Honestly with Bari Weiss — “What to Expect in 2026”

Date: December 31, 2025
Host: Bari Weiss with Ollie Weissman
Guests: Sarah Isgur, John McWhorter, Dr. Mark Hyman, Leandra Medine Cohen, Suzy Weiss, Sarah Isgur, Niall Ferguson

Overview

In a lively year-end tradition, Bari Weiss and Free Press deputy editor Ollie Weissman host a “predictions episode,” consulting top experts to forecast what 2026 could have in store for politics, language, culture, health, and the world stage.

Reflecting on an eventful 2025—Trump’s return to the White House, sweeping executive orders, bold foreign policy moves, and a torrent of pop culture phenomena—they invite a diverse roster of guests. The goal: make sense of spiraling trends from Washington to wellness to “Miss Piggy Core,” giving listeners fresh frames for the year ahead. Each segment is rich with candid analysis, wit, and memorable banter.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. American Politics in 2026

Guest: Sarah Isgur (Legal Analyst, former DOJ spokesperson)
Segment Start: [04:12]

The State of Trump’s Second Term

• Vertical control: Trump’s biggest and most troubling legacy is “the vertical control over the executive branch...at a time when the presidency is so powerful, because Congress isn’t much of anything" [05:50].
• Ignoring Congress: The TikTok ban (passed by Congress, ignored by both Biden and now Trump) is cited as a dangerous precedent—"the idea that a president can just shrug and say, ‘I don’t wanna’ is a pretty bad thing." [07:05]
• Executive overreach: Isgur argues the root issue isn’t Trump but “the pen and phone” trajectory started by Obama and escalated by Biden. “We have been in a government by executive order ever since then.” [09:22]
• Lame duck factor: Since the off-cycle 2025 elections, Trump feels like a “lame duck president.... Without juice, that lame duck thing creeps in real fast.” [10:32]
• Predictions: Isgur predicts Trump’s presidency will be “one of the most inconsequential, ineffective in American history,” since relying on executive orders means, “there is no legacy here.” [11:47]

Cabinet & Political Parties

• Cabinet shakeups: Expect Attorney General Pam Bondi to exit; Trump’s ability to replace fired officials is hamstrung by Senate confirmation gridlock and legal challenges to "acting" appointments. [13:27]
• Midterm landscape: Democrats’ chances to retake the Senate hinge on unlikely upsets; the parties are weakened by reforms that gutted their control, producing “dumb choices” and “personality cults” in politics. [18:21]
• Faces of the parties: For Democrats, Mandani (charismatic but radical); for Republicans, JD Vance and Ted Cruz ("two very different directions for the party" [23:58]). Isgur is skeptical of Gavin Newsom or Kamala Harris as figureheads.

Memorable Quotes

• “Trump is the symptom. He is not really the cause of this.” [09:12]
• “We now have judge, jury, and executioner all in the executive branch. James Madison wrote, this was the definition of tyranny.” [07:05]
• “My prediction...the Trump administration...will be one of the most inconsequential, ineffective presidencies in American history.” [11:47]

2. 2026 Pop Culture and Relationships

Guest: Suzy Weiss (Culture Critic & Columnist)
Segment Start: [25:50]

Biggest Moments and Trends

• Headline moments: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement—a “squeal heard around the world”—is called the “martyrdom for heterosexuality” [29:08].
• Celebrity breakups and makeups: In-depth banter about new and fading power couples, with predictions about their staying power (e.g., bullish on Katy Perry & Justin Trudeau).
• It Girls & Middle-aged Resurgence: Marks the rise not just of pop stars like RAYE but also “the middle-aged it girl...patricia Arquette, Sigourney Weaver, Judith Light.” [40:43]
• Core Aesthetics:
  • Miss Piggy Core: “Unapologetic female capitalist pig... Eloise...absentee parents but charges room service to the room...adjacent to drag is clowning—clowning is 2026.” [41:55]
  • Drag, clowning, and medical optimism—“optimism is gonna be in because data is gonna be out. No more Oura rings, no more posting your sleep score...ignorance is bliss.” [44:43]
• Fashion nostalgia: Nostalgia for “mid-century modern,” and 2010s Brooklyn “Williamsburg coffee shops...deep irony and idealism.” [44:15]

Social Commentary

• Lavender Marriage: Predicts a resurgence: “You’re gonna see a lot more people jacking up with people they don’t have sex with...maybe a soft lavender marriage, a periwinkle marriage perhaps.” [37:09]
• Relationships: Despite thinkpieces about “hetero fatalism," Suzy insists “having a boyfriend is extremely cool, and everyone wants one.” [39:00]

