As we wrap up 2025, the journalists at GBH News have been reflecting on the headlines that defined the year, the people we met, and what stories we’ll continue to follow in the year ahead. Listen to those conversations below.
A group of immigrants with temporary protected status, members of the National TPS Committee, and community advocates rally outside of the JFK Federal Building in August 2025. (Sarah Betancourt/GBH News)
Sarah Betancourt says immigration policy changes in 2025 had widespread impacts
President Donald Trump ran for re-election on the promise of mass deportations, and his administration followed through with many changes to immigration policies this past year. Immigrants all across Massachusetts either know someone who's been detained or has fallen out of legal status.
The first wave of detentions involved students who had expressed opinions countering the invasion of Gaza by Israel, including Tufts University graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk. Hundreds of thousands of arrests followed. Recent data shows that over 70% of people detained in the first 10 months of this year were people with no criminal record. In some cases, people were detained because of mistaken identity, like Milford teenager Marcelo Gomes da Silva.
The Trump administration also canceled protections that allowed people to be in the country legally, like temporary protected status and humanitarian parole. Some immigrants saw their work permits revoked immediately as a result of that change in status.
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Al Davis shares his picks for the best jazz of 2025
When Rachael & Vilray came on stage at the Newport Jazz Festival this year, they brought a laid-back, old-time feel that fit perfectly on a hot summer day. Their album "West of Broadway" hearkens back to old memories even though it's entirely new.
This year we also got an album from saxophonist George Coleman, who played with B.B. King and Miles Davis for many years. The new release puts his horn in a different context. "George Coleman with Strings" is a beautiful arrangement with David Hazeltine joining on piano, John Webber on bass, Joe Farnsworth on drums, Café Da Silva on percussion, and Bill Dobbins conducting.
One more highlight from the year was Josie Falbo's "Kickin' It." She includes both standards as well as Latin arrangements, all with fabulous vocals.
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More than 200 people gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, to protest Worcester's response to a recent federal immigration raid. (Sam Turken/GBH News)
Sam Turken recaps a chaotic ICE operation and other big news this year in Worcester
In May, some 30 people confronted federal immigration officers as they took a local Brazilian woman into custody, demanding to see warrants and blocking their vehicles. Worcester Police responded to the chaoticscene, creating weeks of controversy for the city. The woman who was detained, Rosanne Ferreira De Oliveira, has since been granted asylum. But after the incident, police charged Councilor Etel Haxhiaj with assaulting an officer. She’s contested that claim, pointing to body camera footage that shows the interaction. Haxhiaj is scheduled to stand trial in February.
Another story from 2025 that we’ll continue to follow in the new year relates to the city’s police department. After the U.S. Department of Justice found Worcester police engaged in excessive force and “outrageous conduct,” the Worcester Regional Research Bureau recommended the city establish a civilian review board. Police and the mayor have questioned the value of such a board, but the city manager has said he’s open to discussing it at an upcoming Council meeting.
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An advanced EMT with Action Ambulance reassures a patient in the back of an ambulance. Every year, hundreds of people in Massachusetts end up in court over ambulance debt. (Liz Neisloss/GBH News)
Jenifer McKim and Liz Neisloss share their takeaways from reporting on debt
The GBH News series Debt Mills looked into the large number of consumer debt cases being filed in Massachusetts courts. About 85% of small claims cases are third-party companies that buy debt in bulk from other companies, and then sue people over debts they typically didn't even remember.
Ambulance fees are another example of debt cases. Every year, millions of dollars of ambulance debt in the state are sent to collections and hundreds of people end up in court. It boils down to the fact that most ambulance companies and insurance providers disagree on reimbursement rates — leaving consumers on the hook for any remaining charges. There have been various legislative bills to tackle this problem, but every year they seem to languish in the Massachusetts State House.
