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KQED's Forum

What Are Your 2026 Predictions?

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 8 January 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Get out your crystal ball, trust your spidey-senses and look back at 2025’s major takeaways, because it’s time to help us predict 2026. Whether you think Democrats will win big in the midterms, that an entirely AI-generated song will top the Billboard charts or that we’ll finally stop Venmo charging our friends for dinner, we want to hear your predictions. We speak with three journalists about what they expect — and what we’ve learned from 2025. And we hear from you: Whether it’s good, bad or neutral, what do you think will happen this year? Guests: Izzie Ramirez, deputy editor of Future Perfect, a section focused on the myriad challenges and efforts in making the world a better place, Vox Media Emma Goldberg, reporter covering political subcultures and the way we live now for the Styles section, The New York Times Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist, The Washington Post; she writes the nationally syndicated personal finance column "The Color of Money" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:15.1

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0:33.3

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0:38.4

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0:40.1

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0:46.2

From KQED.

0:48.9

Welcome to Forum.

0:50.2

I'm Mina Kim.

0:51.4

We're just a week into the new year now, and a lot's already happened. But what does the rest of 2026 have in store for us? There's a major midterm election. How do you think it'll go? Also, 2025 was the year we wondered what terrorists would do to our finances, and if what we were seeing in our social feeds was real or AI generated. So do you think

1:13.3

we'll push back? Our three guests this hour have put their predictions for 2026 on paper. And we

1:19.8

want to hear yours coming out of 2025. What do you think? Or hope? Or maybe worry will happen this

1:25.9

year. 866-736 is the number, the email address forum at kQED.org.

1:32.3

You can also find us on Discord, Blue Sky, Facebook, Instagram, or threats at KQED forum.

1:38.5

Joining us, Izzy Ramirez, deputy editor of Future Perfect, a section of Vox that covers

1:44.0

how to make the future better,

1:45.7

and has for seven years put out a forecast of major events in the year to come.

1:50.8

Is he welcome to forum.

1:52.9

Hey, Oz. Glad to be here.

1:54.7

Glad to have you. Also with us, Emma Goldberg, who covers political subcultures and the way we live now

2:00.4

for the style section at the New York Times.

...

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