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Good morning,
New year, new you? (Cue snicker.)
That phrase has always annoyed me. I don’t need a “new me.” You probably don’t either. I’m already here, sometimes messy, fully alive, and doing the best I can.
The whole New Year Industrial Complex roll out—resolutions, glow-ups, detoxes, manifestations, WHAT’S IN/WHAT’S OUT lists ...
Nope.
We’re not doing that here.
What I want—what PROVOKED exists for—is grown-ass conversations about change. Not the kind you journal about for three weeks and forget by Valentine’s Day. Give me raw, nervy storytelling. Conversations that arrive uninvited, rearranges your priorities, break your heart open, hand you a tissue and say, “Okay. Now who are you?”
That’s where we’re starting 2026: not with reinvention—but with honesty.
Some of us love change. (Hi, it’s me. I’ve moved 38 times and lived in five countries. Chaos and I are on a first-name basis.) Some of us hate it. Most of us just don’t get the luxury of choosing it.
So buckle up.
We’re back doing what we're good at. Telling the truth.
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CULTURE
BY JENNIFER GREEN
Mira Nair has been shaping culture for decades—long before her son became New York City’s first Muslim, South Asian, and African-born mayor. The Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind Monsoon Wedding and Mississippi Masala has always believed in the power of visibility. And while she’s earned global acclaim for telling untold stories, Nair still says her greatest achievement is her son—a sentiment many mothers will recognize.
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BRAIN AND BODY
BY DR. GAYLE MACBRIDE, PHD, LP
You spent years coping instead of processing. Now it’s catching up with you. Here’s how to confront it without falling apart.
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BY MELISSA T. SHULTZ
A lizard shows up—literally—and refuses to leave until one woman reckons with control and what regeneration actually looks like in midlife.
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TAKE NOTE
Timely and worth your attention.
💊 Weight-Loss Shots Are Becoming Pills—and demand is about to explode. Drugmakers behind Ozempic-style GLP-1 meds are rolling out new oral versions that work like the injections without the needles. Early data show meaningful weight-loss and diabetes benefits … but doctors warn about shortages, side effects, and the need for long-term use. Translation? This conversation isn’t going anywhere. It’s just getting easier to swallow.
🦠 Flu Season Isn’t Playing Around Flu-like illness is surging across 45 states, with doctor visits hitting the highest level in nearly 30 years, according to the CDC. So far this season: 11 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths—including nine children. Experts expect cases to keep rising post-holidays. If you’re on the fence about a flu shot, talk to your doctor—especially if you or someone you love is immune-compromised or you're caring for little ones or elders. Please take care.
🩺 Cervical Cancer Screening Just Got Easier—and More Private Big shift coming: Women 30–65 will soon be able to screen for high-risk HPV at home with a self-swab covered by insurance starting in 2027. It won’t replace Pap tests, but it removes a massive barrier for women who avoid pelvic exams or can’t get to the doctor. Early detection saves lives—and half of diagnoses today happen in women who weren’t screened.
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DEAR READER
These stories come straight from our readers: smart, funny, fearless, and unfiltered.
BY ANNE-MARIE ZANZAL
She was a pastor, a wife, a mother—and then midlife handed her the language for the desire she’d been taught to silence. This is the story of coming out without coming undone.
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READER SPOTLIGHT
Want to be featured next? Comment on your favorite piece—we read them all.
SCREEN TIME
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What We're Watching (and Why It Matters)
Awards season officially kicked off last Sunday with The Critics Choice Awards— and women 50+ cleaned up. Big. Jean Smart (74) took home Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks. Amy Madigan (75) won Best Supporting Actress for Weapons. Rhea Seehorn (53) won Best Actress in a Drama Series for Pluribus. Katherine LaNasa (59) took Best Supporting Actress for The Pitt. And Costumer Designer Kate Hawley won for her stunning work on Frankenstein. Aging out? Hardly.
And while the statues are being placed on shelves, January is also stacked with new releases (and we can't wait!).
Bridgerton Season 4—Jan 29 and Feb 26 (Netflix) This time it’s Benedict’s turn, with a masquerade-ball love story that promises opulence and all the right feels.
The Night Manager—Jan 11 (Prime Video) Ten years later … Jonathan Pine returns as the dangerously charming hotel-manager-turned-spy. Corruption, seduction, and slow-burn tension? Yes please.
Ponies—Jan 15 (Peacock) Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson star—two secretaries at the American embassy in 1970s Moscow become CIA operatives after their husbands are killed.
The Pitt—Jan 8 (HBO Max) The Emmy-winning hospital drama returns, following the chaos and moral triage inside a Pittsburgh ER.
High Potential—Jan 6 (ABC and Hulu) Season two picks back up—if you missed this last year, it’s worth a binge. A single mom with off-the-charts pattern-recognition starts consulting for the police. Witty and quietly feminist in all the right ways.
Next up? The Golden Globes this Sunday. Stay tuned—we're not done yet.
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READER FAVORITES
The stories women keep coming back to.
by Abby Heugel
by Aileen Weintraub
by Melissa Gould
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