Tomi's year in media 2025
Here’s some things I enjoyed in 2025
Books:
Read 32 books (academic text not included)
The one that stuck out and the only one I gave five stars at Storygraph:
Johannes Anyuru: De kommer att drunkna i sina mödrars tårar - Truly touching tale of racism, immigration, terrorism and the Nordic welfare society being transformed into a fascist regime.
The detective book trio
1. Richard Osman: The Impossible Fortune, A Thursday Murder Club Mystery #5 - Did not disappoint!
2. Cosy crime: Mord under solen series by Anders de la Motte, and Anette de la Motte. - Italian landscape, food and light-hearted murders.
3. Nordic not-so-noir: Hanna Becker series by Johnny Ramstedt and Janne Ramstedt - Crimes along the Swedish-Finnish Finland. Although the latest was a major let down with its wannabe James Bond style.
The not-so-distant future with climate crises:
Marit Sahlström: Brandsommar - Wildfires and a unique atmosphere in this one
Kaliane Bradley: The Ministry of Time - Bureaucracy, climate crisis and time travel, what’s not to like?
The most mortifying, awkward and embarrassing sex scenes:
Risto Isomäki: Krakenin saari -very close to My Dad Wrote a Porno levels of awkwardness. And combined with some infuriating mansplaing.
Chess:
3988 games played
2450 problems solved
All but the daily ratings are down, and I’m still trying to finish my chessable course on Nimzowitsch defence
Tv-series:
I watched many series, but the one that stood out was Couples Therapy on SkyShowtime. It’s a thoughtful, humane, and well-crafted series that focuses less on sensationalised dynamics (although there were those as well) and more on couples navigating very common, relatable challenges. Additionally, the show thoughtfully explores the social and cultural contexts shaping relationships, including those of people of colour and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals. Also, ♥️ to watch and discuss with your partner!
Podcasts:
I listened to 353 hours of podcasts. In addition to the usual tech podcasts that have followed me for 10+ years — ATP, Upgrade, Connected — I continued to enjoy the philosophy discussions in Hotel Bar Sessions (a podcast where real philosophical conversations unfold) , the AI critique in Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 , the international affairs insights from The Ulkopolitist , and the science-and-society conversations in the Bios podcast (e.g., the environmental and societal BIOS-podcast on Apple Podcasts) . A newcomer I can recommend — albeit somewhat mansplainer — is the Raha, talous ja politiikka podcast, which looks at money, economics, and politics.
Music:
Listened to 328 hours of music and added 84 songs to the 2025 playlist (these are not all new songs, but gave something new to me).
1) Zaho de Sagazan: Modern Love – Energetic reinterpretation of Bowie’s classic.
Listen on Apple Music (Zaho de Sagazan – Modern Love)
2) Feu! Chatterton: Mille Vagues – Beautiful and sorrowful.
Mille vagues t'emportent, mille vagues t'emportent
Mille vagues nous traversent, mille vagues...
On ne connaît pas l'après
_
A thousand waves carry you away, a thousand waves carry you away
A thousand waves overwhelm us, a thousand waves...
We don't know what comes after
Listen on Apple Music (Feu! Chatterton – Mille Vagues)
3) Anouar Brahem, Anja Lechner, Django Bates & Dave Holland: After the Last Sky – Tunisian oud master and chamber-music composer Anouar Brahem reflects on the horrors of the war in Gaza on this instrumental quartet piece. The album’s title is drawn from a poem by Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish.
Listen on Apple Music Classical
There would have been many many more things to add, but let’s just leave it to this. Here’s hoping ofr a peaceful 2026!