2026 Pop Culture Predictions

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 2026 Pop Culture Predictions

Date: December 31, 2025
Hosts: Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Stephen Thompson, Aisha Harris

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Episode Overview

In this special year-end episode, the Pop Culture Happy Hour team reflects on their 2025 pop culture predictions—what they got right, what wildly missed the mark—and throws down their bold, cynical, and sometimes oddly specific guesses for what 2026 might bring in the tumultuous world of pop entertainment. The conversation spans AI music, the future of Drag Race, the Law and Order content machine, and the ever-elusive possibility of a fresh Christmas classic, all wrapped in the show's signature blend of wit, side-eye, and good-humored ribbing.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reviewing 2025 Predictions

Aisha Harris’s 2025 Guesses:

• Prediction: Bob Iger would extend his Disney CEO contract (already set to expire Dec 2026), and David Zaslav (Warner Bros Discovery CEO) would be pushed out.
• Result: Neither happened. “So my predictions were completely, completely off.” (Aisha Harris, 06:09)
• Discussion: Everyone agrees media exec turnover is random and nigh impossible to forecast. Glen likens it to "brownian motion, dude. It's random atomic bombardment." (Glen Weldon, 06:39)

Glen Weldon’s 2025 Guess:

• Prediction: AI, especially generative writing (e.g., ChatGPT), would hit a roadblock due to backlash against non-human content.
• Result: No big backlash, just “entrenchment.” “I think what I was focusing on there was the technical writing aspect of AI… there wasn't [a backlash] as much as there was in 2025.” (Glen Weldon, 11:21)
• Discussion: Everyone feels a “vibe shift” (Stephen) but not a measurable turn against AI yet.

Linda Holmes’s 2025 Guess:

• Prediction: Lorne Michaels (SNL) would actively advance towards retirement.
• Result: “I neglected a very important fact, which is that we are in a historical era in which no one ever retires.” (Linda Holmes, 22:27)

Stephen Thompson’s 2025 Parade of Predictions:

• Included: “Oscars give Best Picture to Wicked,” “Grammys give Album of the Year to Billie Eilish,” “Rihanna releases new album,” “K-pop tops Hot 100,” and “Bills over Eagles in the Super Bowl.”
• Result: “I got nothing right. I was wrong about absolutely everything. Pretty wildly.” (Stephen Thompson, 25:47)
• The gang agrees: Stephen always goes for quantity, if not accuracy. “I went 0 for 1 and you went 0 for like 50. And that is awesome.” (Linda Holmes, 30:38)

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2. Predictions for 2026

Aisha Harris: The Rise of AI-Generated Hits

• Prediction: “A fully AI-generated song that we are aware of, that we are aware of, will crack the Billboard Hot 100. I feel like it’s coming.” (Aisha Harris, 07:05)
• Rationale: Platforms like SUNO and Udio are already collaborating with major music groups; AI-assisted “artists” have cracked genre-specific charts.
• Memorable Quote: “What a sad day it will be. I guess I’m just. I’m all for cynical predictions these days. I’m sorry, guys.” (Aisha Harris, 08:54)
• Panel response: Linda and Stephen agree it feels inevitable, particularly given the playlist-driven nature of streaming.

Glen Weldon: RuPaul’s Drag Race Succession

• Prediction: “2026 is the year the icon, the legend known as RuPaul Charles will step down from hosting RuPaul’s Drag Race.” (Glen Weldon, 15:41)
• Rationale: RuPaul has recently stepped back from spin-offs, is splitting her persona in public appearances, and no longer dominates the Emmys. “She is smart enough to know that the Emmys don’t backtrack. Her era is over. The queen is dead. Long live the queen.” (Glen Weldon, 18:08)
• Panel reaction: They salute the boldness, note Drag Race is now “a global hyper megalo Corporation” (Glen), and discuss the potential for others to eventually take up the mantle.

Linda Holmes: Law & Order Will Do... That Story

• Prediction: The Law & Order franchise will tackle a “ripped from the headlines” take inspired by the Olivia Nuzzi/Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. alleged affair saga. “...somewhere in the Law and Order universe, there's going to be a take on political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, her alleged affair with then presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the fallout from all of that.” (Linda Holmes, 23:09)
• Panel response: Enthusiastic agreement: “This is solid. I think this is rock solid.” (Glen Weldon, 23:43)
• History: Law & Order has previously mashed up real news stories (e.g., Paula Deen scandal), so this bold “sub prediction” is plausible.

