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January 24, 2026

Welcome back to The Weekender, where you’ll find a batch of the week’s top stories about culture and the way we live today.

I just went through my annual calendar merge, an exercise I use to figure out what the year looks like for my family so that we can plan a vacation. For a hot minute, I wondered if we could pull off a “microvacation,” a trend our Travel desk wrote about this week, in which people are packing big trips into extremely small time frames. Think of touring the Parthenon and then seeing the pyramids and more in Egypt in just a few days, including international flights. I’m not sure we’re ready for that kind of challenge, but maybe you are. You can find out more about how “microcationing” works in the full roundup of 2026 travel trends below.

Also in this edition, we’ve got four simple tests to find out if you’re aging well, a tour of the Jealous House in London and a cow with a surprising skill. I’ll see you next weekend(er).

— Farah

Nina Westervelt for The New York Times CLOSET CLEANOUT Fans lined up for a chance to buy a piece of Cyndi Lauper’s wardrobe. See what they found. →

Claire Merchlinsky/The New York Times; Photographs by Getty MEN'S HEALTH Doctors wish men knew these five things about sexual health. →

Jeremie Souteyrat for The New York Times LIVING SMALL A green “monster” hides on a quiet London street. →

Antonio J. Osuna Mascaró MOO-VING UP Do cows use tools? This one does. →

GrandPalaisRmn/Musée du Louvre CLOSE READ Let’s go face to face with history’s most dangerous painter. →

GLOW-UPS Are they hot, or is it the “Australia Effect”? →

Tim Cook BUZZWORDS Short on time for travel? Consider a “microvacation.” →

Netflix ON COMEDY “S.N.L.” hasn’t produced a superstar in a while. Could it be Marcello Hernández? →

iStock/Bet_Noire WINTER WARNING Follow these common-sense steps to make sure you don’t get caught with frozen pipes. →

Marine Buffard WHAT TO READ We’ve got 10 long books to get cozy with on long winter nights. →

Dustin Chambers for The New York Times CHECKUP Are you aging well? These four simple tests will tell you. →

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. FOR THE SOUL This chicken soup is as soothing to cook as it is to eat. →

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This edition of The Weekender was edited by Farah Miller and Kellina Moore. Reach our team at weekender@nytimes.com.

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