Nearly every day, somewhere in the country, the Stars and Stripes was lowered to half-staff last year in one of the most significant official gestures of mourning and respect, an Associated Press analysis found.

A year’s worth of highlights from an increasingly vibrant genre.

Writer and broadcaster Charlie Brooker is back for his annual review. He takes a satirical look back at the news and cultural events of 2015, including the beginning of Corbyn-mania and a Tory majority, the end of Page Three, and Cecil the Lion. He also tackles the terrifying truth of 2015, as well as examining bizarre news stories, TV shows and general phenomena. Features special guests, including contributions by comedian Doug Stanhope and the ever insightful Philomena Cunk.

2015's headlines and cultural events have confronted us with the malleability of racial, gender, sexual and reputational lines. Who do we think we are? By Wesley Morris. (Oct. 6)

How the campaign's biggest laugh turned ugly in 2015. By Matt Taibbi.

The best films about the future this year. By Brian Merchant.

A look at the big moments in food production this year reveals how far we’ve come, and how very far we have left to go. By Kayleigh Rogers.

The sad thing is, we’re not making this up!

Blood moon eclipses, volcano eruptions, Usain Bolt’s Segway crash and Caitlyn Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover ... photographers explain how they got their shots. Selection by Karin Andreasson.

They’ve got a special kind of charisma—it’s like reverse charisma, or anti-charisma. Charis-meh. They’ve got the platform, they’ve got power, they’ve got the opportunity to change everything, and instead they…don’t. They are the biggest nothing-doers in the world this year, and this is their reward. By Drew Magary. (Dec. 14)

What books, TV shows, and movies helped shaped the way EFF staff were thinking about cutting edge issues this year? Each December we like to look back...

We are living through the most astonishing period of human progress in history. And nobody’s telling us about it.

The end of another year brings us inevitably to a Big Fat Quiz of it, so grab your pens & pencils, pour yourself a vodka & coke and laughingly quiz away 1 hour 37 minutes in the company of Rob Brydon, Jo Brand, Richard Ayoade, Greg Davies, Claudia Winkleman, David Mitchell & Jimmy 'laugh like a seal' Carr! 2015 never got so good!! First broadcast on 26 December 2015.

An historic climate-change agreement, new views of the solar system, cybersecurity shortcomings and the discovery of a new human species—these and other events highlight the year in science and technology as selected by SA’s editors.

This year in scientific advancement, from cancer to the Zika virus. By Jerome Groopman.

I think I started writing about videogames because I was lonely. What I found in games was a sorely needed form of two-way communication. By Chris Priestman.

A lot has happened to Tor since I last reported on it, and not much of it good. By Yasha Levine.

A selection of the year’s most riveting photographs.

Top stories and photography from the Médecins Sans Frontières Picturedesk in 2015.

Five mycological highlights from 2015, including banana killers, rainmakers, and the zombie cure. By Nicola Twilley.