This week, we take a lighter turn and talk about what we’re genuinely looking forward to in 2026. From major movies and long-awaited books to video games, music releases, space missions, and even what not to get excited about, we reflect on anticipation itself—how hype changes with age, how expectations can be complicated, and how sometimes the biggest thing we’re excited for is simply a slower, steadier year. It’s a wide-ranging, honest conversation about culture, creativity, and where we’re putting our energy as we look ahead.

Show Notes

• We open with some life updates, including travel fatigue, family weddings, and easing back into work after the holidays
• We intentionally choose a lighter topic after last week’s more reflective episode: things we’re excited about in 2026
• Movies we’re looking forward to
  • Strong excitement for Project Hail Mary, especially given how meaningful the book was
  • Curiosity and respect for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, even with mixed feelings about his past films
  • Anticipation (and dread) around Sunrise on the Reaping and the emotional weight of the Hunger Games universe
  • Cautious optimism about The Devil Wears Prada 2—beloved cast, but big questions about timing and necessity
  • A deep dive into Dune Messiah vs. Avengers: Doomsday, including Marvel fatigue and uncertainty around Doctor Doom
  • Thoughts on Spider-Man: Brand New Day and why it inspires more confidence than the next Avengers film
  • Clear disinterest in The Mandalorian and Grogu, despite its significance for Star Wars theatrical releases
• Books and reading
  • Huge enthusiasm for the next Dungeon Crawler Carl book and praise for its narration and humor
  • Discussion of finally getting into the series and why it works as a palate cleanser
  • Hope for Twelve Months, the long-awaited next entry in The Dresden Files
  • Honest conversation about the series’ flaws, growth over time, and why it’s still worth reading
• TV shows (mostly hypotheticals)
  • Acknowledging how many shows we intend to watch but haven’t yet
  • Mentions of Silo, Rings of Power, House of the Dragon, and Marvel TV fatigue
  • Why some shows feel easier to watch with others rather than alone
• Video games
  • Excitement for the Cult of the Lamb expansion and how it surprised us
  • Curiosity around GTA VI, despite never finishing previous entries
  • Interest in Marvel’s Wolverine and a potential Fable reboot
• Music
  • Anticipation for several metal releases, mixed with realism about aging bands
  • Reflections on how live music has changed—and why smaller shows feel more meaningful now
  • Sticker shock and frustration with modern concert ticket prices
  • A shift toward supporting artists directly through digital purchases
• Space and science
  • Excitement about the Artemis II mission looping around the far side of the moon
  • Anticipation for a total lunar eclipse visible across North America
  • Gentle skepticism about “quantum breakthroughs” announced by tech companies
• We close by acknowledging that after several intense life years, a quieter, slower 2026 might be the thing we’re most excited about

In this episode, we push back hard against New Year’s resolutions and unpack why they so often leave us feeling guilty, frustrated, and stuck. Instead, we talk through the idea of yearly themes—a gentler, more flexible way to guide growth without the pressure of pass/fail goals. We reflect on our past themes, share what worked (and what didn’t), and introduce our themes for 2026: a year of peace and the year of gentle refinement. Along the way, we dig into anxiety, sleep, routines, and why progress is never linear—and that’s actually the point.

