In this first episode of the 2026 Global Outlook trilogy, I trace the world’s journey into 2026 — a decade shaped by shocks, wars, inflation, political fragmentation, and the fastest technological acceleration in modern history.

From the pandemic and its economic aftershocks to the return of hard geopolitics in Ukraine, the Sahel, the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific, we explore how the foundations of global stability shifted. We also examine the humanitarian devastation in Gaza, where the UN’s International Court of Justice ruled there is a “plausible risk of genocide,” and how this moment reshaped public opinion, alliances, and moral confidence across continents.

This episode connects the major forecasts from the World Bank, IMF, OECD, Morgan Stanley and The Economist with the deeper forces driving the decade: AI, energy transitions, climate volatility, inequality, demographics, and the widening generational divide.

The goal is simple: to understand the full picture — the economic, political, emotional, and structural realities that shape the world we are entering. Before we can navigate 2026, we must understand the ground beneath our feet.