Farewell 2025, Hello 2026
In this special bonus episode, the Net Assessment crew – Chris, Melanie, and Zack - looks back on the highs (and lows) of 2025, and makes a few predictions for 2026. Thanks all around to our listeners, the Stimson Center, and University FM for their fantastic production. Show Links: Hadeel al-Salchi, " Search for Body of Last Hostage Held by Hamas in Gaza is Delayed Due to Bad Weather ," NPR, December 16, 2025. " Armitage's Story ," Last Days in Vietnam, PBS. Justin Bronk, " America's Drone Delusion ," Foreign Affairs, December 15, 2025. Christopher Clary, " Four Days in May: The India-Pakistan Crisis of 2025 ," Stimson Center May 28, 2025. Zack Cooper, " Trump's Strategic Choice: Prioritization or Retrenchment ," The American Enterprise, March 5, 2025. The Daily, " Were the Covid Lockdowns Worth It? ", March 20, 2025. Aude Darnal and Christopher Preble, " Conventional Wisdom: The War on Terror Is Over ," in "Testing Assumptions About US Foreign Policy in 2025," Stimson Center, February 14, 2025. Jeffrey Friedman, " The World Is More Uncertain Than You Think: Assessing and Combating Overconfidence Among 2,000 National Security Officials ," Texas National Security Review (Vol 8, Iss 4, Fall 2025, 34-48), https://doi.org/10.1353/tns.00011 . Jonathan Guyer, " Donald Trump's Cowboy Diplomacy ," The New York Times, December 15, 2025. " In Pursuit of Peace: The Life and Legacy of Barry Blechman ," Stimson Center, September 29, 2025. Jennifer Lind and Daryl G. Press, " Strategies of Prioritization: American Foreign Policy After Primacy ," Foreign Affairs, July/August 2025. Aaron Maclean, " A Warning to the Young: Just Say No to AI ," Engelsberg Ideas, July 9, 2025. Michael Nienaber, " Germany Powers Ahead With Record Push for Military Buildup ," Bloomberg, December 17, 2025. Persuasion, " Frances Lee and Stephen Macedo on Why Institutions Failed During Covid ," May 17, 2025. Christopher Preble, X , 1:55 am, October 18,2025. " Prediction Is Hard, Especially about Confidence Levels ," Net Assessment, October 2, 2025. Joanna Stern, " We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars ," Wall Street Journal, December 18, 2025. " Sweden Plans Largest Military Buildup Since the Cold War Amid Russia Threat and Uncertain US-EU Ties ," AP, March 26, 2025. " What's the Plan for AI? ", Net Assessment, August 7, 2025. Nancy A. Youssef, " So This Is What 'America First' Looks Like ," The Atlantic, December 11, 2025.