Best of 2025
LARB Radio Hour hosts pick their favorite books, movies, TV shows, music, magazines, and scandals from 2025. Listen to hear about Nuzzi, Superman, and more
By LARB Radio HourDecember 12, 2025
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Best of 2025
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It's that time of the year again! Hosts Kate Wolf, Medaya Ocher, and Eric Newman look back on some of the bright lights from a pretty dark year with a rundown of their favorite books, movies, TV shows, music, and scandals from 2025.
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LARB RADIO HOUR PICKS OF 2025
Books
On the Calculation of Volume, Solvej Balle
Things in Nature Merely Grow, Yiyun Li
Audition, Katie Kitamura
The World After Gaza, Pankaj Mishra
The Four Spent the Day Together, Chris Kraus
Flashlight, Susan Choi
Crumb: A Cartoonist's Life, Dan Nadel
A Day Like Any Other: The Life of James Schuyler, Nathan Kernan
Pan: A Novel, Michael Clune
Run Man Run, Chester Himes
Italian Folktales, Italo Calvino
Minor Black Figures, Brandon Taylor
Big Chief, John Hickey
James Baldwin: A Love Story, Nicholas Boggs
Our Share of Night, Mariana Enriquez
Film
The Mastermind, Kelly Reichardt
My Undesirable Friends, Julia Loktev
Superman, James Gunn
Bring Her Back, Michael Philippou and Danny Philippou
28 Years Later, Danny Boyle
Weapons, Zach Cregger
Twinless, James Sweeney
The Naked Gun, Akiva Schaffer
One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson
TV
Too Much
Project Runway
Vanderpump Rules
Saturday Night Live
The Studio
Peacemaker
Heated Rivalry
Music
Debí Tirar Más Fotos, Bad Bunny
Lux, Rosalia
Tether, Annahstasia
Stockholm Syndrome choice: The Encanto Soundtrack
Mayhem, Lady Gaga
Heavy Metal, Cameron Winter
Camelot, Jennifer Castle
Wolfways, Michael Hurley
"Brother Gonna Work it Out," Public Enemy
Scandals
Olivia Nuzzi
Kanye West’s naked wife
Coldplay kiss-cam
Harlequin's Heated Rivlary flop
Magazines
LARB Contributor
The LARB Radio Hour is hosted by Eric Newman, Medaya Ocher, and Kate Wolf.