You might have heard the word "uncertainty" muttered more than a few times over the last 12 months. Today, we're chatting with an economist brave enough to look uncertainty in the eye and make some predictions for 2026 about the stock market, job market, inflation, and the fate of President Donald Trump's tariffs. And later: Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages have more than doubled over the past year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Marketplace All-in-One - The data breach that hit two-thirds of a country
From the BBC World Service: The South Korean e-commerce company Coupang has announced a compensation deal worth $1.18 billion for customers after a massive hack that affected two-thirds of the country's population. Coupang is often called “South Korea's Amazon,” and nearly 33 million accounts were exposed. Plus, following the major hack that hit production facilities for Jaguar Land Rover, we look back at this year in cyberattacks. Also: the earliest-known coin minted in Scotland.
Marketplace All-in-One - Robotaxis moved into the fast lane in 2025
This year turned out to be a pretty big year for autonomous vehicles. Waymo is the leader in the robotaxi race and over the last year, its signature Jaguar electric vehicles have become a common sight on the streets and recently freeways of cities around the country.
Companies like Uber and Zooks have expanded their fleets to several metropolitan areas. And Tesla finally rolled out its cybercab service in a limited capacity in Austin.
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke to Kirsten Korosec, transportation editor at TechCrunch, about how the robotaxi became a common fixture on city streets this year.
The Journal. - Goodbye 2025, Hello 2026!
The stories that defined 2025, the themes to watch in 2026. Ryan Knutson and Jessica Mendoza hear from top editors across the paper. Plus, Ryan's bold proposal to switch Christmas and Valentine's Day.
Thanks for listening to the show in 2025. We’ll see you in 2026!
Listen to Ryan and Jess’s playlist of their Greatest Hits of 2025.
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Up First from NPR - Trump Zelensky Meeting, Netanyahu Mar-a-Lago Meeting, Rough Year For Poverty Aid
President Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy signal momentum on peace talks, but fighting continues and key disputes remain.
Israel’s prime minister is in Mar-a-Lago today as pressure mounts over Gaza, Iran, and what comes next in Trump's ceasefire deal.
And anti-poverty groups warn funding chaos is forcing cuts just as more Americans need help.
Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Israel’s prime minister is in Mar-a-Lago today as pressure mounts over Gaza, Iran, and what comes next in Trump's ceasefire deal.
And anti-poverty groups warn funding chaos is forcing cuts just as more Americans need help.
Want more analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.
Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Miguel Macias, Catherine Laidlaw, Mohamad ElBardicy, Adriana Gallardo.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Simon-Laslow Jansen. And our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
(00:00) Introduction
(03:26) Trump Zelensky Meeting
(07:17) Netanyahu Mar-a-Lago Meeting
(10:53) Rough Year For Poverty Aid
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The Daily - Why One Lawyer Resigned When His Firm Caved to Trump: An Update
This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since.
President Trump has used executive orders to wage war on law firms, specifically targeting those whose lawyers have investigated or sued him, or represented his enemies in court.
Michael Barbaro speaks to Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who chose to quit after his firm, Skadden, negotiated a deal to placate the president.
Guest: Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who left his firm after it negotiated a deal with Mr. Trump.
Background reading:
- Listen to the original version of the episode here.
- Read about how Paul Weiss, a major democratic law firm, ended up bowing to Mr. Trump.
- Ever since the elite law firms Skadden and Paul Weiss reached deals with the Trump administration, top partners have closed ranks in support of the agreements.
Photo: Graham Dickie/The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Start Here - Visa Declined: The Battle Over Foreign Workers
In this special episode, ABC Senior White House Correspondent Selina Wang breaks down how an ICE raid on a battery plant in Georgia renewed a debate over foreign worker visas in the U.S.
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The Daily Detail - The Daily Detail for 12.29.25
Alabama
- Fairhope Couple Scammed Out of Thousands of Dollars
- Montgomery PD Submits Late Crime Data After ALEA Warning
- Albertville Real Estate Agent Facing Charges for Smuggling Illegal Aliens
- UPS to Lay Off 128 Employees in Montgomery
- Mobile Man Arrested on Manslaughter Charges
- UPS Driver in Brewton Honored for Delivering More Than Just Packages for Christmas
- 11-Year-Old Hueytown Boy Dies After Battling the Flu
- Gadsden Woman Arrested on Murder Charges in Connection with a 2023 Case in Jackson County
- Woman Struck and Killed on I-20 Near Moody
- More Alabama Winn-Dixie Stores Preparing to Close
National
- Oklahoma Man Facing Manslaughter Charges After Christmas Day Target Practice
- Legendary Actress Brigitte Bardot Dies at Age 91
- Zalensky Says He’ll Do Whatever It Takes to End War
- Karoline Leavitt Announces Second Pregnancy
Start the Week - Animals and Meaning
What do animals mean to us? Naomi Alderman explores how animals shape human understanding, from ancient burial rites to modern science.
The psychologist Justin Gregg specialises in dolphin social cognition. He introduces his new book, Humanish, a witty and provocative look at anthropomorphism — our habit of seeing human traits in animals, objects and machines — and how it helps us make sense of the world and increases empathy.
Peter Fretwell is a leading scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, and author of The Penguin Book of Penguins. He celebrates the charm and complexity of penguins, from their evolutionary quirks to their cultural symbolism, alongside the threats they face today.
Marianne Hem Eriksen is Professor of Viking Studies at the National Museum of Denmark and part of the BBC / Arts and Humanities Research Council scheme of New Generation Thinkers. She draws on archaeological evidence to show how Viking societies had a complex relationship with animals, seeing them not just as pets or food, but as extensions of human identity and mythology.
Producer: Katy Hickman Assistant Producer: Natalia Fernandez
New Books in Native American Studies - Jean Pfaelzer, “California, a Slave State” (Yale UP, 2023)
California owes its origins and sunny prosperity to slavery. Spanish invaders captured Indigenous people to build the chain of Catholic missions. Russian otter hunters shipped Alaska Natives--the first slaves transported into California--and launched a Pacific slave triangle to China. Plantation slaves were marched across the plains for the Gold Rush. San Quentin Prison incubated California's carceral state. Kidnapped Chinese girls were sold in caged brothels in early San Francisco. Indian boarding schools supplied new farms and hotels with unfree child workers.
By looking west to California, Jean Pfaelzer upends our understanding of slavery as a North-South struggle and reveals how the enslaved in California fought, fled, and resisted human bondage. In unyielding research and vivid interviews, Pfaelzer exposes how California gorged on slavery, an appetite that persists today in a global trade in human beings lured by promises of jobs but who instead are imprisoned in sweatshops and remote marijuana grows, or sold as nannies and sex workers.
California, a Slave State (Yale UP, 2023) shreds California's utopian brand, rewrites our understanding of the West, and redefines America's uneasy paths to freedom.
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