The Best Music of 2025
Each year at NPR Music, we curate two flagship lists: The Best Albums of the Year and The Best Songs of the Year. But there’s a lot more recommendations and criticism where those came from.
You’ll find all of NPR Music’s year-end journalism — including content from our partner public radio stations and personal picks from our critics and hosts — on this page. Come back often throughout the month of December to see all of our coverage.
The Best Songs of 2025
This is the sound of public radio in 2025. Our list was curated by more than 60 writers and DJs across the NPR Music Network, and runs the gamut of sounds, scenes and styles.. Read the full list.
Pentagon says it’s cutting ties with ‘woke’ Harvard, ending military training
Amid an ongoing standoff between Harvard and the White House, the Defense Department said it plans to cut ties with the Ivy League — ending military training, fellowships and certificate programs.
‘Washington Post’ CEO resigns after going AWOL during massive job cuts
Washington Post chief executive and publisher Will Lewis has resigned just days after the newspaper announced massive layoffs.
In this Icelandic drama, a couple quietly drifts apart
Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason weaves scenes of quiet domestic life against the backdrop of an arresting landscape in his newest film.
After the Fall: How Olympic figure skaters soar after stumbling on the ice
Olympic figure skating is often seems to take athletes to the very edge of perfection, but even the greatest stumble and fall. How do they pull themselves together again on the biggest world stage? Toughness, poise and practice.
They’re cured of leprosy. Why do they still live in leprosy colonies?
Leprosy is one of the least contagious diseases around — and perhaps one of the most misunderstood. The colonies are relics of a not-too-distant past when those diagnosed with leprosy were exiled.
This season, ‘The Pitt’ is about what doesn’t happen in one day
The first season of The Pitt was about acute problems. The second is about chronic ones.
