Top Stories of 2023
Reading Lists

Top Stories of 2023

Reflecting on our most popular articles across the last 12 months.

4 minute read

21st Dec 2023

As the year draws to a close, we like to take a moment to reflect on the stories we’ve published that have resonated the most with readers across the world.

Here are our top ten stories from 2023. 

Why Do We Feel Awe? 

Dacher Keltner    |   August 2nd   

Awe is not just reserved for extraordinary moments. Dacher Keltner – author, professor of psychology at Berkeley and founding director of Greater Good Magazine – explores the way that we’re surrounded by daily opportunities for awe and why we have the capacity to feel it in the first place. 

The Superpower of Uncertainty 

Hannah Finch    |   June 20th   

What do a former professional poker player and a neural science professor have in common? More than you might think. Our Editor-in-Chief unfolds a conversation between NYU psychologist Jay Van Bavel and world-renowned poker player Annie Duke on why we should all embrace uncertainty.

Reconnecting To The Things We Buy

Alice Treasure    |   December 6th

With an urgent need to mitigate our increasingly volatile climate and dwindling natural resources, is the first step to more sustainable consumerism reconnecting with the things that we buy?

Rewilding: A Visual Story

Design by Cali Mackrill    |   June 1st 

Jonathan Thomson had one goal in mind when he purchased 25 acres of English countryside: to turn back time. His plan, to rewild the land and increase its biodiversity, is increasingly being viewed as a crucial part of the fight against climate change.

This Is Not Your Grandfather’s MBA

Molly Worthern    |   April 24th 

If you want to be a leader confident in your deepest values and your role in the universe, go to business school. At least, that’s what business schools say.⁠ Molly Worthen explores how business schools are changing the way they educate the next generation of leaders.⁠

How Businesses Can Make Strategic Trade-Offs

Amy Butterworth    |   August 24th

You can’t please everyone. Alex Edmans, Professor of Finance at London Business School, argues that there are going to be trade-offs in any business. The trick is choosing the right ones and managing them effectively. 

Transcending Time: The Hidden Cost of The Greater Good

Alice Treasure    |   June 16th

It’s clear that we need to begin expanding our horizons of thought if we are to tackle some of the greatest threats to our survival. But learning to think long-term is just the start – how to do it in a way that doesn’t compromise our humanity is more complicated.

The Generous City

Nick Jeffries    |   June 9th

With increasing numbers of individuals, communities and businesses recognising the need to reduce our negative impact on the planet, there is another perspective that is perhaps even more important: rather than just focusing on ‘doing less bad’, we must actively strive to ‘do good’. Nick Jeffries, Senior Expert at The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, explores how we can redesign our economy from one that degrades to one that regenerates. 

No Hard Feelings

Alice Treasure    |   April 19th

“​​Do you ever look at someone and wonder what is going on inside their head?” That’s what Joy, a personified emotion, questions in Pixar’s Inside Out (2015). Does viewing emotions as singular experiences hamper our understanding of their true impact and complexity? 

The Untold Story of Carbon’s Circularity 

Design by Cali Mackrill    |   May 23rd 

Instead of using the fossil fuel sourced ‘black’ carbon, Unilever is using carbon from sources already above the ground in its pioneering initiative: The Carbon Rainbow. We explore a different side to carbon through a visual article in collaboration with Unilever.