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BEGATS AND BEQUEATHALS @begatsandbequeathalsasouthernusfamilydocumented.com@begatsandbequeathalsasouthernusfamilydocumented.com ·Thomas Leonard (1752-1832) and Hannah James (1752-1842): Children Robert, Thomas, John, Hezekiah, Samuel, Griffith, Colin, and Hannah
Griffith James Leonard, photo uploaded to Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree,” maintained by dawnleonard818Or, Subtitled: “Saw Lincoln County when it was a cane brake infested with bear, wolves, deer and many other wild animals”
In three previous postings, I discussed the life of Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard. I began with a look at the documents that chronicle his early years in Maryland, where he was born in the part of Frederick County that became Washington County in 1776, and where Thomas married Hannah, daughter of Griffith James, about 1775. I then looked at Thomas’ years in Pendleton District, South Carolina, to which he, his siblings, and their widowed mother Honor moved from Maryland by early 1786. I ended with an examination of documents following Thomas’ life in Lincoln (later Marshall) County, Tennessee, from 1808 up to his death in 1832. (Please click the numeral 2 below to read the continuation of this posting.)
In this posting, I’m going to provide a brief overview of the children of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James. My goal is to document salient facts about each of these children, e.g., dates and places of birth, marriage, and death. There’s much more information to be found about each child. The following accounts of the children of Thomas and Hannah James Leonard are not exhaustive:
1. Robert Leonard, the first child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 14 February 1777 in Washington County, Maryland, and died 4 August 1844 at Rusk in Cherokee County, Texas. On 17 March 1807 in Abbeville County, South Carolina, Robert married Rachel Dunlap. These dates of birth, marriage, and death are provided by Robert and Rachel’s son Thomas Dunlap Leonard in his record of the family of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James written in 1883. This document, entitled “Biography of the Leonards,” has been discussed in previous postings (and here) noting that its present whereabouts are not known and that it has circulated among Leonard descendants as a typescript.
Thomas Dunlap Leonard records the following about his parents Robert Leonard and Rachel Dunlap:[1]
Robert was the oldest child, born in Maryland the 14th of Feb., 1777. Married Rachel, dau of Wm. Dunlap in Abbeville District of So Carolina on 17 Mar 1807. He moved with his father to Lincoln Co Tn and settled on Cane Creek half a mile above Petersburg. Subsequently moved to middle Alabama, settled in Perry Co where he lived from 1818 to 1824, lived there until 1840, then to Texas, settled in Cherokee Co. where he died on 4 Aug. 1844 in the 67th year of his age. He was a hatter by trade, also a farmer. His life was spent in usefulness to his neighbors, his country and his family, teaching his children the importance of industry, honesty, and truthfulness. At all times with his wife taught their children the importance of the Christian religion which all had embraced before their death, but two and they embraced since the death of their parents. Robert was truly a good man, good husband, good father, good citizen; he was my father and his wife Rachel, my mother. Language will fail me in attempting to portray her excellencies. She was brought up in the faith and membership of the Presbyterian Church and strictly adhered to their discipline in the government of her family, teaching them to observe the commandments of our Saviour.
She ruled her children in love and impressed on their minds at their earliest age those principles of love to God and love of His services, and to search his words of truth for their guide through life. She became convinced of the importance of immersion as baptism, when she was about 40 years of age, when she and her husband were buried with Christ in baptism in Flint River, Madison Co. Ala. She lived to see all of her children members of the Baptist Church, but two and they followed in her footsteps after her death. She died in Cherokee Co, Tx in the year 1862 in the 62nd year of her life and was buried by the side of her husband in the town of Rusk, Cherokee Co. Tx. after having spent a long life of usefulness, to her family, neighbors, and church. Thus ended the life of a God loving woman.
A previous posting explains why I think it’s likely that, following Thomas Leonard’s marriage to Hannah James about 1775, this couple lived at Sharpsburg in Washington County, where Hannah’s father Griffith James lived. If I’m correct in deducing this, then Thomas and Hannah’s son Robert and the three (or possibly four: see the notes below on Samuel) brothers born after him in Washington County were probably all born in Sharpsburg.
A biography of Robert’s son William R. Leonard (1822-1905) in Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas states that his father Robert Leonard was a soldier of the War of 1812 and served under Andrew Jackson at the battle of Horseshoe Bend.[2] His service papers show him serving under Colonel Robert Dyer in the Cavalry and Mounted Gunmen of Tennessee Volunteers.[3]
The biography of William R. Leonard also indicates that his father Robert Leonard moved about 1824 to Madison County, Alabama, where he lived on the Flint River nine miles east of Huntsville.[4] He then moved to Texas about 1840, according to this source, settling first in Nacogdoches County and then in Cherokee County, where he died in 1844, aged 67. A certificate for a Texas headright grant that Robert Leonard received on 4 March 1844 states that he arrived in Texas on 3 April 1840.[5] As a previous posting notes, Robert’s brother Thomas moved from Limestone County, Alabama, to Nacogdoches County, Texas, in June 1839, receiving a headright grant that fell into Cherokee County at that county’s formation in July 1845. In moving to this part of Texas in 1840, Robert Leonard was following in the footsteps of his brother Thomas.
At her “Leonard/Kellum/Hughes Family Tree” at Ancestry, Peggy Strickland states,[6]
According to old hand written Leonard Family history, Rachel [Dunlap]’s Father brought Rachel and her two sisters from Ireland, their mother having died in Ireland when Rachel was three years old. Her Father had previously been to America and fought in the Revolutionary War, in which he lost one leg.
The 1850 federal census for Cherokee County, Texas, on which the widowed Rachel is shown living at Rusk, reports her birthplace as Ireland.[7] A previous posting talks briefly about a Limestone County, Alabama, court case that ensued after Robert Leonard’s brother Thomas sold his homeplace in that county to their brother John Leonard in 1839 as Thomas prepared to move to Texas. The court case, James Birdwell, assignee, vs. John Linard, revolved around a promissory note for $500 that James Birdwell, who married Thomas Leonard’s daughter Aletha, claimed Thomas assigned to him when John paid him for his land. James alleged that the promissory note was given to Rachel, wife of Robert Leonard, for safekeeping. Robert and wife Rachel moved to Texas soon after Thomas moved his family there. John Leonard died in 1846 and James, who then died in 1849, claimed that Rachel had never delivered John’s $500 promissory note to Thomas Leonard to him.
As the first-born son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James (and their first child), I think it’s likely Robert Leonard was given the name Robert after his paternal grandfather Robert Leonard.
2. Thomas Lewis Leonard, the second child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born in 1781 in Washington County, Maryland, and died in October 1870 in Cherokee County, Texas. About 1800 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, he married Sarah M. Lauderdale, daughter of John Lauderdale and Milbury Mauldin. Sarah’s name is consistently written in documents with the middle initial M.; I suspect her full name was Sarah Mauldin Lauderdale, and that she was named for her grandmother Sarah, wife of John Mauldin.
Thomas is my direct ancestor, and I’ve provided extensive documentation in previous postings about his life in Maryland, South Carolina and Tennessee, then about his years in Limestone County, Alabama (and here), and finally about his final years in Cherokee County, Texas.
John Leonard’s signature on a 14 October 1843 promissory note in Madison County, Alabama, Circuit Court Case File, Brooks, Linard 18433. John Leonard, the third child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born between 1781 and 1784 in Washington County, Maryland, and died 14 November 1846 in Limestone County, Alabama. In 1806 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, he married Hannah Fowler, daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth Fowler.[8]
My reason for assigning John a birthdate of 1781-4 is as follows: in his discussion of the children of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, Thomas Dunlap Leonard indicates that John was the third child of Thomas and Hannah, born after his brother Thomas and prior to his brother Hezekiah. We know that Thomas Lewis Leonard was born in 1781, and as I’ll discuss below, the tombstone of Hezekiah Leonard shows his date of birth as 24 June 1784. So John was born between 1781 and June 1784. The 1830 and 1840 federal censuses confirm that he was born between 1780 and 1789.[9]
Thomas Dunlap Leonard states the following about John Leonard:
John Leonard married Hannah Fowler, daughter of Joshua Fowler of So Carolina about 1806, moved to Madison Co., Ala, where he lived until 1838, when he moved to Limestone Co., Al, where he lived until death, which occurred about 1847 or 1848. Hannah, his wife, died in Madison Co. about 1828 or 1829. Their children were born near Madison Cross Roads in Madison Co. John lived through life as he had been reared up by his parents, a lover of all the ennobling virtues that constitute good child, a good husband, father and citizen. I was intimately acquainted with him, the last 20 years of his life. He was governed in all his actions through life from the noble principles of Christian spirit, truth and honesty was his motto. When I look back at the character of old acquaintances, John Leonard stands side by side with the best of citizens of old Madison Co. When I look back from my old age, my heart swells within me of love and admiration for the excellence of John Leonard. Aunt Hannah was truly his peer in all of the excellencies of wife, companion, mother and citizen. The character of her daughters prove the excellencies of the early training of the mother. Their deportment gives a better comment on the life and character of their mother than I can give.
In the War of 1812, John Leonard served in the 16th Regiment of Burrus’ Mississippi Militia.[10] Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Burrus’ regiment was comprised for the most part of men living in or near Madison County, Mississippi Territory (later Alabama), which bordered on Lincoln County, Tennessee.[11] Also serving in Burrus’ militia was Robert Leonard’s first cousin Samuel Dean, son of Robert’s aunt Gwendolyn James and husband Samuel Dean, and Moses Birdwell, father of James Birdwell who married John Leonard’s niece Aletha, daughter of Thomas Lewis Leonard. Moses also had a daughter whose given name I haven’t found, who married a Lamb, and Alfred L. Lamb, a son of that couple, married John Leonard’s daughter Hannah A.E. Leonard.
John Leonard’s date of death is stated in a will book of Limestone County, Alabama, according to his descendant Jackie Leonard of Athens, Alabama.[12]Minutes of the Limestone County circuit court case James Birdwell assignee vs. George W. Fisher admr. of John Linard dec’d. state on 2 December 1846 that “the said John Linard hath departed this life intestate as we are informed” and that George W. Fisher was estate administrator.[13] Fisher was granted administration on 6 December 1846.[14]
Tombstone of Hezekiah Leonard, photo by Jimmy Trout — see Find a Grave memorial page of Hezekiah Leonard, Leonard cemetery, Marshall County, Tennessee, created by Donna B., maintained by Prairie Mary4. Hezekiah Leonard, the fourth child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 24 June 1784 in Washington County, Maryland, and died 27 March 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. These dates of birth and death are inscribed on his tombstone in the Leonard family cemetery at the old Thomas Leonard homestead just north of Petersburg, Marshall County, Tennessee.[15]
Thomas Dunlap Leonard says this about Hezekiah:
Hezekiah, a son of Thomas and Hannah Leonard died at the home of his parents in Lincoln Tenn. about the year 1816. He was grown not married.
Hezekiah left a nuncupative will in Lincoln County dated 27 March 1817.[16] The will, which was probated 5 May 1817, states that Hezekiah was in “his last sickness” and bequeaths Hezekiah’s property to his brother Griffith. It was witnessed by his brother Robert and cousin George, son of William Leonard.
5. Samuel Leonard, the fifth child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born about 1786 in either Washington County, Maryland, or Pendleton District, South Carolina. He died about 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. I estimate Samuel’s birthdate as about 1786 because Thomas Dunlap Leonard places him between his brother Hezekiah, who was born 24 June 1784, and his brother Griffith, who was born 26 September 1787. Since his parents moved from Maryland to Pendleton District, South Carolina, late in 1785 or early in 1786, I think he may have been born in either Maryland or South Carolina.
After having noted that Hezekiah Leonard died at the home of his parents in Lincoln County, Tennessee, in about 1816, Thomas Dunlap Leonard states:
Samuel at, and near the same time, he was just about grown.
I think it’s likely that Samuel is buried in the Leonard family cemetery, but I haven’t seen any transcription of a tombstone for him.
6. Griffith James Leonard, the sixth child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 26 September 1787 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and died 1 September 1864 in Marshall County, Tennessee. On 7 April 1836 in Lincoln County, Tennessee, he married Nancy Emmett Porter, daughter of Stephen and Mary Porter.
Griffith’s dates of birth and death are recorded on his tombstone in the family cemetery on Thomas Leonard’s old homestead just north of Petersburg, Tennessee.[17] Griffith’s date of death is also stated in an affidavit given by John Cowden and the widow Nancy in Marshall County on 22 August 1868; the affidavit is found in his War of 1812 pension and bounty land application file.[18] John Cowden was the husband of Mary Hannah Leonard, daughter of Griffith and Nancy Leonard. John and his mother-in-law Nancy state that Griffith was aged 73 when he died on 1 September 1864. Their affidavit also says that he refused to vote for secession in the vote held in Tennessee on 8 June 1861 and was consistently loyal to the Union though his son Samuel was a Confederate soldier.
Thomas Dunlap Leonard offers a fulsome remembrance of his uncle Griffith James Leonard and Griffith’s wife Nancy:
Griffith J. Leonard remained with his parents until their death bestowing that care on them that was essential to their happiness is old age. Having by inheritance and cultivation obtained those hightoned traits of character that fitly qualified him for the practical duties of life as a good citizen, husband and father. His neighbors can all testify to his excellencies of character with pleasure. His children proved the excellencies of their parents. Griffith Leonard was a superior order of intellect, had no opportunities of school la early life to improve his intellect. He was a self made man and had acquired a fine degree of practical and useful knowledge. A man of high toned moral principles not capable of condescending to any low degrading act under any circumstances. He was a true patriot through life, he fell from an unerring rifle shot of an Indian warrior on the furious battlefield of Talledega, Ala. in the year 1812. It pierced his neck and passed through, from which wound he recovered and lived to marry his [wife?] and bring up an excellent family. He also accumulated a good home, a good large tract of Tennessee best land for his amiable widow and children.
He leaves them as his parents left him viz, with high toned sense of moral training to qualify them for usefulness to society, themselves and their God. He died 1a the year 1864, being In the 77th year of his age. Thus ended the long and useful life of Griffith J. Leonard, leaving his amiable wife with a large family to care for at the end of a cruel war that had devastated nearly every ordinary contort of life, and in the midst of a helpless people as herself. Yet she by inheritance and education had a good stock of industry and economies to draw from. That she has brought up her excellent family is credit to herself and to her departed husband. She has demonstrated these excellent traits of character inherited from her parents end by education that so fitly qualified her for her duties as mother to her children and her labor has been crowned with success.
1 August 1851 bounty land claim of Griffith J. Leonard, in NARA, War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, compiled ca. 1871 – ca. 1900, documenting the period 1812 – ca. 1900, RG 15, file of Griffith J. Lenard, WC 15252, widow Nancy E., WO 25978, available digitally at Fold3Nancy Porter was a daughter of Stephen and Sary Porter, born Jan. 10, 1818. They were the best of citizens, Iived up to those excellent rules of discipline that so eminently qualified them for usefulness in life to themselves, families, neighbors and their God. Stephen Porter’s excellent example will be remembered by his acquaintances with pleasure as long as their lives last. It affords me pleasure now to look back over half a century when Stephen Porter assembled his family and visiting neighbors around the family altar for prayer night and morning. His Godly influence was felt by his neighbors during life, and after death he was missed by all. He has gone to his reward of a good man. May his posterity emulate his worthy example.
Griffith’s War of 1812 pension and bounty land file contains further detailed information about his service and injuries during that war. On 1 August 1851, Griffith filed a bounty land claim in Marshall County that is preserved in this file. This document states that Griffith was aged 64 and living in Marshall County. It also notes he was a sergeant in Captain John Porter’s 1st Regiment of the Tennessee Militia under Col. J.K Wynn in the Creek War. He was drafted at Fayetteville, Tennessee, on 1 October 1813 and discharged at Fayetteville on 1 January 1814. The affidavit was signed by Griffith.
Another affidavit Griffith gave in Marshall County on 2 June 1855 is in the pension and bounty land file. This gives his age as 69 and states that he was a resident of Marshall County. It further indicates that he was a 1st sergeant under Colonel John Porter in the 1st regiment of Col. John K. Wynn in the War with Great Britain and the Creek Indians of 1812-1815. He had made a bounty-land application for this service on 28 September 1850. Again, this document is signed Griffith Lenard.
A 4 July 1871 affidavit of Nancy Leonard in Marshall County found in the pension and bounty land file attests to her husband’s service. Nancy notes that Griffith was severely wounded on 8 November 1813 at Talladega, Alabama. She signs the affidavit Nancy E. Lenard.
An affidavit provided by James Luna, an ensign in Griffith’s unit, on 4 September 1845 in Marshall County says that Griffith J. Leonard was a 1st sergeant in John Porter’s Company of West Tennessee Militia and served in the action against the Creeks from October 1813 to January 1814. He received a severe wound in his neck in the battle of Talladega on 9 November 1813, Luna states.
A biography of Griffith’s grandson Dr. John Norris Cowden also speaks of his grandfather Griffith J. Leonard’s War of 1812 service.[19] Noting that John Norris Cowden was the son of Dr. John Cowden and Mary Hannah Leonard and was born in Marshall County, the biography states:
James Griffith Leonard, the father of Mrs. Cowden, was an intimate friend of General Andrew Jackson, under whom he served throughout the War of 1812, participating in the battle of Tishomingo [sic].
As Thomas Dunlap Leonard’s biography of his uncle Griffith notes, Griffith was the son who remained at home with his parents Thomas and Hannah Leonard up to their deaths, and for this reason, his father willed the family homeplace and land to his son Griffith. Thomas Leonard’s will is transcribed and discussed in a previous posting noting that the will stipulates that Griffith was to care for his mother Hannah up to her death. Griffith and wife Nancy continued living in the old Leonard house up to their deaths, with Griffith leaving the homeplace to his son William Stephen (Bud) Leonard.
In an article published in the Fayetteville Observer in August 1908, John Bright speaks of a number of early settlers of Lincoln County, Tennessee, including Griffith James Leonard.[20] Bright notes that Griffith, whose wife was Nancy Porter, came to Lincoln County at an early date, settling north of Petersburg and leaving “a character of good citizenship, worthy of imitation by his posterity.”
Nancy Porter Leonard, seated, right, with granddaughter Josie Cowden Bliss behind her, photo uploaded to Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree,” maintained by dawnleonard818 Samuel James Leonard, seated front middle, and family, photo uploaded to Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree,” maintained by dawnleonard818Griffith James Leonard was named for his maternal grandfather Griffith James, who moved from Washington County, Maryland, to Pendleton District, South Carolina, following his children who had settled there in the 1780s. Photos of Griffith James Leonard, his wife Nancy, and their son Samuel with Samuel’s family are found at the Ancestry tree of Dawn Leonard, “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree.”[21] The photo of Griffith is found at the head of this posting.
7. Colin Campbell Leonard, the seventh child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born about 1791 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and died between 16 June 1856 and 29 November 1859 in Jackson County, Arkansas. About 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee, Colin married Jean Williams. As Thomas Dunlap Leonard’s brief biography of his uncle Colin states, Colin’s wife Jean died and he then married a second time. Thomas D. Leonard appears not to have known the name of Colin’s second wife.
Thomas D. Leonard states the following about Colin Campbell Leonard:
Collin Campbell Leonard son of Thos, and Hannah Leonard was born in Maryland, brought up in South Carolina, married Miss Jean Williams of Tennessee about the year 1817. I have no knowledge of the Williams family. They had only two children, a daughter and a son. I am under the impression both children are dead. Aunt Jean died and Uncle Collin moved from Lincoln County to McNairy County West Tenn. He married the second time, had seven children by her. I met with two sons on the battle field of Perryville, Ky. I have no further knowledge of his family.
Uncle Collin was dissipated (drank) in early life. He was a good soldier in the Indian war of 1812 to 14. He was a true friend to friends and bitter enemy to his enemies. He possessed noble generous principles. His latter life was a steady habits. He became a member of the Methodist church and a preacher before death. His sons informed us that their father was dead. Nothing further is known of his family.
The 1850 federal census shows Colin with a woman in his household whose name is given by the census taker as Mary A.L. (or S.?) Collins, aged 28, born in Virginia.[22] The census lists Colin as a farmer aged 59 who was born in Tennessee. Also in the household are children Colin C., 12, Thomas C., 8, William R., 6, and Levi W., aged 1, all born in Tennessee.
It appears to me that Mary is Colin’s wife, and that the census taker has inadvertently assigned her the surname Collins because her husband is named Colin C. Leonard. At some point after this census enumeration was made, the family moved to Jackson County, Arkansas, where on 20 June 1855, a circuit course case of debt, Atrides Crow v. Collin C. Leonard, was filed.[23] On 16 June 1856, Colin’s property was attached by the sheriff due to a judgment in this case.[24]
On 29 November 1859, Mary Leonard married Cyrus Black in Jackson County, Arkansas.[25] The marriage record gives Mary’s age as 37, indicating an 1822 birth year. This matches the birth year of the Mary who is found in Colin Campbell’s household on the 1850 federal census and who appears to be mother of his sons Colin C., Thomas C., William R., and Levi W.
The federal census shows Cyrus and Mary Black living at Cache in Jackson County, Jacksonport post office.[26] Mary is aged 37 and born in Virginia — a match to the Mary found in Colin C. Leonard’s household in 1850. Also in the household are Thomas, William, and Levi from Colin’s household on the 1850 census, all now with the surname Black, and daughters Nancy and Alfy Black, aged 8 and 4, who are likely also children of Colin C. Leonard. Nancy was born in Tennessee and Alfy (who is likely Alpha) in Arkansas.
Colin Campbell Leonard was named for his uncle Colin Campbell, who married Mary Ann Leonard, sister of Thomas Leonard. For a discussion of documents showing Colin Campbell Leonard receiving permission to keep an ordinary at his father’s house in Lincoln County, Tennessee, and being charged in that county with assault and battery, see this previous posting.
Hannah Leonard and William Depriest Moore — see Amy Edmiston, “The Moore Homestead,” Pretty Old Places8. Hannah Leonard, the eighth child and only daughter of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 10 January 1795 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and died 11 December 1886 at Petersburg in Marshall County, Tennessee. On 1 July 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee, she married William Depriest Moore, son of David Dower Moore and Jane Depriest.
These dates were inscribed on Hannah’s tombstone in the Moore family cemetery outside Petersburg.[27] The stone is now broken into pieces, though William D. Moore’s stone remains intact and legible.
The War of 1812 pension and bounty land application file of William Depriest Moore and wife Hannah contains a 23 May 1878 document stating that Hannah was aged 82, née Leonard, living near Petersburg, and had married William D. Moore on 1 July 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee.[28] William, who was a Virginia native, served during this war as a private in Captain David Elliott’s Company, Kentucky Militia.
Thomas Dunlap Leonard offers an extensive reminiscence of his aunt Hannah and her husband William D. Moore:
Hannah Leonard married William D. Moore of Kentucky in the year 1827. He was a house painter and cabinet workman, equal to any of his day. He was a man of superior genius of mind, his natural endowments were above the average. He cultivated it to a general usefulness in practical science. He was a good farmer, fine judge of stock, which he had a fine taste for and cultivated successfully. He was truthful, honest, and reliable in every sense of the term. He accumulated a good living, raised a family of six children, viz Angeline, Thomas D., Alpha, Alitha, William C., Margaret, and Amanda. He died in November in 1855, leaving Hannah with a competency and with her most amiable of children to take care of her in old age, which duty they here performed, to credit to themselves and satisfaction to their aged mother, who still survives and is now 89 years of age, now living with her son-in-law and daughter, Jo. J. S. and Angelina Gill.
William D. Moore farm May 2025, ibid. William D. Moore house, ibid. Original front downstairs room, William D. Moore house, ibid. Daughters of William D. Moore and Hannah Leonard — Angelina, Amanda, Aletha, Margaret, ibid.Hannah was the only daughter of Thomas and Hannah Leonard. Language fails me to portray the excellencies of this good woman neither can her neighbors or children do her justice. She has lived for seventy five years near where she now Ilves. Saw Lincoln County when it was a cane brake infested with bear, wolves, deer and many other wild animals. Right around Petersburg and cane Creek all of her age have gone across the river. She is left as a lone tree of the forest but must soon fall, and go to join her loved ones that have gone before and must follow after. She has an Inheritance awaiting her that is far better than anything she has ever realised on earth. I rejoice to know that kindred blood course my veins, that I can say she is my aunt, my father’s sister. I rejoice to know she has left such a noble posterity that acted well their parts in life. I rejoice to know that I as their biographers of William D. and Hannah Moore gives me such pleasure to speak of their merits without a stain on their character. I rejoice to know that the hand and heart of their daughter[s] have been sought by the noblest sons of Tenn., also that their sons sought and obtained their equals in the daughters of Tennessee.
A portrait-photograph of Hannah Leonard and William Depriest Moore appears in a number of published sources and has recently been published online as their old Marshall County homeplace and farm have gone on the market for sale.[29] The portrait is featured along with photos of the farm and the Moore house in Amy Edmiston’s Pretty Old Places blog.[30]
[1] Thomas Dunlap Leonard, “Biography of the Leonards” (1883 manuscript now circulated as typescript; present whereabouts are not known). The 14 February 1777 date of birth is also stated in a lineage provided by Sarah Johnson Berliner to DAR: See NSDAR Lineage Book, vol. 93 (1912) p. 83; and Mary Smith Fay, War of 1812 Veterans in Texas (New Orleans, 1979; repr. Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1994), apparently citing records filed by U.S. Daughters of 1812 Descendants.
[2] Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas (Chicago: Lewis, 1893), pp. 721-3. This biography gives William’s middle name as Rinualdi. The “Anderson-Monroe Family Tree” at Ancestry maintained by weblady173 has a digital image of a page from a bible that appears to have belonged to one of William R. Leonard’s children, giving his middle name as Roden. This Ancestry tree also has a copy of an undated autobiography written by William R. Leonard near the end of his life, which appears not to have been finished and was transcribed by one of his children.
[3] NARA, Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the War of 1812, compiled 1899 – 1927, documenting the period 1812 – 1815 RG 94, file of Robert Lenard, available digitally at Fold3. Fay, War of 1812 Veterans in Texas, states that Robert served in Captain Edwin S. Moore’s Company of Tennessee Volunteers.
[4] Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas, pp. 721-3.
[5] Nacogdoches District Court Returns, files 54 and 58, available digitally at the website of Texas General Land Office.
[6] PeggyStrickland55, “Leonard/Kellum/Hughes Family Tree,” Ancestry.
[7] 1850 federal census, Cherokee County, Texas, town of Rusk, p. 61 (dwelling/family 412, 31 October).
[8] The marriage is indexed in Ancestry’s database entitled South Carolina Marriage Index, 1641-1965, compiled by Hunting For Bears (2005). A specific date of marriage is not given in this database; this entry appears to be citing Georgia Genealogical Magazine, no. 60-61 (spring-summer 1976). Thomas Dunlap Leonard’s “Biography of the Leonards” also states that John Leonard married Hannah Fowler “about 1806.”
[9] 1830 federal census, Madison County, Alabama, p. 72A, showing John aged 40-49 (the surname is Linard here); and 1840 federal census, Limestone County, Alabama, p. 151A, showing John aged 50-59.
[10] NARA, Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the War of 1812, compiled 1899 – 1927, documenting the period 1812 – 1815, RG 94, file of John Lenard, available digitally at Fold3.
[11] See “16th Regiment, Mississippi Militia, War of 1812,” at WikiTree.
[12] Jackie Leonard is citing Limestone County, Alabama, Will Bk. 7, p. 333, which states that John Leonard was “dec’d. 14 Nov. 1846.” Because this will book is under lock and key in the digital files available at the FamilySearch site, I haven’t been able to access the original and obtain further information about this document.
[13] Limestone County, Alabama, Circuit Court Minutes Bk. 1847-1857, p. 136.
[14] Limestone County, Alabama, County Court Record Bk. 1830-1849, p. 422 mistakenly writing the year as 1847 and not as 1846.
[15] See Find a Grave memorial page of Hezekiah Leonard, Leonard cemetery, Marshall County, Tennessee, created by Donna B., maintained by Prairie Mary, with a tombstone photo by Jimmy Trout.
[16] Lincoln County, Tennessee, Will Bk. 1, p. 156-7. See also Frances T. Ingmire, Lincoln County, Tennessee, Wills, Inventories, and Miscellaneous, March 1809 – April 1824 (St. Louis, 1984), p. 8; and Helen C. and Timothy R. Marsh, Wills and Inventories of Lincoln County, Tennessee (Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1989), p. 8.
[17] See Find a Grave memorial page of Griffith J. Leonard, Leonard cemetery, Marshall County, Tennessee, created by Louise Jenkins, with a tombstone photo by Jimmy Trout.
[18] NARA, War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, compiled ca. 1871 – ca. 1900, documenting the period 1812 – ca. 1900, RG 15, file of Griffith J. Lenard, WC 15252, widow Nancy E., WO 25978, available digitally at Fold3. Nancy’s widow’s brief has a cover page stating that her maiden name was Nancy E. Porter and that she received certificate 15252 and bounty land warrants 56760-40-50 and 79828-12055. This cover pages also says that Griffith J. Leonard and Nancy Porter married in Lincoln County, Tennessee, on 7 April 1836, and that Nancy died 18 April 1910 at Petersburg, Tennessee.
[19] John Trotwood Moore and Austin P. Foster, Tennessee, the Volunteer State, 1769-1923, vol. 3 (Chicago: S.S. Clarke, 1923), pp. 238-241. See also this previous posting about Dr. John Norris Cowden.
[20] Fayetteville Observer (27 August 1908).
[21] Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree, maintained by dawnleonard818. Photo of Griffith, of wife Nancy, and of son Samuel James Leonard with his family.
[22] 1850 federal census, Rutherford County, Tennessee, Gambrill district, p. 184 (dwelling/family 483, 30 September).
[23] Jackson County, Arkansas, Circuit Court Minutes Bk. B, pp. 544-5, 561.
[24] Jackson County, Arkansas, Deed Bk. G, pp. 32-5.
[25] Jackson County, Arkansas, Marriage Bk. I.
[26] 1850 federal census, Jackson County, Arkansas, Cache, Jacksonport post office, p. 610B (dwelling/family 1069; 7 August). Cyrus Black appears to have died by 17 December 1866, when Mary E.L. Black married Ephraim L. Hughey, a South Carolinian who came to Arkansas from Fayette County, Alabama, in Jackson County. Ephraim died in Jackson County on 4 May 1874 and the 1880 federal census for Jackson County shows Mary as the widow Hughey with her son Levi W. Leonard (this is his surname now, not Black) living next to her with his wife Mary Catherine Narrimore and their children.
[27] See Helen C. Marsh, Timothy R. Marsh, and Ralph D. Whitsell, Cemetery Records of Marshall County, Tennessee (Shelbyville, Tennessee: Marsh Historical Publishing, 1981), p. 253. The 10 January 1795 birthdate for Hannah also appears in Jane Wallace Alford, Revolutionary War Patriots of Marshall County, Tennessee (Lewisburg, Tennessee: Webb, 1976); in Gail Gill Sanders, “Joseph Jonathan S. and Angelina (Moore) Gill,” in Heritage of Lincoln County, Tennessee, ed. Lincoln Co. Heritage Committee (Waynesville, NC: Walsworth, 2005), p. 321; and in Adelaide Moore Moss, “William Depriest Moore,” in ibid., p. 517. This birthdate for Hannah Leonard is also stated in DAR lineage reports submitted by Nancy Alford of the Robert Lewis chapter of Tennessee (DAR no. 537116) and of Mary Aletha Hathaway Dorsey of the Chief John Ross chapter (DAR no. 537605), both entering DAR as descendants of David Moore, father of William Depriest Moore.
[28] NARA, War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, compiled ca. 1871 – ca. 1900, documenting the period 1812 – ca. 1900, RG 15, file of William D. Moore, , WC pension 17127 and WO pension 31237, available digitally at Fold3.
[29] See J. Lester Wolfe, “Thomas Leonard,” in Heritage of Lincoln County, Tennessee, ed. Lincoln County Heritage Committee (Waynesville, North Carolina: County Heritage, 2005), p. 414; and Adelaide Moore Moss, “William DePriest Moore,” in ibid., p. 517, noting that Moss notes that William DePriest Moore and Hannah Leonard belonged to Union Grove Presbyterian church in Marshall County.
[30] Amy Edmiston, “The Moore Homestead,” Pretty Old Places.
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BEGATS AND BEQUEATHALS @begatsandbequeathalsasouthernusfamilydocumented.com@begatsandbequeathalsasouthernusfamilydocumented.com ·Thomas Leonard (1752-1832) and Hannah James (1752-1842): Children Robert, Thomas, John, Hezekiah, Samuel, Griffith, Colin, and Hannah
Griffith James Leonard, photo uploaded to Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree,” maintained by dawnleonard818Or, Subtitled: “Saw Lincoln County when it was a cane brake infested with bear, wolves, deer and many other wild animals”
In three previous postings, I discussed the life of Thomas Leonard (1752-1832), son of Robert Leonard and Honor Pritchard. I began with a look at the documents that chronicle his early years in Maryland, where he was born in the part of Frederick County that became Washington County in 1776, and where Thomas married Hannah, daughter of Griffith James, about 1775. I then looked at Thomas’ years in Pendleton District, South Carolina, to which he, his siblings, and their widowed mother Honor moved from Maryland by early 1786. I ended with an examination of documents following Thomas’ life in Lincoln (later Marshall) County, Tennessee, from 1808 up to his death in 1832. (Please click the numeral 2 below to read the continuation of this posting.)
