons why younger
ty, Global Shapers, consists of over 14,000 generations are increasingly engaged is
young individuals advocating for the pivot- partly due to education’s role in shaping
al role of youth in policy-making, solutions, attitudes and fostering inclusivity. Across
and enduring change. In 2021, the com- the globe, education systems aim to
munity authored the inaugural “Youth Re- instill understanding, acceptance, and
KRIANGKRAI THITIMAKO N/GETTY
Young activists worldwide are
making profound strides for
inclusivity, justice, and equality.”
respect for diversity. For instance, Canada
is including indigenous perspectives in
its curriculum, while the US implements
anti-bullying initiatives such as the “Safe
Schools” program for LGBTQ youth.
Similarly, nations like Sweden introduce
gender-neutral language in education,
and the UK, Australia, and South Africa
integrate disability awareness and multi-
cultural education to break stereotypes
and promote empathy. Finland focuses
on teacher training for inclusive practices,
while initiatives like the Council of Eu-
rope’s HELP program equip educators to
build an inclusive society. However, some
more conservative regions might still
struggle with modifying their school cur-
riculums to make them more progressive.
Education, combined with technological
advancements, serves as a catalyst for nur-
turing inclusivity by instilling values of tol-
erance and respect for diverse backgrounds.
Through comprehensive programs, aware-
ness is fostered regarding diverse cultures,
genders, sexual orientations, disabilities,
and backgrounds, thereby nurturing empa-
thy and fostering a culture of acceptance.
Looking Forward: The Road
to an Inclusive Society
GLOBAL COMMITMENT TO DEI POLICIES
steadily increases despite slow progress.
While strides were made toward inclu-
sivity, certain countries face challenges
obstructing this evolution, necessitating
additional collaborative efforts among
governments, businesses, and individuals.
Initiating collaboration through dia-
logue is crucial. Organizations like The
World Economic Forum are pivotal in fos-
tering public-private cooperation for an
inclusive future, particularly in a post-pan-
demic world. Achieving an inclusive
society relies on joint efforts among busi-
nesses, governments, and communities.
As global endeavors toward inclusion
continue, the momentum emphasizes
the necessity for sustained dialogue and
collective action beyond specific events,
reinforcing the shared responsibility to
value everyone’s unique contributions
and steer societies toward a more inclu-
sive future. The future of inclusivity can
only be achieved if we work together.
NEWSWEEK BR AND CONTENT STUDIO
 Japan Supporting Workforce
Inclusiveness for Women
and People with Disabilities

In Japan, companies and governments on national, regional, and

local levels are actively designing and implementing programs
that provide women opportunities for reskilling to re-join the
workforce. Now, Japanese women are increasingly making
conscious choices about their lifestyle and professional career. Developing Skills
for the Future

YUKI TAKEI REGISTERED WITH KADO

two years ago and currently works
as an operator for the city’s on-de-
mand AI bus, while also doing
accounting and data processing
jobs. She plans to use the skills
she’s learning to eventually open
her own real estate business.
“Working here, I’ve realized
PROVIDING JOBS FOR there are so many talented and
SINGLE PARENTS capable women who are not out
in society working.” Takei said.
The 400 workers
support companies
with tasks including Creating an Ideal
AI annotation and 3D Work Environment
mapping. When KADO
was started 13 years ago, THE SHIOJIRI CITY GOVERNMENT BOUGHT
it was mainly targeting the building that houses KADO
the 700 single-parent from a department store that closed.
households in the city. There’s a supermarket in the basement,
Small Japanese Town Develops As KADO grew and and a pharmacy on the first floor.
Leading Short-Time Job Platform evolved, the project The building’s additional resources

LEFT: KAD O; R IG HT: S UMA UNIVERSAL BEACH PROJECT

began including anyone are an added benefit which makes it
SHIOJIRI, A CENTRAL JAPAN CITY OF 66,000 PEOPLE THAT IS LOCATED who wanted to work. easier for the people who work from
three hours from Tokyo, has government officials visiting daily to Manager Yoshiko Yan- there. In June 2023, the city opened
take notes on KADO. KADO is a project that has gained nation- agisawa started the orig- a state-of-the-art co-working space
wide attention for blending digital transformation with diversify- inal non-profit organiza- on the second floor, primarily for use
ing working styles and increasing female workforce participation. tion that would become by out-of-town companies devel-
KADO provides remote and flexible jobs to people who KADO in 2003 when she oping digital services for the city.
cannot take on full-time work. The name KADO is derived struggled to find mean- Even though KADO is successful,
from Japanese words meaning “home” and “work”. Ninety ingful part time work Oota says the goal is for the workers
percent of KADO’s workers are women, half of them parents. after having a child. She to eventually have regular, long-
In addition to the workers, most of KADO’s staff are women. had previously worked as term employment. Oota estimates
“What we do is very simple, it is essentially crowdsourcing,” an engineer at electron- that KADO’s physical structure will
Kouichi Oota from the city office explained. “It is not easy ics manufacturer Seiko last another 20 years, but by that
for these individuals to create their own working environ- Epson, which employs time there may be more broad scale
ment at home, most importantly, they can’t secure jobs.” 9,000 people in the city. acceptance of flexible working styles.

P AV I N G T H E W AY F O R A N I N C L U S I V E F U T U R E
Swimming in the Sea and Working Regular jobs: INCLUSIVE
Expanding Possibilities for People with Disabilities SOCIETY

SHUNSUKE KIDO HAS A LOFTY GOAL OF HELPING 8.6 MILLION PEOPLE BE A

little more upbeat. His other goals include walking and playing soccer
again. But most of all, he wants to have captivating tales to tell his two Japan is working
children, now five years old and a newborn. Kido, 37, is leading initiatives on the realization
toward more inclusiveness for people with disabilities in Japan. He runs of society with EMPLOYMENT
Suma Universal Beach Project (SUBP). SUBP provides services to allow SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE
an inclusive WITH DISABILITIES
wheelchair users to swim in the sea and also offers a transition facility for
people with disabilities to gain experience to eventually join the workforce. idea. People all
Due to a 2015 motor vehicle accident, which left him paralyzed, Kido have a variety Since SUBP was started in
2017, Kido has worked with
is one of 10 million people in Japan with some kind of disability. A month of backgrounds,
after learning his diagnosis, he posted on social media, and there were nine other prefectures to
abilities, and establish similar projects. In
860 reactions the first day. This inspired him to multiply that number motives, but we
by 10,000 and set a target of people to help become just a little February 2023, he start-
less pessimistic. Kido spent six months in rehabilitation in Australia’s can create a society ed the Base Employment
Gold Coast, where he saw wheelchair users enjoying the water. He that enables Support Center (Base).
At Base, people with
wanted to make the same thing possible at his local beach in Japan. everyone to shine.
primarily mental disabili-
ties receive a small stipend
for doing tasks that span
IN ADDITION TO SWIMMING, THOSE WHO JOIN SUBP CAN ALSO ENJOY OTHER WATER ACTIVITIES.
abilities like designing flyers
or folding towels. Under the
Comprehensive Support for
Persons with Disabilities Act,
Base is classified as a Type B
facility, where its users can
experience what it might
be like to do a real job.
There are 17,000 facilities
across the country, offering
support to 350,000 people
who have difficulty entering
the workforce. Kido hopes to
eventually move Base to Type
A classification, where the
participants can earn a salary.
He hopes that his efforts will
help end wider ability-based
division in order to create
opportunities for dialogue.
In fact, he hopes there
is no need for a ‘project’
like SUBP in 50 years’ time
because the idea that a
disability could keep one
from enjoying the beach
will simply seem ludicrous.
“It is important for Japanese
people to be educated, but
not just in school. If there
were more children who could
say, ‘I didn’t really know why,
but I was laying out beach
mats when I was three’, then
that would be pretty good”.