Stephen Thompson: A Bid for Christmas Chart Immortality

• Prediction: “A major A list talent, a Taylor Swift perhaps, will attempt to shock and awe their way into the holiday music canon by releasing a new Christmas album... a new, as yet unreleased song will hit the top 10 by this time next year.” (Stephen Thompson, 28:21)
• Rationale: There’s a “void waiting to be filled” in new Christmas music; aging playlists are ripe for a modern classic from a superstar.
• Degree of difficulty: High—“this basically never comes to pass.”
• Linda’s joke: Imagines Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce duetting “Santa Baby”, with Travis providing a spoken word part (29:02).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On failed predictions:

  • “It’s just random atomic bombardment. Don’t beat yourself up.” (Glen Weldon, 06:39)
  • “I neglected a very important fact, which is that we are in a historical era in which no one ever retires.” (Linda Holmes, 22:27)

• On AI in music:

  • “I just feel as though it's very possible... and what a sad day it will be.” (Aisha, 08:56)
  • “They are not artists. I just want to say, they are not artists.” (Linda Holmes, 09:10)

• On Drag Race longevity:

  • “I'm not saying this is something I want. I hope she goes on forever. But there is such a thing as tea leaves, people, and I'm out here reading them. Does that make me brave? Does that make me a hero? Up to you.” (Glen Weldon, 16:05)

• On specificity vs. probability:

  • “If you want specificity and you want to be wrong, I’m your guy.” (Stephen, 29:36)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:34 | Review of Aisha’s 2025 predictions | | 07:02 | Aisha's 2026 AI music chart prediction | | 10:09 | Review of Glen's 2025 AI backlash prediction | | 15:41 | Glen’s 2026 RuPaul’s Drag Race prediction | | 22:22 | Review of Linda's 2025 SNL prediction | | 23:09 | Linda's 2026 Law & Order “ripped from the headlines” call | | 24:38 | Review of Stephen’s 2025 prediction assortment | | 27:26 | Stephen’s 2026 “new Christmas classic” chart prediction |

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Tone & Dynamic

The conversation is sharp, self-deprecating, and full of inside jokes and affectionate teasing. Everyone leans into the cynicism of modern pop culture, but also retains a hint of hope—or at least a love of the prediction game. The hosts’ long-standing rapport lends warmth even when delivering their most aggrieved or jaded hot takes.

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In Summary

The Pop Culture Happy Hour team closes 2025 with humility (nobody’s predictions aged well), a strong dose of pop-cultural pessimism (AI is coming for music; few will surrender the cultural throne willingly), and a healthy appetite for future “I told you so’s” (or at least for mercilessly grading each other’s prophetic accuracy next year). If you want to know what might (or, more likely, will not) define pop culture in 2026, these are the (self-admitted) wrong-but-bold predictions to beat.

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Keep up with Pop Culture Happy Hour for future hot takes and the ever-rewarding annual tradition of grading prediction humility!

Transcript

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[Linda Holmes]

Hi, Linda Holmes here. Somehow we are almost at the end of 2025, and I'm going to be honest with you. It's been a pretty challenging year for NPR and local stations. But here's the thing. Despite losing federal funding for public media and despite all the attacks we've seen on the Free Press, we're still here for you. We are still independent, a critical right guaranteed by the First Amendment. And with your support, NPR will not be silent here at Pop Culture Happy Hour. We will continue keeping you company with thoughtful, engaging conversations about all the movies, TV, music and more 2026 has in store. If you're already an NPR supporter, thank you so much. We see you and we're so grateful for you. If not, please join the community of public radio supporters right now before the end of the year at plus.npr.org Signing up unlocks a bunch of perks like bonus episodes and more from across NPR's podcasts. Plus, you get to feel good about supporting public media while you listen. End the year on a high note and invest in a public service that matters to you. Visit plus.NPR.org today. Thanks. What does 2026 have in store for pop culture? It's impossible to know for sure, but we are always willing to make our best guesses anyway.

