Podcast Summary: The Slowdown – Episode 1440: "New Year" by Kate Baer

Host: Maggie Smith
Date: January 22, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of The Slowdown with Maggie Smith reflects on the transition into the new year, the emotional weight of recent times, and the ritual of bringing intention and hope into uncertain futures. Using the poem "New Year" by Kate Baer, Maggie invites listeners to contemplate what it means to begin again, to tend to ourselves and each other, and to find meaning in reflection and poetry.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Reflections on the New Year

• Timelessness of Well Wishes

  • Maggie begins by questioning whether it’s too late to wish listeners a happy New Year and argues that “there’s never an expiration date on well wishes.”

    "Is it too late to wish you all a happy new year? I don't think so. I don't think there's ever an expiration date on well wishes." (00:51)

  • She acknowledges the need for positivity and well-meaning gestures in light of recent difficult years.

• Personal Story: A Quiet New Year's Eve

  • Maggie shares her own subdued new year’s experience—being sick and going to sleep early, while her children celebrated quietly to avoid disturbing her:

    "My son and daughter stayed up together and counted down, toasting with champagne flutes filled with sparkling cider. As is tradition. They kindly skipped the other tradition of ours, late night living room karaoke, because they knew their sick mother was trying to sleep. They're good kids." (01:08)

• Cultural Mood & Lingering Challenges

  • She describes how the televised year-end highlight reel felt more like a lowlight reel, reminding her family of the hardships faced in the previous year:

    "My daughter said the highlight reel of the year's news stories was more of a lowlight reel of its worst horrors. Nothing like gearing up for midnight with a slideshow of everything terrible that happened over the last 12 months." (01:27)

  • Maggie reflects on how the difficult times are not neatly left behind at the turn of the year:

    "Some of the worst of last year is already carrying over into this one. Unfortunately, a new year doesn't mean a completely fresh start or positive outcomes. If only." (01:46)

Setting Intentions

• Questions for Self and Community
  • Maggie asks herself big questions about intentionality and change:

    "So I'm asking myself? What kind of person do I want to be this year? What do I especially want to tend to in my life, in my relationships, and in my work? And what can I commit to doing to make this year more livable than last year, not only for me and my family, but for people who are more in need than we are?" (02:02)

  • She underscores the collective challenge of meeting another tough year together.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Hope & Intentional Living:

  "If there's no expiration date on wishing others a happy New Year, then there's no expiration date on figuring out how to have a happy New Year." (01:56)

• On Shared Challenges:

  "This year is going to be challenging in some of the same ways that last year was challenging. So how are we going to meet those challenges together?" (02:26)

Featured Poem: "New Year" by Kate Baer

(Read at 02:34)

look at it, cold and wet like a newborn calf.
I want to tell it everything.
How we struggled, how we tore out our hair
and thumbed through rusted nails just to
stand for its birth. I want to say, look how far we’ve come.
Promise our resolutions. But what does a baby care for oaths,
pledges it only wants to live.

• The poem is used as a lens to view the new year with humility, recognizing both struggle and the innocence of new beginnings.
• Its imagery and brevity underscore the episode's reflections on hope without guarantee and the simplicity of new life.

Closing Reflection

Maggie Smith reiterates the role of poetry in uncertain times:

"Listening to and reading poetry helps us find our footing in an uncertain world, especially during challenging times." (03:06)

She encourages listeners to continue reflecting, caring for themselves and others, and using poetry as a tool for hope and connection.

Key Timestamps

• 00:51 – Start of main content; Maggie Smith reflects on New Year wishes and personal experience
• 01:27 – Discussion of year-end news and cultural mood
• 02:02 – Setting intentions for the new year
• 02:34 – Maggie reads "New Year" by Kate Baer
• 03:06 – Recap and reflective closing thoughts

Tone and Mood

Warm, contemplative, and gently hopeful. Maggie Smith’s delivery remains empathetic and honest, emphasizing compassion, realism, and the nurturing potential of poetry amid uncertainty.

For more daily reflections and poems, visit slowdownshow.org or follow The Slowdown on Instagram @slowdownshow.