33. Onwards + 2026 predictions
Even on the worst of news weeks, we must go on.
Today’s letter includes: The hottest new restaurant that isn’t open yet, a certain someone got out of prison early, Soho House NYC finally gets a facelift and more.
Hi friends.
I planned to tell you about how, after many years of hating LA, I just might like it now. Maybe it’s the seasonal depression talking, or the impeccable design of The Line Hotel (much better than the one in Austin), but it’s just so nice and warm. Warm enough to forgive the appalling, ever present traffic and lack of public transit.
However, it’s been a terrible news week, so that’s what we’ll have to talk about. To start, Rob Reiner and his wife were most likely murdered, possibly at the hands of their own son, who witnesses said had an audible shouting match at Conan O’Brien’s Holiday party the night before. Richard Rushfield concludes his piece on Reiner’s death with words that I found somewhat comforting:
“I permit all the employees of Hollywood to phone it in this week; to put aside the dealmaking, contract signing, plotting, scheming, backstabbing and everything else that fills the days, and during this Hanukkah week, reflect on just what the hell we’re doing here and what those things are worth.
Look at Ahmed al Ahmed, the unarmed hero of Bondi Beach, and know that evil can still be confronted and stopped. We don’t have to be okay with our world being like this.”
Trend forecaster Sean Monahan also released his 2026 predictions, saying that 2025 would be remembered as “a slow year in politics” compared to what’s coming. His prediction for 2026? “The wheels are coming off.” He expects more frequent political violence, heated arguments over election integrity, and both sides accusing the other of cheating through redistricting schemes. As he puts it bluntly: “things will continue to worsen for the next ten years.”
This week feels like proof of concept.
If you are feeling moved to do something, you could support students impacted by Saturday’s mass shooting by donating to the Brown University Emergency Relief Fund or to any of the fundraisers for the victims of the Bondi Beach Hanukkah party shooting.
Other things to expect, according to Monahan, include:
White-collar layoffs prompt upper-middle-class identity crisis, especially among millennials
‘News detox’ replaces ‘digital detox’ as people avoid depressing media (I’m already doing this TBH!)
More dedicated slop feed media products are launched and fail
Post-punk style takes over nightlife
The weed backlash begins with a movement to regulate potency and rollback legalization
An AI-generated television series finds mainstream popularity
The strained transatlantic alliance faces a political crisis that threatens NATO’s future
Gen Z coordinates migrations to promising small towns
a number of gentrified small towns achieve memetic fame
Onwards.
I gotta get to Bistrot Ha. There’s already been considerable hype around Ha’s snack bar, which opened on the LES in January. And the line to get in hasn’t really dwindled, even after 11 months. Now they are blessing us with a full sized restaurant, Bistrot Ha, which based on the preview night J Lee has declared: “I didn’t think it was possible, but the bistro is better than the snack bar in every conceivable way.” I’ll be watching for the opening.
Caroline Ellison moved to community confinement. Ellison, former cryto exec and ex-gf of Sam Bankman-Fried has moved out of federal lockup after serving ~11 months of her 2 year prison sentence.
Creators are making split-screen TikToks to break your brain even more. It’s not a new app feature—it’s creators using editing apps like CapCut to stack multiple videos on one screen, forcing viewers to process several streams of information simultaneously. Researchers warn this “content stacking” trend is designed to make single-video content feel boring by comparison, essentially training our brains to need constant overstimulation. I fear for our species intellect levels.
$50,000 to hang out at the beach. The save our seas foundation has announced an Ocean Storytelling Grant for emerging filmmakers. Deadline is Jan 30.
Glossier made an Airpods case. My first instinct is “who needs that” until I think back to the fact that I have indeed lost my Airpods case before.
Soho House NYC is opening a new floor with IVs, diagnostic testing, hyperbaric chambers and red-light therapy. In addition to this new, two-floor “social wellness space,” they’re also renovating all the bedrooms, which is sorely needed. Not sure what a “Soho House Festival“ is but they say it will happen in Manhattan in October.
High-income households continue to help prop up spending. Retail sales were flat in October, signaling a slowdown in consumer spending, but U.S. consumers fueled solid retail sales growth due in part to a seasonal willingness to splurge and high-income households doing a large part of the spending.
Coursera will buy Udemy for about $930 million in stock. This unites two of the largest U.S.-based online learning platforms at a time when course enrollment growth has cooled from pandemic highs. The deal values the combined companies at $2.5B.
Netflix will soon have Barstool Sports video podcasts. Netflix will exclusively carry three Barstool Sports video podcasts, marking the streamer’s third major podcast deal. Youtube, watch out!
Rumor has it that Substack is suppressing free content. If you’d like to resist the algorithm pushing paid content only, then liking, sharing, quoting and restacking this newsletter will help! <3
in earnest.
Just at a concert to benefit Ukraine and the low brass played an arrangement of a traditional Ukrainian folk song; it almost felt like a requiem. And it was good to sit very still with this music and mourn the senseless deaths, especially of this last week. And not be okay.