Late in 2024, I downloaded an RSS feed reader and began using it as my primary scrolling news feed. What a difference that has made in my personal relationship with the internet! It’s like using a GOOD version of Reddit with zero ads and only interesting content I subscribed to!

In that time, I’ve glanced over thousands and thousands of articles (mostly from hacker news and the verge), and saved a select few I’ve truly appreciated. My reader has a favorites list and that’s where I store them.

But as this year comes to a close, I’ve decided to prune my favorites list and start fresh for 2026. So, out of my 140 favorite articles of the year, I’ve picked the 10 most impactful reads for you to enjoy. I feel like making this selection says something about me, besides the fact I can count to ten.

I can’t wait for what I’ll find in 2026! Happy New Years!

#10 - Don’t make fun of renowned Dan Brown #

In general, my list skews towards posts that were actually written in 2025, but this first one is almost old enough to be in high school. Derisively funny, petty, and so niche it hurts, this ruthless roast had me roaring with laughter by the end.

The rest of this list will be more serious and gloomy, so let’s at least start on a lighter note:

https://onehundredpages.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/dont-make-fun-of-renowned-dan-brown/

#9 - The Generative AI Con #

If memory serves, this is the first piece from Ed Zitron that I ever read. Since then, Zitron has become a trusted regular in my feed and has made appearances across the larger media landscape in general.

If you ever had a sidewalk-crack’s worth of doubt about AI, read this article to expand those doubts into a cavernous sinkhole.

https://www.wheresyoured.at/longcon/

#8 - I Fought in Ukraine and Here’s Why FPV Drones Kind of Suck #

The Russia-Ukraine war continues to drag on without end in sight, and besides being a completely unnecessary land-grab by an authoritarian regime, it has shown glimpses of the future of warfare.

Weaponized drones play a large role in that future, or at least, that’s what I had been assuming before I read this fascinating account of the viability of drone warfare:

https://warontherocks.com/2025/06/i-fought-in-ukraine-and-heres-why-fpv-drones-kind-of-suck/

#7 - I tracked Amazon’s Prime Day prices. We’ve been played. #

Yeah, yeah, I know. Water is wet. Surely everybody already knew about Prime day price inflation, right? Well, it’s one thing to believe a consumer truism. It’s another to see it proven empirically:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/09/amazon-prime-day-prices/

#6 - How Did Sports Betting Become Legal in the US? #

This is a wonderful piece of journalism that deserves the Big Short treatment. At it’s heart, it’s a story of how a little bit of intrepid lobbying can thoroughly ruin a national pastime.

Spoiler alert: Chris Christie sucks.

https://shreyashariharan.substack.com/p/how-did-sports-betting-become-legal

#5 - $70 Million in 60 Seconds: How Insider Information Helped Someone 28x Their Money #

The smoking gun. Proof that the Trump Administration is/was manipulating equity markets for capital gain.

Someone guessed lol. My ass.

https://data-and-politics.ghost.io/70-million-in-60-seconds-how-insider-information-helped-someone-28x-their-money/

#4 - I Went To SQL Injection Court #

I read a lot of tech writing, and few pieces are as entertaining and nuanced as this one. Witness a frothy courtroom drama focused on answering a nuanced but ultimately diversionairy question:

Does knowing the columns on a spreadsheet make the spreadsheet less secure?

Security through obscurity! That’s why we can’t honor FOIA requests! Balogne.

https://sockpuppet.org/blog/2025/02/09/fixing-illinois-foia/

#3 - Warrior Jesus and a Letter from Luigi #

Truly a touching account, and one you probably haven’t seen if you pay attention to mainstream media coverage of Luigi Mangione.

It is also another reminder that corporate media is owned by the rich, not the people.

https://ashelby.substack.com/p/warrior-jesus-and-a-letter-from-luigi

#2 - Part 1: My Life Is a Lie #

You may not agree with the conclusions this article reaches, but I certainly do. If more people read and understood how relative poverty actually is, our society would be radically different, for the better of the common person.

https://www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-life-is-a-lie

#1 - Altoids by the Fistful #

If you read nothing else on this list, read this. This was the piece of writing that FORCED me to make a top ten. It’s an experience that deserves to be shared, a side-show that cannot be ignored, and a modern memorial to software engineering that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

https://www.scottsmitelli.com/articles/altoids-by-the-fistful/

My full list of favorites #

Hungry for more raw data? Here is my entire list of favorited articles from 2025. Go nuts!