[Stephen Thompson]

That's right. We are back for another year of pop culture predictions. We'll touch on AI, the future of RuPaul's Drag Race, and what's to come for the Law and Order universe. And of course, we'll check in on our prognosticating from last year and see how things worked out. I'm Stephen Thompson.

[Linda Holmes]

And I'm Linda Holmes. And today we're talking about our 2026 predictions on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

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[Linda Holmes]

Today are our Pop Culture Happy Hour co hosts, Glenn Weldon. Hey, Glenn.

[Glen Weldon]

Hey. Let's just get on with this, okay?

[Linda Holmes]

And Aisha Harris. Hello, Aisha.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Hey.

[Aisha Harris]

I'm just glad we've made it through this year.

[Linda Holmes]

We made it. We're still here. We're all still here together, thank goodness. It's wonderful to see all of you. I'm going to start right, right off with Aisha Harris. I would say historically a good predictor relative to the rest of us.

[Stephen Thompson]

Really good track record, batting what, 150.

[Aisha Harris]

Okay. All right.

[Glen Weldon]

Well, I don't know what that means.

[Aisha Harris]

Great time to be saying all that because this year, woof.

[Linda Holmes]

The first thing we're going to do is we're going to listen to Aisha's prediction from last year.

[Aisha Harris]

I don't know if either of these things will actually happen, but they're predictions, so who cares? I think that in 2025, Bob Iger is going to extend his CEO contract for Disney. As you may know, he stepped down as CEO and Bob Chapek took over. And then Iger came back because he just couldn't let go of the reins. But he has his contract extended through to the end of 2026. But I feel as though he's probably going to find a way to extend it past that. The other part of this is that David Zaslav, the Warner Brothers Discovery CEO, is going to be unceremoniously ousted or resigned from the.

[Stephen Thompson]

How'd you do, Aisha?

[Aisha Harris]

Well, now.

[Glen Weldon]

Yeah. How'd that go? How'd that go for you?

[Aisha Harris]

Oh, for two. Oh, for two. Yeah. Neither of these things happened. In fact, a lot of other things happened. Yeah. So Bob Iger, to that point, as of this taping, has not extended his CEO contract. He is still scheduled to be in this position until December 31st of 2026. But just in early December of 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Disney's board, basically, they plan to announce Iger's replacement in, quote, unquote, early 2026. So, you know, it's possible, like, my prediction could still, who knows, in 2026, it could come true, but it seems unlikely at this point. So that was wrong. As for Zaslav, man, oh, man, Zaslav is somehow coming off even better financially than anyone could ever thought of. You've got this B happening between Netflix and Paramount for Warner's assets. You know, as of this taping, things are still kind of up in the air. Who knows what this will turn out to be? But Zaslav could walk away with hundreds of millions in equity in this sale. Okay, so he's doing fine. So the rich keep getting richer and the rest of us are just here. So my predictions were completely, completely off.

[Glen Weldon]

Yeah, but don't beat yourself up. Because, I mean, when you're trying to predict this part of the industry, it's brownie in motion, dude. It's random atomic bombardment. Don't beat yourself up.

[Linda Holmes]

I agree. I wouldn't even try. Cause I tried not to even pay attention to who the names are that are involved in stuff like this. Appreciate it. Feel for you. We'll get to mine, but I'm sure.

[Stephen Thompson]

For 2026, Aisha, you're just gonna crush it.

[Glen Weldon]

Yeah, you're gonna crush it.

[Aisha Harris]

Okay, so this is a prediction that I think Steven especially will have thoughts on, and I will be very curious to hear what you think about this. I'm predicting in 2026 that a fully AI generated song that we are aware of, that we are aware of, will crack the Billboard Hot 100. I feel like it's coming.

[Glen Weldon]

I bet you're right.

[Aisha Harris]

You have SUNO and udio, these two big AI companies that have sort of entered into the mainstream. Suno especially, it's this generative artificial music creation platform. And they have a partnership with Warner Music Group. So they've already been sort of adopted into the establishment of the music business. And in this past year of 2025, we've seen actually quite a few AI artists, quote, unquote. The songs may not be fully AI generated, but they are at least in part AI generated have hit Billboard charts. Not the Billboard Hot 100, but they've hit, you know, the very specific ones.

[Stephen Thompson]

Sub charts.

