This year was marked by uncertainty: political upheaval, economic unpredictability, varying promises that AI will soon transform our work, our culture, and our relationships (for better or for worse). Perhaps it’s not surprising then that several of our most popular articles of the year focused on navigating uncertainty.
In our most-read article of the year, “Why We Spiral,” Gregory Walton helped us understand the psychological processes through which we grapple with uncertainty about ourselves and where we belong. He showed us how we can use these processes to “spiral up” rather than down.
Elizabeth Weingarten’s “In Uncertain Times, Get Curious” showed us how asking better questions can act as an antidote to uncertainty—and the anxiety that comes with it.
In “The Power of Asking ‘How?’” Rene Almeling recommended asking ‘How?’ instead of ‘Why?’ She wrote: “When it comes to human behavior, it can often be more productive and compelling to ask questions that begin with how rather than why?” The reason? “‘Why’ questions tend to provoke the stating of specific reasons, a need to explain via rational justification. . . . In contrast, ‘how’ questions can evoke more wandering responses that often include crucial information about social processes, history, networks, decision-making, and uncertainty.”
We also learned how to take a step back and get perspective when we’re perhaps a bit too certain that we’re on the right path. Dan Heath explained that “when we lock into a particular goal too quickly, we blind ourselves to alternate routes forward that might have been better and easier.” To avoid such a fate, we can ask one, simple question: “What’s the goal of the goal?”
And in “The Imperfect Life,” Oliver Burkeman explained why embracing “imperfectionism” can be so liberating: “The day is never coming when all the other stuff will be ‘out of the way,’ so you can turn at last to building a life of meaning and accomplishment that hums with vitality. For finite humans, the time for that has to be now.”
The other articles on this list helped us, in a number of other ways, to better understand:
On this list, you’ll find our 10 most-read articles of the year, plus five honorable mentions. We hope you enjoy the articles that you and your fellow readers turned to most this year.
— Evan Nesterak, Editor-in-Chief
(You may also be interested in the Most Read Articles of 2024, 2023, and 2022.)
Most Read Articles of 2025
Why We Spiral
By Gregory M. Walton
Questions of who we are or what we’re worth can send us into a tailspin. But the very same processes that pull us down can propel us up, too.
Why Don’t People Return Their Shopping Carts? A (Somewhat) Scientific Investigation
By Hannah B. Waldfogel
For reasons I can’t fully explain, people’s failure to return their carts bothers me more than it probably should. But then I realized I can do something about it.
In Uncertain Times, Get Curious
By Elizabeth Weingarten
Asking better questions can act as an antidote to uncertainty—and the anxiety that comes with it.
What’s the Goal of the Goal?
By Dan Heath
When we lock into a particular goal too quickly, we blind ourselves to alternate routes forward that might have been better and easier. We can avoid this trap by asking ourselves one simple question.
The Imperfect Life
By Oliver Burkeman
The day is never coming when all the other stuff will be “out of the way,” so you can turn at last to building a life of meaning and accomplishment that hums with vitality. For finite humans, the time for that has to be now.
Two part series on solitude
The Art of Balancing Solitude and Connection (Part 1)
By Elizabeth Weingarten
Without enough alone time, I feel disconnected from myself. But too much alone time makes me feel like I’m losing part of myself, too—the part of me that comes alive when I’m with other people.
* * *
Solitude Is a Skill (Part 2)
By Elizabeth Weingarten
We all need different amounts of social time and alone time. If the solitary life comes less natural to you, what should you do?
The Power of Asking ‘How?’
By Rene Almeling
Humans love to ask, “Why?” But when it comes to our behavior, it can often be more productive and compelling to ask, “How?”
Why Simplicity Can Be Strength in a Complex World
By Michael Hallsworth
As intuitive as it seems, a complicated approach to behavioral design may not be the best response to complexity.
How Do You Become More Conscientious When You’re Not Conscientious Already?
By Olga Khazan
The easiest way to become more conscientious is to already be conscientious—last week’s to-do list makes writing this week’s easier. But if you can’t lean on your past self, considering your future self can help.
What Happens When AI-Generated Lies Are More Compelling than the Truth?
By Nicholas Carr
What if the danger of AI-generated misinformation isn’t that we’ll believe it—it’s that we’ll eventually stop believing anything at all?
Honorable Mentions
How Zero-Sum Beliefs Get in the Way of Fairness
By Iris Bohnet and Siri Chilazi
The more we are stuck in the fixed-pie mentality, the harder it is to spot the opportunities to expand the pie.
The Cognitive Contradictions That Shape Who Runs the Household
By Allison Daminger
There’s a puzzling inconsistency in the way couples deploy their skills at work and at home.
How to Rescue an Overloaded Organization
By Nelson P. Repenning and Donald C. Kieffer
Many leaders mistakenly believe that their organizations thrive under constant pressure. But overloaded systems are broken systems—to fix them, we must learn our way to the right amount of work.
AI, Productivity, and Human Finitude: A Conversation With Oliver Burkeman
By Aline Holzwarth and Samuel Salzer
AI productivity tools promise to help us get things done today so we can enjoy tomorrow. But a laser focus on “tomorrow” can vacate meaning from today.
Vibe Check: AI and Behavioral Science in Silicon Valley
By Evan Nesterak
Kristen Berman has worked at the intersection of behavioral science and technology in Silicon Valley for the past decade and a half. What’s her on-the-ground view of where AI is headed?