1. http://pleasejusttryhtmx.com/
2. http://www.paulgraham.com/smart.html
3. https://100r.co/site/weathering_software_winter.html
4. https://alexchesser.medium.com/attention-is-the-new-big-o-9c68e1ae9b27
5. https://alisdair.mcdiarmid.org/kill-sticky-headers/
6. https://andysblog.uk/why-blog-if-nobody-reads-it/
7. https://annehelen.substack.com/p/are-people-bad-at-their-jobsor-are
8. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.15304
9. https://ashelby.substack.com/p/warrior-jesus-and-a-letter-from-luigi
10. https://ashore.io/journal/desk-notes/bluey-and-the-hierarchy-of-distractions
11. https://bitbytebit.substack.com/p/everything-thats-wrong-with-google
12. https://bitfieldconsulting.com/posts/need-money
13. https://buttondown.com/blog/rss-vs-ice
14. https://bytesauna.com/post/coding-vs-software-engineering
15. https://cacm.acm.org/news/the-collapse-of-gpt/
16. https://calvin.sh/blog/fed-lie/
17. https://catherineshannon.substack.com/p/your-phone-is-why-you-dont-feel-sexy
18. https://catskull.net/what-the-hell-is-going-on-right-now.html
19. https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/singh_07_24/
20. https://codecaptured.com/blog/my-ultimate-self-hosting-setup/
21. https://codemanship.wordpress.com/2025/12/14/the-gorman-paradox-where-are-all-the-ai-generated-apps/
22. https://crazystupidtech.com/2025/11/21/boom-bubble-bust-boom-why-should-ai-be-different/
23. https://danielmiessler.com/blog/im-worried-it-might-get-bad
24. https://data-and-politics.ghost.io/70-million-in-60-seconds-how-insider-information-helped-someone-28x-their-money/
25. https://den.dev/blog/pihole/
26. https://digitalseams.com/blog/what-birdsong-and-backends-can-teach-us-about-magic
27. https://dynomight.net/theanine/
28. https://eliocapella.com/blog/permission-systems-for-enterprise/
29. https://endler.dev/2025/best-programmers/
30. https://eugeneyan.com/writing/principal/
31. https://expandingawareness.org/blog/the-appropriate-amount-of-effort-is-zero/
32. https://fetchfox.ai/a/founding-engineer-compensation
33. https://garry.net/posts/the-death-of-the-web
34. https://generalstrikeus.com
35. https://geohot.github.io//blog/jekyll/update/2025/03/03/demoralization-is-just-beginning.html
36. https://github.com/FyshOS/fynedesk
37. https://github.com/IRS-Public/direct-file
38. https://github.com/Nicholas-L-Johnson/flip-card
39. https://github.com/golang/go/discussions/71460
40. https://github.com/laylavish/uBlockOrigin-HUGE-AI-Blocklist
41. https://github.com/mafik/keyer
42. https://github.com/ossu/computer-science
43. https://github.com/unkyulee/micro-journal
44. https://graydon2.dreamwidth.org/193447.html
45. https://group.ntt/en/newsrelease/2025/04/18/250418a.html
46. https://iamvishnu.com/posts/please-dont-force-dark-mode
47. https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/extend/9d4d8974-bd9b-432d-84ec-8268e5a8ed37
48. https://kevinboone.me/lineage-eos-graphene.html
49. https://landchad.net
50. https://lwn.net/Articles/1034966/
51. https://mackuba.eu/2025/08/20/introduction-to-atproto/
52. https://maruos.com/
53. https://masonyarbrough.substack.com/p/engineered-addictions
54. https://matduggan.com/stop-trying-to-schedule-a-call-with-me/
55. https://mecha.so/comet
56. https://midwestsocialist.com/2025/03/29/understanding-agitation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=understanding-agitation
57. https://missing.csail.mit.edu/
58. https://nabeelqu.co/reflections-on-palantir
59. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42647695
60. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42744820
61. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42877004
62. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43120130
63. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43802839
64. https://newsletter.posthog.com/p/collaboration-sucks
65. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ai-investment-is-starting-to-look-like-a-slush-fund.html
66. https://ofdollarsanddata.com/its-the-housing-stupid/
67. https://ogmo-editor-3.github.io/
68. https://onehundredpages.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/dont-make-fun-of-renowned-dan-brown/
69. https://oyyy.substack.com/p/the-cultural-decline-of-literary
70. https://paulkedrosky.com/honey-ai-capex-ate-the-economy/
71. https://philmckinney.substack.com/p/i-convinced-hps-board-to-buy-palm
72. https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/14/bellovin/
73. https://prison.josh.mn/lessons
74. https://rauljordan.com/why-go-error-handling-is-awesome/
75. https://sebs.website/blog/the gruen-transfer-is-consuming-the-internet
76. https://seths.blog/2024/07/a-bowl-of-rice/
77. https://seths.blog/2024/07/giving-up-vs-quitting/
78. https://seths.blog/2024/07/hungry-vs-not-full/
79. https://seths.blog/2024/07/important-change-is-systems-change/
80. https://seths.blog/2024/07/the-tooth-fairy/
81. https://seths.blog/2024/08/knowing-your-customers/
82. https://seths.blog/2024/08/the-landlord-and-the-creative-coach/
83. https://seths.blog/2024/08/the-sad-compromise-of-sponsored-results/
84. https://seths.blog/2024/10/five-lessons-from-week-one-of-this-is-strategy/
85. https://seths.blog/2025/08/a-now-a-word-from-our-sponsor/
86. https://seths.blog/2025/11/optimizing-the-landing-page/
