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Because it’s NewsMatch season and Inkstick is bothering you a little more often than usual with appeals for donations [ [link removed] ], I thought it might be a good time to do a roundup of some of our most popular pieces so far in 2025.
Forgive me for repeating myself, but if you donate to Inkstick between now and the end of the year, NewsMatch will double your contribution at no extra cost to you. You chip in $100 to support Inkstick’s reporting, and NewsMatch will match your donation [ [link removed] ]. It’s an easy way to support nonprofit journalism.
To that end, I want to clue you in on what exactly you’re supporting. As the managing editor, I read every piece that Inkstick publishes. I’m especially proud of Inkstick’s output this year. From Israel’s assault on Gaza and the subsequent ceasefire to Trump’s war on domestic political dissent, we’ve tried to keep our focus on normal people the world over. Why? Because that’s who gets left out of the story more times than not.
In that vein, I wanted to share some of our most-read and most popular stories from 2025 thus far.
Most-Read Reportage:
“How Gangs, Displacement, and Deportation Are Redrawing Haiti’s Map [ [link removed] ]” by Jess DiPierro Obert
“Trump’s Return to Power Puts Militias and Border Patrol in Spotlight [ [link removed] ]” by Tyler Hicks
“Memories and Mourning as Israel Severs Rafah [ [link removed] ]” by Issam Adwan
“What’s Behind the UK Labour Party’s Plummeting Support? [ [link removed] ]” by Katy Fallon
“Drone Wars Find a New Battlefield in India, Pakistan, and China [ [link removed] ]” by Hanan Zaffar
Most-Read Analysis:
“Russia Wants a New World Order [ [link removed] ]” by Kate Johnston & Nicholas Lokker
“Elon Musk Said Empathy is the West’s Weakness. He is Half Right [ [link removed] ]” by Cathleen Jeanty
“The US is Waging War in Somalia. What Will Trump Do About It? [ [link removed] ]” by Devra Baxter
“Behind the Fanfare, Trump’s Peace Deals are Built to Fail [ [link removed] ]” by Miriam Frost
“The Destroyers Are Here: The Rise of the New Authoritarians [ [link removed] ]” by Robert Benson
Of course, it goes without saying that we don’t measure a story’s success based on the size of its readership. That’s why I want to also highlight a few of my other personal favorites thus far in 2025:
“Gaza After Midnight: Insomnia, Gunfire, and the Buzz of Drones [ [link removed] ]” by Ghada Abu Muaileq
“‘Let’s Go Bash Some Skulls’: Inside the Militarization of Trump’s America [ [link removed] ]” by Tyler Hicks
“Along Somalia’s Overlooked Migration Trail, Dangers Lie in Wait [ [link removed] ]” by Marco Simoncelli
“The Workers, the Waste, and the Warnings from Bomb Country” [ [link removed] ] by Taylor Barnes
“The Ghosts of War Haunting Beirut’s Gaza Hospital [ [link removed] ]” by Madeline Edwards
Every donation goes a long way toward helping Inkstick better compensate our freelance contributors and expand the scope of our reporting. I hope you’ll consider supporting Inkstick today.
With Gratitude,
Patrick Strickland, managing editor
Inkstick relies on donations, and fundraisers like this one, to exist. We appreciate your patience with extra emails during these times. If you’d rather not hear so much from us, you can opt out of our end-of-year campaign by clicking here [ [link removed] ] and adjusting your Substack preferences. Thanks for being in Inkstick’s community.
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