In this posting, I’m going to provide a brief overview of the children of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James. My goal is to document salient facts about each of these children, e.g., dates and places of birth, marriage, and death. There’s much more information to be found about each child. The following accounts of the children of Thomas and Hannah James Leonard are not exhaustive:
1. Robert Leonard, the first child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 14 February 1777 in Washington County, Maryland, and died 4 August 1844 at Rusk in Cherokee County, Texas. On 17 March 1807 in Abbeville County, South Carolina, Robert married Rachel Dunlap. These dates of birth, marriage, and death are provided by Robert and Rachel’s son Thomas Dunlap Leonard in his record of the family of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James written in 1883. This document, entitled “Biography of the Leonards,” has been discussed in previous postings (and here) noting that its present whereabouts are not known and that it has circulated among Leonard descendants as a typescript.
Thomas Dunlap Leonard records the following about his parents Robert Leonard and Rachel Dunlap:[1]
Robert was the oldest child, born in Maryland the 14th of Feb., 1777. Married Rachel, dau of Wm. Dunlap in Abbeville District of So Carolina on 17 Mar 1807. He moved with his father to Lincoln Co Tn and settled on Cane Creek half a mile above Petersburg. Subsequently moved to middle Alabama, settled in Perry Co where he lived from 1818 to 1824, lived there until 1840, then to Texas, settled in Cherokee Co. where he died on 4 Aug. 1844 in the 67th year of his age. He was a hatter by trade, also a farmer. His life was spent in usefulness to his neighbors, his country and his family, teaching his children the importance of industry, honesty, and truthfulness. At all times with his wife taught their children the importance of the Christian religion which all had embraced before their death, but two and they embraced since the death of their parents. Robert was truly a good man, good husband, good father, good citizen; he was my father and his wife Rachel, my mother. Language will fail me in attempting to portray her excellencies. She was brought up in the faith and membership of the Presbyterian Church and strictly adhered to their discipline in the government of her family, teaching them to observe the commandments of our Saviour.
She ruled her children in love and impressed on their minds at their earliest age those principles of love to God and love of His services, and to search his words of truth for their guide through life. She became convinced of the importance of immersion as baptism, when she was about 40 years of age, when she and her husband were buried with Christ in baptism in Flint River, Madison Co. Ala. She lived to see all of her children members of the Baptist Church, but two and they followed in her footsteps after her death. She died in Cherokee Co, Tx in the year 1862 in the 62nd year of her life and was buried by the side of her husband in the town of Rusk, Cherokee Co. Tx. after having spent a long life of usefulness, to her family, neighbors, and church. Thus ended the life of a God loving woman.
A previous posting explains why I think it’s likely that, following Thomas Leonard’s marriage to Hannah James about 1775, this couple lived at Sharpsburg in Washington County, where Hannah’s father Griffith James lived. If I’m correct in deducing this, then Thomas and Hannah’s son Robert and the three (or possibly four: see the notes below on Samuel) brothers born after him in Washington County were probably all born in Sharpsburg.
A biography of Robert’s son William R. Leonard (1822-1905) in Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas states that his father Robert Leonard was a soldier of the War of 1812 and served under Andrew Jackson at the battle of Horseshoe Bend.[2] His service papers show him serving under Colonel Robert Dyer in the Cavalry and Mounted Gunmen of Tennessee Volunteers.[3]
The biography of William R. Leonard also indicates that his father Robert Leonard moved about 1824 to Madison County, Alabama, where he lived on the Flint River nine miles east of Huntsville.[4] He then moved to Texas about 1840, according to this source, settling first in Nacogdoches County and then in Cherokee County, where he died in 1844, aged 67. A certificate for a Texas headright grant that Robert Leonard received on 4 March 1844 states that he arrived in Texas on 3 April 1840.[5] As a previous posting notes, Robert’s brother Thomas moved from Limestone County, Alabama, to Nacogdoches County, Texas, in June 1839, receiving a headright grant that fell into Cherokee County at that county’s formation in July 1845. In moving to this part of Texas in 1840, Robert Leonard was following in the footsteps of his brother Thomas.
At her “Leonard/Kellum/Hughes Family Tree” at Ancestry, Peggy Strickland states,[6]
According to old hand written Leonard Family history, Rachel [Dunlap]’s Father brought Rachel and her two sisters from Ireland, their mother having died in Ireland when Rachel was three years old. Her Father had previously been to America and fought in the Revolutionary War, in which he lost one leg.
The 1850 federal census for Cherokee County, Texas, on which the widowed Rachel is shown living at Rusk, reports her birthplace as Ireland.[7] A previous posting talks briefly about a Limestone County, Alabama, court case that ensued after Robert Leonard’s brother Thomas sold his homeplace in that county to their brother John Leonard in 1839 as Thomas prepared to move to Texas. The court case, James Birdwell, assignee, vs. John Linard, revolved around a promissory note for $500 that James Birdwell, who married Thomas Leonard’s daughter Aletha, claimed Thomas assigned to him when John paid him for his land. James alleged that the promissory note was given to Rachel, wife of Robert Leonard, for safekeeping. Robert and wife Rachel moved to Texas soon after Thomas moved his family there. John Leonard died in 1846 and James, who then died in 1849, claimed that Rachel had never delivered John’s $500 promissory note to Thomas Leonard to him.
As the first-born son of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James (and their first child), I think it’s likely Robert Leonard was given the name Robert after his paternal grandfather Robert Leonard.
2. Thomas Lewis Leonard, the second child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born in 1781 in Washington County, Maryland, and died in October 1870 in Cherokee County, Texas. About 1800 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, he married Sarah M. Lauderdale, daughter of John Lauderdale and Milbury Mauldin. Sarah’s name is consistently written in documents with the middle initial M.; I suspect her full name was Sarah Mauldin Lauderdale, and that she was named for her grandmother Sarah, wife of John Mauldin.
Thomas is my direct ancestor, and I’ve provided extensive documentation in previous postings about his life in Maryland, South Carolina and Tennessee, then about his years in Limestone County, Alabama (and here), and finally about his final years in Cherokee County, Texas.
John Leonard’s signature on a 14 October 1843 promissory note in Madison County, Alabama, Circuit Court Case File, Brooks, Linard 18433. John Leonard, the third child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born between 1781 and 1784 in Washington County, Maryland, and died 14 November 1846 in Limestone County, Alabama. In 1806 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, he married Hannah Fowler, daughter of Joshua and Elizabeth Fowler.[8]
My reason for assigning John a birthdate of 1781-4 is as follows: in his discussion of the children of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, Thomas Dunlap Leonard indicates that John was the third child of Thomas and Hannah, born after his brother Thomas and prior to his brother Hezekiah. We know that Thomas Lewis Leonard was born in 1781, and as I’ll discuss below, the tombstone of Hezekiah Leonard shows his date of birth as 24 June 1784. So John was born between 1781 and June 1784. The 1830 and 1840 federal censuses confirm that he was born between 1780 and 1789.[9]
Thomas Dunlap Leonard states the following about John Leonard:
John Leonard married Hannah Fowler, daughter of Joshua Fowler of So Carolina about 1806, moved to Madison Co., Ala, where he lived until 1838, when he moved to Limestone Co., Al, where he lived until death, which occurred about 1847 or 1848. Hannah, his wife, died in Madison Co. about 1828 or 1829. Their children were born near Madison Cross Roads in Madison Co. John lived through life as he had been reared up by his parents, a lover of all the ennobling virtues that constitute good child, a good husband, father and citizen. I was intimately acquainted with him, the last 20 years of his life. He was governed in all his actions through life from the noble principles of Christian spirit, truth and honesty was his motto. When I look back at the character of old acquaintances, John Leonard stands side by side with the best of citizens of old Madison Co. When I look back from my old age, my heart swells within me of love and admiration for the excellence of John Leonard. Aunt Hannah was truly his peer in all of the excellencies of wife, companion, mother and citizen. The character of her daughters prove the excellencies of the early training of the mother. Their deportment gives a better comment on the life and character of their mother than I can give.
In the War of 1812, John Leonard served in the 16th Regiment of Burrus’ Mississippi Militia.[10] Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Burrus’ regiment was comprised for the most part of men living in or near Madison County, Mississippi Territory (later Alabama), which bordered on Lincoln County, Tennessee.[11] Also serving in Burrus’ militia was Robert Leonard’s first cousin Samuel Dean, son of Robert’s aunt Gwendolyn James and husband Samuel Dean, and Moses Birdwell, father of James Birdwell who married John Leonard’s niece Aletha, daughter of Thomas Lewis Leonard. Moses also had a daughter whose given name I haven’t found, who married a Lamb, and Alfred L. Lamb, a son of that couple, married John Leonard’s daughter Hannah A.E. Leonard.
John Leonard’s date of death is stated in a will book of Limestone County, Alabama, according to his descendant Jackie Leonard of Athens, Alabama.[12]Minutes of the Limestone County circuit court case James Birdwell assignee vs. George W. Fisher admr. of John Linard dec’d. state on 2 December 1846 that “the said John Linard hath departed this life intestate as we are informed” and that George W. Fisher was estate administrator.[13] Fisher was granted administration on 6 December 1846.[14]
Tombstone of Hezekiah Leonard, photo by Jimmy Trout — see Find a Grave memorial page of Hezekiah Leonard, Leonard cemetery, Marshall County, Tennessee, created by Donna B., maintained by Prairie Mary4. Hezekiah Leonard, the fourth child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 24 June 1784 in Washington County, Maryland, and died 27 March 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. These dates of birth and death are inscribed on his tombstone in the Leonard family cemetery at the old Thomas Leonard homestead just north of Petersburg, Marshall County, Tennessee.[15]
Thomas Dunlap Leonard says this about Hezekiah:
Hezekiah, a son of Thomas and Hannah Leonard died at the home of his parents in Lincoln Tenn. about the year 1816. He was grown not married.
Hezekiah left a nuncupative will in Lincoln County dated 27 March 1817.[16] The will, which was probated 5 May 1817, states that Hezekiah was in “his last sickness” and bequeaths Hezekiah’s property to his brother Griffith. It was witnessed by his brother Robert and cousin George, son of William Leonard.
5. Samuel Leonard, the fifth child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born about 1786 in either Washington County, Maryland, or Pendleton District, South Carolina. He died about 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee. I estimate Samuel’s birthdate as about 1786 because Thomas Dunlap Leonard places him between his brother Hezekiah, who was born 24 June 1784, and his brother Griffith, who was born 26 September 1787. Since his parents moved from Maryland to Pendleton District, South Carolina, late in 1785 or early in 1786, I think he may have been born in either Maryland or South Carolina.
After having noted that Hezekiah Leonard died at the home of his parents in Lincoln County, Tennessee, in about 1816, Thomas Dunlap Leonard states:
Samuel at, and near the same time, he was just about grown.
I think it’s likely that Samuel is buried in the Leonard family cemetery, but I haven’t seen any transcription of a tombstone for him.
6. Griffith James Leonard, the sixth child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 26 September 1787 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and died 1 September 1864 in Marshall County, Tennessee. On 7 April 1836 in Lincoln County, Tennessee, he married Nancy Emmett Porter, daughter of Stephen and Mary Porter.
Griffith’s dates of birth and death are recorded on his tombstone in the family cemetery on Thomas Leonard’s old homestead just north of Petersburg, Tennessee.[17] Griffith’s date of death is also stated in an affidavit given by John Cowden and the widow Nancy in Marshall County on 22 August 1868; the affidavit is found in his War of 1812 pension and bounty land application file.[18] John Cowden was the husband of Mary Hannah Leonard, daughter of Griffith and Nancy Leonard. John and his mother-in-law Nancy state that Griffith was aged 73 when he died on 1 September 1864. Their affidavit also says that he refused to vote for secession in the vote held in Tennessee on 8 June 1861 and was consistently loyal to the Union though his son Samuel was a Confederate soldier.
Thomas Dunlap Leonard offers a fulsome remembrance of his uncle Griffith James Leonard and Griffith’s wife Nancy:
Griffith J. Leonard remained with his parents until their death bestowing that care on them that was essential to their happiness is old age. Having by inheritance and cultivation obtained those hightoned traits of character that fitly qualified him for the practical duties of life as a good citizen, husband and father. His neighbors can all testify to his excellencies of character with pleasure. His children proved the excellencies of their parents. Griffith Leonard was a superior order of intellect, had no opportunities of school la early life to improve his intellect. He was a self made man and had acquired a fine degree of practical and useful knowledge. A man of high toned moral principles not capable of condescending to any low degrading act under any circumstances. He was a true patriot through life, he fell from an unerring rifle shot of an Indian warrior on the furious battlefield of Talledega, Ala. in the year 1812. It pierced his neck and passed through, from which wound he recovered and lived to marry his [wife?] and bring up an excellent family. He also accumulated a good home, a good large tract of Tennessee best land for his amiable widow and children.
He leaves them as his parents left him viz, with high toned sense of moral training to qualify them for usefulness to society, themselves and their God. He died 1a the year 1864, being In the 77th year of his age. Thus ended the long and useful life of Griffith J. Leonard, leaving his amiable wife with a large family to care for at the end of a cruel war that had devastated nearly every ordinary contort of life, and in the midst of a helpless people as herself. Yet she by inheritance and education had a good stock of industry and economies to draw from. That she has brought up her excellent family is credit to herself and to her departed husband. She has demonstrated these excellent traits of character inherited from her parents end by education that so fitly qualified her for her duties as mother to her children and her labor has been crowned with success.
1 August 1851 bounty land claim of Griffith J. Leonard, in NARA, War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, compiled ca. 1871 – ca. 1900, documenting the period 1812 – ca. 1900, RG 15, file of Griffith J. Lenard, WC 15252, widow Nancy E., WO 25978, available digitally at Fold3Nancy Porter was a daughter of Stephen and Sary Porter, born Jan. 10, 1818. They were the best of citizens, Iived up to those excellent rules of discipline that so eminently qualified them for usefulness in life to themselves, families, neighbors and their God. Stephen Porter’s excellent example will be remembered by his acquaintances with pleasure as long as their lives last. It affords me pleasure now to look back over half a century when Stephen Porter assembled his family and visiting neighbors around the family altar for prayer night and morning. His Godly influence was felt by his neighbors during life, and after death he was missed by all. He has gone to his reward of a good man. May his posterity emulate his worthy example.
Griffith’s War of 1812 pension and bounty land file contains further detailed information about his service and injuries during that war. On 1 August 1851, Griffith filed a bounty land claim in Marshall County that is preserved in this file. This document states that Griffith was aged 64 and living in Marshall County. It also notes he was a sergeant in Captain John Porter’s 1st Regiment of the Tennessee Militia under Col. J.K Wynn in the Creek War. He was drafted at Fayetteville, Tennessee, on 1 October 1813 and discharged at Fayetteville on 1 January 1814. The affidavit was signed by Griffith.
Another affidavit Griffith gave in Marshall County on 2 June 1855 is in the pension and bounty land file. This gives his age as 69 and states that he was a resident of Marshall County. It further indicates that he was a 1st sergeant under Colonel John Porter in the 1st regiment of Col. John K. Wynn in the War with Great Britain and the Creek Indians of 1812-1815. He had made a bounty-land application for this service on 28 September 1850. Again, this document is signed Griffith Lenard.
A 4 July 1871 affidavit of Nancy Leonard in Marshall County found in the pension and bounty land file attests to her husband’s service. Nancy notes that Griffith was severely wounded on 8 November 1813 at Talladega, Alabama. She signs the affidavit Nancy E. Lenard.
An affidavit provided by James Luna, an ensign in Griffith’s unit, on 4 September 1845 in Marshall County says that Griffith J. Leonard was a 1st sergeant in John Porter’s Company of West Tennessee Militia and served in the action against the Creeks from October 1813 to January 1814. He received a severe wound in his neck in the battle of Talladega on 9 November 1813, Luna states.
A biography of Griffith’s grandson Dr. John Norris Cowden also speaks of his grandfather Griffith J. Leonard’s War of 1812 service.[19] Noting that John Norris Cowden was the son of Dr. John Cowden and Mary Hannah Leonard and was born in Marshall County, the biography states:
James Griffith Leonard, the father of Mrs. Cowden, was an intimate friend of General Andrew Jackson, under whom he served throughout the War of 1812, participating in the battle of Tishomingo [sic].
As Thomas Dunlap Leonard’s biography of his uncle Griffith notes, Griffith was the son who remained at home with his parents Thomas and Hannah Leonard up to their deaths, and for this reason, his father willed the family homeplace and land to his son Griffith. Thomas Leonard’s will is transcribed and discussed in a previous posting noting that the will stipulates that Griffith was to care for his mother Hannah up to her death. Griffith and wife Nancy continued living in the old Leonard house up to their deaths, with Griffith leaving the homeplace to his son William Stephen (Bud) Leonard.
In an article published in the Fayetteville Observer in August 1908, John Bright speaks of a number of early settlers of Lincoln County, Tennessee, including Griffith James Leonard.[20] Bright notes that Griffith, whose wife was Nancy Porter, came to Lincoln County at an early date, settling north of Petersburg and leaving “a character of good citizenship, worthy of imitation by his posterity.”
Nancy Porter Leonard, seated, right, with granddaughter Josie Cowden Bliss behind her, photo uploaded to Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree,” maintained by dawnleonard818 Samuel James Leonard, seated front middle, and family, photo uploaded to Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree,” maintained by dawnleonard818Griffith James Leonard was named for his maternal grandfather Griffith James, who moved from Washington County, Maryland, to Pendleton District, South Carolina, following his children who had settled there in the 1780s. Photos of Griffith James Leonard, his wife Nancy, and their son Samuel with Samuel’s family are found at the Ancestry tree of Dawn Leonard, “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree.”[21] The photo of Griffith is found at the head of this posting.
7. Colin Campbell Leonard, the seventh child of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born about 1791 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and died between 16 June 1856 and 29 November 1859 in Jackson County, Arkansas. About 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee, Colin married Jean Williams. As Thomas Dunlap Leonard’s brief biography of his uncle Colin states, Colin’s wife Jean died and he then married a second time. Thomas D. Leonard appears not to have known the name of Colin’s second wife.
Thomas D. Leonard states the following about Colin Campbell Leonard:
Collin Campbell Leonard son of Thos, and Hannah Leonard was born in Maryland, brought up in South Carolina, married Miss Jean Williams of Tennessee about the year 1817. I have no knowledge of the Williams family. They had only two children, a daughter and a son. I am under the impression both children are dead. Aunt Jean died and Uncle Collin moved from Lincoln County to McNairy County West Tenn. He married the second time, had seven children by her. I met with two sons on the battle field of Perryville, Ky. I have no further knowledge of his family.
Uncle Collin was dissipated (drank) in early life. He was a good soldier in the Indian war of 1812 to 14. He was a true friend to friends and bitter enemy to his enemies. He possessed noble generous principles. His latter life was a steady habits. He became a member of the Methodist church and a preacher before death. His sons informed us that their father was dead. Nothing further is known of his family.
The 1850 federal census shows Colin with a woman in his household whose name is given by the census taker as Mary A.L. (or S.?) Collins, aged 28, born in Virginia.[22] The census lists Colin as a farmer aged 59 who was born in Tennessee. Also in the household are children Colin C., 12, Thomas C., 8, William R., 6, and Levi W., aged 1, all born in Tennessee.
It appears to me that Mary is Colin’s wife, and that the census taker has inadvertently assigned her the surname Collins because her husband is named Colin C. Leonard. At some point after this census enumeration was made, the family moved to Jackson County, Arkansas, where on 20 June 1855, a circuit course case of debt, Atrides Crow v. Collin C. Leonard, was filed.[23] On 16 June 1856, Colin’s property was attached by the sheriff due to a judgment in this case.[24]
On 29 November 1859, Mary Leonard married Cyrus Black in Jackson County, Arkansas.[25] The marriage record gives Mary’s age as 37, indicating an 1822 birth year. This matches the birth year of the Mary who is found in Colin Campbell’s household on the 1850 federal census and who appears to be mother of his sons Colin C., Thomas C., William R., and Levi W.
The federal census shows Cyrus and Mary Black living at Cache in Jackson County, Jacksonport post office.[26] Mary is aged 37 and born in Virginia — a match to the Mary found in Colin C. Leonard’s household in 1850. Also in the household are Thomas, William, and Levi from Colin’s household on the 1850 census, all now with the surname Black, and daughters Nancy and Alfy Black, aged 8 and 4, who are likely also children of Colin C. Leonard. Nancy was born in Tennessee and Alfy (who is likely Alpha) in Arkansas.
Colin Campbell Leonard was named for his uncle Colin Campbell, who married Mary Ann Leonard, sister of Thomas Leonard. For a discussion of documents showing Colin Campbell Leonard receiving permission to keep an ordinary at his father’s house in Lincoln County, Tennessee, and being charged in that county with assault and battery, see this previous posting.
Hannah Leonard and William Depriest Moore — see Amy Edmiston, “The Moore Homestead,” Pretty Old Places8. Hannah Leonard, the eighth child and only daughter of Thomas Leonard and Hannah James, was born 10 January 1795 in Pendleton District, South Carolina, and died 11 December 1886 at Petersburg in Marshall County, Tennessee. On 1 July 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee, she married William Depriest Moore, son of David Dower Moore and Jane Depriest.
These dates were inscribed on Hannah’s tombstone in the Moore family cemetery outside Petersburg.[27] The stone is now broken into pieces, though William D. Moore’s stone remains intact and legible.
The War of 1812 pension and bounty land application file of William Depriest Moore and wife Hannah contains a 23 May 1878 document stating that Hannah was aged 82, née Leonard, living near Petersburg, and had married William D. Moore on 1 July 1817 in Lincoln County, Tennessee.[28] William, who was a Virginia native, served during this war as a private in Captain David Elliott’s Company, Kentucky Militia.
Thomas Dunlap Leonard offers an extensive reminiscence of his aunt Hannah and her husband William D. Moore:
Hannah Leonard married William D. Moore of Kentucky in the year 1827. He was a house painter and cabinet workman, equal to any of his day. He was a man of superior genius of mind, his natural endowments were above the average. He cultivated it to a general usefulness in practical science. He was a good farmer, fine judge of stock, which he had a fine taste for and cultivated successfully. He was truthful, honest, and reliable in every sense of the term. He accumulated a good living, raised a family of six children, viz Angeline, Thomas D., Alpha, Alitha, William C., Margaret, and Amanda. He died in November in 1855, leaving Hannah with a competency and with her most amiable of children to take care of her in old age, which duty they here performed, to credit to themselves and satisfaction to their aged mother, who still survives and is now 89 years of age, now living with her son-in-law and daughter, Jo. J. S. and Angelina Gill.
William D. Moore farm May 2025, ibid. William D. Moore house, ibid. Original front downstairs room, William D. Moore house, ibid. Daughters of William D. Moore and Hannah Leonard — Angelina, Amanda, Aletha, Margaret, ibid.Hannah was the only daughter of Thomas and Hannah Leonard. Language fails me to portray the excellencies of this good woman neither can her neighbors or children do her justice. She has lived for seventy five years near where she now Ilves. Saw Lincoln County when it was a cane brake infested with bear, wolves, deer and many other wild animals. Right around Petersburg and cane Creek all of her age have gone across the river. She is left as a lone tree of the forest but must soon fall, and go to join her loved ones that have gone before and must follow after. She has an Inheritance awaiting her that is far better than anything she has ever realised on earth. I rejoice to know that kindred blood course my veins, that I can say she is my aunt, my father’s sister. I rejoice to know she has left such a noble posterity that acted well their parts in life. I rejoice to know that I as their biographers of William D. and Hannah Moore gives me such pleasure to speak of their merits without a stain on their character. I rejoice to know that the hand and heart of their daughter[s] have been sought by the noblest sons of Tenn., also that their sons sought and obtained their equals in the daughters of Tennessee.
A portrait-photograph of Hannah Leonard and William Depriest Moore appears in a number of published sources and has recently been published online as their old Marshall County homeplace and farm have gone on the market for sale.[29] The portrait is featured along with photos of the farm and the Moore house in Amy Edmiston’s Pretty Old Places blog.[30]
[1] Thomas Dunlap Leonard, “Biography of the Leonards” (1883 manuscript now circulated as typescript; present whereabouts are not known). The 14 February 1777 date of birth is also stated in a lineage provided by Sarah Johnson Berliner to DAR: See NSDAR Lineage Book, vol. 93 (1912) p. 83; and Mary Smith Fay, War of 1812 Veterans in Texas (New Orleans, 1979; repr. Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1994), apparently citing records filed by U.S. Daughters of 1812 Descendants.
[2] Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas (Chicago: Lewis, 1893), pp. 721-3. This biography gives William’s middle name as Rinualdi. The “Anderson-Monroe Family Tree” at Ancestry maintained by weblady173 has a digital image of a page from a bible that appears to have belonged to one of William R. Leonard’s children, giving his middle name as Roden. This Ancestry tree also has a copy of an undated autobiography written by William R. Leonard near the end of his life, which appears not to have been finished and was transcribed by one of his children.
[3] NARA, Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the War of 1812, compiled 1899 – 1927, documenting the period 1812 – 1815 RG 94, file of Robert Lenard, available digitally at Fold3. Fay, War of 1812 Veterans in Texas, states that Robert served in Captain Edwin S. Moore’s Company of Tennessee Volunteers.
[4] Memorial and Biographical History of McLennan, Falls, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas, pp. 721-3.
[5] Nacogdoches District Court Returns, files 54 and 58, available digitally at the website of Texas General Land Office.
[6] PeggyStrickland55, “Leonard/Kellum/Hughes Family Tree,” Ancestry.
[7] 1850 federal census, Cherokee County, Texas, town of Rusk, p. 61 (dwelling/family 412, 31 October).
[8] The marriage is indexed in Ancestry’s database entitled South Carolina Marriage Index, 1641-1965, compiled by Hunting For Bears (2005). A specific date of marriage is not given in this database; this entry appears to be citing Georgia Genealogical Magazine, no. 60-61 (spring-summer 1976). Thomas Dunlap Leonard’s “Biography of the Leonards” also states that John Leonard married Hannah Fowler “about 1806.”
[9] 1830 federal census, Madison County, Alabama, p. 72A, showing John aged 40-49 (the surname is Linard here); and 1840 federal census, Limestone County, Alabama, p. 151A, showing John aged 50-59.
[10] NARA, Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the War of 1812, compiled 1899 – 1927, documenting the period 1812 – 1815, RG 94, file of John Lenard, available digitally at Fold3.
[11] See “16th Regiment, Mississippi Militia, War of 1812,” at WikiTree.
[12] Jackie Leonard is citing Limestone County, Alabama, Will Bk. 7, p. 333, which states that John Leonard was “dec’d. 14 Nov. 1846.” Because this will book is under lock and key in the digital files available at the FamilySearch site, I haven’t been able to access the original and obtain further information about this document.
[13] Limestone County, Alabama, Circuit Court Minutes Bk. 1847-1857, p. 136.
[14] Limestone County, Alabama, County Court Record Bk. 1830-1849, p. 422 mistakenly writing the year as 1847 and not as 1846.
[15] See Find a Grave memorial page of Hezekiah Leonard, Leonard cemetery, Marshall County, Tennessee, created by Donna B., maintained by Prairie Mary, with a tombstone photo by Jimmy Trout.
[16] Lincoln County, Tennessee, Will Bk. 1, p. 156-7. See also Frances T. Ingmire, Lincoln County, Tennessee, Wills, Inventories, and Miscellaneous, March 1809 – April 1824 (St. Louis, 1984), p. 8; and Helen C. and Timothy R. Marsh, Wills and Inventories of Lincoln County, Tennessee (Easley, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1989), p. 8.
[17] See Find a Grave memorial page of Griffith J. Leonard, Leonard cemetery, Marshall County, Tennessee, created by Louise Jenkins, with a tombstone photo by Jimmy Trout.
[18] NARA, War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, compiled ca. 1871 – ca. 1900, documenting the period 1812 – ca. 1900, RG 15, file of Griffith J. Lenard, WC 15252, widow Nancy E., WO 25978, available digitally at Fold3. Nancy’s widow’s brief has a cover page stating that her maiden name was Nancy E. Porter and that she received certificate 15252 and bounty land warrants 56760-40-50 and 79828-12055. This cover pages also says that Griffith J. Leonard and Nancy Porter married in Lincoln County, Tennessee, on 7 April 1836, and that Nancy died 18 April 1910 at Petersburg, Tennessee.
[19] John Trotwood Moore and Austin P. Foster, Tennessee, the Volunteer State, 1769-1923, vol. 3 (Chicago: S.S. Clarke, 1923), pp. 238-241. See also this previous posting about Dr. John Norris Cowden.
[20] Fayetteville Observer (27 August 1908).
[21] Ancestry tree “Leonard/ Leonard/McLeod/Miller Family Tree, maintained by dawnleonard818. Photo of Griffith, of wife Nancy, and of son Samuel James Leonard with his family.
[22] 1850 federal census, Rutherford County, Tennessee, Gambrill district, p. 184 (dwelling/family 483, 30 September).
[23] Jackson County, Arkansas, Circuit Court Minutes Bk. B, pp. 544-5, 561.
[24] Jackson County, Arkansas, Deed Bk. G, pp. 32-5.
[25] Jackson County, Arkansas, Marriage Bk. I.
[26] 1850 federal census, Jackson County, Arkansas, Cache, Jacksonport post office, p. 610B (dwelling/family 1069; 7 August). Cyrus Black appears to have died by 17 December 1866, when Mary E.L. Black married Ephraim L. Hughey, a South Carolinian who came to Arkansas from Fayette County, Alabama, in Jackson County. Ephraim died in Jackson County on 4 May 1874 and the 1880 federal census for Jackson County shows Mary as the widow Hughey with her son Levi W. Leonard (this is his surname now, not Black) living next to her with his wife Mary Catherine Narrimore and their children.
[27] See Helen C. Marsh, Timothy R. Marsh, and Ralph D. Whitsell, Cemetery Records of Marshall County, Tennessee (Shelbyville, Tennessee: Marsh Historical Publishing, 1981), p. 253. The 10 January 1795 birthdate for Hannah also appears in Jane Wallace Alford, Revolutionary War Patriots of Marshall County, Tennessee (Lewisburg, Tennessee: Webb, 1976); in Gail Gill Sanders, “Joseph Jonathan S. and Angelina (Moore) Gill,” in Heritage of Lincoln County, Tennessee, ed. Lincoln Co. Heritage Committee (Waynesville, NC: Walsworth, 2005), p. 321; and in Adelaide Moore Moss, “William Depriest Moore,” in ibid., p. 517. This birthdate for Hannah Leonard is also stated in DAR lineage reports submitted by Nancy Alford of the Robert Lewis chapter of Tennessee (DAR no. 537116) and of Mary Aletha Hathaway Dorsey of the Chief John Ross chapter (DAR no. 537605), both entering DAR as descendants of David Moore, father of William Depriest Moore.
[28] NARA, War of 1812 Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, compiled ca. 1871 – ca. 1900, documenting the period 1812 – ca. 1900, RG 15, file of William D. Moore, , WC pension 17127 and WO pension 31237, available digitally at Fold3.
[29] See J. Lester Wolfe, “Thomas Leonard,” in Heritage of Lincoln County, Tennessee, ed. Lincoln County Heritage Committee (Waynesville, North Carolina: County Heritage, 2005), p. 414; and Adelaide Moore Moss, “William DePriest Moore,” in ibid., p. 517, noting that Moss notes that William DePriest Moore and Hannah Leonard belonged to Union Grove Presbyterian church in Marshall County.
[30] Amy Edmiston, “The Moore Homestead,” Pretty Old Places.
#AbbevilleDistSouthCarolina #AlethaLeonard #AlfredLLamb #AlphaLeonard #AmandaLeonard #ancestry #AndrewJackson #AngelinaLeonard #AtridesCrow #BattleOfTalladega #CacheJacksonCoArkansas #CharlesBurrus #CherokeeCoTexas #ColinCampbell #ColinCampbellLeonard #CyrusBlack #DavidDowerMoore #DavidElliott #familyHistory #FayettevilleLincolnCoTennessee #FlintRiver #genealogy #GeorgeLeonard #GeorgeWFisher #GriffithJames #GriffithJamesLeonard #GwendolynJames #HannahAELeonard #HannahFowler #HannahJames #HannahLeonard #HezekiahLeonard #history #JacksonCoArkansas #JacksonportJacksonCoArkansas #JamesGBirdwell #JaneDepriest #JeanWilliams #JohnCowden #JohnKWynn #JohnLauderdale #JohnLeonard #JohnMauldin #JoshuaFowler #LeviWLeonard #LimestoneCoAlabama #LincolnCoTennessee #MadisonCoAlabama #MadisonCoMississippiTerritory #MadisonCrossroadsMadisonCoAlabama #MargaretLeonard #MarshallCoTennessee #MaryAnnLeonard #MaryHannahLeonard #McNairyCoTennessee #MilburyMauldin #MosesBirdwell #NacogdochesCoTexas #NancyEmmettPorter #NancyLeonard #PendletonDistSouthCarolina #PerryCoAlabama #PetersburgMarshallCoTennessee #RachelDunlap #RobertLeonard #RuskCherokeeCoTexas #SamuelDean #SamuelJamesLeonard #SamuelLeonard #SarahMLauderdale #SharpsburgWashingtonCoMaryland #StephenPorter #ThomasCLeonard #ThomasDunlapLeonard #ThomasLeonard #ThomasLewisLeonard #WashingtonCoMaryland #WilliamDepriestMoore #WilliamDunlap #WilliamRLeonard #WilliamRinualdiLeonard #WilliamRodenLeonard -
Wednesday Reads: Minneapolis is Ground Zero for Trump’s Military Takeover
Good Day!!
