by Jason Crawford · December 31, 2025 · 5 min read
Everyone loves writing annual letters these days. It’s the thing. (I blame Dan Wang.)
So here’s mine. At least I can say I’ve been doing it for as long as Dan: nine years running (proof: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). As usual, this is more of a personal essay/reflection, and not so much of an organizational annual report, although I will start with some comments on…
Over the last three years, the Roots of Progress Institute has gone from “a guy and his blog” to a full-fledged cultural institute. This year we:
And the best part about all of these programs is that I don’t have to run any of them! I have a fantastic staff at RPI who deserves credit for all of these, from design to execution: Emma McAleavy, Ben Thomas, Yel Alonzo, and especially Heike Larson—thanks to them for making our programs a success every year.
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Huge thanks to all those who have already given this year!
Most of my writing effort this year was devoted to finishing The Techno-Humanist Manifesto, an essay-series-cum-book laying out my philosophy of progress. In 2025 I published the last 14 (out of 21) essays in the series, you can read them all here. Also, as just announced, I’ve signed with MIT Press to publish a revised version of the series in book form. The manuscript is out for comment now, and (given typical publishing schedules) I expect the book to launch in early 2027.
I also wrote eight other essays, and ten links digests. I put the links digest on hold after May in order to focus on finishing the book, but I’m working on bringing it back. All subscribers get the announcements and opportunities at the top, but the rest of the digest is paywalled, so subscribe now to get the full version.
The most-liked posts here on Substack were:
The most-commented posts were:
My longest post, at over 8,400 words, was:
I now have well over 55,000 subscribers on Substack, up over 68% YOY.
Here are some of my most-liked posts and threads of the year:
You can join well over 40,000 people who follow me on Twitter, or find me on your favorite social network; I’m on pretty much all of them.
Like last year, I tried to mostly say no to events and speaking gigs this year, but there were a few I couldn’t refuse. Some highlights of the year:
In 2026 I hope to do more travel, events and speaking. But maybe I’ll just hole up and write some more.
I put my monthly “what I’ve been reading” updates on hold at the end of 2023 (!) in order to focus on the book. I’d like to bring these back, too. For now, here are some the highlights from my reading this year (that is, things I thought were interesting and valuable to read, not necessarily things I “liked” or agreed with).
The first few book recommendations are free, paid subscribers get the (much longer) full reading update and (below) some thoughts on what’s next for my writing:
Or read at least most of:
Max Bennett, A Brief History of Intelligence. A history of the evolution of the brain, from the first animals through humans. It is organized into five major evolutionary steps—to oversimplify: the worm brain, the fish brain, the mouse brain, the monkey brain, and the human brain. This answered some key questions I had on the topic, very well-written, probably my favorite of the year. Hat-tip to @eshear.
Charles Mann, How the System Works, an essay series in The New Atlantis. It covers four of the major systems that form the foundation of industrial civilization and help deliver our modern standard of living: agriculture, water sanitation, electricity, and public health. Mann thinks of these pieces as the start of a curriculum that should be taught in schools—inspired by a group of “smart, well-educated twenty-somethings” who “wanted the hungry to be fed, the thirsty to have water, the poor to have light, the sick to be well,” but “knew little about the mechanisms of today’s food, water, energy, and public-health systems. They wanted a better world, but they didn’t know how this one worked.” Enjoyed this, recommended.
Brian Potter, The Origins of Efficiency, from Stripe Press, a history of manufacturing efficiency. Light bulbs used to cost ~$50 (adjusted for inflation), now they cost 50 cents; how did that happen? This is a comprehensive and very readable overview of the answer to that question and others like it.
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