[Aisha Harris]

The sub charts. So you have Zanaya Monet, like an animated avatar that was created by a songwriter named Talisha Nikki Jones, A couple of her songs have reached, like, the hot gospel, the hot R and B songs. Kane Walker, this AI assisted country artist hit the country digital song sales chart. And then on top of that, if you're following Timbaland on Instagram, as I do, and you like, it's a very sad thing to watch. But Timbaland has gone full down the rabbit hole. His. His character, Tata. You have all of these people and these big industry titans adopting AI generated music very quickly and against many artists who are like, what are we doing here? So I just feel as though it's very possible that this will happen, that we will see one of them actually crack into the Billboard Hot 100. And what a sad day it will be. I guess I'm just. I'm all for cynical predictions these days. I'm sorry, guys.

[Stephen Thompson]

Unfortunately, Aisha, I suspect your cynical prediction will be right on the money. We're certainly heading in that direction. You acknowledged the several artists who have kind of cracked these genre charts.

[Linda Holmes]

They're not artists. They're not artists. I just wanna say they're not artists.

[Aisha Harris]

Artists in air quotes right now.

[Stephen Thompson]

It is often kind of AI assisted, where it's a little bit of a hybrid. But, man, the opportunities there. So many people are trying to make this happen that it feels like a foregone conclusion. Also, when you factor in these streaming services have playlists where a lot of people are just hitting play on a playlist, and then everything on that playlist, particularly around the holidays, just kind of naturally hits Billboard charts. So all it's gonna take is a song like that just kind of landing on the right playlist for it to happen. I suspect you're right, Aisha.

[Linda Holmes]

I'm not gonna boo your prediction, Aisha. Cause it would sound like I was booing you, and I would never boo you.

[Aisha Harris]

Love you.

[Stephen Thompson]

Hope you're wrong.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, me too.

[Linda Holmes]

Booing the situation. All right.

[Aisha Harris]

Me too.

[Linda Holmes]

Speaking of booing the situation, Glenn Weldon, I cannot wait to be reminded. What was your prediction for 2025?

[Glen Weldon]

I think the widespread acceptance of AI of specifically gener ChatGPT is going to hit a roadblock. I think the thing it has going for it right now is its usefulness. I mean, we're all professional writers. We don't use it, but Every single one of our friends do every day in their lives at work. And I think it continues to be used for the kind of writing that I would call task oriented or functional. You know, cover letters, applications, grant proposals, technical manuals, any email you have to send that has to do with procedures or systems. So the reason people use it is because it's so efficient. They've convinced themselves that there's a kind of writing that is most efficient when it adheres to strict guidelines and formatting. And that's what computers can do. Right. I think what's gonna happen is that people are gonna begin to acknowledge that kind of writing was never really about adherence to guidelines and formatting. That there was always a human voice was behind it, and there needs to be. I think what we're doing now is producing final products that are so anodyne, so uniform, so generic, that its usefulness, AI's usefulness is gonna come into question. Know about this one. I'm going to defer to you all to make the judgment.

[Linda Holmes]

I think your horizon's just too short.

[Glen Weldon]

Yes. Because I think what I was focusing on there was the technical writing aspect of AI. And I tried to make the case that all writing is and should remain a human endeavor. I still believe that, but I think that was kind of a stand in for me, predicting a kind of larger backlash against AI. And I don't think there was one as much as there was in 2025. I felt an entrenchment happening. People dug in, people who were leery of it, grew convinced that it sucks. And people like me, who already knew it sucks, ran to the barricades to try to shore them up. But that's just people who are inside the barricades. Right. I'm not just talking about the people whose jobs it's threatening or taking, but I'm also talking about the people who listen to this show who have come to realize, I think, how much of their, I don't know, cultural lives, their intellectual lives, their aesthetic lives, their artistic diet is getting poisoned by AI. And I say that, and I know how snooty and artsy fartsy it sounds and it makes me want to beat myself up and take my own lunch money. But I think it's true. How are you going to. What grade do I get here?

[Stephen Thompson]

I think what this prediction was missing was some kind of metric.

[Glen Weldon]

Yeah, that's true.

