Goodbye 2025, Hello 2026!

Summary

The Journal.

Episode: Goodbye 2025, Hello 2026!
Date: December 29, 2025
Hosts: Ryan Knutson & Jessica Mendoza

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Episode Overview

In this special year-end episode, hosts Ryan and Jess look back on the most defining stories of 2025 and peek ahead at what 2026 might bring in the realms of money, business, and power. Featuring insights from top Wall Street Journal editors, the episode explores key themes such as President Trump’s economic policies, the explosive growth of AI, and the shifting foundations of global business.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Chatter and Structure Change (01:17–03:03)

• The hosts open with a light-hearted debate about whether Christmas and Valentine’s Day should swap places in the calendar, to ease the hectic fall schedule and brighten up winter (01:47–02:52).
  • Notable Quote:
    • “It would be perfect if you just have Valentine's Day, the romance holiday leading right into New Year's Eve, another romance holiday…then January 1st comes around and that kicks off like six weeks of the Christmas season.” — Ryan (02:23)
• Jess jokes about pitching the change to the Pope (02:58).

2. Biggest Stories of 2025: Insights from WSJ Editors

A. Washington & Political Economy (03:32–04:40)

• Damian Poletta (Washington Coverage Chief) reflects on:
  • President Trump’s massive tax cut package and ongoing tariffs on numerous countries.
  • The Supreme Court’s upcoming review of presidential tariff authority.
  • Public unease about the economy’s disconnect—booming markets and low gas prices, but persistent uncertainty among Americans.
  • The looming impact on the 2026 congressional balance.
  • Notable Quote:
    • “The tariffs remain a big story. The Supreme Court now is reviewing his power to impose these tariffs… that's a decision that we could have soon.” — Damian Poletta (03:51)
    • “The economy is a huge story right now, especially for many Americans who remain unsettled. Even though we have low gas prices and a high stock market, many Americans are feeling a disconnect with this economy.” — Damian Poletta (04:19)

B. The AI Race & Tech’s Transformation (04:49–05:51)

• Sarah Kraus (Technology & Media Editor)
  • AI was the “hands down” biggest story for tech and media, with fierce competition for talent among Meta, Google’s DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
  • Massive investment in AI infrastructure, surging worries about a potential bubble and profitability.
  • U.S.–China AI rivalry, chip development, and America’s ongoing infrastructure push.
  • Notable Quote:
    • “This powerful technology…could one day become smarter than humans. They're already transforming how we work, find information, and interact with devices and each other.” — Sarah Kraus (05:16)
• Hosts reinforce the magnitude of the AI story.
  • Jess: “AI, easily one of the biggest stories of the year, if not the biggest business story of the year.” (05:51)
  • Ryan: “It could be the biggest story of humanity’s entire existence if it turns into artificial general intelligence.” (05:57)

C. AI’s Financial Underpinnings & Bubble Worries (06:12–07:24)

• Amol Sharma (Financial Editor)
  • Focus on the “financing of the AI arms race” and a possible bubble.
  • Wall Street’s huge investments in data centers.
  • Potential triggers for an AI slowdown: delayed projects, market jitters, increased borrowing costs.
  • The uncertainty of whether current nerves are meaningful or fleeting.
  • Notable Quote:
    • “We’ve been documenting the enormous sums of money that have been flowing from Wall street into all these data centers…if real problems start to emerge, there could be all kinds of triggers that send us down the wrong path in AI.” — Amol Sharma (06:35)

