Help us keep the conversations going in 2026. Donate to Conversations with Tyler today. On this special year-in-review episode, Tyler and producer Jeff Holmes look back on the past year on CWT and more, including covering the most popular and underrated episodes, why single-subject deep dives made for some of the best conversations this year, the biggest AI surprises and how LLMs changed the show's production function, what happened with the Magnus Carlsen episode, listener questions on everything from hotel selection to AI x-risk discourse, Tyler's serene acknowledgment that uncontrollable laughter is something he has neither experienced nor desires, reviewing his pop culture picks from 2015, and a dispatch from Muscat, Oman. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded November 5th and December 15th, 2025. Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Jeff on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Favorite episodes of the year 00:12:08 - AI's impact on the show 00:15:05 - The lost Magnus episode 00:17:13 - Tyler's #1 hotel amenity 00:18:40 - Tyler's growing influence and thoughts on tariffs 00:21:15 - AI x-risk discourse 00:26:22 – Copying Tyler's interview style 00:28:50 - Tyler's lack of joy 00:32:55 - How well ChatGPT answers as Tyler 00:35:15 - Tyler's 2015 movie picks 00:40:44 - Tyler's 2015 book picks 00:45:00 - Tyler's 2015 music picks 00:48:16 - Most popular episodes and thoughts on Oman Photo Credit: Kevin Trimmer