Before I get going with today’s news, I want to share this disturbing, but absolutely essential piece by Robert Reich: You could be next. This is personal.
If agents of the federal government can murder a 37-year-old woman in broad daylight who, as videotapes show, was merely trying to get out of their way, they can murder you.
Even if Trump and his vice president and his secretary of homeland security all claim, contrary to the videotapes, that Renee Nicole Good was trying to kill an agent who acted in self-defense, they could make up the same about you.
Even if Trump describes her as a “professional agitator” and his goons call her a “domestic terrorist,” they could say the same about you regardless of your political views or activism. If you have left-wing political views and are an activist, you’re in greater danger.
Renee Good
How can we believe what the FBI turns up in its investigation, when the FBI is working for Trump and is headed by one of his goons, and is investigating possible connections between Renee Good and groups that have been protesting Trump’s immigration enforcement?
What credence can we give federal officials who are blocking local and state investigators from reviewing evidence they’re collecting?
You could be murdered because Trump’s attorney general has defined “domestic terrorism” to include impeding law enforcement officers. What if you’re merely standing in the way — in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or maybe you’re engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience?
In October, Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen in Chicago, was in her car trying to warn people about ICE when she collided with a Border Patrol vehicle. Federal officials say she “rammed” the car. Her lawyers say she was sideswiped by it.
The agent then got out of his car and shot her five times. She survived. The Justice Department then charged her with assaulting a federal officer.
You could be next. All of us need to realize this. The people who are being assaulted and murdered are abiding the law….
Trump could just as well arrest and expel permanent residents who voice support for, say, transgender people or DEI or “woke” or anything else the regime finds “anti-American” and offensive.
What’s to stop the Trump regime from arresting you for, say, advocating the replacement of Republicans in Congress in 2026 and electing a Democrat to the presidency in 2028? [….]
What’s at stake isn’t just American democracy. It’s also your safety and security and that of your friends and loved ones. This is personal — to every one of us.
A dictatorship knows no bounds.
These are the facts of life in the U.S. now. We are all at risk. Trump can order his goons to any city or state and they will run wild because Trump and Vance have told them they have “absolute immunity.” You can be dragged from your car and beaten–even killed and Trump will celebrate you for it.
Admittedly, those of us who are white are less at risk, but the murder of Renee Good shows that we are not immune from the ICE reign of terror. Trump now has his private army–comparable to Hitler’s SS. They report to him, not to Congress or the American people.
What’s happening in Minnesota now could happen to any of us, particularly those of us who live in blue states or cities. At The New York Times, Thomas Fuller and Jazmine Ulloa write (gift link): ‘Like a Military Occupation’: Clashes Rise With Federal Agents in Minneapolis.
The video shows a young employee in a reflective vest being hauled away by federal agents from the entrance of a Target store in a Minneapolis suburb.
“I’m a U.S. citizen!” the worker shouted as the armed agents shoved him into an S.U.V. after he had directed expletives at one. “U.S. citizen! U.S. citizen!”
In and around Minneapolis in recent days — in quiet residential neighborhoods and busy shopping districts, at gas station and big box store parking lots — similar chaotic scenes are unfolding, an escalation of tensions between residents and federal agents as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown in Minnesota after the killing of Renee Good by an immigration officer last week.
“It feels like our community is under siege by our own federal government,” said State Representative Michael Howard, a Democrat whose district includes Richfield, where the Target employee and another colleague were seized on Thursday.
Mr. Howard said both workers were U.S. citizens and were later released. The Department of Homeland Security said the Target worker seen in the video was arrested in connection with “assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.” It was unclear on Tuesday if the employee had been charged.
Federal officers are descending on streets in what they say is an effort to find undocumented immigrants with criminal and dangerous backgrounds. They are displaying a show of force they argue is necessary in cities and states where local governments and law enforcement agencies have refused to help them. But many residents, business owners and immigrant workers have denounced the tactics, saying the agents are indiscriminately sweeping up hard-working friends and neighbors based on racial and ethnic profiling, and are increasingly organizing to push back.
The skirmishes between residents and the heavily armed federal agents have been especially nerve-racking for residents of Minneapolis, where the memories of the 2020 murder of George Floyd — and the protests and rioting that followed — are still raw. This time, residents and elected officials say, the fear is not abuses by law enforcement but an encroaching federal government.
Video of the Target arrests:
ICE kidnapping two U.S. citizens from a Target in Richfield, Minnesota. I recognize their head dickhead, Greg Bovino, showed up for the festivities. I’m grateful that there were people there that spoke up and got their names before they could be disappeared. #FuckICE #FuckGregBovino #Minnesota
— SaltyBitchables (@saltybitchables.bsky.social) 2026-01-09T00:41:52.931Z
Back to the NYT story:
Mr. Howard said both workers were U.S. citizens and were later released. The Department of Homeland Security said the Target worker seen in the video was arrested in connection with “assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.” It was unclear on Tuesday if the employee had been charged.
Federal officers are descending on streets in what they say is an effort to find undocumented immigrants with criminal and dangerous backgrounds. They are displaying a show of force they argue is necessary in cities and states where local governments and law enforcement agencies have refused to help them. But many residents, business owners and immigrant workers have denounced the tactics, saying the agents are indiscriminately sweeping up hard-working friends and neighbors based on racial and ethnic profiling, and are increasingly organizing to push back.
The skirmishes between residents and the heavily armed federal agents have been especially nerve-racking for residents of Minneapolis, where the memories of the 2020 murder of George Floyd — and the protests and rioting that followed — are still raw. This time, residents and elected officials say, the fear is not abuses by law enforcement but an encroaching federal government.
Local concerns over the federal government grew on Tuesday when six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of Ms. Good and questions over whether the shooter would be investigated.
Use the gift link to read more. There are lots of photos too.
Also from The New York Times, by Ernesto Londoño: Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow.
Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned on Tuesday over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of a woman killed by an ICE agent and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter, according to people with knowledge of their decision.
Joseph H. Thompson, who was second in command at the U.S. attorney’s office and oversaw a sprawling fraud investigation that has roiled Minnesota’s political landscape, was among those who quit on Tuesday, according to three people with knowledge of the decision.
Joseph H. Thompson
Mr. Thompson’s resignation came after senior Justice Department officials pressed for a criminal investigation into the actions of the widow of Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman killed by an ICE agent on Wednesday.
Mr. Thompson, 47, a career prosecutor, objected to that approach, as well as to the Justice Department’s refusal to include state officials in investigating whether the shooting itself was lawful, the people familiar with his decision said.
The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, said in an interview that Mr. Thompson’s resignation dealt a major blow to efforts to root out rampant theft from state agencies. The fraud cases, which involve schemes to cheat safety net programs, were the chief reason the Trump administration cited for its immigration crackdown in the state. The vast majority of defendants charged in the cases are American citizens of Somali origin.
“When you lose the leader responsible for making the fraud cases, it tells you this isn’t really about prosecuting fraud,” Mr. O’Hara said.
The other senior career prosecutors who resigned include Harry Jacobs, Melinda Williams and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez. Mr. Jacobs had been Mr. Thompson’s deputy overseeing the fraud investigation, which began in 2022. Mr. Calhoun-Lopez was the chief of the violent and major crimes unit.
A bit more:
Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Justine McDaniel at The Washington Post: George Floyd family lawyer will represent relatives of ICE shooting victim.Tuesday’s resignations followed tumultuous days at the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota as prosecutors there and in Washington struggled to manage the outrage over Ms. Good’s killing, which set off angry protests in Minnesota and across the nation.
After Ms. Good was shot, Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told her staff that she would not consider opening an investigation into whether the agent had violated federal law, according to three current and former department officials who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the situation. At least four prosecutors who had already intended to quit or retire signaled they would accelerate their departures, those officials said.
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said in a statement that “there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation” into the ICE agent.
Instead, the Justice Department launched an investigation to examine ties between Ms. Good and her wife, Becca, and several groups that have been monitoring and protesting the conduct of immigration agents in recent weeks. Shortly after Wednesday’s fatal shooting, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, referred to Ms. Good as a “domestic terrorist.”
A week after37-year old Renée Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer near her Minneapolis home, her partner, parents and four siblings have hired an attorney who represented the family of George Floyd to file a claim against federal officials.
“What happened to Renée is wrong, contrary to established policing practices and procedures, and should never happen in today’s America,” Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin said in a statement to The Washington Post. The statement said Good’s family wants “to honor her life with progress toward a kinder and more civil America. They do not want her used as a political pawn, but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
One of the firm’s founding partners, Antonio M. Romanucci, a civil rights lawyer, was among those who represented relatives of George Floyd after he was killed in 2020 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. That legal team’s lawsuit against the city and the four officers involved resulted in a record $27 million settlement for Floyd’s family in 2021, the largest of its kind involving police misconduct.
The case involved Floyd’s relatives challenging law enforcement’s portrayal of him and even commissioning an independent autopsy. Chauvin was ultimately convicted of murdering Floyd the same year, sentenced to 22½ years in prison and later pleaded guilty to a separate federal charge that he violated Floyd’s federal civil rights.
Becca and Renee Good
Good’s shooting, on a residential street where neighbors were monitoring and protesting immigration enforcement activity, has similarly stirred national outrage on the left and the right. Since the fatal encounter on Wednesday, federal officials have sent additional ICE officers to the city, leading to a number of violent encounters publicized on social media and accusations that the operation to detainundocumented immigrants has become more ofan armed occupation.
“It absolutely is escalating considerably over the last week here and it was already quite intense before that,” said State Rep. Mike Howard (D), who represents the suburb of Richfield. “We’ve seen many many examples of an escalating level of violence from federal immigrant officials, in particular targeting citizens, not just immigrants.”
“We’ve seen agents break windows of cars and pull observers out of vehicles, pepper spraying cars and individuals who are literally just exercising their constitutional rights to observe or protest. We had an incident outside of one of our high schools … where chemical irritants were utilized right as school was getting out,” Howard said. “It’s really honestly an hour-by-hour type of incursion, if you will, in a lot of our communities.”
More significant news stories:
Pete Hegseth is trying to crack down on reporters who receive leaks from the DOD.
The Guardian: FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move.
The FBI raided the home of a Washington Post reporter early Wednesday in what the newspaper called a “highly unusual and aggressive” move by law enforcement, and press freedom groups condemned as a “tremendous intrusion” by the Trump administration.
Agents descended on the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials. The Post is “reviewing and monitoring the situation”, a source at the newspaper said.
“It’s a clear and appalling sign that this administration will set no limits on its acts of aggression against an independent press,” Marty Baron, the Post’s former executive editor, told the Guardian.
Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said in a post on X that the raid was conducted by the justice department and FBI at the request of the “department of war”, the Trump administration’s informal name for the department of defense.
Hannah Natanson
The warrant, she said, was executed “at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The leaker is currently behind bars.”
The statement gave no further details of the raid or investigation. Bondi added: “The Trump administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”
The reporter’s home and devices were searched, and her Garmin watch, phone, and two laptop computers, one belonging to her employer, were seized, the newspaper said. It added that agents told Natanson she was not the focus of the probe, and was not accused of any wrongdoing.
A warrant obtained by the Post cited an investigation into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland with a top secret security clearance who has been accused of accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports.
Natanson, the Post said, covers the federal workforce and has been a part of the newspaper’s “most high-profile and sensitive coverage” during the first year of the second Trump administration.
Democrats are hoping to flip an Alaska Senate seat.
Politico: Peltola raises $1.5M in first 24 hours of Alaska Senate bid.
Former Rep. Mary Peltola raked in $1.5 million in the first 24 hours of her bid to unseat GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska, a sizable haul to kick off what will likely be a costly battle for Democrats to flip a Senate seat squarely in Trump terrain.
Peltola’s day-one haul was fueled by small-dollar donors from across Alaska, including fisherman, silversmiths and train conductors, according to information her campaign shared first with POLITICO. Ninety-six percent of those contributions were $100 or less.
“In just 24 hours, Alaskans made it clear that we’re ready to put Alaska first,” Peltola said in a statement. “I’m grateful and honored for this incredible support from people who are ready to take on the special interests and DC people and focus on what matters: fish, family, and freedom.”
Former Rep. Mary Petola
Peltola raised more in one day than the roughly $1.2 million that Sullivan brought in over the third quarter of last year, according to federal campaign finance filings. Sullivan had yet to post his fourth-quarter fundraising report as of Tuesday night, but the Republican was sitting on nearly $4.8 million in cash on hand to start the last three months of the year.
Her total was likely padded by messages from prominent Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who blasted out emails Monday asking their supporters to split donations between their political arms and Peltola.
Her campaign said it also recruited more than 500 volunteers in its first day.
The New York Times: Senator Says Prosecutors Are Investigating Her After Video About Illegal Orders.
Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan says she has learned that federal prosecutors are investigating her after she took part in a video urging military service members to resist illegal orders.
Senator Elissa Slotkin
Ms. Slotkin, a Democrat, said in an interview on Monday that she found out about the inquiry from the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a longtime ally of President Trump’s. In an email sent to the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms, Ms. Pirro’s office requested an interview with the senator or her private counsel.
A spokesman for Ms. Pirro’s office declined to confirm or deny any investigation, and it is unclear exactly what officials have identified as a possible crime related to the video.
Ms. Slotkin organized the video, which Mr. Trump and other administration officials have described as “seditious,” along with five other Democratic lawmakers who are also military veterans. Its message that military officers are obligated to ignore illegal orders is a fundamental principle of military law.
The investigation by Ms. Pirro’s office is the latest escalation in a campaign by Mr. Trump and his allies to exact retribution on those he views as enemies seeking to undermine his administration or his authority as commander in chief.
Tom Tillis isn’t running for reelection, so now he feels free to criticize Trump.
Paul Kane at The Washington Post: Thom Tillis wants you to know something: ‘I’m sick of stupid.’
Sen. Thom Tillis is getting some things off his political chest.
The North Carolina Republican, who decided to oppose President Donald Trump’s massive policy bill last summer and not run for reelection this year, has stepped up his criticism of White House advisers and other Republicans whom he accuses of not serving Trump’s best interests.Senator Tom Tillis
On Sunday night, Tillis leaped out as the first Republican to bash the Justice Department’s investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell. He declared he won’t support any Fed nominees until the central bank’s long-standing independence is fully restored.
That came after Thursday’s significant symbolic victory in getting unanimous Senate support to display a plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol during the 2021 insurrection, overriding the efforts of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to keep the plaque hidden.
And last Wednesday, Tillis delivered a more-than-1,500-word stem-winder on the Senate floor denouncing Trump’s advisers for egging him on with the idea that the U.S. military could take over Greenland.
“I am sick of stupid,” Tillis said.
Early Tuesday afternoon, facing questions about the fallout from the Powell investigation, Tillis said his problems are with the Trump advisers who entertain these positions, not the president himself.
“Who on earth believes that the president could possibly have the depth of expertise to make some of these detailed decisions that he’s making? So, of course, it’s his advisers,” Tillis told a group of reporters in an interview just off the Senate floor.
It would have been nice if he’d spoken up sooner, but better late than never.
Those are my recommended read for today. What stories are you following?
#AlaskaSenateSeat #BeccaGood #BorderPatrol #DonaldTrump #ElissaSlotkin #GeorgeFloyd #GregBovino #HannahNatanson #ICEThugs #JosephHThompson #MaryPetola #Minneapolis #Minnesota #PeteHegseth #ReneeGood #TomTillis #TrumpSPersonalArmy #WashingtonPost
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Wednesday Reads: Minneapolis is Ground Zero for Trump’s Military Takeover
Good Day!!
Before I get going with today’s news, I want to share this disturbing, but absolutely essential piece by Robert Reich: You could be next. This is personal.
If agents of the federal government can murder a 37-year-old woman in broad daylight who, as videotapes show, was merely trying to get out of their way, they can murder you.
Even if Trump and his vice president and his secretary of homeland security all claim, contrary to the videotapes, that Renee Nicole Good was trying to kill an agent who acted in self-defense, they could make up the same about you.
Even if Trump describes her as a “professional agitator” and his goons call her a “domestic terrorist,” they could say the same about you regardless of your political views or activism. If you have left-wing political views and are an activist, you’re in greater danger.
Renee Good
How can we believe what the FBI turns up in its investigation, when the FBI is working for Trump and is headed by one of his goons, and is investigating possible connections between Renee Good and groups that have been protesting Trump’s immigration enforcement?
What credence can we give federal officials who are blocking local and state investigators from reviewing evidence they’re collecting?
You could be murdered because Trump’s attorney general has defined “domestic terrorism” to include impeding law enforcement officers. What if you’re merely standing in the way — in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or maybe you’re engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience?
In October, Marimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen in Chicago, was in her car trying to warn people about ICE when she collided with a Border Patrol vehicle. Federal officials say she “rammed” the car. Her lawyers say she was sideswiped by it.
The agent then got out of his car and shot her five times. She survived. The Justice Department then charged her with assaulting a federal officer.
You could be next. All of us need to realize this. The people who are being assaulted and murdered are abiding the law….
Trump could just as well arrest and expel permanent residents who voice support for, say, transgender people or DEI or “woke” or anything else the regime finds “anti-American” and offensive.
What’s to stop the Trump regime from arresting you for, say, advocating the replacement of Republicans in Congress in 2026 and electing a Democrat to the presidency in 2028? [….]
What’s at stake isn’t just American democracy. It’s also your safety and security and that of your friends and loved ones. This is personal — to every one of us.
A dictatorship knows no bounds.
These are the facts of life in the U.S. now. We are all at risk. Trump can order his goons to any city or state and they will run wild because Trump and Vance have told them they have “absolute immunity.” You can be dragged from your car and beaten–even killed and Trump will celebrate you for it.
Admittedly, those of us who are white are less at risk, but the murder of Renee Good shows that we are not immune from the ICE reign of terror. Trump now has his private army–comparable to Hitler’s SS. They report to him, not to Congress or the American people.
What’s happening in Minnesota now could happen to any of us, particularly those of us who live in blue states or cities. At The New York Times, Thomas Fuller and Jazmine Ulloa write (gift link): ‘Like a Military Occupation’: Clashes Rise With Federal Agents in Minneapolis.
The video shows a young employee in a reflective vest being hauled away by federal agents from the entrance of a Target store in a Minneapolis suburb.
“I’m a U.S. citizen!” the worker shouted as the armed agents shoved him into an S.U.V. after he had directed expletives at one. “U.S. citizen! U.S. citizen!”
In and around Minneapolis in recent days — in quiet residential neighborhoods and busy shopping districts, at gas station and big box store parking lots — similar chaotic scenes are unfolding, an escalation of tensions between residents and federal agents as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown in Minnesota after the killing of Renee Good by an immigration officer last week.
“It feels like our community is under siege by our own federal government,” said State Representative Michael Howard, a Democrat whose district includes Richfield, where the Target employee and another colleague were seized on Thursday.
Mr. Howard said both workers were U.S. citizens and were later released. The Department of Homeland Security said the Target worker seen in the video was arrested in connection with “assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.” It was unclear on Tuesday if the employee had been charged.
Federal officers are descending on streets in what they say is an effort to find undocumented immigrants with criminal and dangerous backgrounds. They are displaying a show of force they argue is necessary in cities and states where local governments and law enforcement agencies have refused to help them. But many residents, business owners and immigrant workers have denounced the tactics, saying the agents are indiscriminately sweeping up hard-working friends and neighbors based on racial and ethnic profiling, and are increasingly organizing to push back.
The skirmishes between residents and the heavily armed federal agents have been especially nerve-racking for residents of Minneapolis, where the memories of the 2020 murder of George Floyd — and the protests and rioting that followed — are still raw. This time, residents and elected officials say, the fear is not abuses by law enforcement but an encroaching federal government.
Video of the Target arrests:
ICE kidnapping two U.S. citizens from a Target in Richfield, Minnesota. I recognize their head dickhead, Greg Bovino, showed up for the festivities. I’m grateful that there were people there that spoke up and got their names before they could be disappeared. #FuckICE #FuckGregBovino #Minnesota
— SaltyBitchables (@saltybitchables.bsky.social) 2026-01-09T00:41:52.931Z
Back to the NYT story:
Mr. Howard said both workers were U.S. citizens and were later released. The Department of Homeland Security said the Target worker seen in the video was arrested in connection with “assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers.” It was unclear on Tuesday if the employee had been charged.
Federal officers are descending on streets in what they say is an effort to find undocumented immigrants with criminal and dangerous backgrounds. They are displaying a show of force they argue is necessary in cities and states where local governments and law enforcement agencies have refused to help them. But many residents, business owners and immigrant workers have denounced the tactics, saying the agents are indiscriminately sweeping up hard-working friends and neighbors based on racial and ethnic profiling, and are increasingly organizing to push back.
The skirmishes between residents and the heavily armed federal agents have been especially nerve-racking for residents of Minneapolis, where the memories of the 2020 murder of George Floyd — and the protests and rioting that followed — are still raw. This time, residents and elected officials say, the fear is not abuses by law enforcement but an encroaching federal government.
Local concerns over the federal government grew on Tuesday when six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of Ms. Good and questions over whether the shooter would be investigated.
Use the gift link to read more. There are lots of photos too.
Also from The New York Times, by Ernesto Londoño: Six Prosecutors Quit Over Push to Investigate ICE Shooting Victim’s Widow.
Six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned on Tuesday over the Justice Department’s push to investigate the widow of a woman killed by an ICE agent and the department’s reluctance to investigate the shooter, according to people with knowledge of their decision.
Joseph H. Thompson, who was second in command at the U.S. attorney’s office and oversaw a sprawling fraud investigation that has roiled Minnesota’s political landscape, was among those who quit on Tuesday, according to three people with knowledge of the decision.
Joseph H. Thompson
Mr. Thompson’s resignation came after senior Justice Department officials pressed for a criminal investigation into the actions of the widow of Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman killed by an ICE agent on Wednesday.
Mr. Thompson, 47, a career prosecutor, objected to that approach, as well as to the Justice Department’s refusal to include state officials in investigating whether the shooting itself was lawful, the people familiar with his decision said.
The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, said in an interview that Mr. Thompson’s resignation dealt a major blow to efforts to root out rampant theft from state agencies. The fraud cases, which involve schemes to cheat safety net programs, were the chief reason the Trump administration cited for its immigration crackdown in the state. The vast majority of defendants charged in the cases are American citizens of Somali origin.
“When you lose the leader responsible for making the fraud cases, it tells you this isn’t really about prosecuting fraud,” Mr. O’Hara said.
The other senior career prosecutors who resigned include Harry Jacobs, Melinda Williams and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez. Mr. Jacobs had been Mr. Thompson’s deputy overseeing the fraud investigation, which began in 2022. Mr. Calhoun-Lopez was the chief of the violent and major crimes unit.
A bit more:
Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Justine McDaniel at The Washington Post: George Floyd family lawyer will represent relatives of ICE shooting victim.Tuesday’s resignations followed tumultuous days at the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota as prosecutors there and in Washington struggled to manage the outrage over Ms. Good’s killing, which set off angry protests in Minnesota and across the nation.
After Ms. Good was shot, Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told her staff that she would not consider opening an investigation into whether the agent had violated federal law, according to three current and former department officials who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the situation. At least four prosecutors who had already intended to quit or retire signaled they would accelerate their departures, those officials said.
Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said in a statement that “there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation” into the ICE agent.
Instead, the Justice Department launched an investigation to examine ties between Ms. Good and her wife, Becca, and several groups that have been monitoring and protesting the conduct of immigration agents in recent weeks. Shortly after Wednesday’s fatal shooting, Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, referred to Ms. Good as a “domestic terrorist.”
A week after37-year old Renée Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer near her Minneapolis home, her partner, parents and four siblings have hired an attorney who represented the family of George Floyd to file a claim against federal officials.
“What happened to Renée is wrong, contrary to established policing practices and procedures, and should never happen in today’s America,” Chicago-based law firm Romanucci & Blandin said in a statement to The Washington Post. The statement said Good’s family wants “to honor her life with progress toward a kinder and more civil America. They do not want her used as a political pawn, but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
One of the firm’s founding partners, Antonio M. Romanucci, a civil rights lawyer, was among those who represented relatives of George Floyd after he was killed in 2020 by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. That legal team’s lawsuit against the city and the four officers involved resulted in a record $27 million settlement for Floyd’s family in 2021, the largest of its kind involving police misconduct.
The case involved Floyd’s relatives challenging law enforcement’s portrayal of him and even commissioning an independent autopsy. Chauvin was ultimately convicted of murdering Floyd the same year, sentenced to 22½ years in prison and later pleaded guilty to a separate federal charge that he violated Floyd’s federal civil rights.
Becca and Renee Good
Good’s shooting, on a residential street where neighbors were monitoring and protesting immigration enforcement activity, has similarly stirred national outrage on the left and the right. Since the fatal encounter on Wednesday, federal officials have sent additional ICE officers to the city, leading to a number of violent encounters publicized on social media and accusations that the operation to detainundocumented immigrants has become more ofan armed occupation.
“It absolutely is escalating considerably over the last week here and it was already quite intense before that,” said State Rep. Mike Howard (D), who represents the suburb of Richfield. “We’ve seen many many examples of an escalating level of violence from federal immigrant officials, in particular targeting citizens, not just immigrants.”
“We’ve seen agents break windows of cars and pull observers out of vehicles, pepper spraying cars and individuals who are literally just exercising their constitutional rights to observe or protest. We had an incident outside of one of our high schools … where chemical irritants were utilized right as school was getting out,” Howard said. “It’s really honestly an hour-by-hour type of incursion, if you will, in a lot of our communities.”
More significant news stories:
Pete Hegseth is trying to crack down on reporters who receive leaks from the DOD.
The Guardian: FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move.
The FBI raided the home of a Washington Post reporter early Wednesday in what the newspaper called a “highly unusual and aggressive” move by law enforcement, and press freedom groups condemned as a “tremendous intrusion” by the Trump administration.
Agents descended on the Virginia home of Hannah Natanson as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials. The Post is “reviewing and monitoring the situation”, a source at the newspaper said.
“It’s a clear and appalling sign that this administration will set no limits on its acts of aggression against an independent press,” Marty Baron, the Post’s former executive editor, told the Guardian.
Pam Bondi, the attorney general, said in a post on X that the raid was conducted by the justice department and FBI at the request of the “department of war”, the Trump administration’s informal name for the department of defense.
Hannah Natanson
The warrant, she said, was executed “at the home of a Washington Post journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The leaker is currently behind bars.”
The statement gave no further details of the raid or investigation. Bondi added: “The Trump administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave risk to our nation’s national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country.”
The reporter’s home and devices were searched, and her Garmin watch, phone, and two laptop computers, one belonging to her employer, were seized, the newspaper said. It added that agents told Natanson she was not the focus of the probe, and was not accused of any wrongdoing.
A warrant obtained by the Post cited an investigation into Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a system administrator in Maryland with a top secret security clearance who has been accused of accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports.
Natanson, the Post said, covers the federal workforce and has been a part of the newspaper’s “most high-profile and sensitive coverage” during the first year of the second Trump administration.
Democrats are hoping to flip an Alaska Senate seat.
Politico: Peltola raises $1.5M in first 24 hours of Alaska Senate bid.
Former Rep. Mary Peltola raked in $1.5 million in the first 24 hours of her bid to unseat GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska, a sizable haul to kick off what will likely be a costly battle for Democrats to flip a Senate seat squarely in Trump terrain.
Peltola’s day-one haul was fueled by small-dollar donors from across Alaska, including fisherman, silversmiths and train conductors, according to information her campaign shared first with POLITICO. Ninety-six percent of those contributions were $100 or less.
“In just 24 hours, Alaskans made it clear that we’re ready to put Alaska first,” Peltola said in a statement. “I’m grateful and honored for this incredible support from people who are ready to take on the special interests and DC people and focus on what matters: fish, family, and freedom.”
Former Rep. Mary Petola
Peltola raised more in one day than the roughly $1.2 million that Sullivan brought in over the third quarter of last year, according to federal campaign finance filings. Sullivan had yet to post his fourth-quarter fundraising report as of Tuesday night, but the Republican was sitting on nearly $4.8 million in cash on hand to start the last three months of the year.
Her total was likely padded by messages from prominent Democrats including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who blasted out emails Monday asking their supporters to split donations between their political arms and Peltola.
Her campaign said it also recruited more than 500 volunteers in its first day.
The New York Times: Senator Says Prosecutors Are Investigating Her After Video About Illegal Orders.
Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan says she has learned that federal prosecutors are investigating her after she took part in a video urging military service members to resist illegal orders.
Senator Elissa Slotkin
Ms. Slotkin, a Democrat, said in an interview on Monday that she found out about the inquiry from the office of Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and a longtime ally of President Trump’s. In an email sent to the Senate’s sergeant-at-arms, Ms. Pirro’s office requested an interview with the senator or her private counsel.
A spokesman for Ms. Pirro’s office declined to confirm or deny any investigation, and it is unclear exactly what officials have identified as a possible crime related to the video.
Ms. Slotkin organized the video, which Mr. Trump and other administration officials have described as “seditious,” along with five other Democratic lawmakers who are also military veterans. Its message that military officers are obligated to ignore illegal orders is a fundamental principle of military law.
The investigation by Ms. Pirro’s office is the latest escalation in a campaign by Mr. Trump and his allies to exact retribution on those he views as enemies seeking to undermine his administration or his authority as commander in chief.
Tom Tillis isn’t running for reelection, so now he feels free to criticize Trump.
Paul Kane at The Washington Post: Thom Tillis wants you to know something: ‘I’m sick of stupid.’
Sen. Thom Tillis is getting some things off his political chest.
The North Carolina Republican, who decided to oppose President Donald Trump’s massive policy bill last summer and not run for reelection this year, has stepped up his criticism of White House advisers and other Republicans whom he accuses of not serving Trump’s best interests.Senator Tom Tillis
On Sunday night, Tillis leaped out as the first Republican to bash the Justice Department’s investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell. He declared he won’t support any Fed nominees until the central bank’s long-standing independence is fully restored.
That came after Thursday’s significant symbolic victory in getting unanimous Senate support to display a plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol during the 2021 insurrection, overriding the efforts of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) to keep the plaque hidden.
And last Wednesday, Tillis delivered a more-than-1,500-word stem-winder on the Senate floor denouncing Trump’s advisers for egging him on with the idea that the U.S. military could take over Greenland.
“I am sick of stupid,” Tillis said.
Early Tuesday afternoon, facing questions about the fallout from the Powell investigation, Tillis said his problems are with the Trump advisers who entertain these positions, not the president himself.
“Who on earth believes that the president could possibly have the depth of expertise to make some of these detailed decisions that he’s making? So, of course, it’s his advisers,” Tillis told a group of reporters in an interview just off the Senate floor.
It would have been nice if he’d spoken up sooner, but better late than never.
Those are my recommended read for today. What stories are you following?
#AlaskaSenateSeat #BeccaGood #BorderPatrol #DonaldTrump #ElissaSlotkin #GeorgeFloyd #GregBovino #HannahNatanson #ICEThugs #JosephHThompson #MaryPetola #Minneapolis #Minnesota #PeteHegseth #ReneeGood #TomTillis #TrumpSPersonalArmy #WashingtonPost
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My 2025 in Review (Best Science Fiction Novels and Short Fiction, Reading Initiatives, and Bonus Categories)
- Graphic created by my father
Here’s to happy reading in 2026! I hope you had a successful reading year. Whether you are a lurker, occasional visitor, a regular commenter, a follower on Bluesky or Mastodon, thank you for your continued support. As I say year after year, It’s hard to express how important (and encouraging) the discussions that occur in the comments, social media, and via email are to me. I’m so thankful for the lovely and supportive community of readers, writers, and discussion partners that stop by.
What were your favorite vintage SF reads–published pre-1985–of 2025? Let me know in the comments.
Throughout the later part of the year I’ve dropped hints about a research project. Perceptive readers might have parsed together the contours of the research: late 19th/early 20th century, utopian, African American, the American South, radical politics… It’s taking longer than expected. I’ve read a good ten monographs, five dissertations, countless articles. I’ve written twenty pages. I hoped to have it posted by early in this year. Alas. It’s coming together–slowly. Stay tuned.
Without further ado, here are my favorite novels (I only read a few) and short stories (I read a ton of those) I read in 2025 with bonus categories. I made sure to link my longer reviews where applicable if you want a deeper dive.
Check out my 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 rundowns if you haven’t already. I have archived all my annual rundowns on my article index page if you wanted to peruse earlier years.