D. The Shifting Foundations of Business (07:31–08:50)

• Kate Linebaugh (Corporate Editor and former co–host)
  • 2025 as a year that fundamentally changed business via new tariffs, shifts in EV and food policy.
  • Scrutiny of whether jobs will come back to America—or be replaced by robots.
  • These changes’ deep impacts on profits, jobs, and economic structure.
  • Notable Quote:
    • “I would say this year has fundamentally changed the foundations of how businesses operate… I'm not sure there will be a resumption of before times.” — Kate Linebaugh (07:34)
    • “Will jobs come back to America? Will robots take those jobs? These are the sorts of things we're gonna be looking at.” — Kate Linebaugh (08:20)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• Ryan, on holiday switch proposal: “Can I make a case to you for why I think Christmas and Valentine’s Day should switch places?” (01:47)
• Damian Poletta, on the economy: “Many Americans are feeling a disconnect with this economy, and this is creating mounting pressure on President Trump.” (04:24)
• Sarah Kraus, on AI’s importance: “This powerful technology…could one day become smarter than humans. They're already transforming how we work…” (05:16)
• Amol Sharma, on AI’s financial fragility: “If real problems start to emerge, there could be all kinds of triggers that send us down the wrong path in AI…” (06:38)
• Kate Linebaugh, on lasting change: “I'm not sure there will be a resumption of before times.” (07:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:17–03:03 — Opening banter; “Switching” Christmas & Valentine’s Day
• 03:32–04:40 — Damian Poletta: Trump’s economic agenda, tariffs, Supreme Court
• 04:49–05:51 — Sarah Kraus: The AI race, big tech, productivity & profit concerns
• 06:12–07:24 — Amol Sharma: AI bubble, Wall Street, funding risks
• 07:31–08:50 — Kate Linebaugh: Tariffs, automation, rewiring capitalism
• 09:04–09:19 — Playlist of favorite episodes: Witch economy, Jane Goodall, Camp Swamp Road

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Closing Notes

• Jess and Ryan announce a curated playlist of their favorite episodes, including features like “why the witch economy is booming,” an interview with Jane Goodall, and the “Camp Swamp Road” miniseries (09:04–09:19).
• Both hosts express gratitude to their listeners and promise to return January 5th with new episodes.

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Takeaways

• 2025 was a year of seismic shifts—with Trump’s economic policies, China–U.S. AI competition, and the ever-growing presence of artificial intelligence shaping business and society.
• Both the financial stakes and social repercussions of these changes set the tone for continued uncertainty—and opportunity—in 2026.
• The show remains focused on helping listeners understand not just what’s happening, but why it matters in dollars, jobs, and daily life.

Transcript

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[Ryan]

Hey, Jess.

[Jess]

Hey, Ryan.

[Ryan]

How's it going?

[Jess]

Pretty good. How about you?

[Ryan]

Not bad. So it's Monday, December 29, and I know there are some people who are warming up their frigid cars right now, trying to get to work. And then there are some people who are cozy in their pajamas by a fire and have the rest of the week off.

[Jess]

Right.

[Ryan]

Which one of those people are you?

[Jess]

The latter, I think, today. What about you?

[Ryan]

So I've got the pajamas, I've got the rest of the week off, but this time of year is so chaotic that. Can I make a case to you for why I think Christmas and Valentine's Day should switch places?

[Jess]

Yes.

[Ryan]

Have I not told you this yet?

[Jess]

No.

[Ryan]

Christmas should be February 14th and Valentine's Day should be December 25th.

[Jess]

Why?

[Ryan]

The reason is because the fall is way too crowded. You've got Halloween Less than 38 days later, you've got Thanksgiving. Then less than 30 days later, you've got Christmas. It's too busy. There's too much going on. You just saw your family and traveled around Thanksgiving, and then you're gonna do it again 30 days later.

[Jess]

And then.

[Ryan]

And then you've got the doldrums of the winter time. You've got January and February with, like, nothing to look forward to. It would be perfect if you just have Valentine's Day, the romance holiday leading right into New Year's Eve, another romance holiday. You kind of get your date set up for, you know what you're gonna do on New Year's eve, and then January 1st comes around and that kicks off like six weeks of the Christmas season. And then at the bottom of winter, you know you've got Christmas, the middle of February.

[Jess]

I mean, I agree with you philosophically. I think this is a great idea. I'm just not sure who you would pitch it to. The Christian tradition.

[Ryan]

Look, the Christians have done it before. They've done it before.

[Jess]

Tell the Pope.

[Ryan]

All right, sorry. This is not why we brought you here today. We actually have a little holiday treat. Just one more episode to look back at the biggest stories that define 2025.

[Jess]

Right. We called up the top editors at the Wall Street Journal to ask them what they thought the top stories of the year were, as well as what they're looking ahead to in 2026.

[Ryan]

So here's the first one from D.C.

[Damian Poletta]

Hi, this is Damian Poletta, Washington coverage chief at the Wall Street Journal. One of the biggest storylines that we've been following here in 2025 has been President Trump's implementation of his economic agenda, both through a huge tax cut package that passed Congress in the middle of the year and then all along the way, these tariffs that the president has imposed on a number of countries. And the tariffs remain a big story. The Supreme Court now is reviewing his power to impose these tariffs, and that's a decision that we could have soon to determine whether or not he can continue to impose tariffs against countries without congressional approval. So that's going to be a big storyline going forward. The economy is a huge story right now, especially for many Americans who remain unsettled. Even though we have low gas prices and a high stock market, many Americans are feeling a disconnect with this economy, and this is creating mounting pressure on President Trump. That's going to be a big story that we follow in 2026 as the White House is hoping to save the Republican majority in Congress. It was a very busy 2025, and it's going to be even busier. 2026 here in the Washington Bureau.