Notable Quotes

• “Taylor Swift...she really was a martyr for heterosexuality.” [29:08]
• “Miss Piggy Core. Miss Piggy. Okay. Unapologetic female capitalist pig.” [42:01]
• “All fiber in, protein out. Horse girls, high end dollhouses. It’s not about being, like, the perfect woman. It’s about being the perfect girl.” [47:13]

3. Language, Slang, and Words to Watch

Guest: John McWhorter (Linguist, Columbia University)
Segment Start: [48:24]

2025’s Words of the Year

• Oxford: “Rage bait” (“so much online...designed to make people angry and not to think.” [50:09])
• Slop: A defining word, especially relating to AI—the “inshittification of everything.” [51:32]
• 6, 7: A viral “meaningless” colloquialism among tweens—“just tweens shaking hands or saluting each other.” [53:06]
• Chat: Used as an address, “hey, listen”—an example of live-streamer internet language entering real life. [55:35]

Language Games & Censorship Workarounds

• Words like “midnight ballerina” (stripper), “corn” (for porn) emerge to bypass automated content moderation. [61:17]
• Trends toward using innocuous, often childish or meta terms for taboo subjects; digital communities are quick to invent and adopt.

Future Word Predictions for 2026

• T: From “spilling the tea” (gossip) to broader uses—“T is beginning to have a wider meaning, like ‘based.’”
• Serve/Serves/Cunty: As in “that serves” (short for “serves cunt”), a positive expression slowly entering mainstream use [64:02]
• Unk: The new “OK, Boomer” ("someone that’s kind of out of touch or old fashioned." [60:40])

Notable Quote

• “If I, as a linguist, can't resist rage-bait scrolling, then I’m imagining lots of other people...” [51:19]

4. Health & Wellness in 2026

Guest: Dr. Mark Hyman (Physician, Function Health)
Segment Start: [65:13]

Most Effective Health Habits

• Eat real food: “Just stop eating stuff that ain’t food...60% of the American diet is 'ultra processed food’—the problem is not willpower, it’s a biochemical trap.” [66:17]
• Move & Sleep: Prioritize quality rest and regular movement; don't cut corners on sleep.
• Ownership of health: “Having agency over your health...our healthcare system isn’t going to fix chronic issues for you.” [82:09]

Trends to Bring or Ditch in 2026 (Rapid-fire)

• Red light therapy: Keep—“there’s a lot of evidence that this can actually work.” [70:00]
• EMF blockers: Data unclear, but “EMFs are a problem...reduce exposures where possible.” [71:55]
• Sauna & cold plunges: “Science is really good...saunas reduce mortality, cold plunges boost resilience, alertness, inflammation.” [73:30]
• Ozempic/GLP-1 drugs: Cautious yes—has been overused for weight loss, “shouldn’t be first line, but as a tool, in conjunction with lifestyle change, can help.” [78:28]
• Microdosing, advanced age reversal: Mark is tracking “Clotho,” an age-reversal compound, as an emerging frontier [83:09]

Top 3 to Start & 3 to Quit (Beyond food)

• Start: Move, sleep, take proactive control.
• Quit: Ultra-processed foods, sedentary lifestyles, inadequate sleep.

Notable Quote

• “Complaining is the language of victimhood. I’d like to leave complaining behind.” [101:25] — (Leandra Medine Cohen, but echoed in the health lens)

5. Fashion Trends to Watch

Guest: Leandra Medine Cohen (Writer/Fashion Influencer)
Segment Start: [84:18]

Defining Trends in 2025 & 2026

• Trend-forward basics: Gap and J.Crew rising again—“Gap is very trend forward...what makes it good for babies makes it good for grownups, too.” [85:49]
• 2025 highlights: Oversized fuzzy coats with “massive Mongolian collars”; balloon pants; animal prints (leopard and tiger, but not zebra) [87:48, 89:20]
• 2026 forecast:
  • “The proportions of nudity are totally changing—we’re entering our shoulder era: halter tops, bare midriffs, pants are back.” [90:50]
  • “Wide-leg pants, but fitted—support you like a good partner, let you be free in your leg.” [91:52]
  • “Wearing your religion on your sleeve—crosses, iconography, talismans—as a way of putting your values front and center in a culture that is ‘so anti-discipline.’” [92:48]
  • “The new fashion woman has good sex”—style is messier, more primal; post-pure-aesthetic and pro-body, pro-sexiness. [94:25]

In & Out List

• In 2026: Red light therapy, wearing what makes you feel sexy, “lab-grown diamonds,” nostalgia, optimism.
• Out: Complaining, balloon pants, polka dots, “Labubus” (Internet meme/commodity), micro shorts (hot pants—possibly), data obsession.

