Have you ever wondered what Alix Earle, AI, and Gen Z’s ‘Absurd Era’ Reveal About the Future of Business, Entertainment & Influence?
Black Friday flopped. Booking.com became sexy. Dancing With the Stars is now a full-blown creator pipeline. And the average influencer? Officially over.
In this week’s episode, Maggie and Katie break down the cultural chaos shaping 2026, from unhinged micro-trends to the new class system emerging from AI… and why the myth of overnight success is the most dangerous lie online.
They explain:
Why Black Friday felt flat even as it broke records
How tweens and micro trends reshaped consumer behavior
Why cultural relevancy beat traditional product launches
The travel planning study every woman is sending her partner
How Booking dot com became the most unexpected breakout brand
The creator to reality TV to entrepreneur pipeline
Why business shows struggle on video while Shark Tank still wins
The new rules for storytelling in business and education
The top AI predictions for 2026 and the HSR point of view
Why Gen Z will become entrepreneurs by necessity
How micro companies and tastemakers will shape culture
Why human imperfection will become a trust marker
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Why analog living is emerging as a new luxury
Chapters:
01:00 Black Friday was underwhelming but record breaking
03:00 Why cultural relevancy beat product drops
05:00 Tweens and absurd micro trends
06:00 The travel planning attractiveness study
08:00 Why Booking.dot com finally became cool
10:00 Dancing With the Stars and the new creator pipeline
11:00 Alex Earl, Brooke Nader, and the reality TV effect
13:00 Why business shows fail on video
15:00 Shark Tank works because it is emotional, not logical
17:00 What brands get wrong about content
19:00 The new rules of education and entertainment
20:00 Breaking down the top AI predictions of 2026
21:00 Gen Z forced entrepreneurship
23:00 Micro companies and the rise of taste makers
24:00 Personalised education and the end of the classroom
26:00 Human assisted services becoming luxury
27:00 The death of the average influencer
28:00 Trust premiums and human proof labels
29:00 Analog living becoming aspirational
31:00 Using AI to evolve your business
33:00 The myth of overnight success
34:00 Mashki’s decade long rise
35:00 Build to sell or build to keep
36:00 How founders should think about public building
38:00 Privilege, backlash, and the messy middle
40:00 Vulnerability as a competitive advantage
42:00 Why creators struggle to pull back
44:00 Sharing outcomes versus sharing in real time
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Hot Smart Rich with Maggie Sellers Reum 