[Stephen Thompson]

Because the closest I can come to sort of saying, I think you were on the right track here and I certainly hope you're on the Right. Track here is essentially measured in. Glenn, I know you're going to love me using this word vibes. Like, I do think there is a vibe shift happening where it is becoming a more commonly held opinion that this stuff is just kind of making everything worse. And that God help you if you work in HR and you are trying to sift through resumes and cover letters and get a sense of the humanity of any single person applying for a job. There is a sense that is encroaching and that more and more people, I think, are voicing this stuff isn't really working the way it's supposed to. It's kind of being forced down our throats. If I were to tack something onto your prediction for 2026, it would be a sense that I feel like you're gonna see more and more statements from creatives essentially saying, we did not use AI.

[Glen Weldon]

Right.

[Linda Holmes]

Right.

[Glen Weldon]

Oh, yeah, it's already happening.

[Aisha Harris]

We already are. I've noticed this sort of small industry bubbling up like a cottage industry of people who. Influencers who. Their whole entire shtick online is to basically break down what is an AI and try to warn people like, you know, that viral video of dogs going up to, like, at an adoption place, and they pick their owners. That's AI. And then, let me break it down for you.

[Stephen Thompson]

Bunnies on trampolines.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah, yeah. So, like, I think the vibes are correct. It's just that they are not quite as far as I think you had hoped they would be by now.

[Linda Holmes]

I mean, for me, you know, my revulsion about a lot of this stuff is philosophical, and I acknowledge that it's philosophic. And I have enough trouble making predictions when I understand the tech really well. And I am not an expert on this tech because philosophically, I'm so profoundly opposed to it. And nothing people could tell me about the way it operates is going to change that fact. But I will tell you, I am going to continue to be a person who mutters, they're not artists. They're not artists. Because I absolutely feel right now it's an uphill battle to not want this stuff thrown in my face. But I will continue to fight that battle because, you know, philosophically, I feel extremely strongly about it. And I just want to make a quick note that when I talk about this, I'm really talking about large language models used for stuff like writing books or stuff that's used generatively to create art and fake photos and stuff like that. So there's a bunch of. When you use the term AI, it Brings a whole bunch of different stuff all together. That isn't one thing. It's a whole bunch of different things. So when I say that I have a revulsion, I'm really talking about generating what are supposed to be creative works.

[Glen Weldon]

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

[Aisha Harris]

Although I hit it. Yeah. Well, if it's any consolation to you all, I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine who has kids who are like, you know, around 12, 13, and their new burn amongst these, this very small sample size, their new burn, anytime they think something as fake as that's AI. So, yeah, you know, the kids, it's.

[Stephen Thompson]

Become synonymous with slop.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes.

[Glen Weldon]

Right.

[Linda Holmes]

All right, Glenn, so what is your prediction for 2026?

[Glen Weldon]

I didn't want to speculate about the industry. I don't know anything about it. I didn't want to speculate about AI, certainly. So I chose the only thing that's left. When you eliminate those two things and you want metrics, here's a metric. This thing will either happen or it won't. I predict that the year 2026 is the year the icon, the legend known as RuPaul, Charles, will step down from hosting RuPaul's Drag Race. Now, look.

[Aisha Harris]

Really interesting.

[Glen Weldon]

Now, look, I can hear the keyboards clacking even as I speak. I am not saying this is something I want. I hope she goes on forever. But there is such a thing as tea leaves, people, and I'm out here reading them. Does that make me brave? Does that make me a hero? Up to you. But the facts are these. In February, Drag Race will have been on the air for 17 years. Season 18 is just about to start. And at this point, Drag Race is not a series. It's not even a franchise. It is a global hyper megalo Corporation. I'm not saying it's too much work. I'm saying that when it comes to Drag Race, one cannot deny that there is now an infrastructure firmly in place. It is an institution. It is a machine with a format so rigid and so unvarying that like any machine would, it is showing signs of wear and tear. Now, the ratings don't reflect this for recent seasons after it moved to mtv. And look, she has expressly not said she wants to quit. In fact, as recently as March 2025, she told Entertainment Tonight that in show business, you never leave a job and that they'll have to escort her out of the building. That quote is how I learned that Entertainment Tonight is still going concern 2025. Turns out it is so she doesn't want to do it. There's no signs that she's about to. So give me points for a bold prediction here.

[Aisha Harris]

It is bold.

[Stephen Thompson]

It's bold.