Notable Quotes

• “Wear what makes you feel sexy.” [107:07]

6. Global Geopolitics and Security

Guest: Niall (Neil) Ferguson (Historian, Hoover Institution)
Segment Start: [109:14]

Big Picture: Cold War II

• Defines the current era as “Cold War II...two superpowers—US and China—in competition over tech, military, ideology” [109:40].
• “President Trump sincerely wants to end conflicts, but it’s much easier to start a war—ask Vladimir Putin—than it is to end one.” [111:56]

Hotspots Reviewed

• Gaza/Israel: “Ceasefire” credited to US/Jared Kushner, “a kind of peace” with Hamas clinging to a portion of Gaza but essentially divided, Israel still faces threats on multiple fronts, and Iran is trying to rebuild nuclear capacity [112:32].
• Iran: Regime is surprisingly durable; the real risk to stability is what happens when Khamenei dies. "It’s extremely difficult to imagine a peaceful transition...if it has Israeli fingerprints on it." [117:37]
• Ukraine: War enters its 4th year, casualties high, Putin uninterested in compromise: “base case...the war keeps going, but there’s a 30% probability of a ceasefire in 2026.” [125:52]
• China: Trade war and tariffs—Trump’s approach failed to shift China: “as an instrument in Cold War II...this did not work well. In fact, it revealed the power that China now exerts...” [129:26]
• Taiwan: “No, [China] won’t invade Taiwan in 2026, or likely even in 2027. We’ll see ongoing pressure on Taiwan, but not war.” [133:30]
• Venezuela: Maduro’s regime likely to endure absent US boots on the ground [136:53].

Rising Antisemitism

• Niall flags global antisemitism as an urgent, overlooked threat: “Pogroms, attacks on Jewish communities, are on the rise around the world...use the playbook of financial, political, and societal opposition from the 19th century.” [139:58, 143:10]

Notable Quotes

• “We are in Cold War Two...we didn’t really notice because we thought that history had ended.” [109:40]
• “If you do not check antisemitism, if you don’t drive it out of the pale of political respectability...it will spread until it poses a truly mortal threat.” [146:36]

Most Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On executive power: “We now have judge, jury, and executioner all in the executive branch. James Madison wrote, this was the definition of tyranny.” — Sarah Isgur [07:05]
• On new slang: “6, 7 is so weird that you can at least have a conversation about it. It’s just a way of kind of grunting or clapping hands...adorable.” — John McWhorter [54:03]
• On love in 2026: “She [Taylor Swift] really was a martyr for heterosexuality.” — Suzy Weiss [29:08]
• On antisemitism: “If you do not check antisemitism...it will spread until it poses a truly mortal threat...It’s a moral imperative for anyone who cares about democracy.” — Niall Ferguson [146:36]
• On health: “Complaining is the language of victimhood. I'd like to leave complaining behind.” — Leandra Medine Cohen [101:25]
• On fashion advice: “Wear what makes you feel sexy.” — Leandra Medine Cohen [107:07]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:12] — American Politics in 2026 (Sarah Isgur)
• [25:50] — Pop Culture Predictions (Suzy Weiss)
• [48:24] — Language and Words to Watch (John McWhorter)
• [65:13] — Health and Wellness Trends (Dr. Mark Hyman)
• [84:18] — Fashion Forecasts (Leandra Medine Cohen)
• [109:14] — Global Geopolitics and Security (Niall Ferguson)

Tone and Style

The episode blends sharp, sophisticated analysis with humor and cultural savvy, true to the original language of the speakers. Insights are delivered through rich back-and-forths and personal anecdotes, making even heavy topics absorbing and relatable.

Final Thoughts

For listeners seeking a nuanced, insider-y look at both serious and lighthearted trends, this episode is a roundtable of deep-dish expertise and sparkling commentary. From the fate of American democracy to the "Miss Piggy Core" aesthetic, Bari Weiss and her guests offer a snapshot of a future being born right before our eyes—one as unpredictable and fascinating as the year that just ended.