NEWSWEEK BR ANDED CONTENT STUDIO

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COVER: GETTY
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 Yes, we said ‘united’ —That’s what

GE T T Y

26 NE WSWEEK .COM JANUARY 1 9, 2024

 SOCIETY

Newsweek writers and readers told us

Photo-illustration by NE WS WEEK
 hat binds us? What do We all have in
common anymore?” Justice Clarence
Thomas asked in a rare media inter-
view aired on Fox News in 2017. “We
always talk about E Pluribus Unum,”
Thomas said, referring to the traditional motto of
the United States which translates as “out of many,
one.” “We need more unum. We have the pluribus.”
The media headlines of the past year suggest
that things have gotten a lot worse since 2017—and
both Thomas and Fox played a part in the divisive-
ness. But if you look beyond the headlines, includ-
ing those on Newsweek, a different picture emerges.
Even in what feels like an angry, factionalized soci-
ety, there are signs of unity.
Take the Supreme Court, a lightning rod in Amer-
ica’s cultural and political storms. The highest court
was less divided and less divisive in its 2022-23 term.
(To be fair, not much could be as divisive as the
Court’s decision, in the previous term, to overturn Roe
28 NE WSWEEK .COM
v. Wade.) The nine justices were unanimous in nearly
half of their decisions, more than double the propor-
tion of the previous term. Liberals and conservatives
voted together on most decisions that were not unan-
imous, including half of the 12 that were decided 6-3,
a vote that could reflect the Court’s partisan split.
In one significant 6-3 case, the Court rebuffed
an attempt by Republican politicians to put state
elections outside the scope of judicial review in
Moore v. Harper, to the relief of most Democrats
and moderate Republicans. And while the six con-
servative justices got no liberal support when they
effectively ended race-based affirmative action in
college admissions in two cases involving Harvard
and the University of North Carolina, the ruling
itself was largely popular. Poll after poll has shown
that majorities of Americans do not support the
use of race as a factor in college admissions.
While the Supreme Court’s public approval rat-
ing swung back and forth, Americans were united
JANUARY 1 9, 2024

in their dislike of Congress. According to an aver-
age of polls on website FiveThirtyEight, Congress
has a net disapproval rating of 60 points, worse
than either Joe Biden or Donald Trump, two his-
torically unpopular candidates for president. That
reputation was deserved: Congress passed just 27
bills last year, the fewest since the Great Depression.
All the political noise made it easy to miss the
evidence of common ground. Republicans and
Democrats voted together to avoid a catastrophic
default by raising the debt ceiling, even though the
deal cost Kevin McCarthy his job and Joe Biden a
lot of political capital. Huge bipartisan majorities
acted to avoid a government shutdown in Novem-
ber, with the House voting 336 to 95 and the Senate
87 to 11. Both Republicans and Democrats cracked
down on bad behavior in their ranks. George Santos
was expelled from the House over falsehoods and
fraud, while Rashida Tlaib was censured for her
inflammatory rhetoric over the Israel-Hamas war.
Outside the Beltway, consensus is being forged
faster, creating unlikely coalitions on some of the
most heated issues of the past few decades. Red-
state voters increasingly agree with blue-state pol-
iticians on legal protections for abortion. In Ohio,
which voted for Trump before and after he fulfilled
his promise to install Supreme Court justices who
would overturn Roe v. Wade, 57 percent of voters
supported a ballot measure to enshrine abortion
rights in the state constitution.
“Ohio is not a fluke,” said Ryan Stitzlein, the vice
president of political and government relations
for the national group Reproductive Freedom for
All, after the vote. And it wasn’t. Democrats cam-
paigning on abortion rights swept state elections in
Virginia, humiliating Republican Governor Glenn
Youngkin in his bid to control both chambers. In
PROMOTING UNITY Kentucky, another state that twice voted for Trump,
While Americans Democratic Governor Andy Beshear campaigned
firmly agreed on on abortion rights, ignoring the counsel of nation-
their disapproval of
al Democrats, and won reelection. By November,
Congress, lawmakers
from across the aisle
Trump had distanced himself from the strictest
worked together to abortion bans; he blamed Republicans for losing
avoid a government votes on the issue and, according to Rolling Stone,
DRE W A NG ERER /G E T T Y
shutdown and united was planning to run as a “moderate” on abortion.
in a bipartisan
On immigration, the shoe was very much on the
candlelight vigil, above,
one month after the
other foot. Blue-city mayors now agree with red-
October 7 attack on state governors that waves of migrants crossing the
Israel by Hamas. southern border represent a crisis that Joe Biden
SOCIETY
needs to address, immediately. “Don’t yell at me. Yell
at D.C.!” said New York Mayor Eric Adams after bus-
loads of migrants from Texas overwhelmed his city.
In city after city led by Democrats, mayors decried
the White House’s immigration response, using lines
that Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the mastermind
of migrant busing, would have quoted with pride.
The crisis changed the political calculus in Wash-
ington. Senate Democrats stayed in town into the
holidays to negotiate border restrictions that were
decried by immigration activists as a Trump-style
crackdown. By the new year, even Biden, who made
reversing Trump’s draconian immigration policies
a touchstone of his 2020 campaign, had moved,
telling reporters that he was waiting for Congress
to authorize new funds to deal with the border
crisis. Polls say most Americans see Biden’s border
policy as his biggest weakness, after the economy.
On these and other political issues, the media
headlines fail to point out a growing consensus.
Both Democrats and Republicans are wary of Chi-
na. Neither party wants to cut deals with Iran. Both
court labor unions, though in different ways. Both
Biden and Trump have presided over record U.S. oil
production—although neither will admit it, for
different reasons. Fewer and fewer politicians talk
about repealing and replacing Obamacare as more
and more Americans sign up for the program. Both
sides of the political divide now talk about “free
speech” in more nuanced terms than they did at
the height of what conservatives called “cancel cul-
ture.” The October 7 attack on Israel changed that.
Some “unum” is more obvious. Taylor Swift
rocked the U.S., the world and even the NFL. Her
Eras Tour concert in Glendale, Arizona (which tem-
porarily renamed itself Swift City), did more for
the local economy than the Super Bowl held in the
same stadium. There hasn’t been such a ubiquitous
cultural touchstone since Friends, as the mourning
over Matthew Perry’s death in October reminded us.
Curious about signs of unity that we might have
missed—and, frankly, wondering if we were alone in
our optimism—we invited our readers and colum-
nists to share their own thoughts. Here’s a sampling
of their views, lightly edited for space and clarity.
NE WSWEEK .COM 29
 y genuine belief is that most
Americans aren’t as politically di-
vided as it seems, mostly because we
aren’t an especially political people.
The truth is that most Americans
don’t really think much about politics, and to the
extent they do, they are largely united in the agree-
ment that they dislike it. As a nation, we are far
more concerned with celebrity gossip and sports
than we are with culture wars or wonkish policy
debates. That’s why the average American could al-
most certainly name more of Pete Davidson’s for-
mer lovers than they could members of Congress.
Most of the division that we see is manufactured
and amplified by a media ecosystem that primar-
ily feeds off of anger and fear. This is particularly
true for cable news, which thrives off of a constant
stream of outrage porn that rarely befits the des- SHARING GOALS “my grandparents interracially married in 1944
ignation of journalism. Even so, the fact remains Clockwise from above: and my parents did the same in 1967—at a time
that the overwhelming majority of Americans don’t Common ground can when less than 5 percent of Americans approved
be found over sports
ever tune in to these outlets. For example, the most of such marriages. In 2019, 19 percent of newly-
(Philadelphia Eagles
successful shows on Fox News, the leader in cable fans watching the
weds interracially married and, in 2021, 94 per-
news viewership, only commands an audience that Super Bowl), avoiding a cent of Americans approved of such marriages—
is about one-third the size of the most popular sit- government shutdown tremendous progress. Why then so much racial
coms on CBS. As a college professor who has taught (Rep. Thomas Massie strife these days? Short answer: too many leaders
wearing a pin to track
overtly political topics for years, I’ve also experi- have embraced the divisive ideology of equity as
the National Debt
enced evidence of this united spirit of indifference last November) and
the path forward. They claim to be making up for
toward politics that most Americans innately pos- mistrust of China (the America’s past sins, but if race was poison during
sess. In a classroom of 35 students, maybe four or People’s Liberation slavery and segregation, how [will] they cure centu-
five on average will routinely speak up and express Army Air Force in 2017). ries of poison with more poison? By contrast, those
strong opinions about anything political. The other who married across the color line embraced the
85 percent of the class just sits back and hopes they individual over skin and may their example be our
don’t get called on.” —Nicholas Creel North Star now and into the future.” —Eli Stelle