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Bostonians’ personal documents dangle from the ceiling of the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Watershed in this piece titled “Home Less Home” from artist Chiharu Shiota. (James Bennett II/GBH News)
Jared Bowen reflects on the arts sector in 2025
Funding cuts had a major impact on the cultural sector this year. We saw the Trump administration take away funds from the National Endowments for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities. Then the administration went beyond national organizations, looking at artists and institutions that supported diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. All of this led to a massive scramble in the cultural sector, and it remains unclear how arts funding may change moving forward.
In more positive news, this year brought the inaugural Boston Public Art Triennial, with two dozen installations popping up across the city. Organizers want to do this every three years, following a different theme. This first show was “The Exchange,” in which artists sought to understand the community and then make art that reflected the people and moment.
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Anne Fracht, left, and Alex Green at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass. on May 15, 2025. (Meghan Smith/GBH News)
Meghan Smith looks back at big headlines in the disability community
Last month, the Massachusetts House and Senate voted to approve legislation that will finally allow family members to access records from state institutions that housed people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Many institutionalized residents were shut off from society and severely mistreated. For decades, officials told families that privacy and medical laws prevented them from releasing records about their loved ones. Making these records available will be a big change long sought by families. A commission also suggested the governor issue a formal apology, so this is a story our newsroom will keep an eye on.
Another big story this year was the fire at an assisted living facility in Fall River, where ten people died. The story renewed fears from many disabled people and older adults about gaps in emergency preparedness. The state had already set up a commission to look into safety at assisted living facilities, but as a result of the fire, the commission delayed releasing that report.
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Jorge Rodriguez sitting at his desk in his Lawrence office on June 30, 2025. He started his own company, Steri-Tech Medical Innovations, after 28 years in the U.S. Army. (Trajan Warren/GBH News)
Trajan Warren says the state has work to do when it comes to equity and justice
Urban school districts in the state have long received less funding than their suburban counterparts. A report this fall highlighted how that uneven funding has led to overcrowding, buildings in disrepair and other problems in urban schools. Superintendents say they’ve had to get creative, like how the Chelsea School District bought an old church to supplement their existing buildings.
Speaking of funding, we also found the state has fallen far short of its pledge to contract with veteran-owned businesses. Even though there’s a State Supplier Diversity Office to help connect state projects with local contractors, business owners say it’s not been working out. In the last decade, veteran-owned businesses only received about 20% of the $1.6 billion the state promised to spend on those businesses.
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Ryan Enos, a government professor at Harvard University, speaks at a protest against President Donald Trump's recent sanctions against Harvard in front of Science Center Plaza on May 27, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (Leah Willingham/AP)
Kirk Carapezza recaps how Trump's second term affected higher education
Soon after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, his administration pressured Harvard to make sweeping changes to how it operates. The government froze $2 billion in grants to Harvard and threatened the school’s tax-exempt status as officials pushed a list of demands they said would address antisemitism, increase viewpoint diversity and reign in costs. Harvard President Alan Garber sued, calling the demands illegal. A judge later sided with the university and restored federal funding.
While Harvard occupied the headlines all year, it wasn’t the only school navigating the Trump administration. Marjorie Hass, president of the Council of Independent Colleges, said every college in the country is grappling with, what she calls, “the Trump chaos tax,” in which they’re spending time and resources responding to executive orders and comments coming out of the White House. For example, schools nationwide have been affected by a big drop in international student enrollment, which means colleges have to find creative ways to balance their budgets without those tuition dollars.
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Gov. Maura Healey delivers an update on the status of SNAP funding in Massachusetts on Monday, Nov. 11, 2025. (Katie Lannan/GBH News)
Katie Lannan reviews how Massachusetts lawmakers reacted to federal policies
Pretty much every action on Beacon Hill this year related to what was happening in Washington. State lawmakers responded to the federal government’s actions by passing protections for people seeking reproductive and gender-affirming health care, creating an immigrant legal defense fund, and requiring insurers cover vaccines recommended by the state Department of Health -- even if those differ from federal recommendations. State Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has been active in filing lawsuits against the Trump administration, often joining with attorneys general from other Democratic-led states.
