Many will rejoice as this challenging year comes to a close, but the events that took place in 2016 will have consequences that reverberate far into 2017 and beyond. It was a year with political turmoil and terrorism dominating headlines across the globe. In the US, a bitter election revealed the country’s widening cultural divide. And we lost luminaries like Carrie Fisher and Muhammad Ali, who reminded us not to accept the world as it is, but to be the change we wish to see.
For a recap of the year’s news, check out the video below, or read on to dive deeper into the stories that defined 2016.
The opioid painkiller and heroin epidemic, explained
Gravitational waves, explained
Remembering victims of the Pulse gay nightclub shooting
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s tribute to Orlando nightclub victims
Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, France
Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, explained
The deaths of Philando Castile, Alton Sterling, Dallas police officers, and fallout
George W. Bush’s message of unity for the nation
Ezra Klein on the Democratic and Republican National Conventions
The DNC email leaks, explained
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox on Trump’s wall
Hillary Clinton, John Podesta, and the WikiLeaks email scandal, explained
James Comey and the FBI’s role in the election, explained
2016 Olympics: what Rio doesn’t want the world to see
Colin Kaepernick’s protest, explained
Donald Trump’s multiple sexual assault allegations
Russian hackers, Donald Trump, and the 2016 election, explained
The battle for Mosul, explained
How people outside Syria can think about helping Syrians
UN says 2016 is likely to be warmest year to date on the planet
Elon Musk announces plans to colonize Mars with SpaceX
Coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef, explained
The battle over the Dakota Access Pipeline, explained
In memoriam: Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Harper Lee, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Antonin Scalia, Fidel Castro, John Glenn, Nancy Reagan, Arnold Palmer, Gene Wilder, Elie Wiesel, Leonard Cohen, Janet Reno, George Michael, Carrie Fisher
13 pop culture events that defined 2016
White supremacy’s rebrand as the alt-right, explained
“Black Lives Matter” vs. “All Lives Matter”
The case for Universal Basic Income, explained
Obama allows UN to take action on Israeli Settlements
Here are the 2014 and 2015 versions of this video compilation.