“While it feels like americans and their politi-

cal parties are only getting more and more divided,
2023 had its moments of unity. Who would have
imagined in 2022 that Taylor Swift fans and NFL
fans would have anything in common? And yet, both
“Most U.S. citizens are in the middle,
of these came together in 2023 to cheer on the Kan- whether moderate Republican or
sas City Chiefs…or to catch a glimpse of Tay Tay in a
superbox, sort-of, once-in-a-while watching her boy-
moderate Democrat, but the extremes on
friend and tight end Travis Kelce’s games. So what both sides get most news airtime and drive
if this unlikely fan pairing will only last until Kelce
and Swift break up? So what if Swifties abandon
the division. The media is complicit in
the Chiefs games as soon as a jilted Tay Tay writes a driving this polarization—but Newsweek is
song with a title like “#### the Chiefs!” (Taylor ver-
sion)”? The message is: if these two groups can unify,
a source of providing a voice to the middle
however briefly, we all can, too.” —Danny Cevalos majority. Thank you.” ▸ Joseph huntsman

30 NE WSWEEK .COM JANUARY 1 9, 2024

 SOCIETY

“It’s obvIous to me AmerIcA Is more unIted thAn “Despite all the noise, I am convinced that more than
it seems. As I travel around the country for work, 80 percent of the things that matter most to individuals
people I meet never seem to be as angry about poli- who identify themselves as strong Republicans are the same
tics and their divisions as social media (and media) things that matter most to those who consider themselves
seem to imply. This is even the case in the Bay Area strong Democrats. We care about our families; we share
where I live. Everyone believes this is one of the the same concerns with respect to the economy; we want to
most progressive and woke places in America. But feel safe and secure; we want quality schools for our children;
there are many entrepreneurs, locals and workers we want quality and accessible health care. And when we sit
who live here who are fiercely independent—they down and talk—and listen to each other—we find that the val-
are not overly concerned with politics and whether ues we share are far greater and far more important than the
they’re woke or not. They are concerned with the issues that divide us. And we see this all the time. Whenever
welfare of society and whether their businesses, there is a community disaster, all people join in to help one
work and lifestyles succeed in that context. This is another. Unfortunately, both parties have allowed them-
neither right nor left, but pragmatically forward. selves to be held hostage by those with more extreme views—
This agenda is as American as apple pie. So where even though these individuals represent a relatively small
does this disinformation come from? What I be- fraction of their party’s legislators.” ▸ LARRY ALTENBAUMER
lieve is happening is social media algorithms have
overwhelmingly pushed certain agendas and posts
to go viral—and these are usually the most bom-
bastic and divisive. These posts and ideas get more
clicks, and therefore they’re seen more as dominant
and accurate news to a larger portion of society. But
they don’t represent the actual temperature of the
mood of the nation. They represent a social media
business model catering to its bottom line. For this
reason, increasingly, successful friends of mine in
California are less and less on social media. They
know the social media formula is designed to swal-
low their attention, especially when that attention
FROM TOP : BR AND EN E A ST WOOD/AFP/G E T T Y; A NNA ROSE L AYDE N/GE T T Y; STR /AFP/GE T T Y

gets forced to focus on something that causes in-

creased cultural polarization. In the end, Americans
can still get along just fine. They just need to pay
less attention to screens and more attention to what
binds us together, which is our common aim of a
good life in a democratic society.” —Zoltan Istvan

“republIcAns And democrAts, rIght And left,

disagree about pretty much everything under the
sun. Views on China, however, are a rare exception
to the rule. It’s increasingly difficult to bump into a
policymaker or lawmaker who believes China is any-
thing short of an adversary, or extreme competitor to
the United States. The House of Representatives, per-
haps the most partisan-laced institution in America,
almost turns into one happy family when the subject
of China comes up. House Republicans and Demo-
crats established a special committee to investigate
Beijing’s rise as a de-facto superpower, how China
is gaming the trade system to its advantage and to

explore how U.S. policy can be refined to combat
Chinese power. The committee just issued a set of
150 recommendations on a bipartisan basis, one of
which was to use tariffs and export controls far more
liberally against Chinese entities. Outside of Wash-
ington, Americans across the political spectrum seem
to agree with their elected representatives. Eighty-
nine percent of Republicans and Republican-lean-
ing independents hold an unfavorable opinion of
China, as do 81 percent of Democrats and Demo-
cratic-leaning independents. You would be hard
pressed to find similar commonality on any other
major policy issue. The question is whether such
views, although popular, are justified and whether
the U.S. risks putting too much weight on confron-
tation over collaboration.” —Daniel R. DePetris
“If you scroll TwITTer or waTch cable news,
IT seems like America is hopelessly divided over
LGBTQ+ issues. But that’s not actually reality. Poll-
ing shows that vast majorities believe gay people
should have the right to legally marry, adopt chil-
dren and enjoy anti-discrimination protections.
Clear majorities also believe that religious indi-
viduals—like cake bakers—shouldn’t be forced
to endorse the LGBTQ+ community. So, too, vast
32 NE WSWEEK .COM
SOCIETY
“We all still work together, go to school together, go to sporting events,
plays and concerts together without fighting (more or less). Most of
us still socialize together, regardless of our political and social leanings.
My concern is that more people than at any time in my lifetime now base
many of their nonessential relationships on who agrees with them politically.
On social media, for example, I saw a recent post being circulated about
how a father was giving advice to his college-attending daughter, show-
ing her how ‘flawed’ liberal thinking (learned from her college professor)
is in regard to achievement, even spelling out that ‘liberals’ want to ban
anything they don’t agree with. There were all kinds of folks liking this
post, which had an obvious anti-liberal bias. I responded that in fact,
hard-line ‘conservatives’ want to ban abortion, gay marriage, etc...
I concluded that, as a moderate American, both extremes demanding
change run contrary to American values, that the majority of Americans reject
the extremism of both the left and the right and that we need to get back
to being ‘Americans’ and respecting differences without demonizing those
that don’t share our political or social views. Most Americans don’t want the
extremist views of either the left or the right to succeed.” ▸ GREG NICKELS
RESPECTING DIFFERENCE majorities of Americans believe transgender adults
Despite culture wars should be free to live their lives how they wish and
over topics like LGBTQ+
should enjoy anti-discrimination protections. Vast
rights, “the vast
majority” of Americans
majorities also believe that minors should not un-
agree on many anti- dergo sex changes and that it’s unfair for biological
discrimination policies. males to compete in women’s sports. There is a rea-
sonable middle ground on these hot-button cultural
questions. You just won’t often find it represented in
media and internet discourse—because outrage and
divisiveness serves far better to bring in clicks and
dollars.” —Brad Polumbo is an independent journal-
ist, YouTuber and co-founder of BASED Politics
“solIdarITy Is rare In polITIcs buT There have
been areas when I’ve witnessed a common consen-
sus between moderates on the right and left. One of
LEF T: GIORGIO VIER A /A FP/GE T T Y; J OHN A LE X AN DR /G E T T Y
which was in reaction to campuses around America
holding rallies showing support for Hamas. Moder-
ate liberals and conservatives were shocked at the
treatment of Jews on campus and it was the first time
for many who reside on the political left that they
realized how ideological they are. Moderate Dems
witnessed leftists feverishly rallying support for Black
Americans and other groups in recent years but were
shocked at the lack of emotional support and gener-
al animosity directed at Israelis and Jews alike post-
October 7. This situation made many on the moder-
ate left find commonality with the moderate right by
abandoning the illiberal left.” —Adam B. Coleman
JANUARY 1 9, 2024
 “I’M MORE CURIOUS TO KNOW
WHAT IT IS THAT YOU’VE
SEEN TO PROPOSE SUCH A
QUESTION? I FIND MYSELF
OBSERVING MORE AND
TALKING LESS, WHICH HAS
LED ME TO THE CONCLUSION
THAT MOST HUMANS LACK
THE ABILITY TO JUST BE
NICE, OR BE COURTEOUS OF
OTHERS. MUCH LESS COME
TOGETHER. ” ▸ Tricia B.

