Vox's best stories of 2025 cover politics, climate, AI, and culture.

1 day ago7 min read

As the final days of 2025 tick down, it’s a natural moment for reflection, and the editorial team at Vox has curated a compelling snapshot of the year through their standout journalism. This isn't just a list; it's a mosaic of the anxieties, breakthroughs, and cultural conversations that defined the last twelve months.From the tangible hope of grid-scale batteries solving renewable energy's storage puzzle—a story Umair Irfan framed as the 'peanut butter to the chocolate' of clean power—to the haunting ecological portrait Benji Jones painted of Madagascar's vanishing lemurs and chameleons, the collection spans the urgent and the existential. It captures a year where technology's double-edged sword was felt acutely, whether in Adam Clark Estes's meditation on how podcast saturation rewires our need for silence or in Eric Levitz's stark warning about AI cementing a 'fully automated neofeudalism.' The political stakes, always high, were rendered with chilling clarity in Zack Beauchamp's analysis of democratic backsliding, drawing direct lines from Trump's playbook to Hungary's Orbán, while Dylan Scott delivered a classic act of accountability journalism by unearthing a buried study on alcohol and cancer. Beyond the headlines, the list finds its heart in quieter, profound moments: the emotional resonance of a podcast episode on threatened tide pools, Constance Grady's centennial re-evaluation of *The Great Gatsby*, and Allie Volpe's simple, radical plea to prioritize friendship over a spotless home. Together, these pieces do more than inform; they map the contours of a year grappling with power, preservation, and what it means to pay attention, offering not just reports but roadmaps for the uncertain path into 2026.

#featured

#Trump administration

#democracy

#Hungary

#Orbán

#RFK Jr.

#health study

#AI risks

#climate change

#housing affordability