[Ryan]

Yeah, that Supreme Court ruling on whether President Trump's tariffs are illegal is going to be a really big story.

[Jess]

Who do we have next?

[Sarah Kraus]

I'm Sarah Kraus and I'm the technology and media editor at the Wall Street Journal. The AI race was hands down the biggest story for the tech and media team this year. We've covered the battle for talent among top AI labs like Meta, Google's DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The safety concerns that these new powerful tools raise, the otherworldly sums of cash being invested in building out AI infrastructure, and more recently, concerns about an AI bubble and whether it can work towards turning a profit. So why does this all matter? This Powerful technology that these leading labs are building could one day become smarter than humans. They're already transforming how we work, find information, and interact with devices and each other. So, heading into 2026, we'll be watching closely for signs that the big names in AI can actually make money from the tools they're building and continue to spur adoption of those tools. We're also closely monitoring US Competition with China in AI, the race to develop new advanced chips, and America's progress in AI's infrastructure buildout. No shortage of great stories to cover next year.

[Jess]

I mean, AI, easily one of the biggest stories of the year, if not the biggest business story of the year.

[Ryan]

It could be the biggest story of humanity's entire existence if it turns into artificial general intelligence.

[Jess]

Yeah, I laugh, but it's true.

[Ryan]

Either that or it'll pop and bring down the entire US economy with it.

[Jess]

Yeah, I mean, to your point, Ryan, like, the money is something that the Wall Street Journal is going to continue to be following. And in fact, that's something that our finance team will be looking into in 2026.

[Amol Sharma]

Hi, this is Amol Sharma, the Journal's financial editor for 2026. One thing we'll be super focused on is the financing of the AI arms race and the worries that a bubble is forming right now in AI. And we've been documenting the enormous sums of money that have been flowing from Wall street into all these data centers that are being built out for the open AIs of the world. So if real problems start to emerge, there could be all kinds of triggers that send us down the wrong path. In AI, you could see companies delaying projects or pulling back even slightly on spending commitments. Things like that would definitely spook the markets. Lenders could, of course, demand higher returns, driving up the cost of capital for AI companies. All these things would be really damaging for sort of the momentum of the AI buildout. But it's also possible that the jitters that we've been seeing in the markets lately about AI are just that, just passing jitters. So we'll have to see how it plays out.

[Ryan]

And the last editor that we have a message here from is from a very familiar voice, and I will let her introduce herself.

[Kate Linebaugh]

Hello, Journal podcast, It's so nice to be back. This is Kate Linebaugh, corporate editor of the Wall Street Journal and former co host with Jess and Ryan of the Journal podcast. I would say this year has fundamentally changed the foundations of how businesses operate, from Trump's tariff policy to the EV policy to food policy. It has upended how business is done in America. And I'm not sure there will be a resumption of before times. So looking ahead, we are watching everything from how AI changes how businesses operate and the workplace to how tariff policy changes the global economy. Will jobs come back to America? This is a big question. Will robots take those jobs? These are the sorts of things we're gonna be looking at. And we're also watching how these fundamental changes to the foundations of what had been the global economy will affect profits, will affect businesses, will affect jobs, will affect the economy, how that all trickles down and what it looks like in dollars and cents.

[Ryan]

Thanks, Kate. It's just so great to hear your voice.

[Jess]

Before we go, we have one more thing for you guys. We have a little present. We made a playlist, Ryan and I, of some of our favorite episodes of the year.

[Ryan]

It has everything on it from why the witch economy is Booming to one of the last interviews with Jane Goodall before she passed away. And all five episodes of Camp Swamp Road are amazing miniseries that if you haven't listened to yet, you really, really need to. And now you've got a great chance.

[Jess]

There's a link to the playlist in our show notes. We hope you guys check it out.

[Ryan]

And we just want to say thank you so much for listening to the show this year. We are so lucky that we get to do this job and be with you guys every day. Thank you for joining us. Happy New Year and we will be back in your feed on January 5th. Thanks for listening, everybody.