The Top 10 Most Interesting 2021 Predictions (and Lookbacks on 2020)

McKinsey, Gartner, Vitalik Buterin, Council of Foreign Relations, and many more. Warning: A Bit Tech-Heavy!

1. What Will Happen to Cities in 2021: Derek Thompson at the Atlantic is one of the most interesting writers around. He is credited with the term “density and diplomas” to describe the Democratic-Republican voter split in the US.

2. The next normal arrives. Trends that will define 2021—and beyond via McKinsey.

3. Dan Wang covers technology at Gavekal Dragonomics and a contributor to Bloomberg Opinion.  He writes an annual letter that is inevitably fascinating. This year he discusses China's institutional strengths; technology as a means to avoid decadence & complacency; Proust; biking in Beijing; a culinary ranking; and more.

4. Gartner Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021. Gartner is the top technology consulting firm in the world.

5. The World After the Coronavirus: As the pandemic enters a new phase, Foreign Policy asked 12 leading global thinkers to predict what happens in 2021 and beyond.

6. Vitalik Buterin is co-founder and inventor of Ethereum, a platform that facilitates new cryptocurrencies and programs that share a single blockchain. His annual letter is a must-read: Endnotes on 2020: Crypto and Beyond

7. Visualizing 2021: Trends to Watch via the Council on Foreign Relations

8. Asia in 2021: through a screen darkly: Travel bubbles, Zoom calls, Big Tech, and vaccines. Is it possible to top 2020? via Nikkei Asia

9. 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2020 via MIT Technology Review

10. How the Department of Defense could help win the war on climate change. The Pentagon has a huge appetite for clean energy — and a massive budget. via Politico