Apple News Today: The Best Music, Movies, and TV of 2025 – Summary

Date: December 20, 2025
Host: Shumita Basu
Guests: Anne Helen Petersen and Sam Sanders

Episode Overview

This special year-end episode of Apple News Today looks back at the music, movies, and TV shows that defined 2025. Host Shumita Basu is joined by noted culture critics Anne Helen Petersen (Culture Study podcast & newsletter) and Sam Sanders (Sam Sanders Show, KCRW) to dissect the year’s standout releases, cultural trends, and shifting audience tastes. Listener recommendations are also featured, revealing the personal favorites and obsessions of the Apple News audience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The State of Pop Culture in 2025

• Reheated Nostalgia & Social Regression

  • Sam Sanders described 2025 as “reheat those nachos,” pointing to the recursive recycling of cultural content in internet and algorithm-driven culture ([01:58]).
  • Anne Helen Petersen’s phrase: “social regression” reflected concerns about gender norms, body messaging, and anti-woke backlash ([03:09]).
  • The majority of music streaming comes from older (“catalog”) music, and hit TV shows are often long-running series like Prison Break and Suits ([03:34]).

• Quote:

  • “Everything about the way Internet culture works right now...is propelling us into cycles of repetitive nostalgia. Some of it feels good, some of it feels bad. Most of it’s just mid.” — Sam Sanders [01:58]

Standout Music Releases

• Noah Cyrus – I Want My Loved Ones to Go With Me

  • Anne: Surprised by the album; evokes Nico Case & Gillian Welch; features a duet with Fleet Foxes; “She just has that Cyrus talent...I could listen to it on repeat.” ([05:02])

• Lizzo – My Face Hurts from Smiling (Mean Girl Rap Mixtape)

  • Sam: Praised Lizzo’s embrace of the “villain” persona post-scandal; craved “celebrities who aren’t afraid to be mean” ([05:47]).

• Geese

  • Sam: “The lead singer sounds like he is in the middle of a bar fight...if Kings of Leon went on a drug bender for a week.” ([06:40])

• Bad Bunny

  • Huge year: Most streamed artist on Spotify for the fourth consecutive year ([07:37]).
  • His success underscored the shift in pop culture away from a U.S.-centric focus (“He is a global artist who sings in Spanish...and he’s still number one” – Sam, [08:10]).

• Taylor Swift

  • Mixed reviews for her much-anticipated release: Sam wishes she would “finally finish high school...I’m still getting song lyrics about prom.” ([09:01])
  • Anne: Noted her relentless productivity, questioned necessity of releasing everything ([09:23]).

• Pop and Praise Music Crossover

  • Noted trend of praise/worship music influences in mainstream pop (“the spirit of a U2 ballad...earnest, simple chord progressions” – Sam, [11:14]).
  • Example: Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” as the archetype ([11:41]).

Listener Music Picks

• Lady Gaga’s Mayhem
• Sleep Token’s Even in Arcadia
• Rochelle Jordan’s Through the Wall

Television Highlights

• Severance (Apple TV+)

  • Listener Jennifer: Obsessed with weekly viewing, deep dives, and related podcasts ([13:44]).

• Andor (Disney+) Season 2

  • Listener Jerry: “Acting, next level, phenomenal. The writing, brilliant, tight...explores finding hope in the harshest of times.” ([14:17])

• Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, Season 22)

  • Listener Jess: “Such a good drama...Shonda Rhimes has exploded the hospital like, three times.” ([14:44])

Critics’ TV Standouts

• Adolescence (Netflix)

  • Sam: Surprised by quality and depth; “The portrayals of all of these characters, it is pretty remarkable.” ([15:10])
  • Shumita: Reflected on parenting challenges in a hyper-connected world ([16:47]).

• The Diplomat (Netflix)

  • Anne: “Perfect amount of episodes...brings up so many great questions...Keri Russell is phenomenal.” ([18:24])

• Task

  • Anne: Mark Ruffalo-led crime drama with effective twists; just renewed for season 2 ([19:11]).

Movies in 2025

• Cinema Attendance Trends

  • Americans go to the movies “a little bit less than once a year” on average ([20:03]).
  • Factors: COVID habits, accessibility, and high childcare costs discourage theatergoing ([20:19]).
  • Movie culture now dominated by franchises, IPs, and children’s films; “mid-tier” movies struggle ([20:57]).

