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Meh or Marvelous? How Would You Rate 2025?
18th February 2026 • The Daily Note with James A. Brown • James A. Brown
00:00:00 00:00:59

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We're diving into the assessment of 2025, and you'd be surprised to hear that the average score Americans gave it is a humble 5.3 out of 10. It seems like we're all just feeling a bit 'meh' about the year—neither terrible nor fantastic, just kind of existing in the middle. A quarter of us rated it as a bad year, while about one-fifth found it to be good, but most of us? We just shrugged it off. This episode explores what that says about us as a nation and whether we're settling into a state of 'just getting by.' I’m curious to hear your thoughts on how you’d rate 2025, so don’t forget to leave your two cents on jamesabrown.net! The results from a recent poll indicate that if we had to give 2025 a score, the average American would rate it a lukewarm 5.3 out of 10. It’s a fascinating reflection of our current cultural climate—most of us are not flying high or hitting rock bottom; we’re simply existing in a state of 'fine, I guess.' As we unpack this rating, we delve into the details: a quarter of respondents labeled the year as bad, while only about 20% felt it deserved a good rating. We’re not a nation of extremes this time around; instead, we find ourselves sitting comfortably in the middle, perhaps indicative of a larger trend in our society. What does it mean for us to collectively shrug off the highs and lows? This episode challenges us to confront our own feelings about the year and encourages a dialogue about complacency versus ambition. It’s a call to action for listeners to assess their own experiences and share their ratings of 2025, inviting a deeper discussion about our emotional landscape.

Takeaways:

  1. The average rating for 2025 among Americans was a lukewarm 5.3 out of 10, reflecting a general sentiment of indifference.
  2. A significant portion of Americans, about 25%, expressed that they considered 2025 a bad year overall.
  3. Interestingly, around 20% of respondents felt positively about 2025, indicating some pockets of optimism.
  4. Most people seem to fall into the middle ground; they’re not thrilled nor devastated, just coasting along.
  5. Culturally, it appears that we are not a nation of extremes right now, but rather of mild opinions.
  6. The overall vibe seems to be one of survival rather than thriving or despairing, which is quite telling about our current state.

Links referenced in this episode:

  1. jamesabrown.net

Companies mentioned in this episode:

  1. Talker Research


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Transcripts

Speaker A:

abrown.net if you had to give:

Speaker A:

A new poll asked 2,000Americans that question, and the average came back at 5.3 out of 10.

Speaker A:

Not terrible, not great, just meh.

Speaker A:

That's according to Talker Research.

Speaker A:

A quarter of us said it was a bad year.

Speaker A:

About a fifth of us said it was good.

Speaker A:

But most people landed in the middle.

Speaker A:

They shrugged.

Speaker A:

This is one of the few things that we're not a nation of extremes about.

Speaker A:

We're a nation of it was fine, I guess.

Speaker A:

I wonder if that's where we live now.

Speaker A:

Not broken, not thriving, just getting through it all.

Speaker A:

What do you think?

Speaker A:

Tell me your two cents.

Speaker A:

How would you rate:

Speaker A:

Leave a comment on jamesabrown.net on that note.

Speaker A:

I'm James A.

Speaker A:

Brown and as always, be well.

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