“The UniTed STaTeS iS ofTen Talked aboUT aS a
‘divided’ country, even one that might lapse into a
‘new civil war.’ But we’re actually united in one im-
portant respect: our disdain for the political system.
Only 15% of Americans approve of Congress. Amer-
icans dislike both of the presumptive party nomi-
nees for the 2024 presidential election. Americans
are often considered angry political partisans, but
the truth is that most of them don’t follow politics
much at all. I doubt there’d be a ‘new civil war’ for
the simple reason that most people wouldn’t care
about the outcome. This isn’t exactly good news. It
shows that American democracy is failing, because
people feel their political leaders are corrupt and
don’t represent them. Ordinary citizens feel hope-
less and alienated. But we are united in that alien-
ation from the political system, which opens up the
possibility for a unified movement to create a truly
representative democracy. Don’t be fooled by polls
showing how hyperpartisan we are. Occupy Wall
INCREASING Street was right that the true dividing line in Amer-
SAFEGUARDS ican life is not between Republicans and Democrats,
Polling has suggested
but between the 99% who are ruled over and the 1%
support for reforming
gun laws, to ensure safe
who make the rules.” —Nathan J. Robinson
and secure ownership.
“YoU maY Think america iS well on The waY To
a civil war that is being hastened by a bifurcated
press and the collapse of our common civic culture.
Americans read, listen and watch different media
and isolate themselves from those with opposing
views on social media and are therefore unpre-
pared for disagreement and willing to treat polit-
ical opponents as evil rather than merely wrong.
That will make this year’s likely presidential re-
match between Donald Trump and Joe Biden even
more polarizing with unknowable consequences
no matter who wins. But the assumption that this is
a nation whose people are all at each other’s throats
is wrong. Everywhere I go outside of the bubble of
cultural and political elites, I meet people who may

“In the circles I spend time in, people are more considerate than what
I read and hear about. I think there are extremists who are very angry
and loud, but the majority of Americans are more relaxed and conciliatory
than that—to the point that they don’t engage in politics much because
they’re sick of hearing from the ‘loud minority.’” ▸ Harriet McKee

NE WSWEEK .COM 33
be upset about the state of the union but still be-
lieve in its basic values of equality and fair play that
is antithetical to the intersectional mindset. They
may vote for different parties but don’t hate each
other. And more of them than inside-the-Beltway
types think are becoming aware that corporate
interests—including those of large media compa-
nies—profit from division. In my travels around
the country and daily life, I see numerous examples
of Americans who want to help and love each other
rather than being solely focused on suppressing po-
litical foes. The growing pushback against the con-
sequences of intersectional division and the endur-
ing power of faith and charitable endeavors is also
evidence that American exceptionalism is not dead.
34 NE WSWEEK .COM
“When dialogue is modulated...when people are civil in
discussion...when drama is minimized—people talk and
listen. Too much attention is centered on the loudest, most di-
visive elements in our political echo chamber. Cameras and writ-
ten media give way too much emphasis on political elements
in both parties that hijack conversation with their extreme
positions—even on the mundane. When people of different
political beliefs break bread, sit, chat and engage in simple,
conversational dialogue. When compromise is not considered
a dirty word, many of the divisions simmer and folks often find
much to agree on. Difference is not feared.” ▸ RICHARD RINGELL
JANUARY 1 9, 2024
 SOCIETY

“America is more united than ever before

when it comes to addressing world issues
like terrorism and war that kill innocent people.
America sounded one during the onset of the Rus-
sia-Ukraine war a year ago, and now during Israeli
attacks on Gaza. America always propagates the
message of peace whenever and wherever terror
attacks occur in the world. The support and toler-
ance shown by the American people stand always
in unison in upholding human rights, justice
and equality. This unity makes America great as a
strong, powerful nation.” ▸ Balamurali Balaji

generational trauma with you, how you feel this pain

across time…This is an important moment for us to
stand together and to unite in our resolve. We have
to stand together to support Israel’s right to exist
FIGHTING TYRANNY
and Jewish people’s right to exist.’” —Darvio Morrow
President Joe Biden
meets with Ukrainian “The hisTory of The UsA cAn be viewed As The
President Volodymyr history of disparate peoples struggling to overcome
Zelensky in Kviv, Ukraine,
the divisions forced upon us from above. British ab-
in February 2023.
Since Russia’s invasion
solutism, slavery, segregation—the people fighting
the prior February, this separation is the story of the American people
America has provided becoming ourselves. And now? After all that history,
over $44 billion in America is realizing that we have more in common
military assistance.
than not, that the divide that matters is regular
working people, who need a dignified life and ability
It’s up to us to ensure that those who seek to exploit to pay the rent, and the establishment, who prevent
our divisions don’t succeed in killing a democracy that happening. Left and right is the establishment’s
they claim to want to save.” —Jonathan Tobin game, and we’re beginning to realize that. Together,
left and right Raged Against the War Machine, and
UK R A IN IA N P RE SID ENT IA L PRE SS OFFICE/GE T T Y

“The voices ThAT divide Us Are so loUd some- against censorship in exposing the Twitter Files. And
times that it can be hard to remember that they are this is only the beginning.” —Noah Kovalchik
a distinct minority among us. In the aftermath of
the horrific attacks against Israel on October 7th,
Clevelanders came together and stood with Israel
and the Jewish community. Over 2,000 people of all
walks of life came together on October 9th to stand “SEEING STUDENTS AND THEIR
against hate. Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D), a PARENTS MINGLING TOGETHER ON
member of the Congressional Black Caucus, was one SCHOOL NIGHTS GIVES ME HOPE
of the attendees. On the stage she said, ‘As a Black THAT WE’RE FIGURING IT OUT.”
woman, I understand how you carry historical and ▸ HELEN ANDERSSON
 SOCIETY

“As a person of color who was born in 1945 on the island of Puerto Rico,
I have lived in New England for over 75 years. Having experienced many
struggles in my life, I have always found that the great majority of Americans are
good & decent people. At every turn, there have always been supportive, caring
and compassionate human beings willing to give me and my family the chance
to live our lives to the fullest. I am grateful to be a U.S. citizen.” ▸ Alfredo ribot

“It’s easy to feel lIke amerIcans are bItterly
divided. As opportunistic politicians attack our
neighbors and stoke divides over race, gender, sex-
uality or immigration status, in some ways we are.
But that’s not the whole story. Allegedly hot-button
social issues often cool when they go before vot-
ers. In red, blue and purple states alike, voters have
turned out repeatedly to protect abortion rights,
liberalize marijuana laws, expand ‘Obamacare’
subsidies for Medicaid and more. And while the
federal minimum wage remains submerged at
an unlivable $7.25, even voters in deep red states
have voted to more than double that. Other issues
that drive outrage cycles on cable news aren’t so
divisive among real people either. Poll after poll
shows broad, bipartisan support for raising taxes
on billionaires and cutting our military spending
to fund investments in infrastructure, climate
and social programs. Vast bipartisan majorities
tell pollsters they support a ceasefire in Gaza and
think immigration is good. Yet unlike those ballot
initiatives that ordinary people come together and
pass, policymakers routinely flout their voters on
these other issues. That’s partly why we’ve seen so
many manufactured panics over ‘critical race the-
ory,’ the existence of LGBTQ+ people, ‘the border’
and whatever else. These attacks don’t just hurt
BORDERING ON
AGREEMENT
the targeted communities, although they do that
Republican presidential very cruelly. They also turn Americans against each
candidate Vivek other when they might otherwise come together to
Ramaswamy (right, in demand better. And that’s the point.
November at his polling
That’s why social movements matter—from the
place) takes a hard line
on illegal immigration—
resurgent labor movement raising wages to the cli-
an issue that is mate movement that’s won unprecedented green
increasingly finding jobs investments across the country. Movements
bipartisan support. bring real people together and win policy chang-
Below: A sign at the
es many policymakers—and their donors—don’t
U.S.-Mexico border
in December warns
want. In the face of an increasingly antidemocratic
against smuggling and and extreme opposition, their message for the rest
illegal immigration. of us is that we’re better together.” —Peter Certo