• Sinners

  • Only listener call-in for movies; universally praised by Anne and Sam ([21:18]).
  • Sam: “It’s a horror movie, it’s a musical, it’s a race movie, it’s a history movie...all at once, and it’s a Michael B. Jordan movie.” ([21:39])
  • Anne: Praised risk-taking and experimental approach; “Sinners creates that magical feeling of cinema. I haven’t had something do that for me in a couple of years.” ([22:43])

• Hollywood’s Risk Aversion

  • Anne: “There’s incredible risk adversity...most interesting experimentation is happening in television.” ([24:46])

K Pop Demon Hunters – A Pop Culture Phenomenon

• Music and merchandise became unexpectedly huge, especially among kids.
• Hollywood “didn’t see it coming” and failed to capitalize immediately (no merch or costumes ready) ([26:44]).
• Sam admired its blend of K-pop, anime, and Broadway musical structure ([27:22]).

What Audiences and Critics Want from Art

• Anne:

  • Seeks risk-taking and originality, not nostalgia—“I don’t need everything to reinvent the wheel...but I do want it to maybe take a risk” ([28:23]).

• Sam:

  • Longs for “monoculture”—shared cultural touchstones—over algorithm-driven personal consumption. Notes that politics (especially Trump) is effectively becoming the new monoculture ([29:04]).

• Quote:

  • “I just want more things that we enjoy together.” — Sam Sanders [30:15]

• Anne agrees: moments of collective experience (like Taylor’s album release week) are powerful and missing in splintered media culture ([30:21]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote/Description | Speaker | |-----------|------------------|---------| | 01:58 | “Reheat those nachos”—the defining phrase for 2025’s recycled pop culture | Sam Sanders | | 03:34 | “70% of music streaming is catalog music.” | Sam Sanders | | 05:04 | “She just. She has that Cyrus talent...I could listen to it on repeat.” (on Noah Cyrus) | Anne Helen Petersen | | 06:01 | “She fully leaned into just being the villain...seeing her finally just say, I guess I am the villain felt very good.” (on Lizzo) | Sam Sanders | | 07:37 | “He can do no wrong...he’s a pretty man. I love it, I love it.” (on Bad Bunny) | Sam Sanders | | 08:10 | “He is a global artist who sings in Spanish and not English. And he’s still number one.” | Sam Sanders | | 09:01 | “I wish she would finally finish high school...I’m still getting song lyrics about prom.” (on Taylor Swift) | Sam Sanders | | 11:14 | “The spirit of a U2 ballad...earnest, simple chord progressions...” (on pop/praise music) | Sam Sanders | | 15:10 | “I am perpetually intrigued by whatever Netflix’s strategy is, because I’m not sure they know what it is.” | Sam Sanders | | 22:43 | “Sinners creates that magical feeling of cinema. I haven’t had something do that for me in a couple of years.” | Anne Helen Petersen | | 28:23 | “I do want it to maybe take a risk. And I think that’s why Sinners sticks out to me as the highlight of my pop culture year.” | Anne Helen Petersen | | 29:04 | “I just long for monoculture. I long for things that we can consume together and talk about together.” | Sam Sanders |

Key Timestamps for Segments

• [00:04] – Episode intro and welcome
• [01:18] – Panelists’ three-word cultural summaries
• [03:34] – Discussion on streaming/nostalgia stats
• [04:45] – Best new music of the year (panelists’ picks)
• [07:37] – Discussion on Bad Bunny and Spotify Wrapped
• [09:01] – Analysis and debate on Taylor Swift’s 2025 album
• [11:07] – The rise of “praise music” influence in pop
• [12:28] – Listener recommendations: music
• [13:44] – Listener recommendations: TV
• [15:10] – TV standouts: Adolescence & Netflix
• [16:47] – Parenting and the impact of TV narratives
• [18:24] – The Diplomat and Task: Further TV picks
• [20:03] – Declining movie theater attendance; causes
• [21:18] – Highlighting Sinners and the modern horror hit
• [24:49] – Industry trends: risk aversion in Hollywood
• [25:49] – K Pop Demon Hunters: breakout phenomenon
• [28:23] – What the critics want from art in 2025
• [29:04] – Monoculture’s disappearance from pop culture

Conclusion

The episode captures a year defined by recycled nostalgia, anxiety over changing societal norms, and standout moments of originality in music, TV, and film—particularly when creators take risks. Despite the fracturing of audiences into algorithm-shaped niches, the critics and listeners alike express a longing for more collective cultural experiences.

For further details, listen to the full episode or visit the show notes for additional links and resources.