My Top 5 Science Fiction Novels of 2025
- Alan Gutierrez’s cover for the 1985 edition
1. Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark is the final published volume of her Patternist sequence (1976-1984). It is the third novel according to the internal chronology of the series. Clay’s Ark is, without doubt, the most horrifyingly bleak science fiction novel I have ever read. It’s stark. It’s sinister. It’s at turns deeply affective before descending into extreme violence and displaced morality. The moral conundrum that underpins the central problem, the spread of an extraterrestrial disease, unfurls with an unnerving alien logic. Butler’s characters are trapped by the demands of the alien microbes, scarred by the pervasive sense that their humanity is slipping away, and consumed by the fear of starting an epidemic. A true confrontation of the moment cannot lead to anything other than suicide or the first steps towards an apocalyptic transformation.
- Mark Weber’s cover for the 1st edition
2. Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge, a fix-up from two previously published stories “To Leave a Mark” (1982) and “On the North Pole of Pluto” (1980), tells three interconnected tales that all connect to a mysterious monolith left on Pluto (the titular Icehenge). By design Icehenge instead follows the action after the action: men and women attempting to figure out their own place in a world characterizes by lifespans that stretch hundreds and hundreds of years. And its this brilliant interconnection between self-conception and the operations of history that Robinson succeeds and casts his spell. The story is well-told, polished, and filled with fascinating details (technological and sociological).
- Peter Jones’ cover for the 1978 UK edition
3. Joe Haldeman’s All My Sins Remembered (1977), 4/5 (Good). Full review.
The vast Confederación is comprised of radically distinct worlds ruled by the entire spectrum of political systems with both alien and non-alien inhabitants. There are few rules: don’t take advantage of indigenous populations and don’t wage wars on neighboring planets. At 22, the naive Otto McGavin, an Anglo-Buddhist, joins the Confederación as an agent to protect the rights of humans and non-humans. But there’s a twist. Under deep hypnosis a construct of Otto McGavin will be created for each mission. He’ll take on the identity–under a sheath of plasticine flesh–of whatever person he needs to be depending on the task. The story follows Otto on three missions over many years. The interlocking segments convey the deep trauma Otto must confront before he’s immersed in another persona and sent on another mission. His idealism clashes with the violence he must perpetuate. His sense of self conflicts with the violent actions of his “constructs.” The looming sense of dread and despair must finally have its reckoning.
- Uncredited cover for the 1983 edition
4. Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979), 3.75/5 (Good). Full review.
Zoë Fairbairns charts the struggles of the British women’s liberation movement in a dystopic near future. An anti-feminist fringe political party called FAMILY comes to power, simultaneously proclaiming family values while systematically dismantling the welfare state. Benefits effectively eviscerates governmental doublespeak and champions the need to organize and educate in order to fight against patriarchal forces and messianic movements that promise to solve all our ills.
- Colin Hay’s cover for the 1976 edition
5. Edgar Pangborn’s The Company of Glory (1975), 3.5/5 (Good). Full review.
Edgar Pangborn is an unsung SF hero in my book. At his best, he’s a deeply humanistic writer interested in moments of effective metafictional play on the nature of narrative. The Company of Glory (serialized 1974, 1975) is the third novel in the Tales of Darkening World sequence. It forms a prequel to Pangborn’s masterpiece Davy (1964). As with Davy, The Company of Glory attempts to create multiple interlocking layers of narrative, stories within the stories, quotations from various diaries, and the interjections of the overarching narrator of the entire collection of texts who remains anonymous until the final pages. Unfortunately, The Company of Glory is a deeply flawed novel. Recommended only for Pangborn’s fans. Read Davy first if you’re new to his work.
My Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories Reads of 2025 (click titles for my full review)
1. Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), 5/5 (Masterpiece): I featured on a podcast about this story. When the episode is posted, I’ll make sure to link it. Mike Foster spends his school days practicing survival skills–digging, making knives, weaving baskets–in case of a nuclear attack. The kids snicker at him as he walks past. They don’t own a fallout shelter at home. His father refuses to pay into the NATS (National Security fund). If a bomb hit, Mike wouldn’t even be granted access to the school shelter. He’s possessed by a deep, perpetual, encompassing trauma.
2. Fritz Leiber’s “Coming Attraction” (1950), 5/5 (Masterpiece): A rare reread! Leiber imagines an America transformed after a limited nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The physical landscape mirrors the psychological scars of New York’s inhabitants. Perverse new forms of TV entertainment, in particular male wrestlers pitted against masked women, transfix all audiences.
3. Jack Dann’s “A Quiet Revolution for Death” (1978), 5/5 (Masterpiece): Roger and his family head out of the city for a picnic in a vast cemetery. Roger dreams that he is an angel of God guiding mankind through the realm. Visiting the cemetery is an act of devotion. While other kids plug themselves into feelies, Bennie is a fanatic disciple of his father’s pseudo-philosophy of embracing the macabre. Sandra, Roger’s wife, plays along. The kids see through her dislike of the cemetery and the burial rituals happening around them.
4. Izumi Suzuki’s“Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021), 4.5/5 (Very Good): A nameless young female main character recounts her interactions her one-time boyfriend. HE wants to reconnect with his mother, who abandoned his family. HE joins a staged show called The Psychoanalysis Room in an attempt to convince his mother to take “pity and come and find” him. She also has a dysfunctional family. Her mother, a TV executive, struggles/refuses to connect to her daughter. Like some manifestation of the modern hikikomori, they often refuse to communicate with others, eat as a group or eat at all for days on end, or leave their dwellings for the sun and vista of the aboveground. Both find solace and escape in the vacuities and artifice of television.
5. Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Six astronauts return to earth from a voyage to Mars. But they are not treated as heroes. Instead people flee. I found “Explorers We” a well-crafted existential terror. The story plays with narrative expectation and hints at a cosmic enormity that will, at least in this iteration, remain unknown.
6. James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An explorer who feels no pain is hurled mercilessly from planet to plant where is he tortured, experimented upon, and broken again, and again, and again. His sense of time dissipates. Space becomes a hellscape that he cannot escape. And each time he’s lifted back to his scout ship where a mechanical boditech stitches him back together.
7. Jack Dann’s “The Dybbuk Dolls” (1975), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Chaim Lewis works at a sex shop down below in the Undercity, one of many identical spheres, one mile in diameter, buried one thousand feet below the ground. As Chaim finishes up his shift in the dingy shop, a group of visitors ask about his hook-ins and 21st century pornos. Eventually one of them asks him about his alien sex doll collection. And when he returns to the room with the dolls, he discovers they’ve all been unpacked and they imprint themselves on his mind! Cue a descent into the bizarre…
8. Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An artificially created Guinevere stands “chained” in a “vending machine” tempting sleepy passengers in an airport with her plaintive calls. I did not know Williamson had this type of vision in him! The surprise of the year!
9. George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L. A.” (1959), 4/5 (Good): A nameless character (“you”) wakes from a recurring dream: “the dream that has haunted the whole world since that day in 1945.” A dream of apocalyptic annihilation, in infinite variations. A narrative repetition takes form: Nuclear nightmare. The waking moment. The aimless quest for understanding. Communing with other lost souls. The retreat to the bottle. Fragments of the news suggest a world unraveling.
10. Theodore Sturgeon’s “The Stars Are the Styx” (1950), 4/5 (Good): The premise: Humans created Curbstone, an artificial satellite around Earth, to facilitate the ultimate scientific achievement–near instantaneous transportation across the galaxy. How? Individual spaceships, with a solitary crew person or couple, will be hurled out from Curbstone at various points across the space time continuum. The story revolves around the aging (and rotund) Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, who certifies, counsels, and guides the strange collection of humans who gather at the station willing to take such a risk.
11. Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), 4/5 (Good): In a drug and alcohol drenched near-future, a group of young adults take a break-neck road drip and stray from the path set out by parents and small town community. Manifesting the SPEED of the car, Matheson’s prose resonates with pulse and hum, snippets of song and signage, slang and youthful lust. It’s frantic. It’s zappy. It’s vibrant. Recommended for fans of the more linguistically experimental (and bleak) of 50s visions.
12. Jack Dann’s “Rags” (1973), 4/5 (Good): Joanna wanders the streets without seeing a single person. Everything she sees—from garbage cans to parked cars–seem in be various states of decay (“dented, rusted, and discolored”). She teaches herself a new way to walk to avoid the “invisible beings” that flit around her (6). She remembers a past sickness. Deaths in the family. She makes new rules of movement and perception as an act of preservation. And suddenly she sees The Purple Cat.
13. Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973), 4/5 (Good): he elderly dwell underground in large domed cities. It’s a commercial and media-inundated world — tiny machines grant “feeling” as you watch commercials. Professor Fleitman, who “could not rationalize having an orgasm over a cigarette advertisement,” presents a new idea to galvanize the elderly to Entertainment Committee. Rather than a feelie or a movie he wants to put on a circus.
14. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966), 4/5 (Good): Stanisław Ivanovich spends his days submerged in lakes and rivers tagging septopods, a new octopus-like species discovered on Earth. His daughter, Marsha, assists from above. When he emerges from a lake, Marsha is deep in conversation with Leonid Andreevich Gorbovsky, an astroarchaeologist implied to be on leave from an expedition. The two scientists–IIvanovich, with his eyes on earthly mystery, and Gorbovsky, untangling the traces of potential intelligences across the cosmos–and Marsha engage in a series of discussions about the nature of the universe.
15. John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): Somewhere on the Venusian surface the Valley of Dur, with its amalgamation of gasses, traps unsuspecting denizens who wander into its depths. In the city of Takon, Venusians, six-limbed creatures with silvery hair, ogle the strange beasts extricated and caged and exhibited from the Valley. The child, transfixed by the man’s noises and scrawls, pushes his stylus and pad under the bars. And Morgan Gratz, stranded astronaut and self-confessed murderer, draws for the child the respective locations of their planets.
16. Katherine MacLean’s “Contagion” (1950), 3.5/5 (Good) is a contact with an alien planet tale that’s legitimately odd. A hunting party looking for specimens of alien life in order to dissect, sets off from the spaceship Explorer across an alien planet called Minos. Reasonably, the crew is obsessed with a minute medical analysis of flora and fauna. The hunting party encounters a majestically shaped human who spins a crazy tale of adaptation and disease.
17. Cherry Wilder’s “The Ark of James Carlyle” (1974), 3.5/5 (Good): Carlyle spends his tour of duty in a hut with a wood platform on small landmass surrounded by an “oily purple sea” on an alien planet. A crisis hits — and he suddenly learns the reason for the singular trees that grow in the center of each island.
18. E. C. Tubb’s“Without Bugles” (1952), 3.5/5 (Good): A naive journalist struggles to confront her heroic idealism, regurgitated through the media, in her attempt to save the Mars colony afflicted with a futuristic case of the black lung.
19. Frank K. Kelly’s “Famine on Mars” (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): President Herbert Hoover infamously proclaimed on the eve of the Great Depression that “given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” “Famine on Mars,” published five years into the Great Depression, evokes similar paradigmatic shifts between propagandistic proclamation and harsh reality. Kelly spins a nightmare account of a famine on Mars and a plan to save the starving legions.
20. Gerald Kersh’s “Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953), 3.5/5 (Good): Kersh imagines a literary version of himself returning to New York City from WWII interacting with a fantastical manifestation of a Wound Man on board the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary. Corporal Cuckoo, the “Wound Man” in question, regals the narrator (Kersh) with the history of his scarred and mutilated form that mysteriously heals from every injury.
Reading Initiatives
I have continued, resurrected, and created new science fiction short story reading series over the course of the year. Most of the stories I’ve picked for the series are available in some fashion online via links to Internet Archive in each review. I’ve included installments from 2024 in each series below. Feel free to read along with me! And thanks for all the great conversation.
Galaxy Science Fiction Read-through (started 2025)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1950)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (November 1950)
Organized Labor and Unions in Science Fiction (started in 2024)
- Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964)
- Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979)
The First Three Published Short Fictions by Female Authors (continued from 2021)
Translated Short Stories in Translation (with Rachel S. Cordasco) (started in 2024)
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021)
The Media Landscape of the Future (started in 2022)
- George H. Smith’s “In the Imagicon” (1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984)
- Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973)
The Search for the Depressed Astronaut (continued from 2020)
- Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959)
- James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Without Bugles” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Home is the Hero” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Pistol Point” (1953)
- John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934)
Generation Ship Short Stories (continued from 2019)
Exploration Logs (continued from 2022)
- Exploration Log 7: Interview with Jordan S. Carroll, author of Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2024)
- Exploration Log 8: Pat M. Kuras and Rob Schmieder’s “When It Changed: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Science Fiction Fandom” (1980)
- Exploration Log 9: Three More Interviews with Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
- Exploration Log 10: Interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr., author of Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025)
- Exploration Log 11: Interview with Chukwunonso Ezeiyoke, author of Nigerian Speculative Fiction: The Evolution (2025)
My Top 4 History Reads of 2025
A large portion of my history reading this year pushed my general interest in labor history and leftist politics backwards into the 19th century. Unusual for me I know! Often I write about what I can write about not what I plan on writing about. A brief caveat worth repeating: I’m a PhD-wielding historian and have a high tolerance for academic texts. That said, I’d classify everything in my list as on the approachable side of things if you know the broad strokes of American history.
1. Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp’s Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories (2010): This filled a complete hole in my knowledge. While I had encountered history-centric militant abolitionist texts written by black authors, I did not know how they fitted into the larger historiographic project of the era. As my PhD looked at universal histories in the medieval period, I’m a sucker for all kinds of histories of historiography! This is a good one.
2. Deborah Beckel’s Radical Reform: Interracial Politics in Post-Emancipation North Carolina (2011): I read this one for my research project on a black utopian author. Beckel’s brilliant monograph looks at the race and politics in North Carolina after the end of Reconstruction–a “fusion” government of Republicans and Populists managed to take power (temporarily) from the white supremacist Democratic status quo in the 1890s. Depressing. Fascinating. I’m waiting for an alt-history that uses the 1898 election in North Carolina as a jonbar hinge — hah!
3. Edward K. Spann’s Brotherly Tomorrows: Movements for A Cooperative Society in America (1989): While an older monograph, Spann’s work is a fantastic survey of the fascinating range of radical social idealism-inspired communities that proliferated across America. I’m obsessed by left-wing ideologies that permeate the rural world and movements for working-class utopianism. Spann will inspire you to track down newer monographs on the social movements he surveys.
4. Jordan S. Carroll’s Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2025): Rightly won the Hugo! I interviewed Carroll in January. In the book, he examines the ways the alt-right uses classic science fiction imagery and authors to mainstream fascism and advocate for the overthrow of the state. This is a short monograph designed to encourage thought. Highly recommended.
Goals for 2026
1. Keep reading and writing.
2. Read more reviews by other bloggers.
3. Cover more SF in translation.
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #ArkadyAndBorisStrugatsky #bookReview #bookReviews #books #CherryWilder #ECTubb #EdgarPangborn #fiction #FrankKKelly #fritzLeiber #GeorgeHSmith #GeraldKersh #IzumiSuzuki #JackDann #JackWilliamson #JamesTiptreeJr #JoeHaldeman #JohnWyndham #KatherineMacLean #KimStanleyRobinson #OctaviaEButler #philipKDick #RichardMatheson #sciFi #scienceFiction #TheodoreSturgeon #ZoeFairbairns
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My 2025 in Review (Best Science Fiction Novels and Short Fiction, Reading Initiatives, and Bonus Categories)
- Graphic created by my father
Here’s to happy reading in 2026! I hope you had a successful reading year. Whether you are a lurker, occasional visitor, a regular commenter, a follower on Bluesky or Mastodon, thank you for your continued support. As I say year after year, It’s hard to express how important (and encouraging) the discussions that occur in the comments, social media, and via email are to me. I’m so thankful for the lovely and supportive community of readers, writers, and discussion partners that stop by.
What were your favorite vintage SF reads–published pre-1985–of 2025? Let me know in the comments.
Throughout the later part of the year I’ve dropped hints about a research project. Perceptive readers might have parsed together the contours of the research: late 19th/early 20th century, utopian, African American, the American South, radical politics… It’s taking longer than expected. I’ve read a good ten monographs, five dissertations, countless articles. I’ve written twenty pages. I hoped to have it posted by early in this year. Alas. It’s coming together–slowly. Stay tuned.
Without further ado, here are my favorite novels (I only read a few) and short stories (I read a ton of those) I read in 2025 with bonus categories. I made sure to link my longer reviews where applicable if you want a deeper dive.
Check out my 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 rundowns if you haven’t already. I have archived all my annual rundowns on my article index page if you wanted to peruse earlier years.
My Top 5 Science Fiction Novels of 2025
- Alan Gutierrez’s cover for the 1985 edition
1. Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark is the final published volume of her Patternist sequence (1976-1984). It is the third novel according to the internal chronology of the series. Clay’s Ark is, without doubt, the most horrifyingly bleak science fiction novel I have ever read. It’s stark. It’s sinister. It’s at turns deeply affective before descending into extreme violence and displaced morality. The moral conundrum that underpins the central problem, the spread of an extraterrestrial disease, unfurls with an unnerving alien logic. Butler’s characters are trapped by the demands of the alien microbes, scarred by the pervasive sense that their humanity is slipping away, and consumed by the fear of starting an epidemic. A true confrontation of the moment cannot lead to anything other than suicide or the first steps towards an apocalyptic transformation.
- Mark Weber’s cover for the 1st edition
2. Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge, a fix-up from two previously published stories “To Leave a Mark” (1982) and “On the North Pole of Pluto” (1980), tells three interconnected tales that all connect to a mysterious monolith left on Pluto (the titular Icehenge). By design Icehenge instead follows the action after the action: men and women attempting to figure out their own place in a world characterizes by lifespans that stretch hundreds and hundreds of years. And its this brilliant interconnection between self-conception and the operations of history that Robinson succeeds and casts his spell. The story is well-told, polished, and filled with fascinating details (technological and sociological).
- Peter Jones’ cover for the 1978 UK edition
3. Joe Haldeman’s All My Sins Remembered (1977), 4/5 (Good). Full review.
The vast Confederación is comprised of radically distinct worlds ruled by the entire spectrum of political systems with both alien and non-alien inhabitants. There are few rules: don’t take advantage of indigenous populations and don’t wage wars on neighboring planets. At 22, the naive Otto McGavin, an Anglo-Buddhist, joins the Confederación as an agent to protect the rights of humans and non-humans. But there’s a twist. Under deep hypnosis a construct of Otto McGavin will be created for each mission. He’ll take on the identity–under a sheath of plasticine flesh–of whatever person he needs to be depending on the task. The story follows Otto on three missions over many years. The interlocking segments convey the deep trauma Otto must confront before he’s immersed in another persona and sent on another mission. His idealism clashes with the violence he must perpetuate. His sense of self conflicts with the violent actions of his “constructs.” The looming sense of dread and despair must finally have its reckoning.
- Uncredited cover for the 1983 edition
4. Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979), 3.75/5 (Good). Full review.
Zoë Fairbairns charts the struggles of the British women’s liberation movement in a dystopic near future. An anti-feminist fringe political party called FAMILY comes to power, simultaneously proclaiming family values while systematically dismantling the welfare state. Benefits effectively eviscerates governmental doublespeak and champions the need to organize and educate in order to fight against patriarchal forces and messianic movements that promise to solve all our ills.
- Colin Hay’s cover for the 1976 edition
5. Edgar Pangborn’s The Company of Glory (1975), 3.5/5 (Good). Full review.
Edgar Pangborn is an unsung SF hero in my book. At his best, he’s a deeply humanistic writer interested in moments of effective metafictional play on the nature of narrative. The Company of Glory (serialized 1974, 1975) is the third novel in the Tales of Darkening World sequence. It forms a prequel to Pangborn’s masterpiece Davy (1964). As with Davy, The Company of Glory attempts to create multiple interlocking layers of narrative, stories within the stories, quotations from various diaries, and the interjections of the overarching narrator of the entire collection of texts who remains anonymous until the final pages. Unfortunately, The Company of Glory is a deeply flawed novel. Recommended only for Pangborn’s fans. Read Davy first if you’re new to his work.
My Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories Reads of 2025 (click titles for my full review)
1. Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), 5/5 (Masterpiece): I featured on a podcast about this story. When the episode is posted, I’ll make sure to link it. Mike Foster spends his school days practicing survival skills–digging, making knives, weaving baskets–in case of a nuclear attack. The kids snicker at him as he walks past. They don’t own a fallout shelter at home. His father refuses to pay into the NATS (National Security fund). If a bomb hit, Mike wouldn’t even be granted access to the school shelter. He’s possessed by a deep, perpetual, encompassing trauma.
2. Fritz Leiber’s “Coming Attraction” (1950), 5/5 (Masterpiece): A rare reread! Leiber imagines an America transformed after a limited nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The physical landscape mirrors the psychological scars of New York’s inhabitants. Perverse new forms of TV entertainment, in particular male wrestlers pitted against masked women, transfix all audiences.
3. Jack Dann’s “A Quiet Revolution for Death” (1978), 5/5 (Masterpiece): Roger and his family head out of the city for a picnic in a vast cemetery. Roger dreams that he is an angel of God guiding mankind through the realm. Visiting the cemetery is an act of devotion. While other kids plug themselves into feelies, Bennie is a fanatic disciple of his father’s pseudo-philosophy of embracing the macabre. Sandra, Roger’s wife, plays along. The kids see through her dislike of the cemetery and the burial rituals happening around them.
4. Izumi Suzuki’s“Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021), 4.5/5 (Very Good): A nameless young female main character recounts her interactions her one-time boyfriend. HE wants to reconnect with his mother, who abandoned his family. HE joins a staged show called The Psychoanalysis Room in an attempt to convince his mother to take “pity and come and find” him. She also has a dysfunctional family. Her mother, a TV executive, struggles/refuses to connect to her daughter. Like some manifestation of the modern hikikomori, they often refuse to communicate with others, eat as a group or eat at all for days on end, or leave their dwellings for the sun and vista of the aboveground. Both find solace and escape in the vacuities and artifice of television.
5. Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Six astronauts return to earth from a voyage to Mars. But they are not treated as heroes. Instead people flee. I found “Explorers We” a well-crafted existential terror. The story plays with narrative expectation and hints at a cosmic enormity that will, at least in this iteration, remain unknown.
6. James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An explorer who feels no pain is hurled mercilessly from planet to plant where is he tortured, experimented upon, and broken again, and again, and again. His sense of time dissipates. Space becomes a hellscape that he cannot escape. And each time he’s lifted back to his scout ship where a mechanical boditech stitches him back together.
7. Jack Dann’s “The Dybbuk Dolls” (1975), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Chaim Lewis works at a sex shop down below in the Undercity, one of many identical spheres, one mile in diameter, buried one thousand feet below the ground. As Chaim finishes up his shift in the dingy shop, a group of visitors ask about his hook-ins and 21st century pornos. Eventually one of them asks him about his alien sex doll collection. And when he returns to the room with the dolls, he discovers they’ve all been unpacked and they imprint themselves on his mind! Cue a descent into the bizarre…
8. Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An artificially created Guinevere stands “chained” in a “vending machine” tempting sleepy passengers in an airport with her plaintive calls. I did not know Williamson had this type of vision in him! The surprise of the year!
9. George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L. A.” (1959), 4/5 (Good): A nameless character (“you”) wakes from a recurring dream: “the dream that has haunted the whole world since that day in 1945.” A dream of apocalyptic annihilation, in infinite variations. A narrative repetition takes form: Nuclear nightmare. The waking moment. The aimless quest for understanding. Communing with other lost souls. The retreat to the bottle. Fragments of the news suggest a world unraveling.
10. Theodore Sturgeon’s “The Stars Are the Styx” (1950), 4/5 (Good): The premise: Humans created Curbstone, an artificial satellite around Earth, to facilitate the ultimate scientific achievement–near instantaneous transportation across the galaxy. How? Individual spaceships, with a solitary crew person or couple, will be hurled out from Curbstone at various points across the space time continuum. The story revolves around the aging (and rotund) Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, who certifies, counsels, and guides the strange collection of humans who gather at the station willing to take such a risk.
11. Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), 4/5 (Good): In a drug and alcohol drenched near-future, a group of young adults take a break-neck road drip and stray from the path set out by parents and small town community. Manifesting the SPEED of the car, Matheson’s prose resonates with pulse and hum, snippets of song and signage, slang and youthful lust. It’s frantic. It’s zappy. It’s vibrant. Recommended for fans of the more linguistically experimental (and bleak) of 50s visions.
12. Jack Dann’s “Rags” (1973), 4/5 (Good): Joanna wanders the streets without seeing a single person. Everything she sees—from garbage cans to parked cars–seem in be various states of decay (“dented, rusted, and discolored”). She teaches herself a new way to walk to avoid the “invisible beings” that flit around her (6). She remembers a past sickness. Deaths in the family. She makes new rules of movement and perception as an act of preservation. And suddenly she sees The Purple Cat.
13. Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973), 4/5 (Good): he elderly dwell underground in large domed cities. It’s a commercial and media-inundated world — tiny machines grant “feeling” as you watch commercials. Professor Fleitman, who “could not rationalize having an orgasm over a cigarette advertisement,” presents a new idea to galvanize the elderly to Entertainment Committee. Rather than a feelie or a movie he wants to put on a circus.
14. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966), 4/5 (Good): Stanisław Ivanovich spends his days submerged in lakes and rivers tagging septopods, a new octopus-like species discovered on Earth. His daughter, Marsha, assists from above. When he emerges from a lake, Marsha is deep in conversation with Leonid Andreevich Gorbovsky, an astroarchaeologist implied to be on leave from an expedition. The two scientists–IIvanovich, with his eyes on earthly mystery, and Gorbovsky, untangling the traces of potential intelligences across the cosmos–and Marsha engage in a series of discussions about the nature of the universe.
15. John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): Somewhere on the Venusian surface the Valley of Dur, with its amalgamation of gasses, traps unsuspecting denizens who wander into its depths. In the city of Takon, Venusians, six-limbed creatures with silvery hair, ogle the strange beasts extricated and caged and exhibited from the Valley. The child, transfixed by the man’s noises and scrawls, pushes his stylus and pad under the bars. And Morgan Gratz, stranded astronaut and self-confessed murderer, draws for the child the respective locations of their planets.
16. Katherine MacLean’s “Contagion” (1950), 3.5/5 (Good) is a contact with an alien planet tale that’s legitimately odd. A hunting party looking for specimens of alien life in order to dissect, sets off from the spaceship Explorer across an alien planet called Minos. Reasonably, the crew is obsessed with a minute medical analysis of flora and fauna. The hunting party encounters a majestically shaped human who spins a crazy tale of adaptation and disease.
17. Cherry Wilder’s “The Ark of James Carlyle” (1974), 3.5/5 (Good): Carlyle spends his tour of duty in a hut with a wood platform on small landmass surrounded by an “oily purple sea” on an alien planet. A crisis hits — and he suddenly learns the reason for the singular trees that grow in the center of each island.
18. E. C. Tubb’s“Without Bugles” (1952), 3.5/5 (Good): A naive journalist struggles to confront her heroic idealism, regurgitated through the media, in her attempt to save the Mars colony afflicted with a futuristic case of the black lung.
19. Frank K. Kelly’s “Famine on Mars” (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): President Herbert Hoover infamously proclaimed on the eve of the Great Depression that “given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” “Famine on Mars,” published five years into the Great Depression, evokes similar paradigmatic shifts between propagandistic proclamation and harsh reality. Kelly spins a nightmare account of a famine on Mars and a plan to save the starving legions.
20. Gerald Kersh’s “Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953), 3.5/5 (Good): Kersh imagines a literary version of himself returning to New York City from WWII interacting with a fantastical manifestation of a Wound Man on board the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary. Corporal Cuckoo, the “Wound Man” in question, regals the narrator (Kersh) with the history of his scarred and mutilated form that mysteriously heals from every injury.
Reading Initiatives
I have continued, resurrected, and created new science fiction short story reading series over the course of the year. Most of the stories I’ve picked for the series are available in some fashion online via links to Internet Archive in each review. I’ve included installments from 2024 in each series below. Feel free to read along with me! And thanks for all the great conversation.
Galaxy Science Fiction Read-through (started 2025)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1950)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (November 1950)
Organized Labor and Unions in Science Fiction (started in 2024)
- Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964)
- Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979)
The First Three Published Short Fictions by Female Authors (continued from 2021)
Translated Short Stories in Translation (with Rachel S. Cordasco) (started in 2024)
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021)
The Media Landscape of the Future (started in 2022)
- George H. Smith’s “In the Imagicon” (1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984)
- Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973)
The Search for the Depressed Astronaut (continued from 2020)
- Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959)
- James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Without Bugles” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Home is the Hero” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Pistol Point” (1953)
- John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934)
Generation Ship Short Stories (continued from 2019)
Exploration Logs (continued from 2022)
- Exploration Log 7: Interview with Jordan S. Carroll, author of Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2024)
- Exploration Log 8: Pat M. Kuras and Rob Schmieder’s “When It Changed: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Science Fiction Fandom” (1980)
- Exploration Log 9: Three More Interviews with Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
- Exploration Log 10: Interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr., author of Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025)
- Exploration Log 11: Interview with Chukwunonso Ezeiyoke, author of Nigerian Speculative Fiction: The Evolution (2025)
My Top 4 History Reads of 2025
A large portion of my history reading this year pushed my general interest in labor history and leftist politics backwards into the 19th century. Unusual for me I know! Often I write about what I can write about not what I plan on writing about. A brief caveat worth repeating: I’m a PhD-wielding historian and have a high tolerance for academic texts. That said, I’d classify everything in my list as on the approachable side of things if you know the broad strokes of American history.
1. Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp’s Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories (2010): This filled a complete hole in my knowledge. While I had encountered history-centric militant abolitionist texts written by black authors, I did not know how they fitted into the larger historiographic project of the era. As my PhD looked at universal histories in the medieval period, I’m a sucker for all kinds of histories of historiography! This is a good one.
2. Deborah Beckel’s Radical Reform: Interracial Politics in Post-Emancipation North Carolina (2011): I read this one for my research project on a black utopian author. Beckel’s brilliant monograph looks at the race and politics in North Carolina after the end of Reconstruction–a “fusion” government of Republicans and Populists managed to take power (temporarily) from the white supremacist Democratic status quo in the 1890s. Depressing. Fascinating. I’m waiting for an alt-history that uses the 1898 election in North Carolina as a jonbar hinge — hah!
3. Edward K. Spann’s Brotherly Tomorrows: Movements for A Cooperative Society in America (1989): While an older monograph, Spann’s work is a fantastic survey of the fascinating range of radical social idealism-inspired communities that proliferated across America. I’m obsessed by left-wing ideologies that permeate the rural world and movements for working-class utopianism. Spann will inspire you to track down newer monographs on the social movements he surveys.
4. Jordan S. Carroll’s Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2025): Rightly won the Hugo! I interviewed Carroll in January. In the book, he examines the ways the alt-right uses classic science fiction imagery and authors to mainstream fascism and advocate for the overthrow of the state. This is a short monograph designed to encourage thought. Highly recommended.
Goals for 2026
1. Keep reading and writing.
2. Read more reviews by other bloggers.
3. Cover more SF in translation.
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #ArkadyAndBorisStrugatsky #bookReview #bookReviews #books #CherryWilder #ECTubb #EdgarPangborn #fiction #FrankKKelly #fritzLeiber #GeorgeHSmith #GeraldKersh #IzumiSuzuki #JackDann #JackWilliamson #JamesTiptreeJr #JoeHaldeman #JohnWyndham #KatherineMacLean #KimStanleyRobinson #OctaviaEButler #philipKDick #RichardMatheson #sciFi #scienceFiction #TheodoreSturgeon #ZoeFairbairns -
My 2025 in Review (Best Science Fiction Novels and Short Fiction, Reading Initiatives, and Bonus Categories)
- Graphic created by my father
Here’s to happy reading in 2026! I hope you had a successful reading year. Whether you are a lurker, occasional visitor, a regular commenter, a follower on Bluesky or Mastodon, thank you for your continued support. As I say year after year, It’s hard to express how important (and encouraging) the discussions that occur in the comments, social media, and via email are to me. I’m so thankful for the lovely and supportive community of readers, writers, and discussion partners that stop by.
What were your favorite vintage SF reads–published pre-1985–of 2025? Let me know in the comments.
Throughout the later part of the year I’ve dropped hints about a research project. Perceptive readers might have parsed together the contours of the research: late 19th/early 20th century, utopian, African American, the American South, radical politics… It’s taking longer than expected. I’ve read a good ten monographs, five dissertations, countless articles. I’ve written twenty pages. I hoped to have it posted by early in this year. Alas. It’s coming together–slowly. Stay tuned.
Without further ado, here are my favorite novels (I only read a few) and short stories (I read a ton of those) I read in 2025 with bonus categories. I made sure to link my longer reviews where applicable if you want a deeper dive.
Check out my 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 rundowns if you haven’t already. I have archived all my annual rundowns on my article index page if you wanted to peruse earlier years.
My Top 5 Science Fiction Novels of 2025
- Alan Gutierrez’s cover for the 1985 edition
1. Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark is the final published volume of her Patternist sequence (1976-1984). It is the third novel according to the internal chronology of the series. Clay’s Ark is, without doubt, the most horrifyingly bleak science fiction novel I have ever read. It’s stark. It’s sinister. It’s at turns deeply affective before descending into extreme violence and displaced morality. The moral conundrum that underpins the central problem, the spread of an extraterrestrial disease, unfurls with an unnerving alien logic. Butler’s characters are trapped by the demands of the alien microbes, scarred by the pervasive sense that their humanity is slipping away, and consumed by the fear of starting an epidemic. A true confrontation of the moment cannot lead to anything other than suicide or the first steps towards an apocalyptic transformation.
