2025 Museum Staff Picks

What Moved Us This Year

Dec. 22, 2025

At the end of each year, Anchorage Museum staff are invited to reflect not just on work or deadlines, but on the books, films, music, meals, and moments that shaped their year. What started informally has become a tradition: our annual Staff Picks.

It’s one of the most joyful things we share internally and a reminder that the people who imagine, build, and support the museum are also readers, artists, home cooks, hikers, and playlist-makers. They are people who find meaning in a sentence, a sound, a bowl of noodles, or a thrift store bike.

Below is a sampling of what we loved in 2025.

Books We Couldn’t Put Down
A mix of fiction, memoir, and speculative imagination topped this year’s list. Titles ranged from Octavia Butler’s Kindred and Julian Brave NoiseCat’s We Survived the Night, to Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel and The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Some staff re-read comfort titles like The Count of Monte Cristo, while others turned to queer stories, Indigenous news, or the science of burnout.

One person shared: “It feels good to know the outcome of something but still enjoy revisiting the details.”

What We Watched
Andor (Season 2) came up again and again, praised as “relevant, real-world, and political” even for those outside the Star Wars universe. Other favorites included Dinner in America, The American Revolution (Ken Burns), The Fall of the House of Usher, and Blue Eye Samurai. Many also revisited classic films, reminding us that sometimes, the most powerful stories aren’t the newest ones.

Podcasts We Came Back To

From true crime to cultural commentary, podcasts offered space to think, laugh, or just listen differently. Staff recommended everything from The No Sleep Podcast (original horror fiction) to Good Hang with Amy Poehler and Our Common Nature, a music-centered series following Yo-Yo Ma across the U.S., including a stop in Alaska!

Other favorites included Planet Money and The Indicator for economic insights, Dissect (Season 12 on MF DOOM), and WorkLife with Adam Grant. One staffer summed it up this way: “It’s how I reset my brain while doing the dishes.”

The Soundtrack of 2025
From Ella Fitzgerald to Paris Paloma, Kendrick Lamar to rediscovered ‘90s Madonna tunes, the year’s listening lists reflected everything from nostalgia to discovery. Staff found joy in playlists called “Dystopian Vibes,” the Danish String Quartet, and KONR’s local “Ptarmigan Ptunes.”

One person noted, “I thought I was in a blues phase, but Spotify said otherwise.”

Local Food Favorites
Anchorage and beyond offered its own comfort and creativity. Among the most mentioned: Biscuit Club pick-me-ups, spicy Tonkotsu ramen at Kami Ramen, goat curry at Yak & Yeti, posole at Palmeira, pho and tamarind tofu at Pho Vietnam 8, and pretty much everything from Ray’s Place and Organic Oasis.

This section of the list always becomes a map of shared cravings and cravings to share.

Wildcard Joys
Some things just can’t be categorized: A perfect thrift store bike. Seeing the northern lights on a random Tuesday. Puppies during Lunch on the Lawn. New hobbies like darning socks. A new bearded dragon named Maeve.

These small (and sometimes scaly) joys reflect what we value as a museum and as people: community, curiosity, care, and the beauty of paying attention.

This list isn’t curated in the traditional sense. It’s not meant to be authoritative or trendy. It’s simply a snapshot of what made us think, laugh, cry, or slow down.

We hope it sparks your own reflection. What did you love in 2025? What will stay with you into the new year?