A Useless, Brief, Sorta-Midway Check-In On Our 2025 Predictions

By Dave Levitan  |  July 18, 2025 | 1:54pm
Photo by Shankar Chellam/Wikimedia Commons
Musings
A Useless, Brief, Sorta-Midway Check-In On Our 2025 Predictions

Back at the tail end of 2024, we posted a collection of predictions for the coming year. In the spirit of media accountability, it is time — eh, more than half-way through, seems reasonable — to check in and see how those are shaking out. We will not go through every one — who has the time, really — but a glance through some highlights is certainly due.

Prediction: The Celtics will beat the Thunder in the NBA Finals and repeat as champions.

Result: Well, at least one of the finalists was right. The defending champion Celtics were already facing ruin against the Knicks in the second round when things went decidedly more pear-shaped, with star Jayson Tatum tearing his achilles tendon. The Thunder, easily the league’s best team all year, eventually prevailed in the Finals over the Indiana Pacers.

Predictions: The space hotel will not, in fact, open for business; the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake will not occur; humans will not set foot on Mars.

Results: So far, so good. Two of those I am comfortable offering a guarantee of success, at this midway point in the year; the third I would not dare.

Prediction: At least one confirmed Trump cabinet member will resign by August.

Result: Still a couple weeks to go! We did have Signalgate villain Mike Waltz step down from his position as National Security Advisor, though he was not Senate-confirmed and he immediately was nominated to be Trump’s UN ambassador, which sort of violates the spirit of the prediction anyway. It remains a miracle that Pete Hegseth still has his job.

Prediction: There will be a hurricane in the Atlantic in May.

Result: Nope! The oceans, and the global average temperature, have been ever-so-slightly below the records set last year and the year before, perhaps helping keep the early-season tropical waters from spewing out a dangerous storm. That season will undoubtedly ramp up soon.

Predictions: Anora will win Best Picture at the Oscars; the world will remain incapable of building the massive robots used to fight the kaiju in the 2013 movie Pacific Rim, which takes place in 2025.

Result: Nailed it.

Prediction: Republicans will not repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.

Result: Welp. While the passage of the Big Bill of Death didn’t explicitly repeal the IRA, it sure did take an axe to a bunch of its provisions. This should count as a loss.

Prediction: Trump will have some sort of health scare that we don’t actually hear about until months later.

Result: Well, this is timely — though the “months later” bit doesn’t seem right, the White House did just announce that the Big Guy has chronic veinous insufficiency, causing swelling in his ankles. We’ll call this one a draw.

Prediction: Companies will keep forcing “AI” down your throat in ways you did not ask for.

Result: Is there way to be double correct? Super right?

That’s enough for now; we’ll check back in later to see if the Mets really do win the World Series.

 
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