- Mark Weber’s cover for the 1st edition
2. Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge, a fix-up from two previously published stories “To Leave a Mark” (1982) and “On the North Pole of Pluto” (1980), tells three interconnected tales that all connect to a mysterious monolith left on Pluto (the titular Icehenge). By design Icehenge instead follows the action after the action: men and women attempting to figure out their own place in a world characterizes by lifespans that stretch hundreds and hundreds of years. And its this brilliant interconnection between self-conception and the operations of history that Robinson succeeds and casts his spell. The story is well-told, polished, and filled with fascinating details (technological and sociological).
- Peter Jones’ cover for the 1978 UK edition
3. Joe Haldeman’s All My Sins Remembered (1977), 4/5 (Good). Full review.
The vast Confederación is comprised of radically distinct worlds ruled by the entire spectrum of political systems with both alien and non-alien inhabitants. There are few rules: don’t take advantage of indigenous populations and don’t wage wars on neighboring planets. At 22, the naive Otto McGavin, an Anglo-Buddhist, joins the Confederación as an agent to protect the rights of humans and non-humans. But there’s a twist. Under deep hypnosis a construct of Otto McGavin will be created for each mission. He’ll take on the identity–under a sheath of plasticine flesh–of whatever person he needs to be depending on the task. The story follows Otto on three missions over many years. The interlocking segments convey the deep trauma Otto must confront before he’s immersed in another persona and sent on another mission. His idealism clashes with the violence he must perpetuate. His sense of self conflicts with the violent actions of his “constructs.” The looming sense of dread and despair must finally have its reckoning.
- Uncredited cover for the 1983 edition
4. Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979), 3.75/5 (Good). Full review.
Zoë Fairbairns charts the struggles of the British women’s liberation movement in a dystopic near future. An anti-feminist fringe political party called FAMILY comes to power, simultaneously proclaiming family values while systematically dismantling the welfare state. Benefits effectively eviscerates governmental doublespeak and champions the need to organize and educate in order to fight against patriarchal forces and messianic movements that promise to solve all our ills.
- Colin Hay’s cover for the 1976 edition
5. Edgar Pangborn’s The Company of Glory (1975), 3.5/5 (Good). Full review.
Edgar Pangborn is an unsung SF hero in my book. At his best, he’s a deeply humanistic writer interested in moments of effective metafictional play on the nature of narrative. The Company of Glory (serialized 1974, 1975) is the third novel in the Tales of Darkening World sequence. It forms a prequel to Pangborn’s masterpiece Davy (1964). As with Davy, The Company of Glory attempts to create multiple interlocking layers of narrative, stories within the stories, quotations from various diaries, and the interjections of the overarching narrator of the entire collection of texts who remains anonymous until the final pages. Unfortunately, The Company of Glory is a deeply flawed novel. Recommended only for Pangborn’s fans. Read Davy first if you’re new to his work.
My Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories Reads of 2025 (click titles for my full review)
1. Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), 5/5 (Masterpiece): I featured on a podcast about this story. When the episode is posted, I’ll make sure to link it. Mike Foster spends his school days practicing survival skills–digging, making knives, weaving baskets–in case of a nuclear attack. The kids snicker at him as he walks past. They don’t own a fallout shelter at home. His father refuses to pay into the NATS (National Security fund). If a bomb hit, Mike wouldn’t even be granted access to the school shelter. He’s possessed by a deep, perpetual, encompassing trauma.
2. Fritz Leiber’s “Coming Attraction” (1950), 5/5 (Masterpiece): A rare reread! Leiber imagines an America transformed after a limited nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The physical landscape mirrors the psychological scars of New York’s inhabitants. Perverse new forms of TV entertainment, in particular male wrestlers pitted against masked women, transfix all audiences.
3. Jack Dann’s “A Quiet Revolution for Death” (1978), 5/5 (Masterpiece): Roger and his family head out of the city for a picnic in a vast cemetery. Roger dreams that he is an angel of God guiding mankind through the realm. Visiting the cemetery is an act of devotion. While other kids plug themselves into feelies, Bennie is a fanatic disciple of his father’s pseudo-philosophy of embracing the macabre. Sandra, Roger’s wife, plays along. The kids see through her dislike of the cemetery and the burial rituals happening around them.
4. Izumi Suzuki’s“Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021), 4.5/5 (Very Good): A nameless young female main character recounts her interactions her one-time boyfriend. HE wants to reconnect with his mother, who abandoned his family. HE joins a staged show called The Psychoanalysis Room in an attempt to convince his mother to take “pity and come and find” him. She also has a dysfunctional family. Her mother, a TV executive, struggles/refuses to connect to her daughter. Like some manifestation of the modern hikikomori, they often refuse to communicate with others, eat as a group or eat at all for days on end, or leave their dwellings for the sun and vista of the aboveground. Both find solace and escape in the vacuities and artifice of television.
5. Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Six astronauts return to earth from a voyage to Mars. But they are not treated as heroes. Instead people flee. I found “Explorers We” a well-crafted existential terror. The story plays with narrative expectation and hints at a cosmic enormity that will, at least in this iteration, remain unknown.
6. James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An explorer who feels no pain is hurled mercilessly from planet to plant where is he tortured, experimented upon, and broken again, and again, and again. His sense of time dissipates. Space becomes a hellscape that he cannot escape. And each time he’s lifted back to his scout ship where a mechanical boditech stitches him back together.
7. Jack Dann’s “The Dybbuk Dolls” (1975), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Chaim Lewis works at a sex shop down below in the Undercity, one of many identical spheres, one mile in diameter, buried one thousand feet below the ground. As Chaim finishes up his shift in the dingy shop, a group of visitors ask about his hook-ins and 21st century pornos. Eventually one of them asks him about his alien sex doll collection. And when he returns to the room with the dolls, he discovers they’ve all been unpacked and they imprint themselves on his mind! Cue a descent into the bizarre…
8. Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An artificially created Guinevere stands “chained” in a “vending machine” tempting sleepy passengers in an airport with her plaintive calls. I did not know Williamson had this type of vision in him! The surprise of the year!
9. George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L. A.” (1959), 4/5 (Good): A nameless character (“you”) wakes from a recurring dream: “the dream that has haunted the whole world since that day in 1945.” A dream of apocalyptic annihilation, in infinite variations. A narrative repetition takes form: Nuclear nightmare. The waking moment. The aimless quest for understanding. Communing with other lost souls. The retreat to the bottle. Fragments of the news suggest a world unraveling.
10. Theodore Sturgeon’s “The Stars Are the Styx” (1950), 4/5 (Good): The premise: Humans created Curbstone, an artificial satellite around Earth, to facilitate the ultimate scientific achievement–near instantaneous transportation across the galaxy. How? Individual spaceships, with a solitary crew person or couple, will be hurled out from Curbstone at various points across the space time continuum. The story revolves around the aging (and rotund) Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, who certifies, counsels, and guides the strange collection of humans who gather at the station willing to take such a risk.
11. Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), 4/5 (Good): In a drug and alcohol drenched near-future, a group of young adults take a break-neck road drip and stray from the path set out by parents and small town community. Manifesting the SPEED of the car, Matheson’s prose resonates with pulse and hum, snippets of song and signage, slang and youthful lust. It’s frantic. It’s zappy. It’s vibrant. Recommended for fans of the more linguistically experimental (and bleak) of 50s visions.
12. Jack Dann’s “Rags” (1973), 4/5 (Good): Joanna wanders the streets without seeing a single person. Everything she sees—from garbage cans to parked cars–seem in be various states of decay (“dented, rusted, and discolored”). She teaches herself a new way to walk to avoid the “invisible beings” that flit around her (6). She remembers a past sickness. Deaths in the family. She makes new rules of movement and perception as an act of preservation. And suddenly she sees The Purple Cat.
13. Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973), 4/5 (Good): he elderly dwell underground in large domed cities. It’s a commercial and media-inundated world — tiny machines grant “feeling” as you watch commercials. Professor Fleitman, who “could not rationalize having an orgasm over a cigarette advertisement,” presents a new idea to galvanize the elderly to Entertainment Committee. Rather than a feelie or a movie he wants to put on a circus.
14. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966), 4/5 (Good): Stanisław Ivanovich spends his days submerged in lakes and rivers tagging septopods, a new octopus-like species discovered on Earth. His daughter, Marsha, assists from above. When he emerges from a lake, Marsha is deep in conversation with Leonid Andreevich Gorbovsky, an astroarchaeologist implied to be on leave from an expedition. The two scientists–IIvanovich, with his eyes on earthly mystery, and Gorbovsky, untangling the traces of potential intelligences across the cosmos–and Marsha engage in a series of discussions about the nature of the universe.
15. John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): Somewhere on the Venusian surface the Valley of Dur, with its amalgamation of gasses, traps unsuspecting denizens who wander into its depths. In the city of Takon, Venusians, six-limbed creatures with silvery hair, ogle the strange beasts extricated and caged and exhibited from the Valley. The child, transfixed by the man’s noises and scrawls, pushes his stylus and pad under the bars. And Morgan Gratz, stranded astronaut and self-confessed murderer, draws for the child the respective locations of their planets.
16. Katherine MacLean’s “Contagion” (1950), 3.5/5 (Good) is a contact with an alien planet tale that’s legitimately odd. A hunting party looking for specimens of alien life in order to dissect, sets off from the spaceship Explorer across an alien planet called Minos. Reasonably, the crew is obsessed with a minute medical analysis of flora and fauna. The hunting party encounters a majestically shaped human who spins a crazy tale of adaptation and disease.
17. Cherry Wilder’s “The Ark of James Carlyle” (1974), 3.5/5 (Good): Carlyle spends his tour of duty in a hut with a wood platform on small landmass surrounded by an “oily purple sea” on an alien planet. A crisis hits — and he suddenly learns the reason for the singular trees that grow in the center of each island.
18. E. C. Tubb’s“Without Bugles” (1952), 3.5/5 (Good): A naive journalist struggles to confront her heroic idealism, regurgitated through the media, in her attempt to save the Mars colony afflicted with a futuristic case of the black lung.
19. Frank K. Kelly’s “Famine on Mars” (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): President Herbert Hoover infamously proclaimed on the eve of the Great Depression that “given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” “Famine on Mars,” published five years into the Great Depression, evokes similar paradigmatic shifts between propagandistic proclamation and harsh reality. Kelly spins a nightmare account of a famine on Mars and a plan to save the starving legions.
20. Gerald Kersh’s “Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953), 3.5/5 (Good): Kersh imagines a literary version of himself returning to New York City from WWII interacting with a fantastical manifestation of a Wound Man on board the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary. Corporal Cuckoo, the “Wound Man” in question, regals the narrator (Kersh) with the history of his scarred and mutilated form that mysteriously heals from every injury.
Reading Initiatives
I have continued, resurrected, and created new science fiction short story reading series over the course of the year. Most of the stories I’ve picked for the series are available in some fashion online via links to Internet Archive in each review. I’ve included installments from 2024 in each series below. Feel free to read along with me! And thanks for all the great conversation.
Galaxy Science Fiction Read-through (started 2025)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1950)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (November 1950)
Organized Labor and Unions in Science Fiction (started in 2024)
- Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964)
- Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979)
The First Three Published Short Fictions by Female Authors (continued from 2021)
Translated Short Stories in Translation (with Rachel S. Cordasco) (started in 2024)
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021)
The Media Landscape of the Future (started in 2022)
- George H. Smith’s “In the Imagicon” (1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984)
- Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973)
The Search for the Depressed Astronaut (continued from 2020)
- Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959)
- James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Without Bugles” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Home is the Hero” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Pistol Point” (1953)
- John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934)
Generation Ship Short Stories (continued from 2019)
Exploration Logs (continued from 2022)
- Exploration Log 7: Interview with Jordan S. Carroll, author of Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2024)
- Exploration Log 8: Pat M. Kuras and Rob Schmieder’s “When It Changed: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Science Fiction Fandom” (1980)
- Exploration Log 9: Three More Interviews with Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
- Exploration Log 10: Interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr., author of Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025)
- Exploration Log 11: Interview with Chukwunonso Ezeiyoke, author of Nigerian Speculative Fiction: The Evolution (2025)
My Top 4 History Reads of 2025
A large portion of my history reading this year pushed my general interest in labor history and leftist politics backwards into the 19th century. Unusual for me I know! Often I write about what I can write about not what I plan on writing about. A brief caveat worth repeating: I’m a PhD-wielding historian and have a high tolerance for academic texts. That said, I’d classify everything in my list as on the approachable side of things if you know the broad strokes of American history.
1. Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp’s Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories (2010): This filled a complete hole in my knowledge. While I had encountered history-centric militant abolitionist texts written by black authors, I did not know how they fitted into the larger historiographic project of the era. As my PhD looked at universal histories in the medieval period, I’m a sucker for all kinds of histories of historiography! This is a good one.
2. Deborah Beckel’s Radical Reform: Interracial Politics in Post-Emancipation North Carolina (2011): I read this one for my research project on a black utopian author. Beckel’s brilliant monograph looks at the race and politics in North Carolina after the end of Reconstruction–a “fusion” government of Republicans and Populists managed to take power (temporarily) from the white supremacist Democratic status quo in the 1890s. Depressing. Fascinating. I’m waiting for an alt-history that uses the 1898 election in North Carolina as a jonbar hinge — hah!
3. Edward K. Spann’s Brotherly Tomorrows: Movements for A Cooperative Society in America (1989): While an older monograph, Spann’s work is a fantastic survey of the fascinating range of radical social idealism-inspired communities that proliferated across America. I’m obsessed by left-wing ideologies that permeate the rural world and movements for working-class utopianism. Spann will inspire you to track down newer monographs on the social movements he surveys.
4. Jordan S. Carroll’s Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2025): Rightly won the Hugo! I interviewed Carroll in January. In the book, he examines the ways the alt-right uses classic science fiction imagery and authors to mainstream fascism and advocate for the overthrow of the state. This is a short monograph designed to encourage thought. Highly recommended.
Goals for 2026
1. Keep reading and writing.
2. Read more reviews by other bloggers.
3. Cover more SF in translation.
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #ArkadyAndBorisStrugatsky #bookReview #bookReviews #books #CherryWilder #ECTubb #EdgarPangborn #fiction #FrankKKelly #fritzLeiber #GeorgeHSmith #GeraldKersh #IzumiSuzuki #JackDann #JackWilliamson #JamesTiptreeJr #JoeHaldeman #JohnWyndham #KatherineMacLean #KimStanleyRobinson #OctaviaEButler #philipKDick #RichardMatheson #sciFi #scienceFiction #TheodoreSturgeon #ZoeFairbairns -
My 2025 in Review (Best Science Fiction Novels and Short Fiction, Reading Initiatives, and Bonus Categories)
- Graphic created by my father
Here’s to happy reading in 2026! I hope you had a successful reading year. Whether you are a lurker, occasional visitor, a regular commenter, a follower on Bluesky or Mastodon, thank you for your continued support. As I say year after year, It’s hard to express how important (and encouraging) the discussions that occur in the comments, social media, and via email are to me. I’m so thankful for the lovely and supportive community of readers, writers, and discussion partners that stop by.
What were your favorite vintage SF reads–published pre-1985–of 2025? Let me know in the comments.
Throughout the later part of the year I’ve dropped hints about a research project. Perceptive readers might have parsed together the contours of the research: late 19th/early 20th century, utopian, African American, the American South, radical politics… It’s taking longer than expected. I’ve read a good ten monographs, five dissertations, countless articles. I’ve written twenty pages. I hoped to have it posted by early in this year. Alas. It’s coming together–slowly. Stay tuned.
Without further ado, here are my favorite novels (I only read a few) and short stories (I read a ton of those) I read in 2025 with bonus categories. I made sure to link my longer reviews where applicable if you want a deeper dive.
Check out my 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 rundowns if you haven’t already. I have archived all my annual rundowns on my article index page if you wanted to peruse earlier years.
My Top 5 Science Fiction Novels of 2025
- Alan Gutierrez’s cover for the 1985 edition
1. Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark is the final published volume of her Patternist sequence (1976-1984). It is the third novel according to the internal chronology of the series. Clay’s Ark is, without doubt, the most horrifyingly bleak science fiction novel I have ever read. It’s stark. It’s sinister. It’s at turns deeply affective before descending into extreme violence and displaced morality. The moral conundrum that underpins the central problem, the spread of an extraterrestrial disease, unfurls with an unnerving alien logic. Butler’s characters are trapped by the demands of the alien microbes, scarred by the pervasive sense that their humanity is slipping away, and consumed by the fear of starting an epidemic. A true confrontation of the moment cannot lead to anything other than suicide or the first steps towards an apocalyptic transformation.
- Mark Weber’s cover for the 1st edition
2. Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge, a fix-up from two previously published stories “To Leave a Mark” (1982) and “On the North Pole of Pluto” (1980), tells three interconnected tales that all connect to a mysterious monolith left on Pluto (the titular Icehenge). By design Icehenge instead follows the action after the action: men and women attempting to figure out their own place in a world characterizes by lifespans that stretch hundreds and hundreds of years. And its this brilliant interconnection between self-conception and the operations of history that Robinson succeeds and casts his spell. The story is well-told, polished, and filled with fascinating details (technological and sociological).
- Peter Jones’ cover for the 1978 UK edition
3. Joe Haldeman’s All My Sins Remembered (1977), 4/5 (Good). Full review.
The vast Confederación is comprised of radically distinct worlds ruled by the entire spectrum of political systems with both alien and non-alien inhabitants. There are few rules: don’t take advantage of indigenous populations and don’t wage wars on neighboring planets. At 22, the naive Otto McGavin, an Anglo-Buddhist, joins the Confederación as an agent to protect the rights of humans and non-humans. But there’s a twist. Under deep hypnosis a construct of Otto McGavin will be created for each mission. He’ll take on the identity–under a sheath of plasticine flesh–of whatever person he needs to be depending on the task. The story follows Otto on three missions over many years. The interlocking segments convey the deep trauma Otto must confront before he’s immersed in another persona and sent on another mission. His idealism clashes with the violence he must perpetuate. His sense of self conflicts with the violent actions of his “constructs.” The looming sense of dread and despair must finally have its reckoning.
- Uncredited cover for the 1983 edition
4. Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979), 3.75/5 (Good). Full review.
Zoë Fairbairns charts the struggles of the British women’s liberation movement in a dystopic near future. An anti-feminist fringe political party called FAMILY comes to power, simultaneously proclaiming family values while systematically dismantling the welfare state. Benefits effectively eviscerates governmental doublespeak and champions the need to organize and educate in order to fight against patriarchal forces and messianic movements that promise to solve all our ills.
- Colin Hay’s cover for the 1976 edition
5. Edgar Pangborn’s The Company of Glory (1975), 3.5/5 (Good). Full review.
Edgar Pangborn is an unsung SF hero in my book. At his best, he’s a deeply humanistic writer interested in moments of effective metafictional play on the nature of narrative. The Company of Glory (serialized 1974, 1975) is the third novel in the Tales of Darkening World sequence. It forms a prequel to Pangborn’s masterpiece Davy (1964). As with Davy, The Company of Glory attempts to create multiple interlocking layers of narrative, stories within the stories, quotations from various diaries, and the interjections of the overarching narrator of the entire collection of texts who remains anonymous until the final pages. Unfortunately, The Company of Glory is a deeply flawed novel. Recommended only for Pangborn’s fans. Read Davy first if you’re new to his work.
My Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories Reads of 2025 (click titles for my full review)
1. Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), 5/5 (Masterpiece): I featured on a podcast about this story. When the episode is posted, I’ll make sure to link it. Mike Foster spends his school days practicing survival skills–digging, making knives, weaving baskets–in case of a nuclear attack. The kids snicker at him as he walks past. They don’t own a fallout shelter at home. His father refuses to pay into the NATS (National Security fund). If a bomb hit, Mike wouldn’t even be granted access to the school shelter. He’s possessed by a deep, perpetual, encompassing trauma.
2. Fritz Leiber’s “Coming Attraction” (1950), 5/5 (Masterpiece): A rare reread! Leiber imagines an America transformed after a limited nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The physical landscape mirrors the psychological scars of New York’s inhabitants. Perverse new forms of TV entertainment, in particular male wrestlers pitted against masked women, transfix all audiences.
3. Jack Dann’s “A Quiet Revolution for Death” (1978), 5/5 (Masterpiece): Roger and his family head out of the city for a picnic in a vast cemetery. Roger dreams that he is an angel of God guiding mankind through the realm. Visiting the cemetery is an act of devotion. While other kids plug themselves into feelies, Bennie is a fanatic disciple of his father’s pseudo-philosophy of embracing the macabre. Sandra, Roger’s wife, plays along. The kids see through her dislike of the cemetery and the burial rituals happening around them.
4. Izumi Suzuki’s“Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021), 4.5/5 (Very Good): A nameless young female main character recounts her interactions her one-time boyfriend. HE wants to reconnect with his mother, who abandoned his family. HE joins a staged show called The Psychoanalysis Room in an attempt to convince his mother to take “pity and come and find” him. She also has a dysfunctional family. Her mother, a TV executive, struggles/refuses to connect to her daughter. Like some manifestation of the modern hikikomori, they often refuse to communicate with others, eat as a group or eat at all for days on end, or leave their dwellings for the sun and vista of the aboveground. Both find solace and escape in the vacuities and artifice of television.
5. Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Six astronauts return to earth from a voyage to Mars. But they are not treated as heroes. Instead people flee. I found “Explorers We” a well-crafted existential terror. The story plays with narrative expectation and hints at a cosmic enormity that will, at least in this iteration, remain unknown.
6. James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An explorer who feels no pain is hurled mercilessly from planet to plant where is he tortured, experimented upon, and broken again, and again, and again. His sense of time dissipates. Space becomes a hellscape that he cannot escape. And each time he’s lifted back to his scout ship where a mechanical boditech stitches him back together.
7. Jack Dann’s “The Dybbuk Dolls” (1975), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Chaim Lewis works at a sex shop down below in the Undercity, one of many identical spheres, one mile in diameter, buried one thousand feet below the ground. As Chaim finishes up his shift in the dingy shop, a group of visitors ask about his hook-ins and 21st century pornos. Eventually one of them asks him about his alien sex doll collection. And when he returns to the room with the dolls, he discovers they’ve all been unpacked and they imprint themselves on his mind! Cue a descent into the bizarre…
8. Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An artificially created Guinevere stands “chained” in a “vending machine” tempting sleepy passengers in an airport with her plaintive calls. I did not know Williamson had this type of vision in him! The surprise of the year!
9. George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L. A.” (1959), 4/5 (Good): A nameless character (“you”) wakes from a recurring dream: “the dream that has haunted the whole world since that day in 1945.” A dream of apocalyptic annihilation, in infinite variations. A narrative repetition takes form: Nuclear nightmare. The waking moment. The aimless quest for understanding. Communing with other lost souls. The retreat to the bottle. Fragments of the news suggest a world unraveling.
10. Theodore Sturgeon’s “The Stars Are the Styx” (1950), 4/5 (Good): The premise: Humans created Curbstone, an artificial satellite around Earth, to facilitate the ultimate scientific achievement–near instantaneous transportation across the galaxy. How? Individual spaceships, with a solitary crew person or couple, will be hurled out from Curbstone at various points across the space time continuum. The story revolves around the aging (and rotund) Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, who certifies, counsels, and guides the strange collection of humans who gather at the station willing to take such a risk.
11. Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), 4/5 (Good): In a drug and alcohol drenched near-future, a group of young adults take a break-neck road drip and stray from the path set out by parents and small town community. Manifesting the SPEED of the car, Matheson’s prose resonates with pulse and hum, snippets of song and signage, slang and youthful lust. It’s frantic. It’s zappy. It’s vibrant. Recommended for fans of the more linguistically experimental (and bleak) of 50s visions.
12. Jack Dann’s “Rags” (1973), 4/5 (Good): Joanna wanders the streets without seeing a single person. Everything she sees—from garbage cans to parked cars–seem in be various states of decay (“dented, rusted, and discolored”). She teaches herself a new way to walk to avoid the “invisible beings” that flit around her (6). She remembers a past sickness. Deaths in the family. She makes new rules of movement and perception as an act of preservation. And suddenly she sees The Purple Cat.
13. Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973), 4/5 (Good): he elderly dwell underground in large domed cities. It’s a commercial and media-inundated world — tiny machines grant “feeling” as you watch commercials. Professor Fleitman, who “could not rationalize having an orgasm over a cigarette advertisement,” presents a new idea to galvanize the elderly to Entertainment Committee. Rather than a feelie or a movie he wants to put on a circus.
14. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966), 4/5 (Good): Stanisław Ivanovich spends his days submerged in lakes and rivers tagging septopods, a new octopus-like species discovered on Earth. His daughter, Marsha, assists from above. When he emerges from a lake, Marsha is deep in conversation with Leonid Andreevich Gorbovsky, an astroarchaeologist implied to be on leave from an expedition. The two scientists–IIvanovich, with his eyes on earthly mystery, and Gorbovsky, untangling the traces of potential intelligences across the cosmos–and Marsha engage in a series of discussions about the nature of the universe.
15. John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): Somewhere on the Venusian surface the Valley of Dur, with its amalgamation of gasses, traps unsuspecting denizens who wander into its depths. In the city of Takon, Venusians, six-limbed creatures with silvery hair, ogle the strange beasts extricated and caged and exhibited from the Valley. The child, transfixed by the man’s noises and scrawls, pushes his stylus and pad under the bars. And Morgan Gratz, stranded astronaut and self-confessed murderer, draws for the child the respective locations of their planets.
16. Katherine MacLean’s “Contagion” (1950), 3.5/5 (Good) is a contact with an alien planet tale that’s legitimately odd. A hunting party looking for specimens of alien life in order to dissect, sets off from the spaceship Explorer across an alien planet called Minos. Reasonably, the crew is obsessed with a minute medical analysis of flora and fauna. The hunting party encounters a majestically shaped human who spins a crazy tale of adaptation and disease.
17. Cherry Wilder’s “The Ark of James Carlyle” (1974), 3.5/5 (Good): Carlyle spends his tour of duty in a hut with a wood platform on small landmass surrounded by an “oily purple sea” on an alien planet. A crisis hits — and he suddenly learns the reason for the singular trees that grow in the center of each island.
18. E. C. Tubb’s“Without Bugles” (1952), 3.5/5 (Good): A naive journalist struggles to confront her heroic idealism, regurgitated through the media, in her attempt to save the Mars colony afflicted with a futuristic case of the black lung.
19. Frank K. Kelly’s “Famine on Mars” (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): President Herbert Hoover infamously proclaimed on the eve of the Great Depression that “given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” “Famine on Mars,” published five years into the Great Depression, evokes similar paradigmatic shifts between propagandistic proclamation and harsh reality. Kelly spins a nightmare account of a famine on Mars and a plan to save the starving legions.
20. Gerald Kersh’s “Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953), 3.5/5 (Good): Kersh imagines a literary version of himself returning to New York City from WWII interacting with a fantastical manifestation of a Wound Man on board the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary. Corporal Cuckoo, the “Wound Man” in question, regals the narrator (Kersh) with the history of his scarred and mutilated form that mysteriously heals from every injury.
Reading Initiatives
I have continued, resurrected, and created new science fiction short story reading series over the course of the year. Most of the stories I’ve picked for the series are available in some fashion online via links to Internet Archive in each review. I’ve included installments from 2024 in each series below. Feel free to read along with me! And thanks for all the great conversation.
Galaxy Science Fiction Read-through (started 2025)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1950)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (November 1950)
Organized Labor and Unions in Science Fiction (started in 2024)
- Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964)
- Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979)
The First Three Published Short Fictions by Female Authors (continued from 2021)
Translated Short Stories in Translation (with Rachel S. Cordasco) (started in 2024)
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021)
The Media Landscape of the Future (started in 2022)
- George H. Smith’s “In the Imagicon” (1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984)
- Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973)
The Search for the Depressed Astronaut (continued from 2020)
- Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959)
- James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Without Bugles” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Home is the Hero” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Pistol Point” (1953)
- John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934)
Generation Ship Short Stories (continued from 2019)
Exploration Logs (continued from 2022)
- Exploration Log 7: Interview with Jordan S. Carroll, author of Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2024)
- Exploration Log 8: Pat M. Kuras and Rob Schmieder’s “When It Changed: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Science Fiction Fandom” (1980)
- Exploration Log 9: Three More Interviews with Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
- Exploration Log 10: Interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr., author of Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025)
- Exploration Log 11: Interview with Chukwunonso Ezeiyoke, author of Nigerian Speculative Fiction: The Evolution (2025)
My Top 4 History Reads of 2025
A large portion of my history reading this year pushed my general interest in labor history and leftist politics backwards into the 19th century. Unusual for me I know! Often I write about what I can write about not what I plan on writing about. A brief caveat worth repeating: I’m a PhD-wielding historian and have a high tolerance for academic texts. That said, I’d classify everything in my list as on the approachable side of things if you know the broad strokes of American history.
1. Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp’s Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories (2010): This filled a complete hole in my knowledge. While I had encountered history-centric militant abolitionist texts written by black authors, I did not know how they fitted into the larger historiographic project of the era. As my PhD looked at universal histories in the medieval period, I’m a sucker for all kinds of histories of historiography! This is a good one.
2. Deborah Beckel’s Radical Reform: Interracial Politics in Post-Emancipation North Carolina (2011): I read this one for my research project on a black utopian author. Beckel’s brilliant monograph looks at the race and politics in North Carolina after the end of Reconstruction–a “fusion” government of Republicans and Populists managed to take power (temporarily) from the white supremacist Democratic status quo in the 1890s. Depressing. Fascinating. I’m waiting for an alt-history that uses the 1898 election in North Carolina as a jonbar hinge — hah!
3. Edward K. Spann’s Brotherly Tomorrows: Movements for A Cooperative Society in America (1989): While an older monograph, Spann’s work is a fantastic survey of the fascinating range of radical social idealism-inspired communities that proliferated across America. I’m obsessed by left-wing ideologies that permeate the rural world and movements for working-class utopianism. Spann will inspire you to track down newer monographs on the social movements he surveys.
4. Jordan S. Carroll’s Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2025): Rightly won the Hugo! I interviewed Carroll in January. In the book, he examines the ways the alt-right uses classic science fiction imagery and authors to mainstream fascism and advocate for the overthrow of the state. This is a short monograph designed to encourage thought. Highly recommended.
Goals for 2026
1. Keep reading and writing.
2. Read more reviews by other bloggers.
3. Cover more SF in translation.
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #ArkadyAndBorisStrugatsky #bookReview #bookReviews #books #CherryWilder #ECTubb #EdgarPangborn #fiction #FrankKKelly #fritzLeiber #GeorgeHSmith #GeraldKersh #IzumiSuzuki #JackDann #JackWilliamson #JamesTiptreeJr #JoeHaldeman #JohnWyndham #KatherineMacLean #KimStanleyRobinson #OctaviaEButler #philipKDick #RichardMatheson #sciFi #scienceFiction #TheodoreSturgeon #ZoeFairbairns
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My 2025 in Review (Best Science Fiction Novels and Short Fiction, Reading Initiatives, and Bonus Categories)
- Graphic created by my father
Here’s to happy reading in 2026! I hope you had a successful reading year. Whether you are a lurker, occasional visitor, a regular commenter, a follower on Bluesky or Mastodon, thank you for your continued support. As I say year after year, It’s hard to express how important (and encouraging) the discussions that occur in the comments, social media, and via email are to me. I’m so thankful for the lovely and supportive community of readers, writers, and discussion partners that stop by.
What were your favorite vintage SF reads–published pre-1985–of 2025? Let me know in the comments.
Throughout the later part of the year I’ve dropped hints about a research project. Perceptive readers might have parsed together the contours of the research: late 19th/early 20th century, utopian, African American, the American South, radical politics… It’s taking longer than expected. I’ve read a good ten monographs, five dissertations, countless articles. I’ve written twenty pages. I hoped to have it posted by early in this year. Alas. It’s coming together–slowly. Stay tuned.
Without further ado, here are my favorite novels (I only read a few) and short stories (I read a ton of those) I read in 2025 with bonus categories. I made sure to link my longer reviews where applicable if you want a deeper dive.
Check out my 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021 rundowns if you haven’t already. I have archived all my annual rundowns on my article index page if you wanted to peruse earlier years.
My Top 5 Science Fiction Novels of 2025
- Alan Gutierrez’s cover for the 1985 edition
1. Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Octavia E. Butler’s Clay’s Ark is the final published volume of her Patternist sequence (1976-1984). It is the third novel according to the internal chronology of the series. Clay’s Ark is, without doubt, the most horrifyingly bleak science fiction novel I have ever read. It’s stark. It’s sinister. It’s at turns deeply affective before descending into extreme violence and displaced morality. The moral conundrum that underpins the central problem, the spread of an extraterrestrial disease, unfurls with an unnerving alien logic. Butler’s characters are trapped by the demands of the alien microbes, scarred by the pervasive sense that their humanity is slipping away, and consumed by the fear of starting an epidemic. A true confrontation of the moment cannot lead to anything other than suicide or the first steps towards an apocalyptic transformation.