[Glen Weldon]

It has less to do with her age. Yes, she's in her mid-60s now, and she looks great, and she's hilarious, and she's warm, you know, when she wants to be. But here's what's happening. She stepped away from Drag Race down under and let Michelle Visage take the reins. She also very deliberately makes appearances both on and off the show, in and out of drag, to distinguish between RuPaul the drag Persona, and RuPaul Charles, the male presenting Persona. And RuPaul Charles has started showing up on game shows and talk shows. So the drag Persona isn't the only Persona. But here is what's really changed over the last two years. Alan Cumming and the traitors have usurped her Emmy dominance. And she is smart enough to know that the Emmys don't backtrack. They always chase the new shiny thing, which means her era is over. The queen is dead. Long live the queen. Now, I do think she's in it for the love of the game, but that means that the game is giving less love back to her. And I used to work in nonprofit, right, And I recognize this syndrome. She is like the founder of the nonprofit that never leaves and is keeping the org locked into not just the same mission, but the same structure, without regard for, you know, the changing landscape. She was the one who changed the landscape. I know that what she did for the art of drag cannot be denied, and she showcases a very wide variety of performers on the show. But when it comes to crowning them, her drag aesthetic is very narrow, and you have only to look at the queens who've been crowned in other countries to see that. So, look, I do hope I'm wrong right now when it comes to drag, when it comes to queer folk, when it comes to trans folks. And to be clear, it took her a while to get on the right side of history there, but she's on it now. She is a voice we need. She offers a platform. She's doing good work in the world, and I hope she stays where she is forever. But I have to acknowledge that what she's created is an institution that can carry on that work. And, in fact, it's already doing that around the world.

[Aisha Harris]

Let's say RuPaul is listening right now, and she's like, you know what? He's right. Maybe the prediction could actually come true, because of you, Glenn. And then people might have pitchforks. I'm not trying to get people on you, but, yeah, no one man should.

[Stephen Thompson]

Have all this power. I mean, it's interesting because one of her great legacies among many is she has really helped build up a huge bench. You have people who have become icons because they first appeared on that show, and that kind of launched them into wider popularity. There are certainly people who have appeared on that show who could step into that role or at the very least, step into kind of a farm team system where it's like, okay, I'm gonna host Drag Race, Monaco or whatever. There's another franchising of that show that you can certainly develop kind of future RuPauls. I don't know if it's gonna happen in 2026, but I do like the bold ones.

[Glen Weldon]

I mean, she might wait for a round number after 20 seasons or something like that, but I don't know. I just feel it in the air.

[Aisha Harris]

Be bold. Be bold. Absolutely.

[Linda Holmes]

All right. Thank you very much, Glenn. It's interesting going from your prediction for next year to my prediction from last year, which we're gonna listen to now. My prediction for 2025 is that we are going to start to hear more seriously about Lorne Michaels retiring. SNL is doing its 50th. A few years ago, in an interview, he said maybe he wanted to stay around until the 50th. That seemed like maybe a good time to retire. He's 80 now. Very often people say something like that, and then they get there and they think, well, I still feel pretty good, and I'm actually not going to retire. But. But as I said, He's 80. Certainly he doesn't have to do it anymore. Certainly he could continue if he wanted to be kind of to have his fingers in all kinds of different pies without doing the job of being in charge of snl. But I do think you're going to, at the very least in 2025, start to hear about succession plans. Like, what is the plan? Okay, so in making that prediction, I neglected a very important fact, which is that we are in a historical era in which no one ever retires. And if you have been having people kiss your ring for several decades, there is no reason why you would give it up at any time. You simply wait around until they carry you out feet first. And just like RuPaul could wait for a round number and then retire. Probably not. Probably not. I'm just gonna say probably not. And I've given over to the fact that they're never gonna freshen that show. It's just gonna stay exactly the same and be, in my opinion, quite uninspired as it is now, with a very, very, very familiar formula they follow pretty much every week. And, you know, occasionally they have something that's fun to watch later, and usually they don't. And I give up. It's like, if you have attained a certain amount of power, there's no interest in succession plans. There's no interest in what's gonna happen to the institution after you can't do it anymore. You just stay there and you stay in your office and you stay powerful for the rest of your life.

[Stephen Thompson]

Predicting that a baby boomer will voluntarily give up power.

[Glen Weldon]

Yeah, I spite a flaw. I spot a flaw.

