In a year profoundly shaped by the resurgence of Donald Trump, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, Katharine Viner, has delivered a stark assessment of the seismic shifts witnessed across the globe since January. Speaking to Annie Kelly for the final Today in Focus episode of 2025, Viner outlined a period where long-standing international norms have been rapidly dismantled.
A World Transformed: The Trump Effect
Viner described a world grappling with changes that seemed almost unthinkable just a year prior. The deployment of the National Guard on American streets and the humiliation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office were cited as emblematic of the new reality. She pointed to a concerning erosion of the rules that once governed peace and war, framing 2025 as a period of intense disruption emanating from the White House.
UK Politics: A Failure of Narrative
Turning her focus to the domestic front, Viner offered a critical view of the UK's Labour government. She argued it had consistently failed to tell its story effectively, missing crucial opportunities to counter the growing influence of Reform UK and the far right. "Politics is about timing," Viner stated, reflecting on the government's notable silence during the summer. "And I think a lot of those opportunities were missed." This failure, she suggested, allowed opposing narratives to gain significant ground.
Beacons of Hope in a Turbulent Year
Despite the dominant themes of upheaval, Viner highlighted several sources of optimism. She pointed to the unexpected success of leftwing figures such as Zohran Mamdani and Zack Polanski. Furthermore, she underscored the Guardian's own decisive victories in court, defending its journalism in a case hailed as a landmark ruling for #MeToo reporting. These instances, she indicated, provided crucial counterpoints to a challenging year.
The conversation, which also touched on issues from Ukraine and Israel-Palestine to cases involving figures like Noel Clarke, served as a comprehensive look back at a defining year. The Today in Focus podcast will return with new episodes on 5 January 2026.