- Mark Weber’s cover for the 1st edition
2. Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge (1984), 4.5/5 (Very Good). Full review.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Icehenge, a fix-up from two previously published stories “To Leave a Mark” (1982) and “On the North Pole of Pluto” (1980), tells three interconnected tales that all connect to a mysterious monolith left on Pluto (the titular Icehenge). By design Icehenge instead follows the action after the action: men and women attempting to figure out their own place in a world characterizes by lifespans that stretch hundreds and hundreds of years. And its this brilliant interconnection between self-conception and the operations of history that Robinson succeeds and casts his spell. The story is well-told, polished, and filled with fascinating details (technological and sociological).
- Peter Jones’ cover for the 1978 UK edition
3. Joe Haldeman’s All My Sins Remembered (1977), 4/5 (Good). Full review.
The vast Confederación is comprised of radically distinct worlds ruled by the entire spectrum of political systems with both alien and non-alien inhabitants. There are few rules: don’t take advantage of indigenous populations and don’t wage wars on neighboring planets. At 22, the naive Otto McGavin, an Anglo-Buddhist, joins the Confederación as an agent to protect the rights of humans and non-humans. But there’s a twist. Under deep hypnosis a construct of Otto McGavin will be created for each mission. He’ll take on the identity–under a sheath of plasticine flesh–of whatever person he needs to be depending on the task. The story follows Otto on three missions over many years. The interlocking segments convey the deep trauma Otto must confront before he’s immersed in another persona and sent on another mission. His idealism clashes with the violence he must perpetuate. His sense of self conflicts with the violent actions of his “constructs.” The looming sense of dread and despair must finally have its reckoning.
- Uncredited cover for the 1983 edition
4. Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979), 3.75/5 (Good). Full review.
Zoë Fairbairns charts the struggles of the British women’s liberation movement in a dystopic near future. An anti-feminist fringe political party called FAMILY comes to power, simultaneously proclaiming family values while systematically dismantling the welfare state. Benefits effectively eviscerates governmental doublespeak and champions the need to organize and educate in order to fight against patriarchal forces and messianic movements that promise to solve all our ills.
- Colin Hay’s cover for the 1976 edition
5. Edgar Pangborn’s The Company of Glory (1975), 3.5/5 (Good). Full review.
Edgar Pangborn is an unsung SF hero in my book. At his best, he’s a deeply humanistic writer interested in moments of effective metafictional play on the nature of narrative. The Company of Glory (serialized 1974, 1975) is the third novel in the Tales of Darkening World sequence. It forms a prequel to Pangborn’s masterpiece Davy (1964). As with Davy, The Company of Glory attempts to create multiple interlocking layers of narrative, stories within the stories, quotations from various diaries, and the interjections of the overarching narrator of the entire collection of texts who remains anonymous until the final pages. Unfortunately, The Company of Glory is a deeply flawed novel. Recommended only for Pangborn’s fans. Read Davy first if you’re new to his work.
My Top 20 Science Fiction Short Stories Reads of 2025 (click titles for my full review)
1. Philip K. Dick’s “Foster, You’re Dead” (1955), 5/5 (Masterpiece): I featured on a podcast about this story. When the episode is posted, I’ll make sure to link it. Mike Foster spends his school days practicing survival skills–digging, making knives, weaving baskets–in case of a nuclear attack. The kids snicker at him as he walks past. They don’t own a fallout shelter at home. His father refuses to pay into the NATS (National Security fund). If a bomb hit, Mike wouldn’t even be granted access to the school shelter. He’s possessed by a deep, perpetual, encompassing trauma.
2. Fritz Leiber’s “Coming Attraction” (1950), 5/5 (Masterpiece): A rare reread! Leiber imagines an America transformed after a limited nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The physical landscape mirrors the psychological scars of New York’s inhabitants. Perverse new forms of TV entertainment, in particular male wrestlers pitted against masked women, transfix all audiences.
3. Jack Dann’s “A Quiet Revolution for Death” (1978), 5/5 (Masterpiece): Roger and his family head out of the city for a picnic in a vast cemetery. Roger dreams that he is an angel of God guiding mankind through the realm. Visiting the cemetery is an act of devotion. While other kids plug themselves into feelies, Bennie is a fanatic disciple of his father’s pseudo-philosophy of embracing the macabre. Sandra, Roger’s wife, plays along. The kids see through her dislike of the cemetery and the burial rituals happening around them.
4. Izumi Suzuki’s“Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021), 4.5/5 (Very Good): A nameless young female main character recounts her interactions her one-time boyfriend. HE wants to reconnect with his mother, who abandoned his family. HE joins a staged show called The Psychoanalysis Room in an attempt to convince his mother to take “pity and come and find” him. She also has a dysfunctional family. Her mother, a TV executive, struggles/refuses to connect to her daughter. Like some manifestation of the modern hikikomori, they often refuse to communicate with others, eat as a group or eat at all for days on end, or leave their dwellings for the sun and vista of the aboveground. Both find solace and escape in the vacuities and artifice of television.
5. Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Six astronauts return to earth from a voyage to Mars. But they are not treated as heroes. Instead people flee. I found “Explorers We” a well-crafted existential terror. The story plays with narrative expectation and hints at a cosmic enormity that will, at least in this iteration, remain unknown.
6. James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An explorer who feels no pain is hurled mercilessly from planet to plant where is he tortured, experimented upon, and broken again, and again, and again. His sense of time dissipates. Space becomes a hellscape that he cannot escape. And each time he’s lifted back to his scout ship where a mechanical boditech stitches him back together.
7. Jack Dann’s “The Dybbuk Dolls” (1975), 4.5/5 (Very Good): Chaim Lewis works at a sex shop down below in the Undercity, one of many identical spheres, one mile in diameter, buried one thousand feet below the ground. As Chaim finishes up his shift in the dingy shop, a group of visitors ask about his hook-ins and 21st century pornos. Eventually one of them asks him about his alien sex doll collection. And when he returns to the room with the dolls, he discovers they’ve all been unpacked and they imprint themselves on his mind! Cue a descent into the bizarre…
8. Jack Williamson’s “Guinevere for Everybody” (1955), 4.5/5 (Very Good): An artificially created Guinevere stands “chained” in a “vending machine” tempting sleepy passengers in an airport with her plaintive calls. I did not know Williamson had this type of vision in him! The surprise of the year!
9. George H. Smith’s “The Last Days of L. A.” (1959), 4/5 (Good): A nameless character (“you”) wakes from a recurring dream: “the dream that has haunted the whole world since that day in 1945.” A dream of apocalyptic annihilation, in infinite variations. A narrative repetition takes form: Nuclear nightmare. The waking moment. The aimless quest for understanding. Communing with other lost souls. The retreat to the bottle. Fragments of the news suggest a world unraveling.
10. Theodore Sturgeon’s “The Stars Are the Styx” (1950), 4/5 (Good): The premise: Humans created Curbstone, an artificial satellite around Earth, to facilitate the ultimate scientific achievement–near instantaneous transportation across the galaxy. How? Individual spaceships, with a solitary crew person or couple, will be hurled out from Curbstone at various points across the space time continuum. The story revolves around the aging (and rotund) Senior Release Officer on Curbstone, who certifies, counsels, and guides the strange collection of humans who gather at the station willing to take such a risk.
11. Richard Matheson’s “Dance of the Dead” (1955), 4/5 (Good): In a drug and alcohol drenched near-future, a group of young adults take a break-neck road drip and stray from the path set out by parents and small town community. Manifesting the SPEED of the car, Matheson’s prose resonates with pulse and hum, snippets of song and signage, slang and youthful lust. It’s frantic. It’s zappy. It’s vibrant. Recommended for fans of the more linguistically experimental (and bleak) of 50s visions.
12. Jack Dann’s “Rags” (1973), 4/5 (Good): Joanna wanders the streets without seeing a single person. Everything she sees—from garbage cans to parked cars–seem in be various states of decay (“dented, rusted, and discolored”). She teaches herself a new way to walk to avoid the “invisible beings” that flit around her (6). She remembers a past sickness. Deaths in the family. She makes new rules of movement and perception as an act of preservation. And suddenly she sees The Purple Cat.
13. Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973), 4/5 (Good): he elderly dwell underground in large domed cities. It’s a commercial and media-inundated world — tiny machines grant “feeling” as you watch commercials. Professor Fleitman, who “could not rationalize having an orgasm over a cigarette advertisement,” presents a new idea to galvanize the elderly to Entertainment Committee. Rather than a feelie or a movie he wants to put on a circus.
14. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966), 4/5 (Good): Stanisław Ivanovich spends his days submerged in lakes and rivers tagging septopods, a new octopus-like species discovered on Earth. His daughter, Marsha, assists from above. When he emerges from a lake, Marsha is deep in conversation with Leonid Andreevich Gorbovsky, an astroarchaeologist implied to be on leave from an expedition. The two scientists–IIvanovich, with his eyes on earthly mystery, and Gorbovsky, untangling the traces of potential intelligences across the cosmos–and Marsha engage in a series of discussions about the nature of the universe.
15. John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): Somewhere on the Venusian surface the Valley of Dur, with its amalgamation of gasses, traps unsuspecting denizens who wander into its depths. In the city of Takon, Venusians, six-limbed creatures with silvery hair, ogle the strange beasts extricated and caged and exhibited from the Valley. The child, transfixed by the man’s noises and scrawls, pushes his stylus and pad under the bars. And Morgan Gratz, stranded astronaut and self-confessed murderer, draws for the child the respective locations of their planets.
16. Katherine MacLean’s “Contagion” (1950), 3.5/5 (Good) is a contact with an alien planet tale that’s legitimately odd. A hunting party looking for specimens of alien life in order to dissect, sets off from the spaceship Explorer across an alien planet called Minos. Reasonably, the crew is obsessed with a minute medical analysis of flora and fauna. The hunting party encounters a majestically shaped human who spins a crazy tale of adaptation and disease.
17. Cherry Wilder’s “The Ark of James Carlyle” (1974), 3.5/5 (Good): Carlyle spends his tour of duty in a hut with a wood platform on small landmass surrounded by an “oily purple sea” on an alien planet. A crisis hits — and he suddenly learns the reason for the singular trees that grow in the center of each island.
18. E. C. Tubb’s“Without Bugles” (1952), 3.5/5 (Good): A naive journalist struggles to confront her heroic idealism, regurgitated through the media, in her attempt to save the Mars colony afflicted with a futuristic case of the black lung.
19. Frank K. Kelly’s “Famine on Mars” (1934), 3.5/5 (Good): President Herbert Hoover infamously proclaimed on the eve of the Great Depression that “given the chance to go forward with the policies of the last eight years, we shall soon with the help of God, be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” “Famine on Mars,” published five years into the Great Depression, evokes similar paradigmatic shifts between propagandistic proclamation and harsh reality. Kelly spins a nightmare account of a famine on Mars and a plan to save the starving legions.
20. Gerald Kersh’s “Whatever Happened to Corporal Cuckoo?” (1953), 3.5/5 (Good): Kersh imagines a literary version of himself returning to New York City from WWII interacting with a fantastical manifestation of a Wound Man on board the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary. Corporal Cuckoo, the “Wound Man” in question, regals the narrator (Kersh) with the history of his scarred and mutilated form that mysteriously heals from every injury.
Reading Initiatives
I have continued, resurrected, and created new science fiction short story reading series over the course of the year. Most of the stories I’ve picked for the series are available in some fashion online via links to Internet Archive in each review. I’ve included installments from 2024 in each series below. Feel free to read along with me! And thanks for all the great conversation.
Galaxy Science Fiction Read-through (started 2025)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (October 1950)
- Galaxy Science Fiction, ed. H. L. Gold (November 1950)
Organized Labor and Unions in Science Fiction (started in 2024)
- Mack Reynolds’ The Earth War (1964)
- Zoë Fairbairns’ Benefits (1979)
The First Three Published Short Fictions by Female Authors (continued from 2021)
Translated Short Stories in Translation (with Rachel S. Cordasco) (started in 2024)
- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984, trans. by Daniel Joseph 2021)
The Media Landscape of the Future (started in 2022)
- George H. Smith’s “In the Imagicon” (1966)
- Izumi Suzuki’s “Terminal Boredom” (1984)
- Jack Dann’s “Fragmentary Blue” (variant title: “There are no Bannisters”) (1973)
The Search for the Depressed Astronaut (continued from 2020)
- Philip K. Dick’s “Explorers We” (1959)
- James Tiptree, Jr.’s “Painwise” (1972)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Without Bugles” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Home is the Hero” (1952)
- E. C. Tubb’s “Pistol Point” (1953)
- John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934)
Generation Ship Short Stories (continued from 2019)
Exploration Logs (continued from 2022)
- Exploration Log 7: Interview with Jordan S. Carroll, author of Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2024)
- Exploration Log 8: Pat M. Kuras and Rob Schmieder’s “When It Changed: Lesbians, Gay Men, and Science Fiction Fandom” (1980)
- Exploration Log 9: Three More Interviews with Clifford D. Simak (1904-1988)
- Exploration Log 10: Interview with Jaroslav Olša, Jr., author of Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles: Miloslav (Miles) J. Breuer: Czech-American Writer and the Birth of Science Fiction (2025)
- Exploration Log 11: Interview with Chukwunonso Ezeiyoke, author of Nigerian Speculative Fiction: The Evolution (2025)
My Top 4 History Reads of 2025
A large portion of my history reading this year pushed my general interest in labor history and leftist politics backwards into the 19th century. Unusual for me I know! Often I write about what I can write about not what I plan on writing about. A brief caveat worth repeating: I’m a PhD-wielding historian and have a high tolerance for academic texts. That said, I’d classify everything in my list as on the approachable side of things if you know the broad strokes of American history.
1. Laurie F. Maffly-Kipp’s Setting Down the Sacred Past: African-American Race Histories (2010): This filled a complete hole in my knowledge. While I had encountered history-centric militant abolitionist texts written by black authors, I did not know how they fitted into the larger historiographic project of the era. As my PhD looked at universal histories in the medieval period, I’m a sucker for all kinds of histories of historiography! This is a good one.
2. Deborah Beckel’s Radical Reform: Interracial Politics in Post-Emancipation North Carolina (2011): I read this one for my research project on a black utopian author. Beckel’s brilliant monograph looks at the race and politics in North Carolina after the end of Reconstruction–a “fusion” government of Republicans and Populists managed to take power (temporarily) from the white supremacist Democratic status quo in the 1890s. Depressing. Fascinating. I’m waiting for an alt-history that uses the 1898 election in North Carolina as a jonbar hinge — hah!
3. Edward K. Spann’s Brotherly Tomorrows: Movements for A Cooperative Society in America (1989): While an older monograph, Spann’s work is a fantastic survey of the fascinating range of radical social idealism-inspired communities that proliferated across America. I’m obsessed by left-wing ideologies that permeate the rural world and movements for working-class utopianism. Spann will inspire you to track down newer monographs on the social movements he surveys.
4. Jordan S. Carroll’s Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right (2025): Rightly won the Hugo! I interviewed Carroll in January. In the book, he examines the ways the alt-right uses classic science fiction imagery and authors to mainstream fascism and advocate for the overthrow of the state. This is a short monograph designed to encourage thought. Highly recommended.
Goals for 2026
1. Keep reading and writing.
2. Read more reviews by other bloggers.
3. Cover more SF in translation.
For cover art posts consult the INDEX
For book reviews consult the INDEX
For TV and film reviews consult the INDEX
#1950s #1960s #1970s #ArkadyAndBorisStrugatsky #bookReview #bookReviews #books #CherryWilder #ECTubb #EdgarPangborn #fiction #FrankKKelly #fritzLeiber #GeorgeHSmith #GeraldKersh #IzumiSuzuki #JackDann #JackWilliamson #JamesTiptreeJr #JoeHaldeman #JohnWyndham #KatherineMacLean #KimStanleyRobinson #OctaviaEButler #philipKDick #RichardMatheson #sciFi #scienceFiction #TheodoreSturgeon #ZoeFairbairns -
Apple TV – podsumowanie premier #149
Zapraszam do 149. wydania przeglądu nowości i zapowiedzi platformy Apple TV.
Świąteczna reklama Apple
Apple opublikowało swoją coroczną reklamę świąteczną.
Jest także zapis zza kulis jej kręcenia.
Apple TV za 16,99 zł/mies. przez 6 miesięcy!
Trwa największa promocja Apple na subskrypcję platformy Apple TV od dłuższego czasu. Ponad 50% taniej przez pierwsze pół roku, a po 6 miesiącach standardowo 34,99 zł/mies. Oferta obowiązuje do 1 grudnia 2025.
To rzadka okazja na tańszy dostęp do Apple TV, który normalnie można uzyskać tylko w trzech przypadkach:
- 7-dniowy darmowy okres próbny,
- 90 dni darmowo przy zakupie urządzenia Apple,
- 1-miesięczny darmowy okres w ramach Apple One.
Oferta dostępna dla nowych i uprawnionych klientów, a szczegóły znajdziecie tutaj.
Apple zdobyło cztery nominacje do 68. gali Grammy 2026
Wyróżnienia dotyczą dwóch głośnych produkcji Apple TV: filmu „F1: The Movie” oraz serialu „Severance”.
Produkcje Apple otrzymały nominacje w czterech różnych kategoriach:
- Best Dance Pop Recording – „Just Keep Watching” z „F1: The Movie”
- Best Country Solo Performance – „Bad As I Used To Be” z „F1: The Movie”
- Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media – „F1: The Album”
- Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media – ścieżka dźwiękowa z „Severance: Season 2” skomponowana przez Theodore’a Shapiro
Gala odbędzie się 1 lutego 2026 roku w Crypto.com Arena w Los Angeles, z transmisją na CBS i w streamingu na Paramount+. Nominacje podkreślają rosnącą pozycję Apple w branży muzycznej i filmowej, zwłaszcza dzięki rosnącym inwestycjom w oryginalne produkcje Apple TV+.
Apple TV zdobyło 23 nominacje do 4. edycji Children’s & Family Emmy Awards! →
Najwięcej wyróżnień, aż 7, otrzymał serial „Time Bandits”, mimo że został anulowany po pierwszym sezonie.
Lisa Kudrow została nominowana w kategorii Lead Performer in a Preschool, Children’s or Young Teen Program.
Inne nominowane produkcje Apple TV to:
- „Jane” – kategoria Preschool/Children’s Series
- „Eva the Owlet” – Short Form Animated Program
- „Wonder Pets: In the City” – liczne kategorie aktorskie i reżyserskie
- „Me”, „Goldie”, „Yo Gabba GabbaLand!”, „WondLa” – nominacje w kategoriach aktorskich, reżyserskich, muzycznych i projektowych
Gala odbędzie się w marcu 2026 roku. Nominacje podkreślają silną pozycję Apple TV w produkcjach dziecięcych i rodzinnych.
Kolejny serial Apple TV znika z harmonogramu premiery w ostatniej chwili →
Apple TV po raz kolejny wycofuje zapowiedzianą produkcję tuż przed premierą. Tym razem z ramówki zniknął francuskojęzyczny serial The Hunt, który miał trafić na platformę 3 grudnia. Tytuł został usunięty z aplikacji, a wszystkie materiały promocyjne, w tym zwiastun i notka prasowa, nagle zniknęły. Zwiastun, który wcześniej był dostępny m.in. na włoskim kanale Apple, został oznaczony jako „private”, a sam serial nie figuruje już w katalogu usługi.
Serial opowiada historię Francka (Benoît Magimel) i jego przyjaciół, którzy w trakcie polowania stają się ofiarami tajemniczej grupy myśliwych. Gdy jeden z nich zostaje postrzelony, rozpoczyna się dramatyczna walka o życie i ucieczka przed bezwzględnymi prześladowcami. Wkrótce bohaterowie odkrywają, że niebezpieczeństwo dopiero się zaczyna.
„The Hunt” dołącza do rosnącej listy francuskojęzycznych produkcji Apple TV, takich jak „Drops of God”, „Carême”, „La Maison” czy „Liaison”.
Kolejny serial Apple TV znika z harmonogramu premiery w ostatniej chwili
Aktualizacja w tej sprawie z dnia 25 i 27 listopada
Scenarzysta Cédric Anger ma być oskarżany o nieautoryzowane wykorzystanie powieści „La Traqué” z 1973 roku. Zarówno Apple, jak i wytwórnia Gaumont rozważają kroki prawne. To sugeruje, że serial prawdopodobnie już nie wróci na platformę.
Producent Gaumont potwierdził zawieszenie emisji, deklarując „dokładne sprawdzenie wszystkich kwestii związanych z własnością intelektualną”.
„Pluribus” wystartował 7 listopada 2025 roku (pierwsze dwa odcinki), a kolejne epizody mają być emitowane co tydzień w piątek do 26 grudnia. Serial ustanowił nowy rekord platformy Apple TV – został najbardziej udanym startem serialu dramatycznego w historii serwisu, bijąc wynik sezonu 2. serialu „Severance”. Osiągnął też szerokie zasięgi globalne – największą popularność wykazywał w USA, Wielkiej Brytanii, Kanadzie, Brazylii, Australii, Niemczech, Meksyku, Indiach i Francji.
Apple wykorzystuje nietypową strategię promocyjną: dla serialowej postaci Carol Sturka (granej przez Rhea Seehorn) – autorki fikcyjnej powieści Bloodsong of Wycaro – udostępniono darmowy fragment książki w aplikacji Apple Books. Fragment książki jest powiązany z pierwszymi odcinkami serialu i pełni rolę rozszerzenia świata narracji na Reddit, w której Rhea Seehorn wystąpiła w roli Carol Sturka i odpowiadała na pytania fanów w tej konwencji.
Twórcą jest Vince Gilligan znany z „Breaking Bad” i „Better Call Saul”. Główna bohaterka Carol Sturka to irytująca, lecz charyzmatyczna autorka romansów („romantasy”), która w dramatyczny sposób staje się kluczową postacią w świecie, w którym większość ludzkości została dotknięta obcym wirusem – ona pozostaje odporna. Sezon 1. liczy dziewięć odcinków i powstał na zamówienie dwóch sezonów.
Kampania promocyjna nie ogranicza się do samego serialu – integruje rzeczywisty kanał książkowy, interakcję z fanami i marketing w metafikcyjnym stylu, co buduje zaangażowanie i rozszerza świat serialu. Rekordowy start potwierdza, że Apple TV coraz bardziej konkuruje z największym streamerami w segmencie oryginalnych seriali i potrafi przyciągnąć globalną widownię. Sama tematyka oraz reżyseria Gilligana zapowiadają ambitny serial, który może przypieczętować pozycję Apple TV jako producenta wysokobudżetowych hitów.
Premiery
„The Family Plan 2” – hit Apple TV powraca w świątecznej premierze →
„The Family Plan 2” jest już dostępny na Apple TV.
W filmie powracają Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, Zoe Colletti i Van Crosby, a do obsady dołącza Kit Harington. Akcja rozgrywa się podczas świątecznych wakacji, kiedy Dan (Wahlberg) i jego rodzina muszą stawić czoła tajemniczemu gościowi z przeszłości, prowadzącym do serii zabawnych pościgów, napadów i świątecznych przygód w Europie.
Pierwszą część, „The Family Plan”, można oglądać już teraz na Apple TV.
„Come See Me in the Good Light” →
Na Apple TV dostępny jest nowy, poruszający dokument „Come See Me in the Good Light”. Film śledzi poetę Andrea Gibson, zdiagnozowanego z nieuleczalnym rakiem, który postanawia w pełni przeżyć pozostały czas życia wraz ze swoją partnerką Megan Falley. Produkcja pokazuje szczerość, ciemny humor i intymne momenty, jak wizyty lekarskie czy chemioterapia.
Po światowej premierze na festiwalu film był powszechnie chwalony jako „pięknie wykonany” i „wyjątkowy dokument”, który oferuje „wzruszające spojrzenie na kruchość ludzkiego życia”. Film zdobył również nagrodę publiczności na Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Filmowym w Boulder, Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Filmowym w Cleveland i Festiwalu Filmów Dokumentalnych Full Frame.
„Come See Me in the Good Light” zadebiutuje globalnie na Apple TV jesienią tego roku. Jest to przejmująca i niespodziewanie zabawna historia miłosna o poetkach Andrei Gibson i Megan Falley, które z radością, dowcipem i niezachwianym partnerstwem stawiają czoła nieuleczalnej diagnozie raka. Poprzez śmiech i niezachwianą miłość przekształcają ból w cel, a śmiertelność we wzruszającą celebrację odporności.
„Come See Me in the Good Light” wyreżyserował White („Pamela, A Love Story”, „The Keepers”, „Visible: Out on Television”), który jest także producentem wraz z Jessicą Hargrave („Pamela, A Love Story”, „The Keepers”, „Visible: Out on Television”), Tig Notaro („The Morning Show”, „Star Trek”, „Am I OK?”) i Stef Willen (»Em«, „Have Tig at Your Party”).
Film zawiera oryginalną piosenkę w wykonaniu zdobywczyni nagrody Grammy i nominowanej do nagrody Emmy Sary Bareilles oraz zdobywczyni nagrody Grammy, zdobywczyni nagrody Emmy i nominowanej do Oscara Brandi Carlile, napisaną przez Andreę Gibson, Bareilles i Brandi Carlile.
Na Apple TV zadebiutował ostatni sezon trylogii animowanej „WondLa”.
Serial powstaje w Skydance Animation i oparty jest na bestsellerowej serii książek Tony’ego DiTerlizzi „The Search for WondLa”. Showrunnerem i producentem wykonawczym jest Bobs Gannaway.
Finałowa odsłona składa się z 6 ekscytujących półgodzinnych odcinków i przedstawia gwiazdorską obsadę głosową, m.in.: Jeanine Mason, Brad Garrett, Gary Anthony Williams, Alan Tudyk, John Ratzenberger, Shohreh Aghdashloo i Maz Jobrani. Sezon jest współprodukowany przez DiTerlizzi, Gannaway, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy’ego Bella, Julie Kane-Ritsch oraz zespół Skydance Animation.
2. sezon komedii „Palm Royale” jest już dostępny!
W obsadzie ponownie wystąpiły gwiazdy: Kristen Wiig, Laurę Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky’ego Martina, Josha Lucasa, Kaię Gerber i legendarną Carol Burnett.
Pierwszy sezon serialu, który zadebiutował wiosną 2024 roku, mimo mieszanych recenzji krytyków zdobył wierną publiczność i stał się niespodziewanym hitem platformy.
Nowy sezon skupi się na losach Maxine Dellacorte (Wiig), która po skandalu zostaje wykluczona z towarzystwa. Aby odzyskać pozycję w świecie Palm Beach, będzie musiała udowodnić, że potrafi nie tylko przetrwać, ale i rządzić w świecie pełnym sekretów, intryg i kłamstw.
„Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” →
„Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” – nowy pięcioodcinkowy serial przyrodniczy od BBC i Apple TV zadebiutował już na platformie.
„Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” to nowa odsłona nagradzanego serialu przyrodniczego, produkowana przez BBC Studios Natural History Unit („Planet Earth”), z udziałem producentów wykonawczych Jona Favreau i Mike’a Guntona. Narratorem jest laureat Złotego Globu i Nagrody Oliviera, Tom Hiddleston („Earthsounds”). Muzykę skomponowali Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman i Kara Talve z Bleeding Fingers Music.
Serial zabiera widzów w epokę po wymarciu dinozaurów, kiedy lodowce zdominowały świat, a walka o przetrwanie stała się niezwykle zacięta. To czas pojawienia się nowych gigantów – charakterystycznej megafauny.
Polecam nadrobić poprzednie sezony.
Zapowiedzi
5 grudnia – „The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” – nowy świąteczny hit Apple TV →
Fraggles powracają w nowym świątecznym specjalnym odcinku! „The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” zadebiutuje globalnie 5 grudnia na Apple TV.
Gobo, Red, Wembley, Mokey i Boober czekają na pierwszy śnieg i tradycyjne świętowanie, jednak gdy spada tylko jedna płatka śniegu, a Gobo nie może napisać corocznej piosenki, magia świąt staje pod znakiem zapytania. Bohater wyrusza więc do świata ludzi, by odnaleźć muzyczną inspirację, a w zamku Gorgów pojawia się nowe dziecko w rodzinie. Fraggles odkrywają, że wyjątkowe chwile nie muszą być idealne – wystarczy, że są szczere i niepowtarzalne.
Specjalny odcinek został wyprodukowany przez The Jim Henson Company, twórców nagradzanego serialu „Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock”. Gościnnie wystąpi Lele Pons, która zaśpiewa duet z Gobo w kultowym utworze „Our Melody” oraz dwóch nowych piosenkach świątecznych.
Produkcja dołącza do szerokiej oferty Apple TV+ dla rodzin i dzieci, w tym do hitów takich jak „Snoopy Presents”, „Lovely Little Farm” czy „The Velveteen Rabbit”.
12 grudnia – „F1: The Movie” – premiera na Apple TV →
Film „F1: The Movie” trafi na Apple TV w piątek, 12 grudnia 2025 r. Reżyserem produkcji jest Joseph Kosinski, a producentami Jerry Bruckheimer i Lewis Hamilton. W głównej roli występuje Brad Pitt jako doświadczony kierowca Formuły 1, który próbuje powrócić na szczyt.
Film okazał się ogromnym sukcesem – zarobił 629 milionów dolarów, stając się najbardziej dochodowym filmem sportowym roku i rekordowym tytułem Apple Original Films. Po premierze kinowej 27 czerwca produkcja powróciła na duży ekran w sierpniu i trafiła do sprzedaży cyfrowej.
Więcej na jego temat, szeroko, pisałem w sierpniowym wydaniu iMagazine. Polecam zapoznać się z artykułem!
13-14 grudnia – darmowy pokaz „A Charlie Brown Christmas” →
Apple TV szykuje kolejny, darmowy pokaz specjalnego, świątecznego wydania przygód Fistaszków – „A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”.
Consider it Friendsgiving.#ACharlieBrownThanksgiving is free to stream on Apple TV this weekend. Available anytime with a subscription. pic.twitter.com/L3SfWFdB50
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) November 13, 2025
Nie trzeba mieć subskrypcji – wystarczy konto Apple, aby zalogować się w aplikacji Apple TV. Ten klasyczny, 25-minutowy film animowany z 1973 roku opowiada, jak Peppermint Patty zaprasza wszystkich do domu Charlie’ego Browna na Święto Dziękczynienia, a Snoopy przygotowuje własną wersję świątecznego posiłku.
Apple posiada wyłączną licencję na Peanuts do 2030 roku.
19 grudnia – „Born to be Wild” →
Apple TV zapowiedziało premierę nowego serialu przyrodniczego „Born to be Wild”, który będzie narracyjnie prowadzony przez Hugh Bonneville. Premiera odbędzie się 19 grudnia 2025.
Serial składa się z sześciu odcinków i opowiada o losach sześciu młodych zwierząt zagrożonych wyginięciem – od słoniąt, gepardów, lemurów, niedźwiadków, rysi iberyjskich po afrykańskie pingwiny – które dzięki programom ochrony przyrody i pracy ludzi mają szansę wrócić do życia w naturalnym środowisku. Produkcja ukazuje zarówno wyzwania, jak i triumfy w procesie wychowania i reintrodukcji zwierząt, a także silne więzi między nimi a ludźmi zajmującymi się ich ratowaniem.
Serial jest koprodukcją Tailfeather Productions i Offspring Films, a producentami wykonawczymi są Lucy van Beek, Alex Williamson i Isla Robertson.
14 stycznia – sezon 2. „Hijack” →
„Hijack” miał premierę swojego pierwszego sezonu w 2023 roku i natychmiast stał się jednym z najlepszych thrillerów Apple TV. Serial z Idrisem Elbą w roli głównej powróci z 2. sezonem 14 stycznia i powie historię porwanego pociągu.
14 stycznia – 2. sezon „Palm Royale” →
Palm Royale wraca na Apple TV z 2. sezonem, ponad rok po premierze pierwszej odsłony. Serial z gwiazdorską obsadą — Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin, Laura Dern, Allison Janney i Carol Burnett — ponownie zabiera widzów do pełnego intryg świata Palm Beach w 1969 roku.
Nowe odcinki będą pojawiać się w każdą środę, aż do 14 stycznia 2026. Fabuła kontynuuje losy Maxine, która po skandalicznym załamaniu staje się wyrzutkiem towarzyskim. W drugim sezonie spróbuje odzyskać pozycję, wykorzystując spryt i determinację, a przy okazji odkryje sekrety, kłamstwa i nieoczekiwane zbrodnie skrywające prawdziwe oblicze Palm Beach.
Pierwszy sezon zdobył świetne recenzje, liczne nominacje do Emmy i jedną statuetkę Creative Arts Emmy, co buduje wysokie oczekiwania wobec kontynuacji.
21 stycznia – „Drops of God”: hit Apple TV wraca z 2. sezonem →
Jedna z najlepiej ocenianych serii Apple TV, Drops of God, wkrótce powróci z 2. sezonem. Serial oparty jest na bestsellerowej japońskiej mandze o tym samym tytule i osadzony jest w świecie gastronomii i wyrafinowanych win.
Pierwszy sezon zdobył 100% w Rotten Tomatoes i 93% ocen widzów. Serial jest wielojęzyczny (francuski, japoński, angielski), co może tłumaczyć, dlaczego nie zdobył od razu masowej popularności.
