Media . . . or Medium?

“What would prompt a well-educated woman of a certain age to take up such a dubious pastime? A pastime that makes her long-patient husband of 48 years sigh audibly when he enters the room and observes her glued to her laptop yet again, apparently absorbing the theories of prognosticators from, shall we say, the metaphysical media?”—Kathryn E. Livingston

Words & Wonder

By Kathryn E. Livingston

BOGOTA New Jersey—(Hubris)—January/February 2026—It’s a new year and, according to the psychics on YouTube, it’s going to be a doozy. Wait, what? Did I just admit that I watch psychics on YouTube? I did, and damn it, I make no apologies. (There is also a marvelous tarot card reader from Australia of whom I’m especially fond.)

Of course, I still watch the “real news.” But a person can take only so much of that. Now, mind you, these particular psychics that I’m attached to are political seers. (This isn’t about whether my long-gone Uncle Alfred is sending me a message about my dog—if he did, that would be a sure giveaway because I don’t have one. If he’d sent me a message about my son’s cat, on the other hand, that would be telling. She communicates telepathically with me each morning at 6 a.m.). But, no. Rather, this is about when a certain someone and his minions of terror will leave their posts in the nation’s capital. “For entertainment purposes only,” as the soothsayers say.

What would prompt a well-educated woman of a certain age to take up such a dubious pastime? A pastime that makes her long-patient husband of 48 years sigh audibly when he enters the room and observes her glued to her laptop yet again, apparently absorbing the theories of prognosticators from, shall we say, the metaphysical media?

Well, the past year has brought on a weariness that I can no longer sustain. I want to be told that things will get better and who better to tell me than someone guided by beings known as (obviously) “the guides.” Whoever the guides are, I like what they have to say a lot more than what I hear from a certain press secretary, for instance, or from political pundits with theories that rarely pan out. And I like that “channeling” no longer means surfing between MSNOW and CNN all evening. 

Besides, so far these psychics have been spot-on about a lot of things. (Long ago they predicted that even the MAGAs would eventually get pissed at some of the inanity. Seriously: MTG?) Unlike the mainstream reporters who often tiptoe for fear of retribution, the psychics have cover so they can say pretty much whatever they want. “The guides are saying . . .” gets these (for the most part) ladies off the hook because where is anyone going to find these “guides” when the predictions go awry—or even if they come true? We can’t beam ourselves up (or down?) to confront them.

My psychics may be New Agey, but they don’t live in bubbles. They know all the political players and have amusing names for them (perhaps so they don’t get sued). Hedgehog is one, for instance. And Orange Julius. They’re in a way more straightforward than the press because their sources aren’t senators or PR people. Frankly, I’d just rather listen to the guides (via the psychics, of course, as my own psychic powers are quite scanty) than a bunch of political pundits predicting gloom and doom or even good news or offering false hope. At least the guides have the credentials to predict, merely by the fact, I suppose, that they call themselves “the guides.” And anyway, when was the last time you demanded to see the credentials of the fellow guiding a group of bird watchers or leading a historical tour of Rouen? 

Speaking of hope—that commodity that Obama marketed so well—the psychics are full of it. They don’t seem to think that the USA will self-destruct or that we will all be jailed if we say something mean about the vulgar décor of the Oval Office. They actually predict that in time we will get through this dark period; they foresee that the tide will turn and the heartbreaking cruelty will no longer be tolerated. 

That’s what I want to believe anyway, and if it takes a psychic to make me believe it then I’m all in. As the new year commences, I’m grateful to my newfound YouTube buddies who have kept me from losing my mind in these troubling times. I’m not saying that you, dear reader, have to buy into this, but since hope is free and not subject to tariffs, I’ll take it.

Now please excuse me while I ask my pendulum a few pointed questions.