Welcome to the January issue of The Highlight

For many, January is a month full of hard-to-keep resolutions and hopeful plans for self-improvement. New year, new … you? We’re kicking off this often uneasy season with an investigation into confidence: How important is it, really? A look at the myth of frictionless relationships is another timely piece, as is a how-to on journaling.

Looking ahead to the imminent inauguration of the next president, we’ve also got stories about how young voter groups became disconnected from actual young voters, the many efforts to prosecute Donald Trump, and the collapse of nuclear guardrails worldwide. Work on the promise of nasal vaccines, the ins and outs of egg donation, and policing in the age of the gun help round out our issue. Plus, we’ve got book recommendations for Vox Members and an exclusive Highlight podcast on pronatalism.

The Trump prosecutions were supposed to save democracy. They may have imperiled it further.

One woman’s nail-biting quest to a better self.

The demographer is worried that we aren’t having as many babies as we used to — and says he knows how that could change.