Premiera 2. sezonu: 21 stycznia na Apple TV, z cotygodniowymi odcinkami do 11 marca. Fabuła sezonu 1: po śmierci Alexandre’a Légere, jego córka Camille musi zmierzyć się z jego protegowanym, Issei, aby odziedziczyć niezwykłą kolekcję win.
Pierwszy sezon (8 odcinków) można oglądać już teraz na Apple TV.
28 stycznia – 3. sezon „Shrinking” →
Apple TV ogłosiło datę premiery trzeciego sezonu Emmy-nominowanej komedii „Shrinking”. Sezon startuje globalnie 28 stycznia 2026 z godzinnego odcinka, a kolejne nowe odcinki będą emitowane w środy aż do 8 kwietnia 2026.
Serial opowiada historię terapeuty w żałobie (Jason Segel), który zaczyna łamać zasady i mówić swoim pacjentom dokładnie, co myśli. Jego niekonwencjonalne podejście prowadzi do dramatycznych zmian w życiu klientów… i jego własnym.
W obsadzie ponownie zobaczymy Emmy-nominowanego Jasona Segela i wielokrotnie nagradzanego Harrisona Forda, a także Christę Miller, Jessicę Williams, Luke’a Tennie, Michaela Urie, Lukitę Maxwell i Teda McGinleya. Gościnne występy powracają od Goldsteina, Damona Wayansa Jr., Wendie Malick i Cobie Smulders, a dołącza Jeff Daniels i Michael J. Fox.
Shrinking jest produkowane przez Warner Bros. Television we współpracy z Apple TV+ i Doozer Productions Billa Lawrence’a. Twórcami są Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein i Jason Segel.
Pierwsze dwa sezony Shrinking są już dostępne globalnie na Apple TV.
20 lutego – premiera „The Last Thing He Told Me” →
Apple TV+ ogłosiło premierę drugiego sezonu thrillera „The Last Thing He Told Me” z Jennifer Garner w roli głównej. Nowe odcinki pojawią się 20 lutego 2026 roku.
Choć serial pierwotnie planowano jako miniserię, sukces pierwszego sezonu – opartego na bestsellerze „The Last Thing He Told Me” – sprawił, że powstanie kontynuacja inspirowana nową książką autorki Laury Dave, zatytułowaną „The First Time I Saw Him”, która ukaże się w styczniu 2026 r.
W obsadzie oprócz Garner zobaczymy ponownie Angourie Rice, Davida Morse’a i Nikolaja Coster-Waldau, a dołączą do nich Judy Greer i Rita Wilson.
Serial opowiada historię Hannah, która wraz z nastoletnią pasierbicą próbuje odkryć prawdę o tajemniczym zniknięciu jej męża.
27 lutego – 2. sezon „Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” →
„Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” wraca na Apple TV. Drugi sezon zadebiutuje 27 lutego, a kolejne odcinki będą publikowane co tydzień aż do 1 maja. Apple pokazało też pierwszy teaser.
Pierwszy sezon z 2023 roku zebrał świetne recenzje — chwalono połączenie historii rodzinnej, ludzkiego dramatu i widowiskowych scen z potworami, w tym Godzillą. Dzięki dynamicznemu wzrostowi Apple TV oraz sukcesom takich tytułów jak Severance czy Pluribus, kontynuacja Monarch powinna trafić do znacznie większej widowni.
Historia ponownie połączy losy bohaterów i złoczyńców na Wyspie Czaszki, a także w nowej nadmorskiej osadzie, gdzie z głębin wyłoni się kolejny mityczny Tytan. Stawka jest najwyższa — zagrożenie globalnym wydarzeniem Titanów i tajemnice przeszłości, które zaczynają wpływać na teraźniejszość.
Początek 2026 – 2. sezon „Dark Matter” →
Serial science fiction „Dark Matter” powróci z drugim sezonem na Apple TV. Po sukcesie pierwszej odsłony, opartej na bestsellerowej powieści Blake’a Croucha, twórcy zdecydowali się kontynuować historię – tym razem bez literackiego pierwowzoru.
Nowe odcinki mają pogłębić losy bohaterów walczących o przetrwanie w świecie wieloświatów. W obsadzie ponownie zobaczymy Joela Edgertona i Jennifer Connelly, a do ekipy dołączy Chris Diamantopoulos. Za scenariusz i reżyserię ponownie odpowiada Blake Crouch, co daje nadzieję na spójny klimat i wysoki poziom produkcji.
Zdjęcia do sezonu 2 zakończyły się w lipcu 2025 roku. Premiera planowana jest na początek 2026 roku – prawdopodobnie między lutym a majem.
Pierwszy sezon „Dark Matter” można obejrzeć na Apple TV.
Dalsza część 2026 roku – „The Unlikely Cook with Awkwafina” →
Apple TV zapowiedziało nowy kulinarny serial „The Unlikely Cook with Awkwafina”. Aktorka Awkwafina (Nora Lum) wyrusza w osobistą podróż po Stanach Zjednoczonych, by odkrywać współczesną kuchnię azjatycko-amerykańską i spróbować odtworzyć dziedzictwo rodzinnej restauracji Lum’s w Nowym Jorku, mimo że… nie potrafi gotować.
W ośmioodcinkowej serii Awkwafina uczy się od znanych szefów kuchni, restauratorów i swojej rodziny, próbując połączyć tradycję z nowoczesnym podejściem do kuchni azjatyckiej. Format przypomina popularną serię The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, w której bohater znajduje się poza swoją strefą komfortu — tutaj kulinarnie.
Premiera przewidziana jest w 2026 roku.
Apple TV zapowiedziało francuski thriller polityczny „La Décision”.
Siedmioodcinkowy serial opowie o śledztwie w sprawie zaginięcia ośmioletniej dziewczynki, będącej tajnym dzieckiem francuskiego prezydenta. W rolach głównych wystąpią Raphaël Personnaz i Diane Kruger, a reżyserią zajmie się Martin Bourboulon. Produkcję realizują Solab Films, White Lion Films i M Films.
Data premiery nie została jeszcze ogłoszona.
Jason Segel z „Shrinking” w nowym projekcie Apple TV pt. „Sponsor”
Apple nabyło globalne prawa do filmu „Sponsor”, psychologicznego thrillera z Jasonem Segelem (Freaks and Geeks, Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Reżyserią zajmuje się James Ponsoldt, który współpracował z Segelem przy serialu Shrinking. Obaj są także współtwórcami scenariusza i producentami wykonawczymi.
Fabuła filmu opowiada historię Petera (Segel), który po imprezie wsiada za kierownicę i spowoduje poważny wypadek. Staje przed wyborem: więzienie czy program rehabilitacyjny. Przekonany, że nie ma problemu z alkoholem, zaczyna uczestniczyć w spotkaniach grupy wsparcia i poznaje charyzmatycznego, enigmatycznego Jerry’ego – potencjalne rozwiązanie jego problemów.
Premiera filmu „Sponsor” nie została jeszcze podana – produkcja jest na wczesnym etapie, a pełny komunikat Apple znajdziecie tutaj.
Jason Momoa szykuje się do kolejnego dużego projektu dla Apple TV
Po „See” i tegorocznym „Chief of War”, aktor ma zagrać główną rolę w nowym serialu Nomad — donosi Deadline.
Nowa produkcja ma być brutalnym dramatem osadzonym w przestępczym półświatku nowozelandzkich gangów motocyklowych. Bohater, rozdarty między dwoma światami i dwiema rodzinami, będzie musiał zdecydować, kim naprawdę jest. Za projekt odpowiadają Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) oraz Chris Collins (John Wick 3, The Wire, The Man in the High Castle), który ma pełnić rolę showrunnera.
Mike Fleming Jr pisze w Deadline:
Apple TV rozwija serial Nomad z elementami wysokiego testosteronu na czele.Jason Momoa ma zagrać w dramacie współtworzonym przez Kurta Suttera i Chrisa Collinsa z Sons of Anarchy. W brutalnym podziemnym świecie nowozelandzkich motocyklistów, wojownik rozdarty między dwoma życiami, dwoma powołaniami i dwiema rodzinami musi zdecydować, która ścieżka definiuje jego prawdziwe przeznaczenie.Są oni autorami pilota, a showrunnerem będzie Collins, którego dorobek obejmuje John Wick Chapter 3, Sons of Anarchy, The Man in the High Castle i The Wire.
Serial jest na wczesnym etapie powstawania — scenariusz pilota dopiero powstaje, a oficjalna zapowiedź od Apple jeszcze nie padła. Premiera najpewniej za kilka lat, jednak połączenie Momoy i tak mocnego zespołu kreatywnego sugeruje, że Nomad będzie jedną z najgłośniejszych premier Apple TV.
Apple TV przygotowuje serial na podstawie podcastu „Hot Money: The New Narcos”
Po raz kolejny świat podcastingu i platform VOD wzajemnie się przenikają. Nadchodząca produkcja Apple TV, powstająca we współpracy z EDEN Productions i Financial Times, opowie o międzynarodowym kartelek kokainowym działającym jak korporacja, obejmującym morderstwa, pranie pieniędzy i polityczne powiązania od Dublina po Dubaj – donosi Deadline.
Oryginalny podcast, współtworzony przez Milesa Johnsona, miał 8 odcinków i ukazał się w 2023 roku. Johnson będzie również producentem wykonawczym serialu.
Podcast „Hot Money: The New Narcos” znajdziesz na YouTube i platformach podcastowych.
Premiera serialu nie została jeszcze ogłoszona.
Apple i F1 rozważają dalszą współpracę
Apple i F1 rozważają dalszą współpracę po ogłoszeniu pięcioletnich wyłącznych praw streamingowych Apple TV w USA. Liberty Media CEO, Derek Chang, w wywiadzie dla CNBC podkreślił, że Apple może wkrótce rozszerzyć swoje zaangażowanie na globalne prawa do transmisji.
Chang zwrócił uwagę, że technologia Apple pozwala na całodobowe doświadczenie dla fanów, nie ograniczając się do standardowego, godzinnego okna transmisji wyścigu. Wspomniał też o sukcesie F1 The Movie, który pobił rekordy box office, zarówno dla Brada Pitta, jak i filmu sportowego.
Premiera „F1 The Movie” na Apple TV zaplanowana jest na 12 grudnia, po wcześniejszej dystrybucji cyfrowej.
Apple nawiązuje współpracę z Realem Madryt przy dwóch projektach
Po pierwsze, w 2026 roku Apple wyemituje dokument o Realu Madryt w formacie Apple Immersive na Vision Pro – 180-stopniowe nagranie w 8K z dźwiękiem przestrzennym, ukazujące kulisy meczu Ligi Mistrzów z Juventusem i atmosferę stadionu Bernabéu.
Drugi projekt, określany przez prezesa klubu jako „Infinite Bernabéu”, ma na celu udostępnienie stadionu globalnej publiczności w technologii immersyjnej, umożliwiając m.in. potencjalne transmisje wybranych meczów na żywo.
Apple świętowało również 40-lecie działalności w Hiszpanii koncertem w sklepie Puerta del Sol w Madrycie, rejestrowanym iPhone’em 17 Pro.
Apple TV będzie nadal transmitować Friday Night Baseball w sezonach 2026–2028
Platforma zaoferuje subskrybentom dwa piątkowe mecze MLB wraz z analizą przed i po spotkaniu. Umowa Apple z MLB obowiązuje od 2022 roku na 7 lat, a pierwsze piątkowe mecze sezonu 2026 zostaną pokazane 27 marca.
Mimo zmian w prawach transmisji, w tym nowych partnerów jak Netflix, ESPN i NBCUniversal, Apple utrzymuje swoje piątkowe transmisje w ramach istniejącego kontraktu. Friday Night Baseball pozostaje darmowy dla subskrybentów Apple TV+.
Apple TV ma za sobą najlepszy rok w historii i szykuje mocną ofertę na 2026 rok
Eddy Cue, Zack Van Amburg i Jamie Erlicht w rozmowie ze Screen International podkreślają rosnącą popularność platformy i ambitne plany na przyszłość.
W 2026 roku Apple TV+ zamierza udostępniać niemal jedną nową premierę tygodniowo. Wśród potwierdzonych tytułów są nowe sezony Ted Lasso i For All Mankind.
Cue wykluczył wprowadzenie tańszego planu z reklamami — „Apple chce utrzymać atrakcyjną cenę i nie przerywać widzom seansu reklamami”.
Jednocześnie podkreślił, że liczba użytkowników oraz czas oglądania rosną najszybciej w historii platformy.
Apple analizuje strategię filmową indywidualnie dla każdego tytułu. Po kinowym sukcesie F1 firma wciąż nie deklaruje, że więcej produkcji trafi obowiązkowo do kin — decyzje będą podejmowane case by case. Filmy debiutujące wyłącznie na platformie, takie jak The Gorge, Echo Valley czy Spirited, zostały obejrzane przez „miliony widzów”.
★ Zobacz poprzednie wydania i więcej nadchodzących premier i nowości →
#apple #appleTv #appleTvPlus #debiut #news #podsumowaniePremierAppleTv #premiery #streaming
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Apple TV – podsumowanie premier #148
Zapraszam do 148. wydania przeglądu nowości i zapowiedzi platformy Apple TV.
Apple odświeżyło wizerunek czołówki Apple TVp
Na nowej stronie i we wszystkich aplikacjach TV pojawiło się nowe logo Apple TV, co stanowi kolejny etap trwającego rebrandingu poprzedniej nazwy platformy Apple TV+, która dziś nazywa się Apple TV.
Poprzednio:
Nowe intro Apple TV stworzone bez efektów komputerowych!
Ciekawostka – Apple zaprezentowało nowe intro Apple TV, które powstało w całości przy użyciu praktycznych efektów. Zamiast technologii cyfrowych, twórcy wykorzystali szklane wersje logo Apple TV, nagrane kamerą z użyciem fizycznych ruchów i zmiennego oświetlenia. Projekt zrealizowano we współpracy z agencją TBWA\Media Arts Lab.
Apple TV’s colorful new branding was built with glass and captured in-camera. pic.twitter.com/Y8T4jXHKH1
— Andreas Storm (@avstorm) November 6, 2025
Nowe intro pojawia się przed wszystkimi treściami Apple TV i ma trzy wersje: 1-sekundową (trailery), 5-sekundową (seriale) i 12-sekundową (filmy). Towarzyszy mu nowy motyw dźwiękowy skomponowany przez Finneasa.
Premiery
Jak zawsze na początku nowego miesiąca, Apple przygotowały swój własny, krótki materiał podsumowujący nadchodzące w listopadzie nowości.
„Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost” →
Na platformie Apple TV zadebiutował dokument „Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost”, w którym Ben Stiller opowiada historię swoich rodziców – kultowych komików Jerry’ego Stillera („Seinfeld”) i Anne Meary („Night at the Museum”).
Produkcja ukazuje ich życie prywatne i zawodowe, wpływ na kulturę popularną oraz rodzinę, w której granice między sztuką a codziennością często się zacierały. Stiller dzieli się osobistymi wspomnieniami i refleksjami, odsłaniając niepublikowane wcześniej historie.
W realizacji projektu udział wzięli m.in. John Lesher („Birdman”), Geoffrey Richman („Tiger King”) i Lizz Morhaim („The Super Models”). Dokument to kolejny efekt współpracy Stillera z Apple – jest on także twórcą serialu „Severance”, który zdobył rekordowe 27 nominacji do Emmy w tym roku.
Dostaliśmy także nowy serial kryminalny „Down Cemetery Road” od autora „Slow Horses”.
W rolach głównych występują Emma Thompson jako prywatna detektyw Zoë Boehm oraz Ruth Wilson jako Sarah Tucker – kobieta, która po wybuchu domu w spokojnej dzielnicy Oksfordu i zaginięciu dziewczynki rozpoczyna prywatne śledztwo. Trop prowadzi do spisku, w którym zmarli okazują się żywi, a żywi – szybko dołączają do martwych.
„Down Cemetery Road” zamyka tegoroczne jesienne trio thrillerów Apple TV, obok „The Savant” z Jessicą Chastain i „The Last Frontier” z Jasonem Clarkiem. Premiera nastąpi w dniu finału 5. sezonu „Slow Horses”.
„Pluribus” od twórcy „Breaking Bad” →
W końcu jest! Nowy serial „Pluribus” od twórcy „Breaking Bad”. W roli głównej wystąpi Rhea Seehorn („Better Call Saul”).
Serial już przed premierą zebrał świetne oceny wśród krytyków. Choć pełne recenzje objęte były embargiem, krytycy zapowiadali, że „Pluribus” to jedna z najciekawszych premier roku. Alan Sepinwall z Rolling Stone nazwał serial „porywającym i olśniewającym dziełem rozrywki”, chwaląc połączenie filmowego rozmachu z narracyjną precyzją znaną z wcześniejszych produkcji Gilligana. Serial ma imponujący budżet — 15 milionów dolarów na odcinek, a w centrum fabuły znajduje się postać Carol (grana przez Rhee Seahorn).
„Pluribus” to tajemniczy thriller sci-fi, w którym „najbardziej nieszczęśliwa osoba na Ziemi musi ocalić świat przed… szczęściem”. Fabuła owiana jest tajemnicą, a w obsadzie znaleźli się także Karolina Wydra, Carlos-Manuel Vesga i Samba Schutte. Serial nie jest powiązany z uniwersum „Breaking Bad” i stanowi całkowicie oryginalną historię.
Apple zamówiło od razu dwa sezony, a pierwszy liczyć będzie dziewięć odcinków. Serial promowany jest m.in. podczas San Diego Comic-Con, a pełny zwiastun pojawi się w nadchodzących miesiącach.
Apple TV wprowadza oficjalny podcast towarzyszący serialowi „Pluribus”
Z okazji premiery nowego serialu Apple udostępnia oficjalny podcast „Pluribus: The Official Podcast”, który będzie publikowany co tydzień – w każdy piątek, po premierze nowego odcinka. Podcast, prowadzony przez Chrisa McCaleba, montażystę serialu, przedstawi rozmowy z twórcami, aktorami i ekipą produkcyjną, odkrywając kulisy powstawania serii.
To pierwsza od dłuższego czasu autorska produkcja podcastowa Apple TV+, po wcześniejszych projektach takich jak „Foundation” czy „Prehistoric Planet”.
Zapowiedzi
12 listopada – trailer 2. sezonu „Palm Royale” →
Apple TV ogłosiło datę premiery drugiego sezonu komedii „Palm Royale”. Nowe odcinki zadebiutują 12 listopada 2025 roku, a finał sezonu zaplanowano na 14 stycznia 2026.
W obsadzie ponownie zobaczymy gwiazdy: Kristen Wiig, Laurę Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky’ego Martina, Josha Lucasa, Kaię Gerber i legendarną Carol Burnett.
Pierwszy sezon serialu, który zadebiutował wiosną 2024 roku, mimo mieszanych recenzji krytyków zdobył wierną publiczność i stał się niespodziewanym hitem platformy.
Drugi sezon skupi się na losach Maxine Dellacorte (Wiig), która po skandalu zostaje wykluczona z towarzystwa. Aby odzyskać pozycję w świecie Palm Beach, będzie musiała udowodnić, że potrafi nie tylko przetrwać, ale i rządzić w świecie pełnym sekretów, intryg i kłamstw.
14 listopada – trailer „Come See Me in the Good Light” →
Apple TV ogłosiło, że nabyło globalne prawa do uznanego dokumentu „Come See Me in the Good Light”, reżysera Ryana White’a, który w 2025 roku został wybrany na Sundance Film Festival i zdobył nagrodę Festival Favorite Award.
Po światowej premierze na festiwalu film był powszechnie chwalony jako „pięknie wykonany” i „wyjątkowy dokument”, który oferuje „wzruszające spojrzenie na kruchość ludzkiego życia”. Film zdobył również nagrodę publiczności na Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Filmowym w Boulder, Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Filmowym w Cleveland i Festiwalu Filmów Dokumentalnych Full Frame.
„Come See Me in the Good Light” zadebiutuje globalnie na Apple TV jesienią tego roku. Jest to przejmująca i niespodziewanie zabawna historia miłosna o poetkach Andrei Gibson i Megan Falley, które z radością, dowcipem i niezachwianym partnerstwem stawiają czoła nieuleczalnej diagnozie raka. Poprzez śmiech i niezachwianą miłość przekształcają ból w cel, a śmiertelność we wzruszającą celebrację odporności.
„Come See Me in the Good Light” wyreżyserował White („Pamela, A Love Story”, „The Keepers”, „Visible: Out on Television”), który jest także producentem wraz z Jessicą Hargrave („Pamela, A Love Story”, „The Keepers”, „Visible: Out on Television”), Tig Notaro („The Morning Show”, „Star Trek”, „Am I OK?”) i Stef Willen (»Em«, „Have Tig at Your Party”).
Film zawiera oryginalną piosenkę w wykonaniu zdobywczyni nagrody Grammy i nominowanej do nagrody Emmy Sary Bareilles oraz zdobywczyni nagrody Grammy, zdobywczyni nagrody Emmy i nominowanej do Oscara Brandi Carlile, napisaną przez Andreę Gibson, Bareilles i Brandi Carlile.
21 listopada – „The Family Plan 2” – hit Apple TV powraca w świątecznej premierze →
Apple TV ogłosiło premierę sequela swojego hitowego filmu, „The Family Plan 2”, który trafi na platformę 21 listopada, tuż przed Świętem Dziękczynienia.
W filmie powracają Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, Zoe Colletti i Van Crosby, a do obsady dołącza Kit Harington. Akcja rozgrywa się podczas świątecznych wakacji, kiedy Dan (Wahlberg) i jego rodzina muszą stawić czoła tajemniczemu gościowi z przeszłości, prowadzącym do serii zabawnych pościgów, napadów i świątecznych przygód w Europie.
Holiday cheer, family chaos, and a little global chase — the Morgans are back.
The Family Plan 2 premieres November 21. pic.twitter.com/mwUSaxK4eq
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) October 9, 2025
Pierwszą część, „The Family Plan”, można oglądać już teraz na Apple TV.
26 listopada – trailer „Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” →
„Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” – nowy pięcioodcinkowy serial przyrodniczy od BBC i Apple TV zadebiutuje na platformie już 26 listopada.
„Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” to nowa odsłona nagradzanego serialu przyrodniczego, produkowana przez BBC Studios Natural History Unit („Planet Earth”), z udziałem producentów wykonawczych Jona Favreau i Mike’a Guntona. Narratorem jest laureat Złotego Globu i Nagrody Oliviera, Tom Hiddleston („Earthsounds”). Muzykę skomponowali Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman i Kara Talve z Bleeding Fingers Music.
Serial zabiera widzów w epokę po wymarciu dinozaurów, kiedy lodowce zdominowały świat, a walka o przetrwanie stała się niezwykle zacięta. To czas pojawienia się nowych gigantów – charakterystycznej megafauny.
Tymczasem polecam nadrobić poprzednie sezony.
26 listopada – 3. sezon „WondLa” →
Apple TV ogłosiło premierę ostatniego sezonu trylogii animowanej „WondLa”, która zadebiutuje 26 listopada 2025 na całym świecie. Serial powstaje w Skydance Animation i oparty jest na bestsellerowej serii książek Tony’ego DiTerlizzi „The Search for WondLa”. Showrunnerem i producentem wykonawczym jest Bobs Gannaway.
Finałowa odsłona składa się z 6 ekscytujących półgodzinnych odcinków i przedstawia gwiazdorską obsadę głosową, m.in.: Jeanine Mason, Brad Garrett, Gary Anthony Williams, Alan Tudyk, John Ratzenberger, Shohreh Aghdashloo i Maz Jobrani. Sezon jest współprodukowany przez DiTerlizzi, Gannaway, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy’ego Bella, Julie Kane-Ritsch oraz zespół Skydance Animation.
3 grudnia – trailer „The Hunt” →
Apple ogłosiło premierę nowego thrillera w języku francuskim – „The Hunt”, który zadebiutuje na Apple TV 3 grudnia 2025. Pierwszego dnia pojawią się dwa odcinki, kolejne co tydzień aż do 31 grudnia.
Serial opowiada historię Francka (Benoît Magimel) i jego przyjaciół, którzy w trakcie polowania stają się ofiarami tajemniczej grupy myśliwych. Gdy jeden z nich zostaje postrzelony, rozpoczyna się dramatyczna walka o życie i ucieczka przed bezwzględnymi prześladowcami. Wkrótce bohaterowie odkrywają, że niebezpieczeństwo dopiero się zaczyna.
Mamy też oficjalny trailer.
„The Hunt” dołącza do rosnącej listy francuskojęzycznych produkcji Apple TV, takich jak „Drops of God”, „Carême”, „La Maison” czy „Liaison”.
5 grudnia – „The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” – nowy świąteczny hit Apple TV →
Fraggles powracają w nowym świątecznym specjalnym odcinku! „The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” zadebiutuje globalnie 5 grudnia na Apple TV.
Gobo, Red, Wembley, Mokey i Boober czekają na pierwszy śnieg i tradycyjne świętowanie, jednak gdy spada tylko jedna płatka śniegu, a Gobo nie może napisać corocznej piosenki, magia świąt staje pod znakiem zapytania. Bohater wyrusza więc do świata ludzi, by odnaleźć muzyczną inspirację, a w zamku Gorgów pojawia się nowe dziecko w rodzinie. Fraggles odkrywają, że wyjątkowe chwile nie muszą być idealne – wystarczy, że są szczere i niepowtarzalne.
Specjalny odcinek został wyprodukowany przez The Jim Henson Company, twórców nagradzanego serialu „Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock”. Gościnnie wystąpi Lele Pons, która zaśpiewa duet z Gobo w kultowym utworze „Our Melody” oraz dwóch nowych piosenkach świątecznych.
Produkcja dołącza do szerokiej oferty Apple TV+ dla rodzin i dzieci, w tym do hitów takich jak „Snoopy Presents”, „Lovely Little Farm” czy „The Velveteen Rabbit”.
12 grudnia – „F1: The Movie” – premiera na Apple TV →
Film „F1: The Movie” trafi na Apple TV w piątek, 12 grudnia 2025 r. Reżyserem produkcji jest Joseph Kosinski, a producentami Jerry Bruckheimer i Lewis Hamilton. W głównej roli występuje Brad Pitt jako doświadczony kierowca Formuły 1, który próbuje powrócić na szczyt.
Film okazał się ogromnym sukcesem – zarobił 629 milionów dolarów, stając się najbardziej dochodowym filmem sportowym roku i rekordowym tytułem Apple Original Films. Po premierze kinowej 27 czerwca produkcja powróciła na duży ekran w sierpniu i trafiła do sprzedaży cyfrowej.
Więcej na jego temat, szeroko, pisałem w sierpniowym wydaniu iMagazine. Polecam zapoznać się z artykułem!
14 stycznia – sezon 2. „Hijack” →
„Hijack” miał premierę swojego pierwszego sezonu w 2023 roku i natychmiast stał się jednym z najlepszych thrillerów Apple TV. Serial z Idrisem Elbą w roli głównej powróci z 2. sezonem 14 stycznia i powie historię porwanego pociągu.
21 stycznia – „Drops of God”: hit Apple TV wraca z 2. sezonem →
Jedna z najlepiej ocenianych serii Apple TV, Drops of God, wkrótce powróci z 2. sezonem. Serial oparty jest na bestsellerowej japońskiej mandze o tym samym tytule i osadzony jest w świecie gastronomii i wyrafinowanych win.
Pierwszy sezon zdobył 100% w Rotten Tomatoes i 93% ocen widzów. Serial jest wielojęzyczny (francuski, japoński, angielski), co może tłumaczyć, dlaczego nie zdobył od razu masowej popularności.
Premiera 2. sezonu: 21 stycznia na Apple TV, z cotygodniowymi odcinkami do 11 marca. Fabuła sezonu 1: po śmierci Alexandre’a Légere, jego córka Camille musi zmierzyć się z jego protegowanym, Issei, aby odziedziczyć niezwykłą kolekcję win.
Pierwszy sezon (8 odcinków) można oglądać już teraz na Apple TV.
28 stycznia – 3. sezon „Shrinking” →
Apple TV ogłosiło datę premiery trzeciego sezonu Emmy-nominowanej komedii „Shrinking”. Sezon startuje globalnie 28 stycznia 2026 z godzinnego odcinka, a kolejne nowe odcinki będą emitowane w środy aż do 8 kwietnia 2026.
Serial opowiada historię terapeuty w żałobie (Jason Segel), który zaczyna łamać zasady i mówić swoim pacjentom dokładnie, co myśli. Jego niekonwencjonalne podejście prowadzi do dramatycznych zmian w życiu klientów… i jego własnym.
W obsadzie ponownie zobaczymy Emmy-nominowanego Jasona Segela i wielokrotnie nagradzanego Harrisona Forda, a także Christę Miller, Jessicę Williams, Luke’a Tennie, Michaela Urie, Lukitę Maxwell i Teda McGinleya. Gościnne występy powracają od Goldsteina, Damona Wayansa Jr., Wendie Malick i Cobie Smulders, a dołącza Jeff Daniels i Michael J. Fox.
Shrinking jest produkowane przez Warner Bros. Television we współpracy z Apple TV+ i Doozer Productions Billa Lawrence’a. Twórcami są Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein i Jason Segel.
Pierwsze dwa sezony Shrinking są już dostępne globalnie na Apple TV.
20 lutego – premiera „The Last Thing He Told Me” →
Apple TV+ ogłosiło premierę drugiego sezonu thrillera „The Last Thing He Told Me” z Jennifer Garner w roli głównej. Nowe odcinki pojawią się 20 lutego 2026 roku.
Choć serial pierwotnie planowano jako miniserię, sukces pierwszego sezonu – opartego na bestsellerze „The Last Thing He Told Me” – sprawił, że powstanie kontynuacja inspirowana nową książką autorki Laury Dave, zatytułowaną „The First Time I Saw Him”, która ukaże się w styczniu 2026 r.
W obsadzie oprócz Garner zobaczymy ponownie Angourie Rice, Davida Morse’a i Nikolaja Coster-Waldau, a dołączą do nich Judy Greer i Rita Wilson.
Serial opowiada historię Hannah, która wraz z nastoletnią pasierbicą próbuje odkryć prawdę o tajemniczym zniknięciu jej męża.
Początek 2026 – 2. sezon „Dark Matter” →
Serial science fiction „Dark Matter” powróci z drugim sezonem na Apple TV. Po sukcesie pierwszej odsłony, opartej na bestsellerowej powieści Blake’a Croucha, twórcy zdecydowali się kontynuować historię – tym razem bez literackiego pierwowzoru.
Nowe odcinki mają pogłębić losy bohaterów walczących o przetrwanie w świecie wieloświatów. W obsadzie ponownie zobaczymy Joela Edgertona i Jennifer Connelly, a do ekipy dołączy Chris Diamantopoulos. Za scenariusz i reżyserię ponownie odpowiada Blake Crouch, co daje nadzieję na spójny klimat i wysoki poziom produkcji.
Zdjęcia do sezonu 2 zakończyły się w lipcu 2025 roku. Premiera planowana jest na początek 2026 roku – prawdopodobnie między lutym a majem.
Pierwszy sezon „Dark Matter” można obejrzeć na Apple TV.
Jason Segel z „Shrinking” w nowym projekcie Apple TV pt. „Sponsor”
Apple nabyło globalne prawa do filmu „Sponsor”, psychologicznego thrillera z Jasonem Segelem (Freaks and Geeks, Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Reżyserią zajmuje się James Ponsoldt, który współpracował z Segelem przy serialu Shrinking. Obaj są także współtwórcami scenariusza i producentami wykonawczymi.
Fabuła filmu opowiada historię Petera (Segel), który po imprezie wsiada za kierownicę i spowoduje poważny wypadek. Staje przed wyborem: więzienie czy program rehabilitacyjny. Przekonany, że nie ma problemu z alkoholem, zaczyna uczestniczyć w spotkaniach grupy wsparcia i poznaje charyzmatycznego, enigmatycznego Jerry’ego – potencjalne rozwiązanie jego problemów.
Premiera filmu „Sponsor” nie została jeszcze podana – produkcja jest na wczesnym etapie, a pełny komunikat Apple znajdziecie tutaj.
Film „CODA” od Apple – zdobywca Oscara dla Najlepszego Filmu – trafi na Blu-ray i DVD
Apple ogłosiło, że nagrodzony Oscarem film „CODA” doczeka się fizycznego wydania na Blu-ray i DVD. To pierwszy w historii film z serwisu streamingowego, który zdobył Oscara w kategorii Best Picture (Najlepszy Film) – stało się to w 2022 roku.
Po latach dostępności wyłącznie w streamingu na Apple TV+, „CODA” trafi teraz do sprzedaży w trzech formatach 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray oraz DVD.
Premiera i wysyłka zaplanowane są na 4 listopada 2025, a zamówienia można składać już teraz. Decyzja Apple to część rosnącego trendu powrotu fizycznych nośników wśród platform streamingowych – coraz więcej widzów chce posiadać ulubione filmy na własność, zamiast polegać wyłącznie na subskrypcjach.
Apple TV+ wciąż rozwija swoją ofertę, w której znajdują się takie hity jak „Ted Lasso”, „Severance”, „The Morning Show”, „Silo” czy „Shrinking”. Subskrypcja kosztuje 12,99 USD miesięcznie i jest dostępna globalnie.
