This episode is brought you by Shopify. With Shopify, 2026 is the year you make it happen. It gives you the tools to build your dream store, online and in person. Plus with marketing built in, it'll help you reach exactly who you need to. Join the millions who've already made the leap, like Jim Shark and all birds, and ring in the new year with Shopify.

Sign up for your £1 per month trial at shopify.com.uk.

It's the Media Buzzmeter with Howard Kurtz.

Everywhere you look, there are lists and lists and lists.

The best movies of 2024.

The best restaurants of 2024.

The dumbest political predictions of 2024.

The best plays, the best pizza.

It just goes on and on and on.

And they all have one thing in common.

They're filler.

Most of the top line people taking the week off, you'll notice I'm here behind the microphone.

Just saying, it's Friday.

I said yesterday,

look, I hope you have had or are having a good holiday weekend with New Year's coming up.

And look, I've done in the past, you know, one segment on, you know, here are the best interviews I did for the year, but some shows not naming any names or largely reruns.

Greatest hits. Not so great, depending on your view. And look, I suppose they do two things.

One is people like to sort of do the year-in-view thing.

And this is clearly in every possible way, culture, political, economic, violence, assassination attempts, you know, the craziest year.

I would say in American history, I mean, you could probably go back to 1793 or something.

And at the same time, they don't require a lot of manpower.

Like, you've already got it on tape.

...