Here are 8 novels NPR staff and critics loved in 2025
Every year, we ask NPR staff and book critics to share their favorite titles in our annual Books We Love guide. Here are 8 fiction picks that were standout stars.
-
Are weighted vests good for bones and muscle? Fact-checking a fitness trend
It's a growing fitness trend. People say wearing a weighted vest when you exercise builds bones, strengthens muscles and improves cardiovascular health. But does research back up these claims? -
Confusion, explosive anger and waiting: NPR spent a day in New York immigration court
Dozens of immigration courts across the country have become epicenters of the Trump administration's efforts to increase the rate of immigration arrests. -
Whatever happened to ... the race to cure HIV? There's promising news
At the International AIDS Society meeting this year, a young woman from South Africa spoke. She is the first Black woman from Africa to be potentially cured of HIV. -
Kilmar Abrego Garcia detained by ICE during Baltimore check-in
The detention, which was expected, happened after Abrego Garcia walked into the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Baltimore for a check-in after being released from custody on Friday. -
FBI searches the home of former Trump adviser John Bolton
The FBI says its searches of Bolton's home and office was authorized by a court but declined to provide further details. Bolton is a frequent critic of the president. -
She's bracing and saving to pay $2,800 a month for ACA health insurance next year
Raiding retirement savings. Pondering job changes or even marriage. People who buy their own health insurance are strategizing ahead of major price hikes in 2026. Open enrollment starts Nov. 1. -
See how new voting maps in Texas and California shift the political landscape
The major parties' redistricting battle escalated this week, with lawmakers in the country's two most populous states each taking a notable step toward a new congressional map. -
Justice Department releases transcripts from its conversations with Ghislaine Maxwell
Maxwell spoke with top DOJ officials over the course of two days in late July. Asked about President Trump, she said she had never witnessed him "in any inappropriate setting in any way."