Apple udostępnia mecze playoff MLS wszystkim subskrybentom Apple TV!
Apple ogłosiło, że wszystkie mecze playoff Major League Soccer będą dostępne dla subskrybentów Apple TV bez dodatkowych opłat i bez konieczności kupowania osobnego MLS Season Pass.
Decyzja może mieć na celu przyciągnięcie nowych widzów do wykupienia pełnego Season Pass na sezon 2026.
Podobna strategia zostanie zastosowana w przypadku transmisji Formuły 1 w USA od 2026 roku – subskrybenci Apple TV otrzymają dostęp do F1 TV Premium bez dodatkowych opłat.
Lego w końcu to zrobi!
LEGO zapowiedziało rozszerzenie serii Speed Champions o nowy model bolidu zespołu APX GP, czyli tego samego, który mogliśmy oglądać w filmie „F1: The Movie”.
Premierę sklepową EGO SPEED CHAMPIONS 2026 77252 APXGP Team Race Car (F1 The Movie) zapowiedziano na 2026 rok.
★ Zobacz poprzednie wydania i więcej nadchodzących premier i nowości →
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Apple TV – podsumowanie premier #147
Zapraszam do 147. wydania przeglądu nowości i zapowiedzi platformy Apple TV (od teraz platforma tak się nazywa, a Apple zrezygnowało z nazwy Apple TV+).
Apple TV zamiast Apple TV+: Rebranding w idealnym momencie czy głupota? →
Apple TV+ oficjalnie przestaje istnieć – serwis streamingowy Apple teraz nazywa się po prostu Apple TV. Zmiana ta wywołała wśród widzów i analityków z branży technologicznej. Czy słusznie?
Zapraszam do pogłębionego tekstu na temat ostatniego rebrandingu.
Apple TV zamiast Apple TV+: Rebranding w idealnym momencie czy głupota?
Premiera „The Savant” odwołana →
Fani już odliczali dni do premiery nowego serialu Apple TV „The Savant” – miał się ukazać 26 września. Tymczasem Apple, jak donosi 9to5Mac, niespodziewanie anulowało planowaną datę premiery, tłumacząc to „przemyśleniem decyzji”.
W obliczu tej decyzji główna gwiazda projektu, Jessica Chastain, wydała swoje oświadczenie, w którym jasno zaznacza, że nie zgadza się z krokiem podjętym przez platformę.
Więcej na ten temat przeczytacie w tym artykule Dominika:
Jessica Chastain nie zgadza się z decyzją Apple – premiera serialu „The Savant” wstrzymana
Niedawno platforma opublikowała oficjalny trailer całości.
Nowa data premiery nie jest znana.
Premiery
Na platformie zadebiutował nowy film „The Lost Bus” z Matthew McConaugheyem i Americą Ferrerą.
Całość opowiada prawdziwą historię kierowcy szkolnego autobusu i nauczycielki, którzy uratowali dzieci podczas tragicznego pożaru Camp Fire w Kalifornii w 2018 roku.
W głównych rolach występują Matthew McConaughey i America Ferrera. Film wyreżyserował Paul Greengrass („Kapitan Phillips”), a scenariusz współtworzył Brad Ingelsby („Mare z Easttown”). Produkcja oparta jest na książce Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire autorstwa Lizzie Johnson, która również pełni rolę producentki wykonawczej.
„The Lost Bus” to opowieść o cichej bohaterstwie i solidarności w obliczu katastrofy. W obsadzie pojawiają się też Yul Vazquez, Ashlie Atkinson i Spencer Watson.
Najmłodsi widzowie otrzymali natomiast nowość pt. „The Sisters Grimm”.
Ten nowy, animowany serial przygodowy fantasy oparto na bestsellerowej serii książek Michaela Buckleya New York Timesa, „The Sisters Grimm” to podróż pełna przygód i serca o rozwiązujących zagadki siostrach pochodzących od braci Grimm, które, choć bardzo różne, tworzą całkiem niezły zespół.
Dwie osierocone siostry poruszają się po mieście pełnym ludzi wyrwanych prosto z fantazji i bajek, stawiając czoła zarówno bohaterom, jak i złoczyńcom, jednocześnie badając tajemnicę swoich zaginionych rodziców. „The Sisters Grimm” łączy w sobie odkrywanie, fantazję i przygodę, dostarczając ważnych lekcji dla wszystkich grup wiekowych.
Długowyczekiwaną premierą był też serial „The Last Frontier”, który w końcu możemy obejrzeć.
„The Last Frontier” śledzi losy Franka Remnicka (Clarke), samotnego amerykańskiego szeryfa odpowiedzialnego za ciche, surowe pustkowia Alaski. Jurysdykcja Remnicka zostaje wywrócona do góry nogami, gdy więzienny samolot transportowy rozbija się na odludziu, uwalniając dziesiątki brutalnych więźniów. Mając za zadanie chronić miasto, które przysiągł chronić, zaczyna podejrzewać, że katastrofa nie była wypadkiem, ale pierwszym krokiem dobrze przygotowanego planu o dalekosiężnych i niszczycielskich konsekwencjach.
Oprócz Clarke’a w obsadzie znaleźli się Dominic Cooper („The Gold”), Haley Bennett („Siedmiu wspaniałych”), Simone Kessell (»Yellowjackets«), Dallas Goldtooth („Reservation Dogs”) i Tait Blum („For All Mankind”), a także nominowana do Oscara i wielokrotnie nagradzana statuetką Emmy Alfre Woodard („Clemency”).
The Last Frontier jest produkowany przez Apple Studios, a jego producentami wykonawczymi są Bokenkamp i D’Ovidio, którzy pełnią również rolę scenarzystów, a także Clarke, Laura Benson („The Big C”), Glenn Kessler („Bloodlines”), Albert Kim (»Nikita«) i reżyser odcinków serialu Sam Hargrave („Extraction”).
Nowa seria dokumentalna pt. „Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars”, której współproducentem jest słynny szef kuchni Gordon Ramsay, także trafiła na platformę.
Ośmioodcinkowy serial pokaże kulisy walki o gwiazdki Michelin – najbardziej prestiżowe wyróżnienie w świecie gastronomii. Widzowie zajrzą do elitarnych restauracji m.in. w Los Angeles, Londynie, Meksyku i Kopenhadze, śledząc zmagania kucharzy oraz tajne wizyty anonimowych inspektorów Michelin.
Gospodarzem programu będzie Jesse Burgess, ekspert kulinarny i podróżniczy.
Trzecia seria kultowego serialu „Loot” z Mayą Rudolph i Adamem Scottem czeka już na fanów z pierwszymi odcinkami, a kolejne będą ukazywać się co tydzień aż do 10 grudnia. Adam Scott, po sukcesie „Severance”, powraca w roli eks-męża Rudylda, zyskując większy nacisk w nowym sezonie.
Sezon 3. przynosi także gościnne występy Stephanie Styles, D’Arcy Carden, Keshy, Zane Phillipsa, Henry’ego Winklera, X Mayo i Pauli Pell. Fabuła skupia się na postaci Rudylda, która po rozwodzie za 87 miliardów dolarów decyduje się oddać majątek innym.
Apple TV udostępniło też pięcioczęściowy filmowy portret kultowego reżysera, producenta i scenarzysty Martina Scorsese, wyreżyserowany przez uznaną twórczynię Rebeccę Miller („She Came to Me”, „Personal Velocity”).
„Mr. Scorsese” powstał we współpracy z producentami wykonawczymi Miller i Damonem Cardasisem z Round Films („Maggie’s Plan”, „Saturday Church”) oraz Cindy Tolan (»Etoile«, „Dandelion”), wieloletnią współpracowniczką Miller.
Jestem bardzo wdzięczny, że otrzymałem artystyczną wolność i dostęp do stworzenia filmowego portretu jednego z naszych największych żyjących artystów, Martina Scorsese.
– powiedział Miller.
Jego twórczość i życie są tak rozległe i tak fascynujące, że dzieło ewoluowało od jednej do pięciu części w ciągu pięciu lat; tworzenie tego dokumentu wraz z moimi wieloletnimi współpracownikami było jednym z decydujących doświadczeń w moim życiu jako filmowca.
Rebecca Miller reżyseruje „Mr. Scorsese”, pięcioczęściowy dokument z Apple TV.
„Mr. Scorsese” to filmowy portret człowieka przez pryzmat jego twórczości, badający wiele aspektów wizjonera, który na nowo zdefiniował kinematografię, w tym jego niezwykłą karierę i wyjątkową historię osobistą.Dzięki wyłącznemu, nieograniczonemu dostępowi do prywatnych archiwów Scorsese, serial dokumentalny jest zakotwiczony w obszernych rozmowach z samym filmowcem i nigdy wcześniej nie widzianymi wywiadami z przyjaciółmi, rodziną i twórczymi współpracownikami, w tym Robertem De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Thelma Schoonmaker, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Paul Schrader, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett, Jay Cocks i Rodrigo Prieto, a także jego dzieci, żona Helen Morris i bliscy przyjaciele z dzieciństwa.
„Mr. Scorsese” od uznanego reżysera Millera bada, w jaki sposób jego własne barwne doświadczenia życiowe wpłynęły na jego artystyczną wizję, ponieważ każdy film, który nakręcił, oszołomił świat oryginalnością. Począwszy od jego filmów studenckich na Uniwersytecie Nowojorskim, aż po dzień dzisiejszy, dokument ten bada tematy, które fascynowały Scorsese i wpłynęły na jego twórczość, w tym miejsce dobra i zła w fundamentalnej naturze ludzkości.
Produkcja dołącza do wielokrotnie nagradzanej serii oryginalnych filmów dokumentalnych Apple, w tym nagrodzonego Emmy i Critics Choice „STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie”, opowiadającego o niezwykłej podróży Foxa jego własnymi słowami; nominowanego do nagrody Emmy „Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me”, wyjątkowo surowego i intymnego dokumentu obejmującego jej sześcioletnią podróż w nowym świetle; nominowanego do nagrody Emmy „STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces” z udziałem legendarnego scenarzysty, producenta, reżysera, aktora i komika Steve’a Martina; oraz niedawno ogłoszony dokument Fleetwood Mac bez tytułu, wśród wielu innych.
Zapowiedzi
24 października – trailer „Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost” →
Apple TV
zapowiedziało premierę nowego dokumentu „Stiller & Meara: Nothing is Lost”, w którym Ben Stiller opowiada historię swoich rodziców – kultowych komików Jerry’ego Stillera („Seinfeld”) i Anne Meary („Night at the Museum”).
Produkcja ukazuje ich życie prywatne i zawodowe, wpływ na kulturę popularną oraz rodzinę, w której granice między sztuką a codziennością często się zacierały. Stiller dzieli się osobistymi wspomnieniami i refleksjami, odsłaniając niepublikowane wcześniej historie.
W realizacji projektu udział wzięli m.in. John Lesher („Birdman”), Geoffrey Richman („Tiger King”) i Lizz Morhaim („The Super Models”). Dokument to kolejny efekt współpracy Stillera z Apple – jest on także twórcą serialu „Severance”, który zdobył rekordowe 27 nominacji do Emmy w tym roku.
Film ukaże się w wybranych kinach 17 października, a od 24 października 2025 r. będzie dostępny globalnie na Apple TV.
29 października – trailer „Down Cemetery Road” →
Apple TV zapowiedziało także kryminalny thriller „Down Cemetery Road” od autora „Slow Horses” – premiera w październiku.
Serial „Down Cemetery Road”, oparty na powieści Micka Herrona, twórcy serii „Slow Horses”, zadebiutuje 29 października 2025 r. dwoma pierwszymi odcinkami, a kolejne będą emitowane co tydzień do 10 grudnia.
W rolach głównych wystąpią Emma Thompson jako prywatna detektyw Zoë Boehm oraz Ruth Wilson jako Sarah Tucker – kobieta, która po wybuchu domu w spokojnej dzielnicy Oksfordu i zaginięciu dziewczynki rozpoczyna prywatne śledztwo. Trop prowadzi do spisku, w którym zmarli okazują się żywi, a żywi – szybko dołączają do martwych.
„Down Cemetery Road” zamyka tegoroczne jesienne trio thrillerów Apple TV, obok „The Savant” z Jessicą Chastain i „The Last Frontier” z Jasonem Clarkiem. Premiera nastąpi w dniu finału 5. sezonu „Slow Horses”.
7 listopada – trailer „Pluribus” od twórcy „Breaking Bad” →
Apple TV zapowiedziało nowy serial „Pluribus” od twórcy „Breaking Bad” – premiera w listopadzie.
Apple TV ogłosiło premierę nowego serialu „Pluribus” autorstwa Vince’a Gilligana, twórcy „Breaking Bad”. W roli głównej wystąpi Rhea Seehorn („Better Call Saul”). Produkcja zadebiutuje 7 listopada 2025 r., a już teraz można zobaczyć pierwszy 30-sekundowy teaser.
„Pluribus” to tajemniczy thriller sci-fi, w którym „najbardziej nieszczęśliwa osoba na Ziemi musi ocalić świat przed… szczęściem”. Fabuła owiana jest tajemnicą, a w obsadzie znaleźli się także Karolina Wydra, Carlos-Manuel Vesga i Samba Schutte. Serial nie jest powiązany z uniwersum „Breaking Bad” i stanowi całkowicie oryginalną historię.
Apple zamówiło od razu dwa sezony, a pierwszy liczyć będzie dziewięć odcinków. Serial promowany jest m.in. podczas San Diego Comic-Con, a pełny zwiastun pojawi się w nadchodzących miesiącach.
12 listopada – 2. sezon „Palm Royale” →
Apple TV ogłosiło datę premiery drugiego sezonu komedii „Palm Royale”. Nowe odcinki zadebiutują 12 listopada 2025 roku, a finał sezonu zaplanowano na 14 stycznia 2026.
W obsadzie ponownie zobaczymy gwiazdy: Kristen Wiig, Laurę Dern, Allison Janney, Ricky’ego Martina, Josha Lucasa, Kaię Gerber i legendarną Carol Burnett.
Pierwszy sezon serialu, który zadebiutował wiosną 2024 roku, mimo mieszanych recenzji krytyków zdobył wierną publiczność i stał się niespodziewanym hitem platformy.
Drugi sezon skupi się na losach Maxine Dellacorte (Wiig), która po skandalu zostaje wykluczona z towarzystwa. Aby odzyskać pozycję w świecie Palm Beach, będzie musiała udowodnić, że potrafi nie tylko przetrwać, ale i rządzić w świecie pełnym sekretów, intryg i kłamstw.
14 listopada – „Come See Me in the Good Light”
Apple TV ogłosiło, że nabyło globalne prawa do uznanego dokumentu „Come See Me in the Good Light”, reżysera Ryana White’a, który w 2025 roku został wybrany na Sundance Film Festival i zdobył nagrodę Festival Favorite Award.
Po światowej premierze na festiwalu film był powszechnie chwalony jako „pięknie wykonany” i „wyjątkowy dokument”, który oferuje „wzruszające spojrzenie na kruchość ludzkiego życia”. Film zdobył również nagrodę publiczności na Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Filmowym w Boulder, Międzynarodowym Festiwalu Filmowym w Cleveland i Festiwalu Filmów Dokumentalnych Full Frame.
„Come See Me in the Good Light” zadebiutuje globalnie na Apple TV jesienią tego roku. Jest to przejmująca i niespodziewanie zabawna historia miłosna o poetkach Andrei Gibson i Megan Falley, które z radością, dowcipem i niezachwianym partnerstwem stawiają czoła nieuleczalnej diagnozie raka. Poprzez śmiech i niezachwianą miłość przekształcają ból w cel, a śmiertelność we wzruszającą celebrację odporności.
„Come See Me in the Good Light” wyreżyserował White („Pamela, A Love Story”, „The Keepers”, „Visible: Out on Television”), który jest także producentem wraz z Jessicą Hargrave („Pamela, A Love Story”, „The Keepers”, „Visible: Out on Television”), Tig Notaro („The Morning Show”, „Star Trek”, „Am I OK?”) i Stef Willen (»Em«, „Have Tig at Your Party”).
Film zawiera oryginalną piosenkę w wykonaniu zdobywczyni nagrody Grammy i nominowanej do nagrody Emmy Sary Bareilles oraz zdobywczyni nagrody Grammy, zdobywczyni nagrody Emmy i nominowanej do Oscara Brandi Carlile, napisaną przez Andreę Gibson, Bareilles i Brandi Carlile.
21 listopada – „The Family Plan 2” – hit Apple TV powraca w świątecznej premierze →
Apple TV ogłosiło premierę sequela swojego hitowego filmu, „The Family Plan 2”, który trafi na platformę 21 listopada, tuż przed Świętem Dziękczynienia.
W filmie powracają Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, Zoe Colletti i Van Crosby, a do obsady dołącza Kit Harington. Akcja rozgrywa się podczas świątecznych wakacji, kiedy Dan (Wahlberg) i jego rodzina muszą stawić czoła tajemniczemu gościowi z przeszłości, prowadzącym do serii zabawnych pościgów, napadów i świątecznych przygód w Europie.
Holiday cheer, family chaos, and a little global chase — the Morgans are back.
The Family Plan 2 premieres November 21. pic.twitter.com/mwUSaxK4eq
— Apple TV (@AppleTV) October 9, 2025
Pierwszą część, „The Family Plan”, można oglądać już teraz na Apple TV.
26 listopada – „Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” →
„Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” – nowy pięcioodcinkowy serial przyrodniczy od BBC i Apple TV zadebiutuje na platformie już 26 listopada.
„Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age” to nowa odsłona nagradzanego serialu przyrodniczego, produkowana przez BBC Studios Natural History Unit („Planet Earth”), z udziałem producentów wykonawczych Jona Favreau i Mike’a Guntona. Narratorem jest laureat Złotego Globu i Nagrody Oliviera, Tom Hiddleston („Earthsounds”). Muzykę skomponowali Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman i Kara Talve z Bleeding Fingers Music.
Serial zabiera widzów w epokę po wymarciu dinozaurów, kiedy lodowce zdominowały świat, a walka o przetrwanie stała się niezwykle zacięta. To czas pojawienia się nowych gigantów – charakterystycznej megafauny.
Tymczasem polecam nadrobić poprzednie sezony.
26 listopada – 3. sezon „WondLa” →
Apple TV ogłosiło premierę ostatniego sezonu trylogii animowanej „WondLa”, która zadebiutuje 26 listopada 2025 na całym świecie. Serial powstaje w Skydance Animation i oparty jest na bestsellerowej serii książek Tony’ego DiTerlizzi „The Search for WondLa”. Showrunnerem i producentem wykonawczym jest Bobs Gannaway.
Finałowa odsłona składa się z 6 ekscytujących półgodzinnych odcinków i przedstawia gwiazdorską obsadę głosową, m.in.: Jeanine Mason, Brad Garrett, Gary Anthony Williams, Alan Tudyk, John Ratzenberger, Shohreh Aghdashloo i Maz Jobrani. Sezon jest współprodukowany przez DiTerlizzi, Gannaway, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy’ego Bella, Julie Kane-Ritsch oraz zespół Skydance Animation.
31 grudnia – „The Hunt” →
Apple ogłosiło premierę nowego thrillera w języku francuskim – „The Hunt”, który zadebiutuje na Apple TV 3 grudnia 2025. Pierwszego dnia pojawią się dwa odcinki, kolejne co tydzień aż do 31 grudnia.
Serial opowiada historię Francka (Benoît Magimel) i jego przyjaciół, którzy w trakcie polowania stają się ofiarami tajemniczej grupy myśliwych. Gdy jeden z nich zostaje postrzelony, rozpoczyna się dramatyczna walka o życie i ucieczka przed bezwzględnymi prześladowcami. Wkrótce bohaterowie odkrywają, że niebezpieczeństwo dopiero się zaczyna.
„The Hunt” dołącza do rosnącej listy francuskojęzycznych produkcji Apple TV, takich jak „Drops of God”, „Carême”, „La Maison” czy „Liaison”.
12 grudnia – „F1: The Movie” – premiera na Apple TV →
Film „F1: The Movie” trafi na Apple TV w piątek, 12 grudnia 2025 r. Reżyserem produkcji jest Joseph Kosinski, a producentami Jerry Bruckheimer i Lewis Hamilton. W głównej roli występuje Brad Pitt jako doświadczony kierowca Formuły 1, który próbuje powrócić na szczyt.
Film okazał się ogromnym sukcesem – zarobił 629 milionów dolarów, stając się najbardziej dochodowym filmem sportowym roku i rekordowym tytułem Apple Original Films. Po premierze kinowej 27 czerwca produkcja powróciła na duży ekran w sierpniu i trafiła do sprzedaży cyfrowej.
Więcej na jego temat, szeroko, pisałem w sierpniowym wydaniu iMagazine. Polecam zapoznać się z artykułem!
21 stycznia – „Drops of God”: hit Apple TV wraca z 2. sezonem →
Jedna z najlepiej ocenianych serii Apple TV, Drops of God, wkrótce powróci z 2. sezonem. Serial oparty jest na bestsellerowej japońskiej mandze o tym samym tytule i osadzony jest w świecie gastronomii i wyrafinowanych win.
Pierwszy sezon zdobył 100% w Rotten Tomatoes i 93% ocen widzów. Serial jest wielojęzyczny (francuski, japoński, angielski), co może tłumaczyć, dlaczego nie zdobył od razu masowej popularności.
Premiera 2. sezonu: 21 stycznia na Apple TV, z cotygodniowymi odcinkami do 11 marca. Fabuła sezonu 1: po śmierci Alexandre’a Légere, jego córka Camille musi zmierzyć się z jego protegowanym, Issei, aby odziedziczyć niezwykłą kolekcję win.
Pierwszy sezon (8 odcinków) można oglądać już teraz na Apple TV.
Apple TV wypuszcza nowy odcinek „The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin” mimo anulowania serialu
Apple TV zaskoczyło fanów, publikując nowy odcinek serialu „The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin”, który miał już być anulowany po problemach produkcyjnych i rezygnacji głównego aktora, Noela Fieldinga.
Odcinek zatytułowany „The Night of the Werebear” trwa 35 minut i jest traktowany jako specjalny odcinek halloweenowy, oznaczony jako siódmy w sezonie 1, mimo że sezon 1 zakończył się odcinkiem 6. Materiał powstał z wykorzystaniem ujęć nagranych na planie anulowanego sezonu 2.
Choć Apple nie potwierdziło oficjalnie anulowania sezonu 2 ani tego, że to seria finałowa, wszystko wskazuje, że jest to ostatni odcinek Dicka Turpina.
Schmigadoon! – serial Apple TV powraca jako musical na Broadwayu
Serial Schmigadoon!, odwołany po dwóch sezonach, wraca w zupełnie nowej odsłonie – jako musical na Broadwayu wiosną 2026 roku.
Po krótkim pokazie w Kennedy Center w Waszyngtonie, sceniczna adaptacja zacznie próby w Nederlander Theatre 4 kwietnia, a premiera zaplanowana jest na 20 kwietnia. Spektakl będzie grany do 6 września. Producent Lorne Michaels określa musical jako „list miłosny do Złotej Ery musicali filmowych – trochę nostalgiczny i bardzo zabawny”.
Scenarzysta oryginalnego serialu Cinco Paul przygotował również wersję sceniczną, opartą na pierwszym sezonie, z dodatkowymi nowymi piosenkami. Sezon trzeci serialu jest już napisany i może zostać zrealizowany w przyszłości, jeśli musical odniesie sukces.
Fani mogą zapisać się na listę mailingową, by otrzymać pierwsze informacje o przedsprzedaży biletów. Dwa sezony serialu Schmigadoon! dostępne są na Apple TV.
„Peanuts” na wyłączność Apple TV do 2030 roku
Apple TV przedłużyło ekskluzywne prawa do streamingu Peanuts co najmniej do 2030 roku. Partnerstwo z Peanuts rozpoczęło się w 2020 roku i obejmuje zarówno nowe specjalne odcinki tworzone przez Apple, jak i klasyczne świąteczne produkcje, takie jak:
- „It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”
- „A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”
- „A Charlie Brown Christmas”
- „Peanuts Charlie Brown Holiday Christmas”
Apple TV co roku udostępnia wybrane odcinki Peanuts bezpłatnie dla wszystkich użytkowników. W tym roku:
- 18-19 października – Halloween
- 15-16 listopada – Święto Dziękczynienia
- 13-14 grudnia – Boże Narodzenie
Subskrybenci Apple TV mogą oglądać wszystkie odcinki Peanuts przez cały rok.
Apple blisko ogłoszenia umowy na streaming F1 podczas Grand Prix USA
Apple i Formuła 1 są bliskie finalizacji długo negocjowanej umowy na prawa do streamingu w USA. Według doniesień, ogłoszenie może nastąpić podczas Grand Prix USA w Austin (17–19 października).
Głównym punktem spornym była przyszłość niezależnej usługi F1.TV w USA. Apple, które miałoby płacić ponad 150 mln USD rocznie, oczekuje wyłączności streamingowej, co mogłoby oznaczać zamknięcie F1.TV w regionie. Serwis jest jednak popularny wśród fanów i przynosi zyski F1, dlatego negocjacje trwały długo.
Po zakończeniu sezonu 2025 prawa do transmisji w USA przejmie Apple, oferując F1 jako dodatek w aplikacji Apple TV, obok innych pakietów sportowych: MLS Season Pass i MLB Friday Night Baseball. Oficjalne ogłoszenie powinno nastąpić jeszcze w tym miesiącu.
Ted Lasso udzielił ślubu!
Na koniec coś dla fanów obu trenerów z serialu „Ted Lasso”.
Jason Sudeikis, grający tytułowego „Teda Lasso” udzielił w Irlandii ślubu Brendanowi Huntowi (grającemu trenera Bearda) i jego wybrance Shannon Nelson.
zdjęcie z Instagrama: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPlKPL6jEGe/
Sezon 4. serialu jest w produkcji.
★ Zobacz poprzednie wydania i więcej nadchodzących premier i nowości →
#Apple #AppleTV #AppleTV_ #debiut #news #PodsumowaniePremierAppleTV_ #premiery #streaming
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Aquinas and the Ethics of Happiness by Joseph Stenberg, 2025
Aquinas sees the key elements of his ethics - happiness, law, virtue, and grace - as an interconnected whole. However, he seldom steps back to help his reader see how they actually fit together. In this book, Joseph Stenberg reconsiders the most fundamental ways in which Aquinas connects these major elements of his ethics.
@bookstodon
#books
#nonfiction
#philosophy
#ethics
#happiness
#Aquinas -
Want to learn more about Earth, the birthworld of humanity? Visit the Museum of Terra in Pirate Point's Lunar District. Paid for by the Aegis Expeditionary Force. #ghrpg #GameDev store.steampowered.com/app/1565090/...
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Enlightening Symbols: A Short History of Mathematical Notation and Its Hidden Powers by Joseph Mazur, 2024
While all of us regularly use basic math symbols such as those for plus, minus, and equals, few of us know that many of these symbols weren't available before the sixteenth century. What did mathematicians rely on for their work before then? And how did mathematical notations evolve into what we know today?
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🧐Probe quake collapse now
"Why did this particular building fail in such a catastrophic manner, while others remained standing after the #earthquake? The building was constructed by a JV btw #ItalianThai Devt Plc & a subsid of #ChinaRailway No.10 #Engineering Corp.. The earthquake itself serves as a stark warning. #Thailand may not sit directly on a major fault line & has rarely experienced severe earthquakes, but tt doesn't mean e country - or #Bangkok - is free fr risk"
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2992451/probe-quake-collapse-now -
@QasimRashid And who in the Unraveling States of America thought that having a practically #duopolistic Presidential #political system represented the greatest #democracy on earth?...🤔🧐
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#Bangkok tower #collapse: Chinese contractors under scrutiny amid ‘ #tofubuilding’ claims🧐
"Massive Myanmar #earthquake reveals cracks in Bangkok’s ‘tofu buildings’
The collapse of a 30-storey tower in #Thailand’s capital during last week’s earthquake has raised questions about the use of shoddy #buildingmaterials and alleged #corruption in the Thai #construction industry tied to #Chinese #contractors." #MadeInChina
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/health-environment/article/3304851/bangkok-tower-collapse-chinese-contractors-under-scrutiny-amid-tofu-building-claims -
Appreciation for Cyanobacteria (and the humble species of the Nostoc genus)
“It is certainly no exaggeration to say that we owe our existence in present form to cyanobacteria.” - Kartik Aiyer, PhD, University of Aarhus
Behind the Shady Hollow Community Center in southwest Austin, Texas is a concrete slab. It may be related to a water treatment facility that was decommissioned a couple decades ago. During dry weather, one can find at one end of it dark patches of crunchy stuff that most persons would probably think is leaf litter or unidentifiable crud. But, when it rains, runoff water puddles at that end of the slab and the crunchy black stuff quickly becomes dark-green icky glop when it rehydrates. Look closely. It is a species of a cyanobacteria of the Nostoc genus. Some sources indicate it can survive 100 years in the dehydrated state. Cyanobacteria are believed to have evolved on Earth about 3.5 billion years ago and the Nostoc species about 600 million years ago. I take a deep breath, feel the effects of oxygen in my lungs, and appreciate the indispensable contribution that humble cyanobacteria made to my very existence. I have included photos that show the Nostoc from a distance and up close to reveal its photosynthetic chlorophyll.
https://asm.org/articles/2022/february/the-great-oxidation-event-how-cyanobacteria-change
#Nature #Evolution #Biology #Cyanobacteria #Nostoc #Oxygen #Aarhus #Denmark #TIL
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Marooned by Joseph Kelly, 2018
Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America’s Origin
For readers of Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower , a groundbreaking history that makes the case for replacing Plymouth Rock with Jamestown as America's founding myth.
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Less Than One Selected Essays by Joseph Brodsky, 2011
Essayist and poet Joseph Brodsky was one of the most penetrating voices of the twentieth century. This prize-winning collection of his diverse essays includes uniquely powerful appreciations of great writers: on Dostoevsky and the development of Russian prose, on Auden and Akhmatova, Cavafy, Montale and Mandelstam.
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“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
–Joseph Campbell
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@remixtures
Let's try to imagine us toiling through the years or decades of dwindling existence in an over-exploited earth, that is lorded over by an un-empathetic omnipresence &, imho, the eventual state of extinction of our human species may actually become cathartic... Personally, I fear that journey more than its destination.🙀
But I unequivocally support the #CAIS experts' call for a global & multilateral structural #regulation of the development & deployment of #generativeAI.🇺🇳🕊 #AudreyTang -
Interactive map with a dark grey line showing the perimeter of the area burned early this year by the #PalisadesFire. The yellow/gold/red colors show drainage basins with a low/moderate/high risk of debris flow if there is lots of rain in a fairly short time period. The black dots mark the outlets of drainage areas.
You can drag the map over to the area burned by the #EatonFire
#AtmosphericRiver #DebrisFlow #CAwx -
Interactive map with a dark grey line showing the perimeter of the area burned early this year by the #PalisadesFire. The yellow/gold/red colors show drainage basins with a low/moderate/high risk of debris flow if there is lots of rain in a fairly short time period. The black dots mark the outlets of drainage areas.
You can drag the map over to the area burned by the #EatonFire
#AtmosphericRiver #DebrisFlow #CAwx -
Interactive map with a dark grey line showing the perimeter of the area burned early this year by the #PalisadesFire. The yellow/gold/red colors show drainage basins with a low/moderate/high risk of debris flow if there is lots of rain in a fairly short time period. The black dots mark the outlets of drainage areas.
You can drag the map over to the area burned by the #EatonFire
#AtmosphericRiver #DebrisFlow #CAwx -
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Your Route Out of Perfectionism, Self-Sabotage and Other Everyday Habits with CBTIn the newly revised Third Edition of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, veteran cognitive behaviour therapist and counsellor Avy Joseph delivers an essential and accessible discussion of how to use the time-tested and proven techniques in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to improve your own life and the lives of others.
#books #CBT #REBT #nonfiction #CognitiveBehaviourTherapy @bookstodon
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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Your Route Out of Perfectionism, Self-Sabotage and Other Everyday Habits with CBTIn the newly revised Third Edition of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, veteran cognitive behaviour therapist and counsellor Avy Joseph delivers an essential and accessible discussion of how to use the time-tested and proven techniques in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to improve your own life and the lives of others.
#books #CBT #REBT #nonfiction #CognitiveBehaviourTherapy @bookstodon
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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Your Route Out of Perfectionism, Self-Sabotage and Other Everyday Habits with CBTIn the newly revised Third Edition of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, veteran cognitive behaviour therapist and counsellor Avy Joseph delivers an essential and accessible discussion of how to use the time-tested and proven techniques in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to improve your own life and the lives of others.
#books #CBT #REBT #nonfiction #CognitiveBehaviourTherapy @bookstodon
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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
Your Route Out of Perfectionism, Self-Sabotage and Other Everyday Habits with CBTIn the newly revised Third Edition of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, veteran cognitive behaviour therapist and counsellor Avy Joseph delivers an essential and accessible discussion of how to use the time-tested and proven techniques in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) to improve your own life and the lives of others.
#books #CBT #REBT #nonfiction #CognitiveBehaviourTherapy @bookstodon