All together now to the tune of Maria: How do you solve a problem like this yearrrrr???
2025 was a bitch. On this episode, we tackle the cruelty of ICE and the horror of Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the unadulterated boldness of the Trump administration. We try to speak to the pain of federal employees and the heartbreak of the disasters that rocked Los Angeles and Texas. And still we got to the end of this episode and I realized I’d forgotten to speak to the undercurrent of racism and misogyny that seemed to infect everything this administration touched this year.
That’s a bitch of year when the sexism gets lost in the parade of horrors.
And yet…you will hear me be stubbornly protective of 2025 in this episode. Not just because Travis and Taylor got engaged (although that’s part of it). Not just because I personally had a good year (MAD SHOUT OUT TO LOOP FOR THAT ONE!) Not just because Democrats aren’t flopping around mouths agape like some massive bass pulled aboard a fishing boat.
It’s something more. Something I saw glimmer in the eyes of No Kings protesters. Something I saw surface in conversations about the East Wing. Something I saw reflected in polling and focus groups and (god save me) even social media posts.
Something I still see after this past - particularly violent - weekend.
It felt like people remembered what they were fighting for instead of just what they were fighting about.
And that’s why I’m still over here puzzling about 2025.
She is gentle, she is wild
She’s a riddle, she’s a child
She’s a headache
She’s an angel
She’s a YEARRRRRR
Topics Discussed
What Happened in 2025: The Second Trump Administration
Positive Stories from Around the World
What Would We Tell Ourselves in January 2025
Outside of Politics: Favorite Books of the Year
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Episode Resources
Pantsuit Politics Resources
Spicy Live with Sarah and Beth: Thursday, December 18 at 12 noon (replay will be available)
Give the Gift of Pantsuit Politics with our End of Year Premium Sale
Stories and News that Stuck with us in 2025
Taylor Swift Gets Started On Her List Of Her Top Five Taylor Swift Songs (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | YouTube)
Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines - The New York Times
The Big Beautiful Bill, The Epstein Files, and Flooding in Texas (Pantsuit Politics)
1000 Victims and No Accountability with Julie K Brown (Pantsuit Politics)
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger
Celebrating our Grandmothers (The Nuanced Life by Pantsuit Politics)
The Assassination of Charlie Kirk (Pantsuit Politics)
White Smoke and a New Pope (Newsletter by Pantsuit Politics)
Good News for King Charles (Good Morning by Pantsuit Politics)
Good News for Portland and Chicago (Good Morning by Pantsuit Politics)
Shutdown and Teardown (Pantsuit Politics)
Good News for Felix (Good Morning by Pantsuit Politics)
Year in Search (Google)
Our Favorite Reads of 2025
Sarah:
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel
Simon Haisell’s Footnotes and Tangents (Substack)
How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States by Daniel Immerwahr
Beth:
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Risky Business: Why Insurance Markets Fail and What to Do about It
Episode Transcript
Coming soon…
Show Credits
Pantsuit Politics is hosted by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. The show is produced by Studio D Podcast Production. Alise Napp is our Managing Director and Maggie Penton is our Director of Community Engagement.
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