President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with senior advisors in the Oval Office to discuss the shooting in Aurora, Colorado, July 20, 2012. Pictured, from left, are: Kathryn Ruemmler, Counsel to the President, and FBI Director Robert Mueller. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Predicting trends of a New Year can be a little bit of a crapshoot when done too far in advance. That is to say, you’ll see articles like this one in November or December of the preceding year, and they’re largely filled with guesses. But now that we’re a month into 2018 and we have a better idea of how things might be going, we can better predict what the main headlines for the year might be about when it’s all said and done.
The World Cup
The FIFA World Cup remains the biggest event in sports, and 2018 should be no exception. Though there are a few noteworthy nations that missed the cut – namely, the United States and Italy – this is truly a tournament that captures the entire world’s attention. The matches don’t start until June, yet already more than four million tickets have been requested (to say nothing of the tens of millions who will watch on television). It’s simply unlike any other sporting event, and is sure to dominate news and sports headlines all summer. Every four years, the World Cup is among the biggest stories.
The Mueller Investigation
Many of us might be exhausted with the pace of politics these days, as well as the constant coverage of controversies and partisan debate. Regardless, if we’re just talking about the biggest and most consistent headlines, all things connected to the Mueller investigation are a safe bet. Regardless of your personal views, it’s a fact that the former head of the FBI has been appointed as a special counsel to investigate the Trump administration for campaign connections with Russia, and potentially obstruction of justice. It’s one of the bigger dramas in recent political history, and it appears to be far from over.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin was definitely one of the biggest stories of 2017, particularly in the last few months when it more than doubled its value and almost reached $20,000 for a few days. The story in 2018 will be how it follows this act. The price has already declined sharply (though is still about $10,000 higher than it was a year ago), and tighter regulations may be coming. A couple years ago the logical thinking was that it was too soon in the currency’s life for regulation, but now, particularly in East Asia, a few influential countries are looking to get involved. Some see this, as well as investment trends, pointing to a collapse. Others saw the 2017 surge as only the beginning. Whatever happens, it’s going to be big news.
The Bell Jar
There are always a few films that make headlines throughout a given year. In 2017, we can point to Get Out and Wonder Woman, both of which exceeded expectations and had a significant cultural impact. It’s always difficult to predict which movies will emerge in this way, but our guess for the coming year is The Bell Jar. Directed by Kirsten Dunst and starring Dakota Fanning, this is an adaptation of a Sylvia Plath novel widely considered to be among the true feminist triumphs of literature. A film like this, with a female director no less, should make a huge impact in a year that will be marked by ongoing movements of female empowerment.
Nuclear Tensions
Sadly, it appears that this too will be a big story for 2018. The U.S. and North Korea have seldom shared this much tension, at least publicly, and experts have warned that we’re closer to nuclear war than we were a year ago (or possibly at any point since the Cold War). The hope is that these tensions will ease off and diplomatic solutions to the countries’ conflicts can be explored, but until then the potential for nuclear conflict is going to be about as big as news gets.