[Aisha Harris]

Yeah.

[Linda Holmes]

I do wanna say, as far as my prediction for 2026, Aisha's prediction may have seemed cynical. Other predictions may seem cynical. My prediction is the most cynical. Oh, I am proud to say, did.

[Aisha Harris]

Not know this is a competition, but. Okay.

[Linda Holmes]

Which is somewhere in the Law and Order universe, there's going to be a take on political reporter Olivia Nuzzi, her alleged affair with then presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. And the fallout from all of that. Obviously, if you want to fall down that rabbit hole yourself of what allegedly happened, you can Google it now, because it is such a closely watched story. There will be some kind of thing where, like, the setup, the initial circumstances, or some part of it will make people go, oh, I get who it is. Yes, I get who it is.

[Glen Weldon]

I think this is solid. I think this is rock solid.

[Aisha Harris]

This is a great one. They did an episode. I think it was svu. It was somewhere in the Law and Order universe, but they did an episode on the Paula Deen scandal. So, like.

[Linda Holmes]

Yes, they did.

[Aisha Harris]

They will find a way. They will find.

[Linda Holmes]

And often it's more than one thing.

[Aisha Harris]

Right. They mash them up.

[Linda Holmes]

That was Cybill Shepherd, I think, played this Paula Deen type character. And it was Paula Deen, but it was also other things. It's not usually a straight lift of one story, but somewhere in there, they're gonna do something that's gonna make you go, oh, I see. I see. It popped into my head, and I just couldn't get it out of my head.

[Aisha Harris]

Linda, I think you win.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. Maybe if this prediction pans out, I'll just make this a sub prediction every year, what from this year is gonna show up in the Law and Order universe next? So that's my prediction for 2026. Steven, we're going to listen now to your prediction for 2025.

[Stephen Thompson]

I'm going to say the Oscars take box office into consideration and give best picture to Wicked. The Grammys always take box office into consideration. I think they're going to give album of the year to neither Taylor Swift nor Beyonce. Instead, the trophy is going to go to Hit Me Hard and Soft by Billie Eilish which will make a lot of people very performatively mad. On for the Super Bowl, I'm going to go with Bills over Eagles because Detroit Lions fans can never be allowed to have nice things. I'm going to say Rihanna will drop a new album because something good has to happen in 2025. And finally 2024 was quietly a very good year for K pop music and fans of K pop music. I'm hereby predicting that K Pop has a very big 2025 as BTS returns from its pre planned hiatus and releases a song. Now here comes the that tops the Billboard Hot 100 for 12 plus weeks.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Bold.

[Linda Holmes]

You do get specific. I love it.

[Aisha Harris]

Yes, man, I appreciate that.

[Glen Weldon]

And you're one for five. But that one is just okay.

[Stephen Thompson]

So here's the thing about this prediction. Throughout the year and especially as the movie K Pop Demon Hunters took off, I thought to myself, finally for once I crushed my prediction. And then you go back and listen to what I actually said. If you take out the word, I got nothing right. I was wrong about absolutely everything. Pretty wildly.

[Linda Holmes]

I love it that you do this. You stack them up, buddy. Every year, every year you bring a stack of predictions and they are usually all wrong. And it does not stop you from doing it over and over again.

[Stephen Thompson]

So what are the odds that I would get it wrong in 2026? Basically, law of averages. These are all going to be 100% wrong.

[Aisha Harris]

That's true. You're due.

[Stephen Thompson]

I'm due.

[Glen Weldon]

Yeah. I don't know guys. You know that every time you roll die, the probabilities reset. You know that, right?

[Linda Holmes]

Don't tell them.

[Glen Weldon]

Don't tell them this.

[Linda Holmes]

Don't tell them.

[Aisha Harris]

I don't do math. I'd forgotten that you had predicted Rihanna coming out with a new album. Now do we know we are coming up on the 10 year anniversary of anti and who knows? I doubt it. She's happy. She's not gonna.

[Linda Holmes]

I thought you were gonna say the 10 year anniversary of the first time Steven predicted Rihanna.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, if we're really gonna split hairs here, I do wanna point out Rihanna did have a song on the soundtrack to Smurfs.

[Aisha Harris]

Oh God. It counts.

[Linda Holmes]

I'm counting. I'm giving you a D minus.