Show Notes

• We open by talking about being together in person over the holidays, unseasonably warm winter weather, and how strange it feels to see green grass in December.
• We reflect on how climate shifts, lack of snowpack, and wildfire smoke have become an unsettling “new normal.”
• As the year wraps up, we explain why we are firmly opposed to traditional New Year’s resolutions.
  • They tend to be overly ambitious.
  • They focus on failure and guilt rather than growth.
  • They encourage all-or-nothing thinking.
• We talk about how resolutions often repeat year after year, reinforcing a cycle of disappointment instead of progress.
• We introduce the idea of yearly themes, inspired by the Cortex podcast’s approach.
  • Themes guide decisions instead of dictating outcomes.
  • You can’t “fail” a theme.
  • Themes allow for flexibility, reassessment, and course-altering without shame.
• We discuss how progress actually works:
  • Growth isn’t linear.
  • Life looks more like a sine wave than a straight upward line.
  • The goal is to slowly shift the baseline over time.
• Aubrey reflects on last year’s theme—essentially survival—and why graduating, moving, and starting a new life counts as success.
• Peter shares past themes:
  • The Year of Growth (too broad)
  • The Year of Conscious Action (more effective and grounded)
• Aubrey introduces her 2026 theme: A Year of Peace
  • Focused on managing anxiety rather than “fixing” it.
  • Centered on inner calm, not external control.
  • Anchored in sleep, movement, mindfulness, and basic needs.
• We talk about anxiety as something often self-generated through imagined scenarios—and how peace is about changing our response.
• Peter introduces his 2026 theme: The Year of Gentle Refinement
  • A rejection of “optimization” as a harsh, weaponized concept.
  • Focused on small, monthly refinements rather than big overhauls.
  • Closely aligned with learning, workflows, and creative projects.
• We discuss embracing failure as information, not judgment.
• Sleep becomes a major focus:
  • Refining nighttime routines.
  • Consistent wake times.
  • Circadian rhythm basics.
• Aubrey shares practical strategies for anxiety management:
  • Walking meditations.
  • Getting sunlight early in the day.
  • Her “first aid kit for anxiety” (drink water, eat, go to the bathroom).
• We close by emphasizing that themes only need to work for you—there’s no universal right answer.

In this episode, we wrap up the year by looking back at everything we read in 2025 — the books we loved, the ones that surprised us, and the ones that completely missed the mark. We dig deep into our shared love (and growing concerns) around Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere, celebrate standout reads like Project Hail Mary and Murderbot, and unpack why some wildly popular fantasy series just didn’t work for us. Along the way, we talk rereads, audiobooks, nonfiction that actually changed how we think, and the frustration of realizing — a little too late — that a book you just finished maybe… wasn’t very good after all.

Episode Notes

• We kick things off with winter check-ins, comparing Wisconsin’s full-on frozen wonderland to Peter’s suspiciously warm, snow-light winter.
• End-of-year busyness hits hard, especially when holidays collide with work schedules and stolen OR days.
• Our main topic: books we read in 2025, including highlights, rereads, surprises, and disappointments.
• Aubrey walks through reading all of Brandon Sanderson’s Secret Projects, with Tress of the Emerald Sea standing out as a near-perfect recommendation for new readers.
• We both revisit Mistborn — rereading the original trilogy reveals new layers, but also highlights lingering concerns about prose and late-series direction.
• The Sunlit Man sparks mixed feelings, especially around Sigzil’s characterization and its disconnect from Wind and Truth.
• Peter rereads the entire Mistborn saga through The Lost Metal, praising Wax and Wayne but expressing disappointment with the finale, escalating Cosmere gods, and Kelsier’s trajectory.
• Both of us admit growing unease after The Lost Metal and Wind and Truth, worrying about where the Cosmere is headed.
• Aubrey shares thoughts on Isles of the Emberdark, Sixth of the Dusk, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and White Sand — including a strong dislike for Graphic Audio adaptations.
• Peter gushes about The Murderbot Diaries, praising their exploration of personhood, AI, free will, and identity — and recommends the Apple TV+ adaptation.
• We discuss The Three-Body Problem, including its hard sci-fi roots and the famous astrophysics concept behind the title.
• One of Peter’s standout reads: Murder Your Employer, a darkly funny, sharp, and satisfying novel that became his favorite fiction read of the year.
• Aubrey highlights Project Hail Mary as a clear top-tier read, praising both the story and the audiobook experience.
• We talk Hunger Games prequels, with Sunrise on the Reaping delivering emotional devastation and deeper insight into Haymitch.
• Aubrey runs through major fantasy misses, including Fourth Wing, From Blood and Ash, and An Ember in the Ashes, calling out weak prose, flat characters, and formula fatigue.
• Nonfiction roundup from Peter includes Atomic Habits, Save the Cat Writes a Novel, and Tiny Experiments, which had a genuinely life-changing impact.
• Aubrey shares a strong nonfiction miss with The Anatomy of Anxiety, ultimately abandoning it over pseudoscience and diet fear-mongering.
• The episode closes with Peter starting Gödel, Escher, Bach, setting up a serious, slow-burn intellectual challenge for the year ahead.