STAR Highlights II: Study of Small Systems and the Search for New, Exotic Physics

Twenty-five years of RHIC operation have produced a uniquely diverse dataset, which enables a broad physics program. This contribution highlights recent STAR results in four areas: exotic-state searches and ultra-peripheral collisions; the onset of quark--gluon plasma (QGP) signatures in small systems; radial flow and its fluctuations; and polarization and spin correlations.