2025: The Year’s Best Stories

A record number of conflicts are wreaking havoc worldwide.

Figures from Pope Francis to Dick Cheney left behind global legacies.

Readers kept track of Trump’s whirlwind foreign policy and upheaval in the global order.

How Trump’s tariffs shaped geopolitics this year.

Nearly one year into Trump’s second term, our authors assess the damage he has caused to the global order.

Trump’s quest for China-free supply chains explained much of his foreign policy in 2025.

Where does this year’s cease-fire agreement leave Palestinians and Israelis?

Notable episodes of FP’s economics podcast from the past year.

For better and worse, 2025 was a historical year.

In 2025, too many people were making too much money to slow down.

International actors may be sounding the alarm, but that doesn’t equate to meaningful action.

The figures who shaped the way we thought about the world this year.

FP Live’s guests included Europe’s top diplomat and a Gen Z economic whisperer.

How Gen Z-led movements shaped 2025—and what comes next.

The geopolitical ripple effects of the nuclear-armed rivals’ worst conflict in decades.

Our columnists and staff writers recommend their top reads for the end of the year.

From trade wars to tech competition, this year was a vicious cycle of escalations, retaliations, and negotiations.

Our favorite excerpts of 2025.

Here are the countries that have benefited the most—and least—from the U.S. president’s decision-making.

Trump wielded U.S. economic and military might in the region to win concessions.

Our best reads on the state of the conflict as Washington seeks a deal with Moscow.

The trends that defined Beijing’s 2025, from the trade war with Trump to challenges on the home front.

When it’s TACO time, no one wants to be a persistent objector.

Our most insightful film reviews of 2025.

As the second Trump administration approaches the one-year mark, here’s who is influencing key policies. 

Our favorite books—and reviews—of 2025.