From political tell-alls to the continued triumph of romantasy novels, it’s been an eventful year in the publishing world. On this week’s episode, host MJ Franklin talks with his Book Review colleagues Alexandra Alter, Tina Jordan and John Maher about the biggest book stories and most significant reading trends of 2025.
With anxieties building over affordability, President Trump made a push to reassure Americans just as the government released long-awaited data that raised new questions about the economic health of the nation.
Tony Romm, who covers economic policy for The New York Times, discusses how Mr. Trump is trying to take control of the issue, and Ben Cassleman, The Times’s chief economics correspondent, explains what the latest numbers tell us about why people are still so frustrated.
Guest:
Tony Romm, a reporter in Washington covering economic policy and the Trump administration for The New York Times.
Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The New York Times.
This week, despite a last-ditch effort by some House Republicans to strike a deal on health care, Congress remains deadlocked on whether to extend support for millions of Americans who get their health care through the Affordable Care Act.
Margot Sanger-Katz, who covers health care policy, explains who will be most affected by the decision.
Then, we hear directly from some of the Americans who will now face a decision: whether to keep paying for rising insurance costs or to risk going without it.
Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz, a reporter for The New York Times who covers health care policy and government spending.
Rob Reiner, the classic film director, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were killed on Sunday at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. On Tuesday, prosecutors charged the couple’s son, Nick, with first-degree murder.
Julia Jacobs, an arts and culture reporter for The New York Times, explains what we have learned about the deaths, and Wesley Morris, a critic at The Times, discusses why many of Rob Reiner’s films are so beloved.
Guest:
Julia Jacobs, who reports on culture and the arts for The New York Times.
Wesley Morris, a critic at The New York Times who writes about art and popular culture.
Background reading:
Rob Reiner, the actor who went on to direct classic films, died at 78.
Palantir, a data analysis and technology company, has secured federal contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars during President Trump’s second presidency, including to develop software to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement deport people.
Michael Steinberger, who spent six years interviewing Palantir’s chief executive, Alex Karp, for the book “The Philosopher in the Valley,” explains how Mr. Karp went from a self-described lifelong Democrat to a champion of Mr. Trump, and the impact this transformation could have on American democracy.
A New York Times review of President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s actions on immigration showed that decisions he and his closest advisers made created an opening for a more aggressive Trump administration agenda.
Christopher Flavelle, who interviewed more than 30 former Biden administration officials who worked on immigration and border policy, explains how Mr. Biden fumbled the immigration issue, and what the Democratic Party can learn from his missteps.
As 2025 comes to an end, The Sunday Special is looking back on the year in culture.
This week, we’re listening to the songs and albums that defined the year, for better or worse. Gilbert Cruz is joined by Caryn Ganz and Lindsay Zoladz from The Times’s pop music desk to discuss some of the biggest and best releases of 2025.
Albums and songs mentioned in this episode:
Bad Bunny, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos”
Lady Gaga, “Mayhem”
Justin Bieber, “Daisies”
Chappell Roan, “The Giver” and “The Subway”
Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild”
Doechii, “Alligator Bites Never Heal”
Taylor Swift, “The Life of a Showgirl”
Morgan Wallen, “I’m the Problem”
Ghost, “Skeletá”
Dijon, “Baby”
Geese, “Getting Killed”
Water From Your Eyes, “It’s a Beautiful Place”
PinkPantheress, “Fancy That”
Lily Allen, “Tennis”
Ella Langley, “Choosin’ Texas”
Sleigh Bells, “Bunky Becky Birthday Boy”
Hayley Williams, “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party”
Photo Illustration by The New York Times; From left, Angela Weiss/AFP — Getty Images (Lady Gaga); OK McCausland for The New York Times (Geese); Erika Santelices/Reuters (Bad Bunny); Helle Arensbak/AFP -- Getty Images, via Ritzau Scanpix (PinkPantheress)
Here we are in mid-December, which means that along with all of the other year-end lists we produce and avidly consume at this time each year, The New York Times Book Review's staff critics are also looking back on everything they read in 2025, and toasting the books that have stayed with them.
On this episode, host Gilbert Cruz talks with Dwight Garner, Alexandra Jacobs and Jennifer Szalai about their standout fiction and nonfiction of the past 12 months.
Books mentioned:
"What We Can Know," by Ian McEwan
"Flesh," by David Szalay
"The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny," by Kiran Desai
"Playworld," by Adam Ross
"When the Going Was Good," by Graydon Carter
"I Regret Almost Everything," by Keith McNally
"When All the Men Wore Hats," by Susan Cheever
"Notes to John," by Joan Didion
"A Flower Traveled in My Blood," by Haley Cohen Gilliland
"38 Londres Street," by Philippe Sands
"Wild Thing," by Sue Prideaux
"Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life," by Dan Nadel
"Class Clown," by Dave Barry
"Electric Spark: The Enigma of Dame Muriel," by Frances Wilson
"Flagrant, Self-Destructive Gestures: A Biography of Denis Johnson," by Ted Geltner
"Shadow Ticket," by Thomas Pynchon
"Selected Letters of John Updike," edited by James Schiff
"Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford," by Carla Kaplan
"More Everything Forever, AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity," by Adam Becker
