By Chris Meinsen / Advisor Outreach

Every year has headlines. But some years have moments — stories that cut through the noise and became unavoidable.

2025 was one of those years.

These weren’t just news alerts. They were the stories people argued about in group texts, shared in Slack channels, debated at dinner, and scrolled past at midnight thinking, “Wait… what?”

Here are the 20 most talked-about news stories of 2025 — and why each one mattered more than the headline itself.

1. Wildfires tore through parts of Los Angeles, becoming one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history

This wasn’t “climate change somewhere else.” This was prime neighborhoods, major highways, and everyday life disrupted. For many Americans, 2025 was the year climate risk stopped being abstract and started feeling personal.

2. Donald Trump was inaugurated as President

Regardless of politics, this was the defining backdrop of the year. Policy shifts, court battles, protests, and nonstop media coverage shaped everything from markets to culture to dinner-table conversations. Exhaustion became bipartisan.

3. Thailand legalized same-sex marriage

In a year dominated by conflict and division, this stood out as a clean, hopeful milestone — and a reminder that progress often comes quietly, without fanfare, and outside the usual Western spotlight.

4. A deadly stampede at India’s Kumbh Mela festival killed dozens

One of the world’s largest religious gatherings became a sobering reminder of how fragile safety systems can be when crowds, infrastructure, and pressure collide.

5. Beyoncé won Album of the Year for Cowboy Carter

This wasn’t just a Grammy moment — it was a culture reset. Genre lines officially blurred, and the conversation shifted from “Is this allowed?” to “Why did we ever limit it?”

6. The U.S. imposed new tariffs on China, escalating trade tensions

This headline rippled far beyond politics. Supply chains, prices, and global relationships all felt the impact, reminding people how interconnected — and fragile — the global economy really is.

7. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX

In a fragmented media world, the Super Bowl proved it’s still one of the last true shared national moments. Love it or hate it, everyone knew the score.

8. Anora dominated the Academy Awards

The Oscars had been searching for relevance. In 2025, they found it — sparking debate about storytelling, taste, and what audiences actually want from Hollywood now.

9. Firefly Aerospace successfully landed a commercial spacecraft on the Moon

This was a quiet but historic shift: space exploration officially moved from governments to companies. The new space race doesn’t wear flags — it wears logos.

10. Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore returned after an unexpectedly long stay in space

A human story inside a technical one. Plans changed. Systems failed. People adapted. The world watched — and remembered how unforgiving space still is.

11. The Catholic Church elected its first American pope

Some institutions move slowly… until suddenly they don’t. This was one of those history-book moments that sparked global debate about tradition, change, and leadership.

12. A Pop Mart toy called “Labubu” became a global obsession

Seemingly overnight, a niche collectible exploded into mainstream culture. It was a perfect example of how the internet can turn anything into a movement — fast.

13. Katy Perry went to space on a Blue Origin flight

Was it inspiring? Ridiculous? Both? Either way, it dominated timelines and perfectly captured 2025’s blend of tech, celebrity, and spectacle.

14. Japan named its first female prime minister

Representation stories still matter — not because they’re symbolic, but because they quietly reset what leadership looks like in places long defined by tradition.

15. The Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series behind Shohei Ohtani

Sports and celebrity fully merged in 2025. Ohtani wasn’t just an athlete — he was a global brand pulling casual fans into the story.

16. The Grand Egyptian Museum officially opened

Amid crisis and chaos, this headline reminded people that humanity still builds big, ambitious, beautiful things — and that wonder hasn’t disappeared.

17. A powerful typhoon killed hundreds across Southeast Asia

Another reminder that extreme weather wasn’t an outlier in 2025 — it was a pattern. Disaster headlines became disturbingly routine.

18. The longest U.S. government shutdown in history finally ended

Forty-three days of dysfunction highlighted how fragile “normal operations” can be when compromise isn’t rewarded.

19. The United States minted its final penny

A small headline with big symbolism. 2025 had many “end of an era” moments — and this one strangely resonated.

20. Merriam-Webster named “slop” its Word of the Year

AI content overload. Low-quality noise. Digital fatigue. One word managed to capture the internet’s collective frustration better than any think piece could.

Final Thought

2025 wasn’t defined by one single moment. It was defined by contrast — progress and fatigue, innovation and overload, spectacle and seriousness — all happening at once.

If there’s a takeaway, it’s this: People are paying closer attention to what actually matters… and tuning out everything else.

Curious which of these stuck with you the most — or which one you think will still matter five years from now?