“I grew up In peorIa, IllInoIs—a small communIty

where neighbors helped each other without regard
to their political affiliations. My father, a legal immi-
grant to this country, taught us to help others pursue
the American Dream regardless of their backgrounds
or beliefs. I’ve always tried to follow his directive.
In my first term in Congress, I joined with Glenn
‘G.T.’ Thompson (R-Pa.) to rewrite our nation’s laws
governing career and technical education so more
Americans without four-year college degrees could
obtain the skills and knowledge to reach the middle
class. Later, I joined with Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) to
push successful legislation to reduce soft costs for
the U.S. solar industry to help it compete with for-
eign competitors, including the Chinese solar sec-
tor. In this Congress, I joined with my Republican

JANUARY 1 9, 2024
 colleague John James (R-Mich.) to introduce legis-
lation to prevent employers from discriminating
against those without a four-year college degree if
they have the skills or experience to do the job. One
of my first friends in Congress was Mike Gallagher
(R-Wis.), who was elected the same year that I was.
Even though he’s a Green Bay Packers fan and I live
and die with the Chicago Bears, we share an inter-
est in helping folks fighting to reach and stay in the
middle class. Now, as the top Republican and Demo-
crat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic
Competition between the U.S. and the Chinese Com-
munist Party, we’re working together for policies to
ensure that Americans can better compete for the
jobs of the 21st century. We won’t agree on every-
thing, but Democrats and Republicans have many
things in common if we’re willing to look. Instead
of engaging in hyperpartisanship and dysfunction,
Congress can set an example for America on how
we can all get along.” —Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi

“AmericA seems more polArized thAn ever, but

“This kind of rhetoric has been around since the
founding of the nation. As a matter of fact, I think it
FROM LE F T: JOHN MOORE/GE T T Y; A NDR E W S PE A R /GE T T Y
one area where people in both parties may agree—
or at least share a lot of common ground—is
parenting. I’m a mom of four kids, including two
teenagers. While controversies that affect kids
and parenting like ‘book banning’ took over some
school districts and treatment of gender-confused
kids is still divided along party lines, most parents—
regardless of party, class or other markers—want
what’s best for their kids, and they’re constantly
trying to figure out what that is. Parents today face
unique issues that surpass political boundaries:
A January 2023 Pew Research poll on parenting
found that 40 percent of parents are very worried
about their kids struggling with depression or

was much worse in the years leading up to the Civil War than
it is now. Americans have always taken full advantage of their
right to ‘free speech.’ The only difference now is there is no
limit to the space available to comment. Opinion prior to the
internet and social media needed to fit within a newspaper or
magazine column. Today, social media provides anyone—and
I mean anyone—unlimited space to express their opinion
on any matter. You need neither education on the subject
matter nor even the common sense to make your opinion
understandable. The result is a cacophony of noisy folks with
axes to grind and hatred to spew while making no sense or
offering any solutions. America is not more divided. America
is merely louder than its neighbors.” ▸ MARTIN L. DAUGHERTY
anxiety but just 14 percent are worried about their
kids getting in trouble with law enforcement. This
is unique in today’s world and likely flip-flopped
from our parents’ generation’s list of concerns.
Mental health issues have been exacerbated in the
last decade particularly for adolescents due to the
ubiquitous nature of smartphones and exorbitant
time kids want to spend on screens. Almost every
parent I know has battled this issue with their child
and tries to implement boundaries while facing
pushback. The fact that many high school educa-
tors utilize phones as a learning tool doesn’t help
kids focus. Florida and other states have banned cell

NE WSWEEK .COM 37
 “ZIP. ZILCH. NADA. I’VE SEEN
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
THAT SHOWS ME THAT...
NOT ONLY ARE THE TWO
SIDES MORE DIVIDED THAN
EVER, BUT REPUBLICANS
ARE MORE DIVIDED AGAINST
FELLOW REPUBLICANS THAN
EVER BEFORE, AND DITTO
FOR DEMOCRATS AGAINST
DEMOCRATS. NOT SURE WHAT
NEW MATH IS REQUIRED
TO MAKE ALL THIS EQUAL
‘UNITED,’ BUT IT’S MATH
COMPLETELY FOREIGN TO ME.”
▸ Kenny Kurtz
phones in schools. While most parents I person-
ally know support this, not all do. Still, the smart-
phone’s allure and complexity in a child’s world is
no respecter of their parents’ political party. Smart-
phones notwithstanding, parenting is simultane-
ously difficult and delightful, stressful and satisfy-
ing. Potential for happiness—including happiness
parenting or our kids’ happiness—does seem to
be another area of polarization and that’s too bad:
Parents on both sides of the political aisle can and
should continue to connect about an issue we can
laugh and cry about, and that’s the joy and trials of
raising the people we love most.” —Nicole Russell
“In an age of enormous polarIzatIon In our
nation’s politics, is there anything left of the notion
of compromise? The answer to that is yes, no and
maybe. It would be hard not to answer that question
with an emphatic yes based on recent polling out
of Emerson College that found that 71 percent of
citizens prefer to see compromise in our national
politics rather than governmental paralysis. More-
over, this was not just a sentiment held among
moderate or centrist voters, but over two-thirds of
38 NE WSWEEK .COM
ON THE SAME PAGE Republicans and Democrats, along with indepen-
The desire to be a good dents, were of this view. Those numbers certainly
parent crosses party
provide an optimistic assessment of the body poli-
lines, though there
isn’t always agreement
tic’s view of the importance of compromise as a so-
about how to do so. cietal goal. We are now facing an enormous moment
Book banning inspired of potential compromise as Congress deals with
MoveOn’s national funding for two hugely consequential foreign affairs
Banned Bookmobile
issues, as well as border security for the United States.
tour, which launched
in July in Chicago
There is a bipartisan group of senators attempting
(above), to distribute to hash out legislation to continue to fund Ukraine’s
banned books and bring war against Russia, Israel’s war against Hamas and
awareness to the issue. substantially enhance U.S. resources to restrict
immigrants coming into the country through our
southern border. No more consequential set of is-
sues has recently presented itself in need of a grand
compromise. It is very unclear whether the Senate
will reach a compromise resolution, and even more
questionable whether the House will accept such a
DA NIE L BOC ZA R SKI/G E T T Y
Senate compromise if one is reached—it is a maybe.
However, if compromise is successful here, the no-
tion of compromise as a guiding light will be very
much alive and well in an otherwise dark period
of national divisiveness. Many believe that the an-
swer to whether compromise can still be reached
JANUARY 1 9, 2024
 SOCIETY

“I believe we are in agreement more than politicians

will have you believe. I believe we want a ‘safe’ border,
where immigrants can enter the legal way. We want a tax
system that works for all, not just some. I believe we all want
livable wages, but not sudden ridiculous increases that causes
the economy to panic. We want safe schools, affordable
groceries and gas prices that we can afford. We want safe
and secure gun ownership. Mostly we need to realize the
far right and far left will do anything to divide us—it keeps
their agenda alive. If the media quits talking about them,
they will become irrelevant and just fade away. I hear this
from Democrats and Republicans alike.” ▸ JOHN MCMURRAY

now has some 64 members evenly split between

Democrats and Republicans who are committed to
finding compromise solutions to tough legislative
issues. That certainly provides a basis for hope that,
even with the polarized electorate we have today, one
can believe that the art of the possible through com-
promise is still achievable.” —Tom Rogers

“I belIeve RepublIcans and democRats In the

on major questions is ‘no’ because there is so little
left of the political middle in our elected officials.
Certainly, the number of gerrymandered congressio-
nal districts makes our national representatives far
more attuned to the political extremes. If they run in
the middle they are right to fear primary challenges
from their right or left, as the case may be. As a result,
only about 10 percent of our congressional districts
are contested races, leaving no incentive to com-
promise. Yet, the Problem Solvers Caucus has been
established in the House of Representatives which
country are far more united on many issues than
Republicans’ votes in Congress reflect. Polling
shows overwhelming support for raising the feder-
al minimum wage, universal child care, investing in
housing as housing prices rise everywhere, sensible
gun reforms and even immigration reform—an is-
sue that Republicans in Congress continue to resist.
Even if the House can pass, sometimes with biparti-
san support, some of these bills, they do not come to
the floor of the Senate because of the Jim Crow-leg-
acy filibuster that forces 60 votes to debate or pass
bills and gives the power to block bills that the
American people want with just 41 votes of Senators
who represent 12 percent of the country’s popula-
tion. However, we do still have areas of strong agree-

