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The 2026 Nobel Prizes

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

The 2026 Nobel Prizes were announced between October 5 and October 12. The medicine prize went to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries in optogenetics,[1] the physics prize to Francis Halzen for his work on neutrinos,[2] and the chemistry prize to Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai for their work in asymmetric chemistry.[3] The Peace Prize went to Navi Pillay, a South African-born jurist and former UN human rights chief, and drew criticism from President Donald Trump.[4][5] The economics prize went to the American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford.[6]

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The Peace Prize went to Navi Pillay, a South African-born jurist and former UN human rights chief, and drew criticism from President Donald Trump.[4][5] The economics prize went to the American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford.[6]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 1%, 6 of 476 tracked outlets (3 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 22%, 107 of 479 tracked outlets (31 left, 52 center, 24 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): 9%, 44 of 476 tracked outlets (11 left, 27 center, 6 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): under 1%, 1 of 479 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 1%, 7 of 473 tracked outlets (3 left, 3 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRight

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 9 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (5 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Oct 26, 20263317 of 4731%
Oct 19, 20260101 of 479under 1%
Oct 12, 20261127644 of 4769%
Oct 5, 2026315224107 of 47922%
Sep 28, 20263216 of 4761%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Oct 25, 2026 · first reported · Headline from The Columbian

    Norway pushes back after Trump disparages country

Background

The medicine prize was announced at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on October 5.[7] It went to Deisseroth, Hegemann and Nagel "for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics," which uses light and genetics to control individual cells.[1] Deisseroth, a Stanford professor, surprised his children with the news.[8] On October 6, Halzen, a Belgian-American physicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, won the physics prize for his work on neutrinos, tiny cosmic particles that may offer clues to how the universe evolved.[2] He said years of October "misery" were finally over.[9] On October 7, Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the chemistry prize for resolving how molecules exist in non-identical mirror images.[3]

Read the full background (3 more paragraphs)

Before the Peace Prize announcement, experts floated the International Space Station as a contender,[10] Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney drew buzz for his stand against Trump,[11] and experts saw Trump's own chances as minimal.[12]

On October 9 the Peace Prize went to Pillay, whose career ran from defending the rights of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela to leading a UN-backed panel that found that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.[4] Israel, which vehemently denies the accusation, scorned the choice, which highlighted its long tensions with global institutions charged with upholding international law.[13] Trump said he should have won and called Norway's decision "disgraceful and embarrassing." He told a rally he had "never heard of" Pillay, a former judge at the International Criminal Court.[5] The same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced full blocking sanctions against the court.[14]

The cycle closed on October 12, when the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the economics prize to Hall and Woodford for their work on models that help manage economic shocks.[6]

Supporting stories (14)
  1. Nobel medicine prize goes to 3 scientists for research into brain activity
  2. Nobel Prize in physics awarded to Francis Halzen for work on mysterious ghost particles
  3. Henri Kagan and Kenso Soai awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for unraveling mystery of asymmetric chemistry
  4. Nobel Peace laureate defends international justice as it comes under US criticism
  5. Trump fumes over Nobel peace prize snub and criticizes Norway
  6. 2 American economists win Nobel for work on managing economic shocks
  7. The Nobel Prize week is kicking off in Stockholm with the medicine award
  8. Stanford professor surprises kids after winning Nobel Prize
  9. Nobel winner Halzen says years of October ‘misery’ finally over
  10. A galactic Nobel? Experts float the International Space Station among contenders for the Peace Prize
  11. Mark Carney’s stand against Trump leads to Nobel Peace Prize and Time Person of the Year buzz
  12. Nobel Peace Prize haunted by the 'spectre' of Trump
  13. Israel's scorn of Nobel Peace Prize laureate highlights its combative relationship with UN bodies
  14. US hits ICC with sweeping sanctions to disrupt tribunal

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 45 recorded updates

October 2026

  1. Trump says Norway 'sucks' after Nobel lossHeadline from The Hill · 8 outlets
  2. Nobel memorial prize in economics to be awarded in StockholmHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 4 outlets
  3. 2 American economists win Nobel for work on managing economic shocksHeadline from FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News · 45 outlets
  4. Trump veers into Nobel Prize grievances during upstate New York rally on day award is announcedHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 2 outlets
  5. UN whistleblower accuses Nobel winner of being ‘complicit in the Uyghur genocide’Headline from Washington Examiner · 1 outlet
  6. They’ve done it again: the Nobel Committee just disgraced itself once moreHeadline from New York Post · 1 outlet
  7. Elisha Wiesel: The Death of the Nobel Peace PrizeHeadline from The Free Press · 1 outlet
  8. She Got the Nobel Prize for Hating IsraelHeadline from Hot Air · 1 outlet
  9. Anne Carson’s Nobel-winning, genre-defying work bridges the gap between ancient Greek literature and modern lifeHeadline from The Conversation US · 1 outlet
  10. Dignity defined in a Nobel Peace PrizeHeadline from Christian Science Monitor · 1 outlet
  11. Trump shares scathing takedown after another Nobel Peace Prize snubHeadline from MLive · 3 outlets
  12. Nobel Peace Prize Winner’s First Remarks After Win: ‘If You Clap A Little Bit More, I May Share This Prize With Trump’Headline from HuffPost · 1 outlet
  13. Israel's scorn of Nobel Peace Prize laureate highlights its combative relationship with UN bodiesHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 4 outlets
  14. Harvard Celebrates Its Boycott-Israel, Blood Libel Nobel LaureateHeadline from Conservative Review · 2 outlets
  15. The Nobel Committee Just Made a Mockery of Its Peace Prize, and President Trump Called It OutHeadline from Townhall · 1 outlet
  16. Nobel committee thumbs its nose at US, IsraelHeadline from The Hill · 1 outlet
  17. Nobel winner Navi Pillay gives sarcastic nod to Trump in initial remarksHeadline from The Hill · 1 outlet
  18. Trump boosts statement calling Nobel Peace Prize winner Navi Pillay ‘unabashed hater of America’Headline from New York Post · 1 outlet
  19. A Nobel winner's novel in verseHeadline from Semafor · 1 outlet
  20. Nobel Committee ‘Shamed Itself Beyond Repair’ By Snubbing Trump, He Says In Truth Social RepostHeadline from Forbes · 1 outlet
  21. Here’s a look at the Nobel Prizes for scienceHeadline from Science News · 1 outlet
  22. UN's Turk calls Nobel award 'collective win' for human rights and justiceHeadline from Al-Monitor · 1 outlet
  23. Human Rights Pioneer Pillay Wins Nobel Peace PrizeHeadline from Bloomberg · 1 outlet
  24. Nobel Peace laureate defends international justice as it comes under US criticismHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 65 outlets
  25. US hits ICC with sweeping sanctions to disrupt tribunalHeadline from Arkansas Democrat-Gazette · 41 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →