The Edit: The Best of 2022
6 minute read
It’s been a busy year for most people. And in some ways, a difficult one – there have been challenges, obstacles and changes that stretched people’s limits. But it has also been an incredible year: full of growth, fulfilment and connection.
Despite the difficult moments, we want to reflect on the things that inspire us to remain hopeful that a better future is not only possible, but is already happening: rewilding projects in the UK have had huge success with the first wild baby bison born here in thousands of years; the James Webb Telescope gave us the best look into the cosmos to date; and Pfizer’s antiviral pill provided further protection against infection from Covid.
Here at The Beautiful Truth we’re no exception. In 2022, we launched our inaugural print edition, premiered our film ‘Rewilding’, hosted a panel discussion and began preparing for Issue 02 of our print magazine. We’ll be taking the next few weeks to recharge for the year ahead and we hope that you can do the same.
In the meantime, we want to leave you with our favourite content from the last 12 months – a mixture of stories, podcasts and videos from creatives across the world.
From all of us here at The Beautiful Truth Magazine, we wish you a happy and restful holiday period.
Life
We Need To Respect The Process of Healing
Gavin Francis | January 4th | The Guardian
A doctor considers the overlooked art of recovery. Beginning a third year of medical practice during a pandemic, GP Gavin Francis reflects on why healing is different for every patient and illness.
Faces Are Important. But I Can’t Recognise Them.
Steven Fraser | May 3rd | The New York Times
What does it mean to live with prosopagnosia? An animator discloses the different ways he lives his life because he can’t recognise faces.
Alice Treasure | November 14th | The Beautiful Truth
Our brains evolved to tell stories tens of thousands of years ago. What happens when storytelling becomes digital?
Bones, Bones: How to Articulate A Whale
Peter Wayne Moe | February 22nd | Long Reads
Professor Peter Wayne Moe charts the importance of tangibility as he reconstructs the bones of a whale, mapping the impact that the years long process has on himself and his students.
Why We Can’t Pay Attention Anymore
Sean Illing and Johann Hari | February 7th | Vox Podcasts
Sean Illing talks with the author Johann Hari about his new book Stolen Focus, which explores what’s happening – and what’s already happened – to our attention.
Fear Factor: Overcoming Human Barriers to Innovation
Laura Furstenthal, Alex Morris, and Erik Roth | June 3rd | McKinsey & Co.
Worries about failure and criticism can get in the way of innovation. To truly embrace innovation, we have to take the human side into account.
Work
Can Companies Force Themselves To Do Good?
Nick Romeo | January 10th | The New Yorker
Rewriting the system: can companies force themselves to do good? A new kind of corporate structure, the perpetual-purpose trust, can make the values of pro-social companies permanent.
The Merging of Technology and Spirituality
Anna Gerber | September 14th | Creative Review
While big tech has in the past been accused of co-opting spirituality to seduce audiences and staff, emerging tech pioneers are respectfully building positive futures inspired by ancient wisdoms.
The Remote ‘Helicopter Bosses’ Who Stunt Worker Resilience
Megan Tatum | December 1st | BBC Worklife
Micromanagement has always existed. But remote work has birthed a new swathe of helicopter bosses, and workers are suffering.
The Stubborn Persistence of Paper in a Digital World
Gillian Tett | October 19th | The Financial Times
Gillian Tett makes the case that paper, the persistent artefact, proves we still like doing business face to face – despite rapidly advancing technology.
Arthur C. Brookes | 13th January | The Atlantic
The Atlantic columnist Arthur C. Brookes examines what it means to fail, why we should learn to embrace it and how to move on when it happens.
World
Evan Osnos | July 18th | The New Yorker
Super-yacht sales are at an all time high. Evan Osnos explores the outrage and political scrutiny within the secret maritime world of the ultra-rich.
The Untold Story of Carbon’s Circularity
Alice Treasure | The Beautiful Truth x Unilever
Carbon is ubiquitous – it’s involved in the steel we use to create buildings, all the way the products we use to keep things clean. It is also one of the main contributors to the climate crisis we’re experiencing today. How can we produce less CO2 without sacrificing our use of carbon-based products?
Michael D Gordin | February 10th | Aeon
Believe in the Loch Ness monster and you’re more likely to believe the Apollo missions were fake. Princeton Professor Michael D Gordin explores how people come to form fringe theories about the world.
How Volodymyr Zelensky Defended Ukraine and United the World
Simon Shuster | March 2nd | Time Magazine
Time Magazine profile Volodymyr Zelenskiy, exploring how the Ukrainian President has united the world and altered history with his courageous response to Russia’s invasion.
Jane Goodall: “Change Starts Within”
Anne Marie Hove | 5 Media
We have an innate ability to connect to each other and the world around us. We need to prioritise it. Dr. Jane Goodall discusses the urgent need for us to learn how to become better custodians of our world, for its and our own sake.
Arielle Domb | July 20th | The Beautiful Truth
Is ‘sustainable’ fashion truly moving into the mainstream? And will the industry be able to revolutionise before it’s too late, and drastically reduce environmental damage?
How Government and Business Can Tackle Big Global Crises Together
Alison Beard and Ian Bremmer | May 17th | HBR IdeaCast
Countries and corporations need to collaborate on the most pressing challenges we face. Leading political scientist Ian Bremmer discusses exactly how businesses and governments can unite to tackle the world’s most pressing problems.
For all our other #Edits of the year, click here.