“We are finding common ground and dis- ment where we are able to work together across the
aisle. One area is the need to protect the privacy and
cussing ideas. Many voices are moderate, data of Americans from warrantless spying by the

not too left or right. I believe most Americans government. That’s why I’ve been leading on help-
ing pass through the Judiciary Committee with an
are finding their own way to get along. We’ve overwhelming 35-2 vote a consequential reform of

all had enough of the lies, gaslighting and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to protect
Americans’ civil liberties. We’ve also been hard at
political infighting.” ▸ Suzanne Moore work in the antitrust space, working across party

NE WSWEEK .COM 39

lines to keep our markets competitive and prices
low while stopping big corporations from taking
advantage of consumers. Finally, I’ve been on a per-
sonal mission to bridge the gap between our par-
ties on issues related to our trans youth. I’ve been
so delighted to bring together Republican and Dem-
ocratic advocates, including local elected officials,
from across the country to make the bipartisan case
for protecting trans kids. As one Republican father
said, ‘I love my son. Period.’ Progress is possible on
all these fronts!” —Rep. Pramila Jayapal
“All in All, 2023 wAs not A greAt yeAr for bipAr-
tisanship—the Republican takeover of the House
of Representatives ensured that virtually nothing
of substance would get to the president’s desk, and
divisions between Democrats and Republicans are
as bad as ever. But there was one person who con-
sistently brought us together in contempt: biotech
entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, whose bizarre
presidential bid has been punctuated with debate
performances so unctuous and off-putting that they
alienated virtually every person watching. Despite
an initial polling surge, Ramaswamy soon found
himself almost friendless on the right, where he
was largely seen as a slick interloper. The Nation-
al Review’s editors were appalled by his ‘smarmy
and obnoxious’ behavior and took comfort that
his ‘transparently insincere shtick isn’t winning
over many GOP voters.’ American Greatness, the
in-flight magazine of the MAGA movement, called
him a ‘fraud’ who is ‘only sucking up to Trump now
because he knows it will help his poll numbers.’
Commentary’s Matthew Continetti assailed his ‘glib
manner, changing opinions, and utter shameless-
ness.’ And on the left, he was seen as a particularly
unbearable manifestation of the MAGA impulse.
“PEOPLE STILL GET TOGETHER TO
CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS AND
OTHER ACTIVITIES. I LIVE IN A SMALL
TOWN THAT IS VERY CONSERVATIVE,
YET WE STILL GET TOGETHER FOR
LOCAL EVENTS AND GATHERINGS
AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.”
▸ STEVE McQUILLIN
SOCIETY
“The answer is in the middle. According to Axiom, 50 percent of
the U.S. population have adopted independent party lines.
If 25 percent of the population are Republicans and 25 percent are
Democrats, then isn’t the majority more common than people think?
I have two types of friends and neighbors—the ones that follow the
celebrities and hyperbole and the ones that pay attention to real news
outlets and factual information. I’ve found that educated and inquisitive
people fall into the latter and are neither Democratic nor Republican.
Unfortunately, it’s the extremes that draw headlines, blogs and
controversy. I think most people just want to get along, do the right
thing and help one another, but that’s boring news. People in the
middle don’t hate. The people in the middle would like to get back
to talking about real news, real issues and solving real problems
One common theme from all of my middle friends and neighbors is
that none of us want 80-year-old presidents, nor do we want Trump
or Biden. Please give us something else. Something positive. That’s
where we’re more united than people think.” ▸ NATHAN CARTER
New York Magazine’s Ryu Spaeth said his opinions
‘resemble a cross between traditional conservative
know-nothingism and Elon Musk’s brand of Silicon
Valley know-everythingism.’ Some guy at Newsweek
called him a ‘a vacuous, camera-mugging culture
warrior.’ New York Times columnist Michelle Gold-
berg wrote that he exemplifies a kind of ‘callow and
condescending nerd who assumes that skill in one
field translates to aptitude in all others.’
The impending victory of Donald Trump in the
Republican primaries means 2023 was not the year
when both left and right figured out how to suss out a
fraud. But at the least we finally drew a line, and it went
directly behind Ramaswamy’s feet.” —David Faris
“i belong to the mAjority politicAl pArty in
the United States—or rather I might, but unfortu-
nately it doesn’t exist. That’s not just awkward for
me, but is a disaster for the United States. I’m con-
vinced that from an ideological perspective most
Americans could get behind a centrist movement
that was neither Trumpist (about a quarter of the
electorate) nor progressive (maybe an eighth). Half
or more are moderately liberal or conservative and
these streams would be happier together than in ei-
ther of America’s troubled big parties. They would
agree to bin the culture wars and white grievance,
police the border like a normal country, ban as-
sault weapons, stop denying global warming and
not ban abortion while allowing states to restrict it.
JANUARY 1 9, 2024
 They wouldn’t agitate all day about race or gender,
wouldn’t turn Americans against each other and
they would never nominate an obvious psychopath
for the presidency. Americans could back such a
party—but they don’t believe it can come about. If
it seemed real to people—say, if scores of serving
members of Congress split from the Democrats
and Republicans and banded together—I bet it
would be instantly competitive. That’s because or-
dinary people in America agree to an extraordinary
extent, when agitators aren’t driving them berserk.
There is nothing preventing such a realignment
except inertia and a misconceived notion that ours
is a ‘two-party system.’ It’s only that in outcome. In
reality any number of parties can run. It is true that
if a genuine political movement splinters, in a sys-
tem based on districts this harms the movement.
But America no longer actually has two movements.
It has at least three. The biggest—reasonable peo-
ple in the center with a social conscience but no
GLORY DAYS
Concertgoers and
inclination to burn down the house—is weirdly
sports fans don’t unrepresented.” —Dan Perry, reformed journalist
worry about political
divisions; they are “Without question, there are strong forces—
just people “coming
from partisan media to social media algorithms to
together for joyful
moments.” Below: Bruce
our political leaders—that, for profit and power, fuel
Springsteen and The E division, fear and polarization. At times, these forc-
Street Band in July 2023. es can seem omnipresent, from our politics to our
communities. And there is a real split in this country
when it comes to issues ranging from abortion to
voting to the future of our democracy. But if you look
below the surface, you’ll see there are still signs of
hope that the country is not completely divided be-
tween Team Red and Team Blue. Go to a Taylor Swift,
Beyonce or Bruce Springsteen concert. Or a champi-
onship parade of the Denver Nuggets, Kansas City
Chiefs, Las Vegas Golden Knights or Texas Rangers.
No one is talking about politics. No one is ‘dunking’
on their neighbor for clicks or likes. It is just peo-
ple—of all political backgrounds—coming together
for joyful moments, for entertainment and to enjoy
their community. And it is not just sports and music.
We also see people uniting around their common
humanity after natural disasters, from the fires in
Hawaii to drought in the Midwest to Hurricane Ida-
lia battering Florida. It’s a powerful reminder that we
are not as divided as many would have us believe. Of
course, that sense of unity and community hasn’t hit
Washington or much of our political discourse yet.
And I wouldn’t hold my breath that it will anytime

“‘United’ is a tricky word. We are united in tragedy, united in celebrations,

SERGIONE IN FU SO/CORBI S /G E T T Y

united by holidays and united in that all of us are hyphen Americans.