[Aisha Harris]

Not an album, but okay.

[Glen Weldon]

I'm not counting it.

[Stephen Thompson]

It was a big year for K pop. That's my D minus.

[Aisha Harris]

It was not so much bts, but K pop Demon Hunter.

[Linda Holmes]

As long as you don't delve into the specifics too much, absolutely huge K Pop year. Gotta love that. All right, what's on your schedule for 2026, buddy?

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, Linda, because I can never learn from past mistakes, I will give you a list. Rams over Patriots. When have I ever been right? I'm just trying to will the packers to a Super bowl victory by picking teams other than them. One battle after another wins Best Picture at the Oscars. Kendrick Lamar finally wins album of the Year after Beyonce won album of the year last year. I'm gonna stop always predicting that the Grammys will do something stupid. No Rihanna album, no Frank Ocean record. I'm gonna stop predicting either ever again. So for the big one, I want to go with some kind of grand, overarching prediction about the state of the entertainment industry, maybe about A.I. instead, I'm gonna aim smaller. I predict that a major A list talent, a Taylor Swift perhaps, will attempt to shock and awe their way into the holiday music canon.

[Aisha Harris]

Mm.

[Stephen Thompson]

By releasing a new Christmas album to compete with the glut of old stuff that crowds the charts every December. As a metric, I'm gonna say that a new, as yet unreleased holiday song will hit the top 10 by this time next year. Okay. And as degree of difficulty goes, just know this basically never comes to pass.

[Aisha Harris]

It's perfect for that.

[Stephen Thompson]

I just feel it. There's such a void there waiting to be filled. You know, Taylor Swift has released some holiday music, but I feel like this landscape is ripe for somebody really big at the height of their powers to come and do something new.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. So we're talking about a new song. We're not talking about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce releasing a version of Santa Baby where he has, like, a spoken word part and then she does all the singing.

[Glen Weldon]

Why did you conjure that into existence? Why did you.

[Stephen Thompson]

I cannot believe you willed that into the universe. I am predicting a new song. It will be a new composition. It's not gonna be Taylor Swift covering Silver Bells. It will be a new song, and it will be a hit in 2026.

[Glen Weldon]

The specificity is just awesome to behold, Steven. Every year. The specificity is just.

[Stephen Thompson]

If you want specificity and you want to be wrong, I'm your guy.

[Glen Weldon]

Well, I mean, they go hand in hand.

[Aisha Harris]

No you're great. You're great at that. And I admire you. No, I admire you for it. Me too. I don't have the confidence to do that. I just choose one and then I'm just like, you know what, what happens, happens. Que sera, sera, as they say.

[Linda Holmes]

It's just gonna be like Santa, baby. And he's gonna go, yeah. Oh, God.

[Stephen Thompson]

I would have assumed if you were gonna have those two doing a duet, it would be baby, it's Cold outside.

[Linda Holmes]

No, you can't do that. Too controversial. It's too controversial. It's radioactive.

[Aisha Harris]

Can't do it. I don't know. Taylor loves controversy.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, well, then maybe. Yeah, maybe they'll do it with a. Maybe there'll be a. Maybe there'll be a Christmas themed Christmas tree version of the Wood song from the record. You see what I'm saying? Like a butt about a Christmas tree. He'll be a Christmas tree now. Anyway. Well, I love your predictions for next year, Steven. I loved your predictions for last year. Someday one of them's gonna come true. You just gotta keep. You just gotta keep piling em on. None of mine came true either. But I went 0 for 1 and you went 0 for like 50. And that is awesome.

[Stephen Thompson]

Hey, I said K Pop.

[Aisha Harris]

You did.

[Linda Holmes]

You did. You went one half for 50. All right, well, we'd love to know what your pop culture predictions are for the new year. You can find us on [e-mail] PCHHH that brings us to the end of our show. Aisha Harris, Stephen Thompson, Glen Weldon, thank you so much for being here. I predict we will be together many times in 2026.

[Stephen Thompson]

Thank you, buddy.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

Thank you.

[Aisha Harris]

Thank you.

[Linda Holmes]

This episode is produced by Liz Metzger and Mike Catsiff and edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture happy hour from npr. I'm Linda Holmes and we'll see you all next time.

[Sponsor/Advertisement Voice]

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