In terms of local action, a big help to renters this year was the state changing the law on broker fees. Now, whoever hires a broker is responsible for paying the fee. Boston had been an outlier among big cities for having renter-paid broker fees. This year, state lawmakers finally came to an agreement on the matter after Gov. Maura Healey put broker fee limits into her state budget plan.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is sworn in during a House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on March 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey Jr.)
Adam Reilly revisits a notable year in politics and points to what's ahead
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu emerged as a national figure this year, making her mark during the March congressional oversight hearing on immigration policy. Wu has been taking on President Donald Trump and his administration in ways we expect more from the congressional delegation, or Gov. Maura Healey, than a city mayor. Meanwhile, Healey has been measured in her responses to Trump. She is up for re-election next year and will be facing three Republicans, so Healey may be concerned about her messaging and the amount of time she spends on state versus national issues.
Another big story we’ll be following in 2026 is the direction of the Democratic Party. One window into that is Rep. Seth Moulton’s challenge to unseat U.S. Sen. Ed Markey. Moulton says it’s time for generational change. He has questioned Democrats’ views on transgender issues, but he’ll need to find more points of contrast to wage a successful campaign against the progressive incumbent.
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EPA employees rallied against proposed cuts by the Trump administration outside the agency's Boston office on March 25, 2025. (Craig LeMoult/GBH News)
Craig LeMoult recaps a tumultuous year for science
One recurring theme this year was the Trump administration's attacks on scientific research and universities like Harvard, which are major research hubs. Nationally, nearly 5,500 National Institute of Health grants and about 2,000 National Science Foundation grants were terminated. State attorneys general and national organizations like the American Public Health Association filed lawsuits over those grant terminations. Ultimately, many of those NIH grants were restored — but not all of them. Here in Massachusetts, the federal government reinstated 684 of the nearly 800 grants that were initially terminated. There's still some $2 billion in grants that have not been restored nationwide.
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Brian McCreath shares classical highlights
Italian pianist Beatrice Rana released a recording of Bach’s keyboard concertos she created with Amsterdam Sinfonietta. We’re used to hearing these concertos on harpsichord, so Rana’s use of a modern piano gives it an extra expressive edge. She builds a layer of lightness and uncertainty, and then — like a dam breaking — lets loose with the added power of Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Other highlights of the year include Jarod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s Woodland Songs and Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Shostakovich’s Cello Concertos.
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Then–Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden speaks at the GBH Media Summit on April 30, 2025, in Boston, Mass. (Rebecca Ferullo/GBH)
Paris Alston reflects on the first year of GBH News Rooted
GBH News Rooted covered a range of topics this year, including the impacts of the Trump administration’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion programs nationwide. In May, host Paris Alston sat down with Carla Hayden, who was both the first woman and the first African American to serve as the librarian of Congress. She spoke about efforts to preserve Black history and the risk of losing that context if it is not protected. Hayden was fired just days after that interview.
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Celtics star Jayson Tatum sits during a press conference. (Esteban Bustillos/GBH News)
Esteban Bustillos recounts two turnarounds in New England sports
Good vibes surrounded the Celtics at the start of the season — and then Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles injury. The team effectively lost a year of their star in his prime. But interestingly enough, the Celtics are still in the mix in the Eastern conference and surpassing expectations given that major disruption.
There’s also a turnaround story for the New England Patriots, who last season finished with the NFL’s second worst total offense and a bottom 12 total defense. Now they’re on track to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the playoffs. Contributing factors include Mike Vrabel's leadership, new faces like receiver Stefon Diggs, and a schedule that has been among the easiest in the league.
It was also a big year for women's sports in the region. On the ice, the Boston Fleet are off to a hot start this season and have cemented themselves as a strong contender to win the Walter Cup. Other headlines focus on what Boston has to look forward to. The Women's Pro Baseball League held its first draft, including for a team that will rep Boston. And the NWSL team Boston Legacy FC hired head coach Filipa Patão as they prepare for their inaugural season in 2026.
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