Our personal beliefs and opinions are most often the cause of derision. My
best friends are liberals, conservatives and moderates because what invariably
unites us is something other than politics or opinions. We are friends and
we are united because we see the good in each other.” ▸ Tom Anderson

NE WSWEEK .COM 41
 SOCIETY

soon. The incentive structures for our leaders—from

raising money to getting on TV—play into the worst
“I grew up in Chicago and now live
of our society, not the best. And the election next in Kansas. Outside the extreme
year is only going to make that worse. But on the
ugliest and nastiest days of the 2024 election (and
left and right, educated people who can
there will be plenty), it’s important to remember communicate agree on many issues.
that the vast majority of people in this country are
better—and more united—than many in power or
Conversations are interesting and differences
seeking power want us to believe.” —Doug Gordon, can be explained and understood, if
political consultant
not completely agreed upon, without
“In a closely dIvIded House, a Handful of ex- negativity and vitriol.” ▸ Brian roBertson
tremists can disrupt Congress. However, the major-
ity of lawmakers are eager to find common ground
on everything from housing to health care. Take my
mental health and addiction legislation, the SUP-
PORT Act, which passed in December. Substance
use disorder doesn’t care about your politics, it
affects everyone. As NDC Chair and Co-Chair of the
Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disor-
der Task Force, I’m working everyday to bring both
Democrats and Republicans to the table to pass bi-
partisan legislation that can stand the test of time.
While this approach might not make national head-
lines, it’s what the majority of Members are doing
in Congress. We’re not here to blow stuff up, we’re
here to get the job done and make a difference.”
—Rep. Annie Kuster, New Democrat Coalition Chair

“over tHe last decade-and-a-Half, amerIcan

popular culture fell increasingly into the grasp
of a world-bestriding hegemon: The Marvel Cine-
matic Universe (MCU). Over the years, comic book
superheroes’ various storylines interweaving on
the big screen went from novelty to drudgery. But
2023 was the year the MCU died, with confusing
miniseries and disappointing box office returns.
And in its place rose the surprisingly revivifying
pop culture event of the year (non-Taylor Swift
version): Barbenheimer. The unholy matrimo-
ny of bubble gum-pink product placement and
brooding biopic being released in theaters on the
same weekend shouldn’t have worked. And mov-
ies about a feminist icon and the dropping of the
atomic bomb would be expected to inflame the
culture war, not turn down the heat. Yet whether
due to relief at having survived the empty theaters
of the COVID era, or just something more enter-
taining and meaty than typical Marvel fluff, Barbie

42 NE WSWEEK .COM JANUARY 1 9, 2024

 and Oppenheimer ushered in a pop culture mo-
ment that was invigorating, unifying and fun. The
box office numbers speak for themselves: Barbie
pulled in $1.4 billion worldwide, and Oppenheimer
became the second-highest grossing R-rated movie
of all time. More importantly, with fatigue toward
both wokeness and anti-wokeness setting in, both
Barbie and Oppenheimer could spark cultural di-
alogue without inflaming partisan warfare. Bar-
bie’s feminism was explicit, yet unorthodox, while
Oppenheimer’s complex portrayal of the father of
the atom bomb defied pat narratives. They were
welcome antidotes to the bland weightlessness of
typical Marvel fare—and drew fans from across
the political spectrum. Neither film is likely to
pick up an Oscar next year, but by owning the
summer they gave us something meaningful and
blessedly nonpartisan to talk about around the wa-
ter cooler. 2023 was the year moviegoing became
fun again. And American culture is richer for it.”
—Patrick T. Brown
“Over the past year, I’ve spent tIme amOng the
eclectic populace of Manhattan’s Lower East Side,
where one finds synagogues, nightclubs and bode-
gas; various ethnic communities and dissident cul-
tural scenes. In the midst of it all sits the Catholic
Worker’s Maryhouse, founded in 1974 by Dorothy
“Much of what is seen on the news are clips of far-right
FROM LE F T: MA RK M AK EL A /GE T T Y; A L PE REIR A / WIRE IM AGE/G E T T Y
INSPIRING COMMUNITY
People come together
over cultural events like
the blockbuster dual
opening weekend of
Barbie and Oppenheimer
in July (left) and feeding
the needy. Above: The
New York Jets serving
lunch at a Brooklyn
soup kitchen in 2006.
Day. The CW movement traces its roots back to the
Great Depression, when Day and co-founder Peter
Maurin first initiated their charitable efforts. To-
day, Maryhouse is home to volunteers and patrons
who find lodging, partake in meals and host cul-
tural events open to the public. Echoing the spirit
of Day—whose views were hard to pin down—the
mix of people who show up to their communal
meals and ‘Friday night meetings’ transcend con-
temporary ideological categories. I’ve met Catho-
lics of all stripes, Sufis and determined atheists; so-
cialists, integralists and independents; immigrants
from Mexico and Italy, African Americans from the
South and midwestern Anglos; doctoral students
and high school dropouts who have been in and
out of the shelter system. Somehow, this motley
crew manages to share our lives with each other in
meaningful ways—from deep spiritual and intel-
lectual debates, to consoling each other in our suf-

and far-left fringe elements. In reality, most Americans
do not identify with either party. Within this group of inde-
pendents, most identify as moderate. Every day, I see exam-
ples of people from all socioeconomic and political leanings
come together within their communities. It could be a tree
lighting at Christmas, working at a food bank and attend-
ing school or working together. Most of us are not running
around spouting off about our political leanings and beliefs.
A vast majority of the country believes we should have
common sense gun laws, and yet our government offi-
cials fail to act on this. A vast majority believe in women’s
health, including access to abortion, and yet our politicians
fail to act on this. A vast majority want to see common
sense immigration laws and yet Congress has done nothing
about it since the Reagan administration.” ▸ MEG REDSHAW
fering and laughing boisterously at jokes. Though
the CW has always attracted a perplexing mix of
people, the current crowd reflects the broader
reordering of ideological categories post-COVID.
Much of the content on the multimedia platform
I curate, the ‘Cracks in Postmodernity,’ covers this
‘vibe shift’...thus why we hosted our first event at
the Maryhouse this past summer, in an effort to
draw a truly diverse crowd that ‘cracks’ through
conventional cultural divides. We may not propose
the same political solutions to our society’s needs.
But we’re united by the intuition that what pre-
cedes politics is something much simpler: the need
for hospitality, community and, ultimately, to love
and be loved.” —Stephen Adubato

NE WSWEEK .COM 43
 Culture

IN CHARACTER
Cooper insisted on
authenticity, including
filming in real spaces
with live music, making
it like a “triple salchow
to accomplish.”

44 NE WSWEEK .COM JANuARY 1 9, 2024

 A N ‘O U T LI E R’ I C O N
Colman Domingo plays Bayard Rustin, the most famous activist you haven’t heard of. ▸ P.48

Bradley Cooper had a long list of “non-

negotiable” requirements when it came to
starring in and directing his critically acclaimed
Leonard Bernstein biopic, Maestro, one of the mov-
ie’s producers revealed to Newsweek.
After enjoying critical and commercial success
through helming and starring in the 2018 hit A Star
Is Born, Cooper has pulled quadruple duty (also
co-writing and co-producing) in his film about
the life of the legendary conductor, who brought
the world West Side Story and On the Town, among
other enduring works.
The movie—which debuted on Netflix December
20 to much fanfare following a month-long limited
release in theaters—largely follows Bernstein away
from the world of his career, shining a light on his
marriage to Costa Rican-born actress Felicia Mon-
tealegre, stunningly portrayed by Carey Mulligan.
Bernstein’s adoration for his wife is not enough
to surmount the strain brought on by his repeated
infidelities. While Montealegre
is shown initially believing she
can overlook her bisexual hus-
by band’s affairs with male suitors,
RYA N S M I T H his infidelity ultimately leads to
the demise of their union.
Producer Kristie Macosko Krieger told Newsweek
that Cooper was quite the marvel to watch and a
rewarding challenge to work with—particularly
JA SON M CD ON ALD/ NE TFLIX; TOP RIG HT: MICHA EL TR A N/AF P/GE T T Y

because the multi-hyphenate star had set such high

standards when it came to the production.
FILM “Bradley didn’t make it an easy situation for us,”
Krieger said with a laugh. “He wanted to shoot the

‘Maestro’
movie in the hallowed halls where Lenny and Feli-
cia lived their lives. So he wanted to shoot a tango,
he wanted to shoot at Carnegie Hall, he wanted

Revealed
to shoot in Ely Cathedral, he wanted to shoot at
The Plaza, he wanted to shoot in Central Park. He
wanted to shoot in the Dakota, but we couldn’t
shoot in the Dakota, so we had to build the Dakota
Bradley Cooper’s transformation to look exactly like their apartment did.
into Leonard Bernstein on film “And so making [Maestro] in the real spaces, he
wanted to shoot live music, he wanted to shoot on
film. These are all things that were nonnegotiable
for him. And he wanted to shoot with the pros-
thetic makeup, and he wanted to shoot it over five

