Sunday Special: The Best TV of 2025
The Daily
12/21/25
•60m
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In these final weeks of 2025, The Sunday Special is looking back at the year in culture.
Today, we’re talking about the TV we watched this year — the best shows, the most popular ones and the ones that allowed us to just enjoyably veg out. Gilbert Cruz talks with the TV critic James Poniewozik and the culture reporter Alexis Soloski about the year in television.
TV shows discussed in this episode:
“Severance”
“Common Side Effects”
“Too Much”
“Nobody Wants This”
“Dying for Sex”
“The Hunting Wives”
“The White Lotus”
“Dr. Odyssey”
“Long Story Short”
“Heated Rivalry”
“Andor”
“The Lowdown”
“Platonic”
“Pluribus”
“The Pitt”
“Adolescence”
On Today’s Episode:
James Poniewozik is the chief TV critic for The New York Times.
Alexis Soloski is a culture reporter for The Times.
Background Reading:
Photo Credit: Apple TV+; Netflix; Lucasfilm/Disney+; HBO
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Previous Episode
The writer and lawyer has been documenting the occupation for decades. Somehow, he maintains hope.
- Thoughts? Email us at theinterview@nytimes.com
- Watch our show on YouTube: youtube.com/@TheInterviewPodcast
- For transcripts and more, visit: nytimes.com/theinterview
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
Next Episode
The Messy Reality of ‘Made in America’
December 22, 2025
•30m
The construction of a giant factory complex in Arizona was supposed to embody the Trump administration’s ability to bring manufacturing back to the United States.
But undertaking big projects is not as simple as it seems. Peter S. Goodman, who writes about the intersection of economics and geopolitics for The New York Times, explains why.
Guest: Peter S. Goodman, who covers the global economy for The New York Times.
Background reading:
- Read about the 18,000 or so reasons that make it so hard to build a chip factory in the United States.
Photo: Loren Elliott for The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.
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