As the year draws to a close, the Guardian's First Edition newsletter has launched its inaugural end-of-year quiz, offering a challenging and often humorous recap of the major events that defined 2025. Designed as the perfect antidote to post-Christmas dinner lethargy, the 28-question test spans global politics, technological upheavals, and cultural milestones.
A Year in Review: Politics and Power Shifts
The quiz probes some of the most significant political changes and controversies of the last twelve months. It asks participants to identify Friedrich Merz, who became Germany's chancellor in May from the Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU). It also touches on the ongoing drama within the Conservative Party, quizzing readers on why Angela Rayner abruptly resigned from Keir Starmer's cabinet, citing a past fraud offence involving a work phone.
Further afield, the questions cover the impeachment of a South Korean president, the result of Canada's election amid trade tensions, and the record-breaking 73-day US federal government shutdown. Closer to home, it highlights the shock loss of Labour's 49th safest seat by just six votes to Reform's Sarah Pochin in Ellesmere Port and Bromborough.
Technology, Environment, and Pop Culture
Beyond Westminster and the White House, the quiz delves into other defining stories. It tests knowledge on the Chinese AI app DeepSeek that rocketed to the top of US download charts in January, and the very public falling out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, which reportedly occurred in August. Environmental concerns feature too, with a question on Nimo Omer's report that Antarctic sea ice was 26% below average in March.
The year in culture is not forgotten, with a nod to Taylor Swift's new album 'The Life of a Showgirl' and a final, lighter question about what newsletter editor Archie Bland's dog, Quincy, was doing in his last edition (spoiler: he was eating an entire packet of Jaffa Cakes).
From the BBC to the Papacy
The wide-ranging quiz also includes topics from media to religion. It asks about the BBC director general Tim Davie who resigned abruptly in November, and the name of the new pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, whose pre-papal name was Robert Prevost. Even the never-ending HS2 saga gets a mention, questioning which station—Old Oak Common—might become its London terminus.
With answers promised for 26 December, the First Edition quiz serves as both a rigorous test of news recall and a witty chronicle of a year filled with political chaos, technological surprises, and the occasional canine mischief.