NE WSWEEK .COM 45
Culture
decades. All of those things made it
like the triple salchow to accomplish.
It was not an easy film to make.”
But, added Krieger, “it was the
right way to make the film. And he
knew that that was exactly what we
should do. And that was the way to
tell the story of their lives.”
Storm of Controversy
More than a year before Maestro
even made it to the screen, much
was made of the fact that Cooper
had leaned on prosthetics to resem-
ble Bernstein, who was Jewish. The
controversy saw accusations of “eth-
nic cosplay” thrown into the mix, and
also sparked discussion over whether
such a move was antisemitic.
“I think for us, it was just [that] we
were going for authenticity,” Krieger
told Newsweek of the decision to use
prosthetics. “We were going to make
Bradley Cooper look like Leonard
46 NE WSWEEK .COM
FILM
Bernstein because that made sense
for the story. And he had to look like
Leonard Bernstein over the course
of five decades.”
“I think that we worked as authen-
tically as possible to make it hap-
pen,” she added. “And we layered
makeup on his face—and it was all
different pieces. It was cheeks, it
was forehead, it was neck, it was
hands...It was everything. It wasn’t
just one thing. I think everybody
[wanted] to talk about one thing and
it wasn’t necessary.”
Getting Cooper into physical char-
acter took five-and-a-half hours each
day. “Bradley would sit in the makeup
chair...at 1 o’clock in the morning to
be on set at 7 o’clock, ready to set up
the day and to shoot dressed and
in full hair and makeup as Leonard
Bernstein,” said Krieger. “He wouldn’t
have done that if he didn’t think that
it was the right way to go.”
An Education
Away from makeup, part of the effort
to achieve the authenticity included
consulting with Yannick Nézet-
Séguin, music director of Montreal’s
Orchestre Métropolitain, New York
City’s Metropolitan Opera and the
Philadelphia Orchestra.
“My role as conducting consultant
was to coach [Cooper] at becoming
Lenny in a believable way,” Nézet-
Séguin told Newsweek. “He got so
many things right to begin with by
watching videos of Bernstein, his
shoulders and everything. But there
is a technique of conducting.
“When we watch Bernstein, it feels
so personal,” he continued. “We
think, ‘Oh, he’s doing whatever with
the music.’ But no, it’s actually a very
strict code. So my role was to give
[Cooper] that technical assurance
and security whilst leaving him in
the zone, so he could really lose him-
self in the music.”
Nézet-Séguin revealed that he
“coached the orchestra, but also I
coached [Cooper] via an earpiece...
We kind of found the code, he and
I, to almost subconsciously guide
him so he would feel secure to
really just express.”
As for how he rates Cooper as a
student, Nézet-Séguin enthused: “Oh
my God, I think he’s more than a 10.
It’s insane actually...That Mahler sym-
phony is one of the biggest and most
complex pieces of music ever. It’s
difficult for a professional conduc-
tor, let alone a non-conductor. But
he’s very musical. He was feeling the
music very much.”
“He was surprisingly knowledge-
able also about many pieces of music,”
THE OGS The complicated relationship
between Bernstein and his wife,
Felicia (here in 1959 in London),
is a centerpiece of the movie.
JANUARY 1 9, 2024
 FULLY IMMERSED Cooper (right, on
set) had a hand in all aspects of
Maestro—as an actor, producer,
co-writer and co-director.

Nézet-Séguin added of Cooper. “And

he did so much research. He went
to so many concerts of mine and of
other conductors and rehearsals to
understand the process.”
So impressed was Nézet-Séguin
with watching Cooper immerse him-
self in the role that he’s now mulling
the idea of adding another string to
his own bow. “I’m actually inspired
maybe to one day, in my free time,
direct a movie,” he said.

‘Authentic Experience’
Directing and starring in such a big
production would challenge even
the most hardy person, but pro-
ducer Krieger told Newsweek Coo-
“Nothing was good “It was all about telling the story

enough for Bradley,

per “is indefatigable, he never looked
exhausted. He never raised his voice
to any human on the set. He created
a family, and we all worked together.
of the marriage,” Krieger explained.
“And so anything that didn’t drive
and we all upped the story forward in that way, we
our game to work as decided to not do. I could tell you

hard as he worked.”
He was also honing the costumes, he that the Young People’s Concerts
was honing the production design, was a big thing in Leonard Bern-
FROM LE F T: LEE /CEN TR A L PRE SS /HULTON A RCHIVE/GE T T Y; JA SO N MCDONALD/NE TFLIX

he was working with Kazu [Hiro,
prosthetic makeup artist] and mak-
ing it better every day.
“He was just so set on making it
truly an authentic experience for
everyone that he had to, there was
no way around it,” she added. “The
script was going to be right, the way
we made the movie was going to be
right. Nothing was good enough for
Bradley, and we all sort of upped our
game to work as hard as he worked.”
The efforts, it would seem, have
paid off, with striking shots and
memorable performances also from
the likes of Matt Bomer, Sarah Sil-
verman, Maya Hawke and Michael
Urie, to name a few.
Speaking about Carey Mulli-
gan, Kreiger told Newsweek she
was “incredible” in her role, adding:
“When she first appears on screen
until her death is like truly one of the
greatest feats that I’ve seen on camera
in I don’t even know how long. She
was so beautifully strong as Felicia.
And also understated in a way at the
beginning. You’re not sure where it’s
going. And then she’s just like this
powerhouse that takes over.”
However, West Side Story fans be
warned: Maestro is not a showcase of
Bernstein’s greatest hits, nor does it
offer a behind-the-scenes look at how
his works came to be.
stein’s life, but we didn’t need it for
this story. So we just sort of [brought]
together what was the most import-
ant pieces of the story to tell the story
of their marriage.
“What’s interesting, too, is that I
think some people that are going
into it thinking it’s going to be a tra-
ditional biopic might be a little bit
like, ‘Wait a minute, I wanted to see
how he made West Side Story!’ But you
can see that in a documentary on his
life...This is a way to tell the story in
a different way. It actually teaches
you something new that you don’t
know about Lenny.”
▸ Ryan Smith is a newsweek senior
pop culture and entertainment
reporter.

NE WSWEEK .COM 47
Culture

PA RT I N G S H OT

Colman Domingo
When you think of Civil Rights leadeRs, aCtivist Bayard rustin What does this role mean to you?
isn’t usually the first to come to mind. For Colman Domingo, who por- It means everything. He’s been one
trays the title character in Rustin, his lack of inclusion in many history lessons of my personal heroes since I was 19
is because he was openly queer. Domingo says it felt like “someone’s actively years old. He was living fully to every
trying to make sure that I don’t know who I am...we were really being gaslit.” one of his great abilities. At a time
But once Domingo discovered Rustin’s impact, how he was central to orga- when the entire world was set up for
nizing the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Rustin “became him not to exist, he didn’t sell
the North Star. You can be this way if you are true to who you are.” himself short, and he didn’t
Recently, Rustin’s contribution to the movement has been gaining rec- marginalize himself. He wanted
ognition. Former President Barack Obama, who produced the film to be seen and sat at these
with Michelle Obama, “posthumously gave Rustin the Presidential tables and demand his space,
Medal of Freedom for his work.” Domingo’s performance is also gar- and he owned his power. I
nering award consideration, which the actor credits to his “journey- thought that was fascinating.
man” career. “I can look at the body of my work and be very proud.”
Why do you think it’s taken so long
for people to come to understand
who Bayard Rustin was?
Not only [was] he queer, but he was
Black. And also, he grew up Quaker.
He was an outlier in many ways.
He went into spaces with mostly
“I can look at heterosexual men and demanded
the body of my he exist. It was those people that

work and be couldn’t stop thinking about him

very proud being gay. He was like, that’s not

of exactly what

LEON BE NN E T T/GE T T Y; IN SE T: A LL AN BAUM/ NE W YORK TIME S CO./GE T T Y

what I’m thinking about, I’m thinking
about civil rights, bending this
I’ve done.” country a little more toward freedom.

Between your performance in

Rustin and The Color Purple, your
name is in the mix a lot this award
season. How does that feel?
This is truly a momentous occasion,
and I cannot deny it. But I also
know that there’s been a lot of hard
work; it’s been three decades of
work. Just staying in it, building,
rebuilding, risking, failing, risking
again. I’m very proud and grateful.
I just want to remain as present to
all of it as possible. —H. Alan Scott

▸ Visit Newsweek.com for the full interview

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