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lighting up the silver screen
Film Technica: Our top picks for the best films of 2025
Streamers made a strong showing this year, as did horror. Big tentpoles, superhero sagas mostly fell flat.
Jennifer Ouellette – | 82
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No, Grok can’t really “apologize” for posting non-consensual sexual images
Letting the unreliable Grok be its own “spokesperson” lets xAI off the hook.
Kyle Orland – | 73
Healthy 18-year-old welder nearly died of anthrax—the 9th such puzzling case
“Welder’s Anthrax” was first coined in 2022, when seven cases had been identified.
Beth Mole – | 33
OpenAI reorganizes some teams to build audio-based AI hardware products
Voice has lagged in adoption behind screens. OpenAI wants to change that.
Samuel Axon – | 38
Researchers spot Saturn-sized planet in the “Einstein desert”
Rogue, free-floating planets appear to have two distinct origins.
John Timmer – | 26
No, Grok can’t really “apologize” for posting non-consensual sexual images
Letting the unreliable Grok be its own “spokesperson” lets xAI off the hook.
Kyle Orland – | 73
Healthy 18-year-old welder nearly died of anthrax—the 9th such puzzling case
“Welder’s Anthrax” was first coined in 2022, when seven cases had been identified.
Beth Mole – | 33
OpenAI reorganizes some teams to build audio-based AI hardware products
Voice has lagged in adoption behind screens. OpenAI wants to change that.
Samuel Axon – | 38
Researchers spot Saturn-sized planet in the “Einstein desert”
Rogue, free-floating planets appear to have two distinct origins.
John Timmer – | 26
SpaceX begins “significant reconfiguration” of Starlink satellite constellation
“Biggest advantage of lower altitude is that beam diameter is smaller for a given antenna size.”
Stephen Clark – | 88
Final reminder: Donate to win swag in our annual Charity Drive sweepstakes
Today is your last chance to add to this year’s charity haul of nearly $38,000.
Kyle Orland – | 1
xAI silent after Grok sexualized images of kids; dril mocks Grok’s “apology”
xAI may be liable for Grok generating AI CSAM.
Ashley Belanger – | 160
Tesla sales fell by 9 percent in 2025, its second yearly decline
Deadly doors, a busted battery bet, and a toxic owner: What’s not to like?
Jonathan M. Gitlin – | 217
After half a decade, the Russian space station segment stopped leaking
“NASA and Roscosmos continue to monitor and investigate the previously observed cracks.”
Eric Berger – | 52
Marvel rings in new year with Wonder Man trailer
“Acting is the sum of everything you’ve experienced. The joy. Sadness. Loss, Heartbreak.”
Jennifer Ouellette – | 73
Featured
pattern recognition
From prophet to product: How AI came back down to earth in 2025
In a year where lofty promises collided with inconvenient research, would-be oracles became software tools.
Benj Edwards – | 173
Research roundup: 7 cool science stories we almost missed
Double-detonating “superkilonova,” Roman liquid gypsum burials, biomechanics of kangaroo posture, and more.
Jennifer Ouellette – | 30
Most Read
“Streaming stops feeling infinite”: What subscribers can expect in 2026
Streaming may get a little worse before it gets better.
Scharon Harding – | 200
Here we go again: Retiring coal plant forced to stay open by Trump Admin
This time, a Colorado plant scheduled to shut down will be kept on standby.
John Timmer – | 259
Supply chains, AI, and the cloud: The biggest failures (and one success) of 2025
The past year has seen plenty of hacks and outages. Here are the ones topping the list.
Dan Goodin – | 17
The science of how (and when) we decide to self-censor
The study’s main takeaway: “Be bold. It is the thing that slows down authoritarian creep.”
Jennifer Ouellette – | 85
Lawsuit over Trump rejecting medical research grants is settled
Settlement forces NIH to review grants previously rejected on ideological grounds.
John Timmer – | 71
DOGE did not find $2T in fraud, but that doesn’t matter, Musk allies say
Musk allies spin DOGE as having a “higher purpose” beyond federal budget cuts.
Ashley Belanger – | 259
NJ’s answer to flooding: it has bought out and demolished 1,200 properties
The state deals with flooding and sea level rise by buying homes in flood prone areas.
Inside Climate News – | 73
Stranger Things series finale trailer is here
Netflix’s finale will also have a two-day theatrical release to more than 600 locations.
Jennifer Ouellette – | 59
Condé Nast user database reportedly breached, Ars unaffected
A serious data breach has occurred, but Ars users have nothing to worry about.
Ken Fisher – | 91
Looking for friends, lobsters may stumble into an ecological trap
Gathering for mutual defense puts young spiny lobsters at risk of predators.
John Timmer – | 32
The top 5 most horrifying and fascinating medical cases of 2025
Florida man makes two appearances on the list.
Beth Mole – | 70
Featured
what came 11th?
The 10 best vehicles Ars Technica drove in 2025
Of all the cars we’ve driven and reviewed this year, these are our picks.
Jonathan M. Gitlin – | 144
US can’t deport hate speech researcher for protected speech, lawsuit says
On Monday, US officials must explain what steps they took to enforce shocking visa bans.
Ashley Belanger – | 251
Leonardo’s wood charring method predates Japanese practice
Yakisugi, a Japanese technique of burning wood surfaces, creates a protective carbonized layer
Jennifer Ouellette – | 76
Researchers make “neuromorphic” artificial skin for robots
Information from sensors is transmitted using neural-style activity spikes.
John Timmer – | 28
China drafts world’s strictest rules to end AI-encouraged suicide, violence
China wants a human to intervene and notify guardians if suicide is ever mentioned.
Ashley Belanger – | 132
A quirky guide to myths and lore based in actual science
Folklorist/historian Adrienne Mayor on her new book Mythopedia: A Brief Compendium of Natural History Lore
Jennifer Ouellette – | 48
GPS is vulnerable to jamming—here’s how we might fix it
GPS jamming has gotten cheap and easy, but there are potential solutions.
Sarah Scoles/Undark – | 84
Remembering what Windows 10 did right—and how it made modern Windows more annoying
Remembering Windows 10’s rollout can help diagnose what ails Windows 11.
Andrew Cunningham – | 241
I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret
Swapping SIM cards used to be easy, and then came eSIM.
Ryan Whitwam – | 355
Featured
Kissing the ring
Big Tech basically took Trump’s unpredictable trade war lying down
From Apple gifting a gold statue to the US taking a stake in Intel.
Ashley Belanger – | 276
Embark on a visual voyage of art inspired by black holes
Art and science converge in Lynn Gamwell’s book, Conjuring the Void: The Art of Black Holes
Jennifer Ouellette – | 27
In the ’90s, Wing Commander: Privateer made me realize what kind of games I love
Most things Privateer did have been done better, but it’s still a classic.
Samuel Axon – | 156
