Six-Chart Sunday – Top Reads in 2025

6 Infographics + 1 Video (Ben Sasse: “America can’t do big things if we hate our neighbors”)

Here’s a quick look back at our 6 most widely-shared posts from 2025, with links for those who missed them the first time. Thank you for reading & sharing our work with colleagues, friends & family. Happy New Year!

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1. The Crisis Consensus

A surprising number of independent analysts – writing years apart, often decades before the Trump Era - each separately concluded America will face a major crisis (or crises) in the second half of the 2020’s.

2. How to Navigate an Age of Disruption

Six tips for maintaining your perspective, objectivity & sanity amidst the seismic technological, geopolitical and cultural changes that disrupt our lives & define our world.

3. Tailwinds

Despite plenty of worrisome data & pessimistic commentary, one can find many positive economic indicators — hopeful signs suggesting strong tailwinds for 2026. I offered six reasons to hope the sky is not falling.

4. New Realities

When a Board asked me to present on “big macro themes driving today’s politics & policy,” I focused on disruptive changes in technology, geopolitics & culture that undermine confidence in experts & institutions, are driving consistent demand for change and inspire today’s global rethinking of 20th century frameworks.

5. Influence

Winning hearts & minds demands a comprehensive surround sound effort to (1) shape what policymakers read, see & hear; (2) determine whom they meet; and (3) direct experts and activists’ efforts. Lobbyists’ fascinating work is a small but critical piece of influence campaigns.

6. No Regrets

Taking a break from politics & policy in the dog days of August, I explored what people regret later in life & how we might avoid such regrets.

THANK YOU FOR READING & SHARING OUR WORK IN 2025!!! For a free Substack writer, the true payoff comes when readers share, comment & send feedback. For me, the highlight of the year was Axios co-founder Jim Vandehei saying "‘Six-Chart Sunday’ would be my one Substack on a desert island.”

VIDEO

There are few leaders this century I’ve admired more than Ben Sasse. His unexpected tweet this week revealing Stage IV pancreatic cancer displayed the grace, faith & decency I’ve come to expect from him. I was reminded of his extraordinary speech on January 7, 2021, video below, full text here.