The Best of The Edit 2024
6 minute read
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on a year defined by opposition and profound uncertainty. As elections dominated the global stage; one theme stood out for us at The Beautiful Truth: the enduring importance of character.
Dr Edward Brooks of the Oxford Character Project describes character as “the constellation of dispositions or habits that consistently shape how [we] think, feel, and act.” This year, more than ever, we found ourselves asking: does charisma trump character in today’s world?
In the latest issue of The Beautiful Truth Magazine, we sought to answer this. Our interview with Dr Brooks explored what character means for leaders and how character virtues like humility, hope, courage and justice are essential not just for personal growth but for creating flourishing teams, organisations and societies.
To bring this conversation to life, we hosted an intimate “Dinner with a Purpose” in October at Soho’s L’Escargot, the second of such events. The evening featured Dr Brooks alongside Kevin Jenkins, former President and CEO of World Vision International. These evenings form part of our commitment to taking the ideas we explore in print and turning them into meaningful, real-world conversations.
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 some of our top reads for 2024 (and more) – a mixture of stories, podcasts and videos across the world.
From The Beautiful Truth Magazine, we wish you a happy and restful holiday period.
Never Miss A Story
To read
Jane Sassienie | 8 March | The Beautiful Truth
“I was curious about how women have succeeded and I wanted to dig deeper.” 40 women reflected on what made them a great leader. Five themes emerged.
The Power of the 118-Hour Decision
Ilya Strebulaev and Alex Dang | 22 May | Time
Venture investors spend, on average, 118 hours scrutinising facts and stats before they invest in a startup. Their decisions are based not on a gut reaction to a napkin but on extensive analysis of details and discussion of multi-page memos.
An Antidote to the Cult of Self-Discipline
Hillary Kelly | 1 July | The Atlantic
A new novel sees procrastination as one of the last bastions of the creative mind.
Why I’ll never forget the day I met Daniel Kahneman for lunch
Namir Khaliq | 25 July | Psyche
“He was an octogenarian Nobel-winning psychologist, I was a nervous 20-something film producer. Here’s what struck me most.”
“To focus on character is to come back to the core concept of human being and becoming.”
Dr Edward Brooks, Character Counts
Are We Happy Yet?
Jessica Grose | 8 August | The New York Times
“The biggest thing that I learned throughout all of my happiness range tracking is that happiness isn’t the end-all goal that I was looking for.”
Meaningful Work: When Work Defines Us
Andreana Drencheva | 20 August | The Beautiful Truth
Securing a job that you find meaningful – work that you think is significant and value positively – may be one of your most important career goals. But there can be a negative side to doing work that you’re passionate about.
Dr Edward Brooks and Hannah Finch | 21 October | The Beautiful Truth
Dr Edward Brooks, Executive Director of the Oxford Character Project, talks to Hannah Finch, our Editor in Chief, about why character is back in fashion in education and professional development.
To watch
Max Schlickenmeyer | 25 January | The Beautiful Truth
Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by Time Magazine, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the universe?” This is his answer.
Beastly: 40,000 Years of Animals and Us
The Beautiful Truth | 11 April | The Beautiful Truth
Our short film featuring Keggie Carew, author of BEASTLY: A New History of Animals and Us, shows us what it means to be human, what it means to be animal, and what it means to be both.
J. Schnittman and B. Powell | 6 May | NASA
This new, immersive visualisation produced on a NASA supercomputer represents a scenario where a camera – a stand-in for a daring astronaut – enters the event horizon, sealing its fate.
The Beautiful Truth | 19 May | The Beautiful Truth
Society has never been more polarised than it is today. Hoping to eradicate the forces that breed these divisions is Tim Dixon, Co-founder of More in Common.
Test Your Focus: Can You Spend 10 Minutes With One Painting?
Francesca Paris and Larry Buchanan | 20 July | The New York Times
Our attention spans may be fried, but they don’t have to stay that way. In a modest attempt to sharpen your focus, consider looking at a single painting for 10 minutes, uninterrupted.
Anna Samo and Lisa LaBracio | 11 November | The Beautiful Truth
A classroom erupts into a war of words as students grapple with a seemingly simple prompt: what is the opposite of a gun?
“Life is lived in the in-between moments.”
Hillary Kelly
To listen
Emma Goldberg | 25 January | NYT The Daily
Millions now mix remote and office work. What challenges does this new model bring?
Katie Martin and Simon Mundy | 29 February | Financial Times
Environmental, social and governance investing principles were a dominant topic for years. What happened?
On Radical Imagination and Moving Towards Life
Krista Tippett and adrienne maree brown | 3 July | On Being
adrienne maree brown shines a light on an emerging ecosystem in our world over and against the drumbeat of what is fractured and breaking – the cultivation of old and new ways of seeing, towards a transformative wholeness of living.
Unifying leadership in a divided time
Alison Beard | 5 November | HBR Podcast
A conversation with the University of Oxford’s Karthik Ramanna on how managers can effectively navigate increasing political polarisation.
What I wish I’d known when I started my career
Isabel Berwick | 12 November | Financial Times
Isabel Berwick and FT colleagues share workplace advice they wish they’d known earlier.