87. https://shreyashariharan.substack.com/p/how-did-sports-betting-become-legal
88. https://simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/13/nanochat/
89. https://sockpuppet.org/blog/2025/02/09/fixing-illinois-foia/
90. https://solidroad.com/careers
91. https://spitfirenews.com/p/why-i-have-to-give-fortnite-my-passport-to-use-bluesky
92. https://tekhne.dev/internet-resist/
93. https://theconversation.com/how-to-learn-a-language-like-a-baby-250551
94. https://thedailyadda.com/95-of-companies-see-zero-return-on-30-billion-generative-ai-spend-mit-report-finds/
95. https://urlahmed.com/2025/11/05/work-after-work-notes-from-an-unemployed-new-grad-watching-the-job-market-break/
96. https://warontherocks.com/2025/06/i-fought-in-ukraine-and-heres-why-fpv-drones-kind-of-suck/
97. https://workerorganizing.org/can-freelancers-independent-contractors-unionize-13325/
98. https://www.aitradearena.com/research/we-ran-llms-for-8-months
99. https://www.allthingsdistributed.com/2023/07/building-and-operating-a-pretty-big-storage-system.html
100. https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2025/followup-on-trusting-your-own-judgement/
101. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-28/wealthy-americans-fuel-half-of-us-economy-consumer-spending
102. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-29/us-economy-shrinks-0-2-on-weaker-spending-larger-trade-impact
103. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/07/23/disguised-unemployment-in-blockchain-data-shows-only-12-of-ethereum-25-of-solana-protocols-have-revenue
104. https://www.dbpro.app/blog/sqlite-json-virtual-columns-indexing
105. https://www.digitec.ch/en/page/liberux-nexx-linux-smartphone-with-special-features-36483
106. https://www.drorpoleg.com/everything-not-forbidden-is-compulsory/
107. https://www.henrikkarlsson.xyz/p/start-a-blog
108. https://www.huntress.com/blog/rare-look-inside-attacker-operation
109. https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=21607
110. https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2025/project-mini-rack-compact-and-portable-homelabs
111. https://www.joanwestenberg.com/p/i-deleted-my-second-brain
112. https://www.joanwestenberg.com/smart-people-dont-chase-goals-they-create-limits/
113. https://www.marksimonson.com/notebook/view/the-scourge-of-arial/
114. https://www.mediaite.com/tv/leaked-audio-reveals-jp-morgan-ceo-going-off-on-young-staffers-wanting-to-work-from-home/
115. https://www.monkeon.co.uk/wikiradio/
116. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/12/21/what-if-you-could-do-it-all-over
117. https://www.nicchan.me/blog/the-f-off-contact-page/
118. https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/03/08/toward-a-passwordless-future/
119. https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-bop-federal-prisons-corrections-officers
120. https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/employee-turnover-why-top-firms-churn-good-workers-681832/
121. https://www.scottsmitelli.com/articles/altoids-by-the-fistful/
122. https://www.seangoedecke.com/party-tricks/
123. https://www.semantic.art/
124. https://www.seriouseats.com/cocktail-science-mocktail-how-to-replicate-the-taste-of-alcohol-in-a-nonalcoholic-drink
125. https://www.svix.com/careers/
126. https://www.thecoder.cafe/p/100-go-mistakes
127. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/06/the-utopia-of-rules-on-technology-stupidity-and-the-secret-joys-of-bureaucracy-david-graeber-review
128. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/22/nuclear-fusion-its-time-for-a-reality-check
129. https://www.thenexus.media/your-phone-already-has-social-credit-we-just-lie-about-it/
130. https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/08/developer_server_kill_switch/
131. https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/22/ai_search_starves_publishers/
132. https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/26/on_call/
133. https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/7/24338566/google-pixel-4a-battery-stability-replacement-reduced-capacity
134. https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/847424/park-chan-wook-no-other-choice-interview
135. https://www.theverge.com/news/615854/king-jim-pomera-d250us-distraction-free-writing-tool
136. https://www.theverge.com/news/624254/best-buy-target-raise-prices-tariffs
137. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/10/09/amazon-prime-day-prices/
138. https://www.wheresyoured.at/longcon/
139. https://www.willpayforthis.com/
140. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/collectwise/jobs/miUmVns-founding-engineer
141. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/jiga/jobs/KMtdgpo-remote-full-stack-engineer-react-node-mongo
142. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/omniai/jobs/LG5jeP2-full-stack-engineer
143. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/proprise/jobs/PFuZCxC-founding-engineer-backend
144. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/structured-labs/jobs/ADiKR9m-full-stack-engineer
145. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/tenjin/jobs/7qwVnEp-senior-backend-engineer-ad-attribution
146. https://www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-life-is-a-lie