Every year in the slow week between the holidays, a group of old friends get together and do “Postmas,” where we share our “Tops” of the year. Top songs, movies, etc. and spend time together. Here were my favorite things of 2025.
Top Books
(not all written in 2025)
-
Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen is astonishing reporting built from declassified sources, genuinely terrifying in how plausible it is, and somehow still a page-turner.
-
The Iliad by Homer remains unmatched as a look at how the ancient world conceived of itself. I missed so much of what was going on around me in the first half of my life, not having read it until now.
-
Beloved by Toni Morrison. There’s little left to say about this book, other than you will think about it daily.
-
The Histories by Herodotus made me constantly wonder how one person, thousands of years ago, figured out not just how to travel that widely but how to invent history as a genre.
-
Breakneck by Dan Wang is the book I’ve wanted him to write for years, pulling together his thinking on China and the US with clarity and urgency.
Top Films
(all released in 2025 unless noted)
-
Bugonia feels like Yorgos Lanthimos operating close to his peak, strange and controlled in all the right ways.
-
House of Dynamite is the film version of Nuclear War: A Scenario, and it’s nearly as good.
-
Friendship surprised me with how much emotional weight it packed into something that looks deceptively light.
-
Eephus made me proud of Nate Fisher, a guy I’ve followed for a long time and think is breaking out, with a tone that’s confident and playful, plus some great radio ads by Will Sennett.
-
Nouvelle Vague is a love letter to filmmaking that only Linklater could pull off without being too twee.
Top Albums
(all released in 2025)
-
Big Ugly by Fust continues their run of getting better with every release, sounding more confident without losing their edge.
-
Foxes in the Snow by Jason Isbell is a quietly brutal divorce album that rewards sitting with it rather than blasting through.
-
Nobody’s Girl by Amanda Shires is the other half of this divorce. Uncommon to get both sides, but what a ride.
-
Bleeds by Wednesday sharpens their sound while keeping the emotional messiness that makes them great.
-
Getting Killed by Geese is feral, funny, and thrilling, and easily the best case for the return of indie sleaze.
Top Songs
(2025)
-
Dopamine by Robyn is phenomenal, especially considering she puts out one album every five to eight years.
-
Elderberry Wine by Wednesday is a strange corner case whose premise is entirely wrong, but it works.
-
Ride to Robert’s by Jason Isbell is the having-turned-a-corner-and-found-new-love song of the divorce album.
-
Goat House Blues by Fust feels lived-in and effortless in the way all their best songs do.
-
Cold at Night by The Mountain Goats is close to top form, even on an album that underwhelmed.