Top of Mind Thursday – October 23 2025: Could You Make This Stuff Up?

What a terrible time to be a Hollywood screenwriter. Not because of AI, but the actual news is so bizarre, I don’t know how one could come up with scenarios that are even stranger than reality.

Here are a few examples from just the last few days:

In a brazen daylight heist, thieves stole jewels worth over $100 million from the Louvre Museum in Paris last weekend. There don’t appear to be any leads on who did this or where the jewels went.
The US federal government shutdown is entering its 4th week, with no end in sight. Both sides appear to be dug in for a long fight. Meanwhile, air traffic controllers are doing Door Dash gigs after their FAA shifts to make ends meet.
In spite of the shutdown, President Trump demolished a whole wing of the White House this week to build an extra-large ballroom—after assuring the public the project would not affect the existing building.
Several NBA players and coaches have been arrested on charges of participating in Mafia-related gambling rings. I guess the $12 million average NBA salary doesn’t go that far these days.
ICE raids are becoming more aggressive in many cities across the country, often capturing people with legitimate green cards or US citizens.
Over 7 million people participated in a “No Kings” march on Saturday. The events, held in every state, appear to have been calm and quiet, with no injuries or violence. It’s not clear what, if anything, will change as a result of this action.
A man who has never held a job, let alone being in public office, appears to be on track to become the next mayor of New York City.

What does all of this mean? It’s getting harder and harder to know what’s coming next.

Your customers, your employees, your family—and people you don’t even know—are likely on edge with all the uncertainty. Many people are out of work, or worried that they’ll be out of a job soon. (If they’re government employees, they may still be working, but not getting paid.)

It’s easy to talk about embracing uncertainty, but much harder to actually do so. But one thing we can be sure of is that this too will pass. And one day we’ll laugh about all of this craziness. Maybe they’ll even make a movie or two about all of this.

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