Welcome to our most popular articles of the year, based on the number of page views from 1 January to 24 December 2025.

These essays examine the defining controversies of 2025—from the Bondi Beach terror attack and the denial of antisemitism, to the University of Austin’s free-speech crisis, the murder of Iryna Zarutska, ChatGPT-5’s limits, California’s wildfire failures, ancient DNA challenging academic taboos, and the growing legal backlash against DEI.

Congratulations to the authors and our dedicated team of editors for delivering such high-quality journalism.

One

Is the University Of Austin Betraying Its Founding Principles?

Created as a haven for free thinkers, UATX was the last place where I’d expected to encounter ideological litmus tests.

QuilletteEllie Avishai

Two

Ancient DNA and the Return of a Disgraced Theory

This is a story of some of the greatest findings in modern research, and of the dismal narrow-mindedness and motivated reasoning displayed by scholars who ought to know better.

QuilletteTristan S. Rapp

Three

Three Hard Truths About California’s Fire Crisis

Climate change makes fires more dangerous. Government competence matters. And preventing catastrophic fires requires expensive, unpopular measures.

QuilletteClaire Lehmann

Four

Stealing Australia and Buying New Zealand

Why the New Zealand Māori got a treaty from the British in 1840 but, in 1788, the Australian Aborigines did not.

QuilletteSean Welsh

Five

ChatGPT-5 and the Limits of Machine Intelligence

The disillusion produced by GPT-5 is not a technical hiccup, it’s a philosophical wake-up call.

QuilletteHugh Brosnahan

Six

Paradox of Modern Comfort: Why We Forget Our Past Struggles

We need to cultivate an appreciation for the abundance that modernity has bestowed instead of taking it for granted.

QuilletteMaarten Boudry

Seven

The Murder of Iryna Zarutska

Why did this particular crime cut through the daily background noise of American violence?

QuilletteJukka Savolainen

Eight

Trump and the DEI Counter-Revolution

Civil-rights law made the DEI world; civil-rights reform can unmake it.

QuilletteThomas F. Powers

Nine

Bondi Massacre Was Inevitable Result of Antisemitism Denial

The massacre at Bondi Beach was shocking—but after years of denial and equivocation about antisemitism, it was inevitable.

QuilletteJack Pinczewski

Ten

Sexual Perversity in Ontario

An absurd trial, a prurient media circus, and a failure of feminist ethics.

QuilletteMarilyn Simon