It's Been a Minute The Winners & Losers of 2025
Dec 15, 2025
Join Sam Sanders, a savvy public radio journalist and host at KCRW, and Tre'vell Anderson, a culture journalist and co-host of The Seated podcast, as they dissect the highs and lows of 2025. They debate nominees for the Word of the Year, highlighting the cultural impact of terms like 'slop' and 'clock it.' The conversation gets heated over villains of the year, with billionaires taking the dubious crown due to their questionable antics. They also celebrate feel-good moments that shone bright, like 'One of Them Days,' and discuss unexpected cultural twists, culminating in Katy Perry's astonishing year.
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Slop As A Cultural Diagnosis
- Sam Sanders coins “slop” as a cultural diagnosis for the year’s AI-overloaded, low-quality media.
- He notes some slop is enjoyable, citing AI-generated rug-cleaning videos and viral fake duets.
Mainstreaming And Distorting Ballroom Language
- Tre’vell Anderson highlights “clock it” as a term from ballroom and queer communities now mainstreamed and distorted online.
- She warns that cultural language is being divorced from origin and context as it spreads on TikTok.
The Finger Clap’s Cultural Meaning
- Hosts discuss the proper ballroom finger clap as a form of silent applause rooted in queer culture.
- They note the pointer-finger variant on TikTok misrepresents the original gesture.