10 most popular posts of the year
Billy Joel, Superman and Paul Revere made the list
In Japan, millions rise early to greet the sun on New Year’s Day. In the U.S., thousands of “Polar Bears” plunge into their local body of frigid water, bracing for the 12 months ahead. My preferred New Year’s ritual is to stay up late, watch the televised festivities from Times Square and enjoy the final entry in the Classical Countdown.
New York radio station WQXR asks listeners to vote for their favorite pieces and then plays the winners over several days, with the number one selection ringing out as the ball comes down at One Times Square. It is invariably Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with its “Ode to Joy.”
What’s the point? It’s a comforting ritual. You hear superb pieces composed centuries ago, often performed by long dead artists. For a moment, it seems as if the world hasn’t really changed in the past year — and will endure this way forever.
The reality of 2025 is that the world was — perhaps even more than usual — in rapid flux. It’s been a privilege to provide perspective on what’s happening through the lens of history. Now I get to begin a new end-of-year ritual, by sharing posts that captured the most interest from readers.
These 10 sparked engagement and conversation. In case you missed any, here they are:
The one thing Putin, Xi and Trump can't outrun
In Beijing, the leaders of Russia and China were overheard musing about living to the age of 150. America's president separately shared his thoughts on mortality. How long do these leaders aim to hold on to power? French essayist Michel de Montaigne had much wisdom to impart on the topic.
The Trump economy is making a huge bet
On October 7, 1974, 850 federal officials quietly checked into motel rooms in six communities in the New York City borough of Queens and the Long Island suburbs.
The president who amazed America
Elizabeth Jennings was running late for Sunday services on July 16, 1854 when she and a friend tried to board a horse-drawn streetcar on Manhattan’s Third Avenue. Jennings was a 27-year-old teacher at the African Free School and the organist at the First Colored Congregational Church.
An old man in a hurry
In 1886, Lord Randolph Churchill spoke out against the new Liberal government’s support for home rule in Ireland.
The song that explains Billy Joel
When Nick Paumgarten profiled Billy Joel for The New Yorker in 2014, the article was headlined: “Thirty-Three-Hit Wonder.”
The midnight ride of Paul Revere, 250 years later
Paul Revere had already ridden through the countryside, warning of the hundreds of redcoats marching west from Boston.
The parade of Joe Biden books
Why now? That’s the question a lot of people are asking about the spate of books examining the increasing infirmity of President Joe Biden.
Why the Qatar jet gift controversy hits home
The first airplane specially built to fly a president was the “Sacred Cow,” a Douglas VC-54C Skymaster that took President Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Yalta conference in early February 1945.
The Supreme Court majority's nightmare is President Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
It was a coincidence that the U.S. Supreme Court happened to hear a major challenge to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the morning after Democrats routed Republicans in the off-year elections. But certainly the blow-out results in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City had to disturb the tranquility of at least a few of the court’s six conservative justices.
The battle for Superman's soul
The origin story of Superman the comic book character is more compelling than the plot of most of the movies in which he stars.
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Here’s the link to the WQXR Classical Countdown.