Defy Drift: The Signals I’m Watching in 2026

Emotional capitalism everywhere. AI outpacing governance. Motherhood as a battleground. Communications in a fragmenting media landscape...

My dearest Calling the Shots friend,

According to my ChatGPT Wrapped, this year, “I built meaning through strategy, owned the narrative, and turned press releases into philosophy.”

But if I’m being honest, the most meaningful moments of my year were the quiet and uneventful ones: reading through A–Z dog names in the index section with my four-year-old; channeling my inner Mel Robbins and giving my tween the pep talk before his archery competition, debating the societal ramifications of AI with my engineer-turned lawyer husband. Long walks in the park. Eating good butter.

1.FAV pasttime 2. Direct 3. Archery 4. I feel seen by my 4 yr old 5. aforementioned good butter 6. hosting fds 7. I know so many dog breeds now 8. don’t be 心不在焉 9. Important words of 2025 according to my Gen Alpha (sans 67, because parents ruined it)

The moments I return to most are the ones I spent alone with myself—journaling, reading books that strengthen my mind with no obvious payoff for work, no immediate utility for understanding the world.

This year, I started a new ritual—I’ve been tracking the readings that are thought-provoking and emblematic of the times we live in, week by week. One that stayed with me came from an April New York Times op-ed: “An Age of Extinction Is Coming. Here’s How to Survive.” TL;DR: live with intentionality and intensity—make yourself the master, not the passenger.

As I look ahead, these are the signals I’ll be watching closely in 2026:

• Empathy, coddling, and the accountability reckoning: what counts as “deserving” and “fair” when resources are allocated, and geopolitics play into the calculations.

• The loneliness epidemic: mental health, romantic withdrawal, and the renewed search for meaning will be an important theme in 2026. The economic impact and political urgency as society grapples with all these issues in a post-AI era.

• Emotional capitalism will be everywhere we look. See above.

• AI, tech, and regulatory lag: how policy debates fixate on intent while outcomes keep compounding—and what it means when governance chronically trails deployment, and regulation is seen as an innovation hurdle in the race of AI hegemony. China and the U.S.’s approaches will diverge.

• Motherhood and women’s roles become even more politicized: in both China and the U.S., where reproduction, choice, the institution of marriage, and identity are increasingly treated as public battlegrounds.

• Communication and PR’s role in the Media landscape further shifts: less performative pitching and more relational dynamics; fragmentation continues, and the rise of the corporate editorial content is here to stay. EARNED media will be even more difficult, and more brands/companies will confuse paid influencer strategy with actual influence.

In 2026, I want to focus more on the signals that deserve analyzing—and on a few personal goals: doing fewer things better in the spirit of slow productivity, embracing stillness, and being fully present for myself and for the people I love.

Calling the Shots will continue to be free to read on all posts, but there will be more reasons to become paid subscribers for worthy perks and access in 2026. Join the club.

Lastly, a reminder:

Languages will disappear, churches will perish, political ideas will evanesce, art forms will vanish, the capacity to read and write and figure mathematically will wither, and the reproduction of the species will fail — except among people who are deliberate and self-conscious and a little bit fanatical about ensuring that the things they love are carried forward.

—Age of Extinction

May we all, in 2026, defy drift—analyze the signals, spot the trends, and choose intention over autopilot, so we can step into the year clear-eyed, steady, and ready to ultimately call the shots.