It’s that point of 12 months. As Future Good has previously, we’re rounding up our most learn tales of the 12 months. This little journey down reminiscence lane may give us a way of the breadth and depth of Future Good’s protection — and a way of what tales and topics you, the viewers, are most excited by.
This 12 months’s high 10 record options most of our basic topics, like animal welfare and manufacturing unit farming, represented by Marina Bolotnikova’s piece on why Thanksgiving is precisely the best day to lose the turkey and go vegan. Our love of making an attempt to foretell the longer term, as evidenced by our all the time standard forecast for the brand new 12 months. And AI security, as proven by Sigal Samuel and Kelsey Piper’s newsbreaking exposés into OpenAI.
However there have been surprises on the record as nicely, like exterior writers Gil Barndollar and Matthew C. Mai’s prescient warning that America’s army is operating wanting its most necessary element: troopers. Or Dylan Matthews’s fascinating deep dive into the little identified State Division intelligence bureau that has a greater monitor document than the CIA in the case of predicting world occasions.
This time of 12 months, I’m all the time grateful each for our wonderful workers and slate of outdoor contributors, and for the eye of our viewers — particularly these of you who subscribe to this text (and the others we’ve launched this 12 months: Marina and Kenny Torrella’s Processing Meat and Sigal’s moral recommendation column Your Mileage Might Range, which comes twice a month by way of this feed). Right here’s to an even bigger and higher 2025.
1) “Touring this summer time? Perhaps don’t let the airline scan your face” by Sigal Samuel
I’ll reveal a bit secret of the journalism biz: Timing issues. We printed Sigal’s takedown of airport facial screening in the midst of the summer time’s record-setting air journey season, as People took to the skies once more now that Covid was roughly within the rearview mirror. Hundreds of thousands of these fliers in all probability allowed airways to scan their faces with out pondering, however as Sigal wrote, that is one thing you’ll be able to decide out of — and given privateness issues, one thing you in all probability ought to decide out of. Maintain that in thoughts this vacation season.
2) “You’re in all probability consuming manner an excessive amount of protein” by Kenny Torrella
So I realized two issues when this piece got here out in January. One, only a few of us really must hyperload on protein, except you’re an energetic bodybuilder. In truth, as Kenny wrote, even with out attempting the typical American is already consuming considerably extra protein than dietary pointers name for, because of our meat-heavy diets. And two, our readers have actually, actually robust opinions about dietary science. I’m unsure some other single piece this 12 months generated a lot suggestions.
Right here’s one other journalism lesson: If you happen to occur to have a deeply reported story a couple of considerably obscure well being difficulty — on this case, the rise of sure cancers amongst younger individuals — undoubtedly ensure you push it out when one of the vital well-known figures on the earth turns into a part of that story. Dylan Scott, who was a terrific addition to Future Good this 12 months as an editor and author, introduced a deep nicely of experience in well being reporting to this story on the rise of colorectal most cancers in sufferers below 50. That it coincided partially with the completely happy information that the Princess of Wales was now most cancers free helped it attain a a lot bigger viewers.
4) “24 issues we predict will occur in 2024” by the Future Good workers
You individuals simply love to examine what we predict will occur within the 12 months forward. (A separate prediction piece that we did for Vox’s tenth anniversary, on 10 issues we predict will occur over the subsequent 10 years, was additionally standard.) Why is that? I’d wish to suppose it is because our viewers has deep belief in our capacity to investigate the traits that assist make up the longer term, however possibly it’s simply since you look ahead to seeing all of the flawed predictions we make. Properly, excellent news! If you happen to come again on December 30, you’ll be able to see simply how nicely (or badly) we did.
5) “Is oat milk unhealthy? That’s the flawed query.” by Benji Jones
Benj, who can normally be discovered trekking to colourful places all over the world to doc the plight of biodiversity for Vox’s local weather part, popped over to Future Good in February to dismantle the case towards oat milk. As Benji defined, meals shouldn’t be categorised by means of a easy dichotomy of fine/dangerous. And we undoubtedly shouldn’t ignore the affect a meals has on the atmosphere or the animals we share it with — and nondairy oat milk is a winner on each counts.
6) “America isn’t prepared for one more battle — as a result of it doesn’t have the troops” by Gil Barndollar and Matthew C. Mai
Certainly one of my targets in 2024 was to make the way forward for battle an even bigger a part of Future Good’s protection. Whether or not we prefer it or not — and I don’t — battle is on the rise, and the know-how we use in battle is altering quickly. That’s why I used to be so completely happy to see this exterior piece from Catholic College senior analysis fellow Gil Barndollar and Protection Priorities contributing fellow Matthew C. Mai earn such a large readership. It connects two main traits — demographic change and the rise of world battle — and exhibits how they’re intersecting in a manner that’s harmful for the US.
7) “8 million turkeys might be thrown within the trash this Thanksgiving” by Marina Bolotnikova
Journalism lesson No. 3: By no means let a significant vacation go by with out capitalizing on viewers curiosity. Manufacturing unit farming tales over Thanksgiving have turn into one thing of a custom for us, however Marina’s piece was an actual tour de drive. She started with an unobjectionable premise — People don’t really like turkey that a lot — and developed it right into a name to motion for individuals who care about animal welfare to take again Thanksgiving. Sidesgiving, anybody?
8) “Warren Buffett’s breakup with the Gates Basis will harm the world” by Kelsey Piper
At Future Good, we do our superstar breakup information a bit otherwise. There’s absolutely scrumptious gossip behind multibillionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett’s determination to not give away his fortune after his dying to the Gates Basis, as had been lengthy deliberate. However Kelsey was way more involved about what can be misplaced when Buffet’s $137 billion fortune goes to his three grownup youngsters, slightly than to one of the vital efficient world well being charities ever developed. As she put it: “‘Three eccentrics need to agree on the way to spend $135 billion’ sounds extra just like the premise for a sitcom than a course of that can accomplish actual good with that a lot cash.”
9) “The obscure federal intelligence bureau that obtained Vietnam, Iraq, and Ukraine proper” by Dylan Matthews
Dylan Matthews is at present higher generally known as the man who began an limitless spherical of discourse about whether or not it’s moral to provide cash to rebuild Notre Dame as a substitute of saving the lives of youngsters. (It’s not.) However I do know that there’s nothing Dylan likes higher than to dig deep into an obscure a part of the federal authorities and interview DC elders about what issues had been like within the previous days. That facet of Dylan got here up with considered one of my favourite tales of 2024: a profile of the State Division’s Bureau of Intelligence and Analysis, which has put far greater and higher funded intelligence companies to disgrace with its oracular predictive powers.
10) “‘I misplaced belief’: Why the OpenAI crew in control of safeguarding humanity imploded” by Sigal Samuel and “Leaked OpenAI paperwork reveal aggressive ways towards former staff” by Kelsey Piper
I’m dishonest barely by together with two tales in a single slot, however hey, I’m the editor. The fact is these two tales are deeply related, a part of a collection of investigative reviews into ChatGPT-maker OpenAI that we put out in Might. Within the first, Sigal Samuel obtained former OpenAI staff to provide her the within story of how the AI startup’s superalignment crew — the individuals charged with retaining future superintelligence secure — went kaput. Within the second, Kelsey Piper acquired firm paperwork exhibiting that CEO Sam Altman wasn’t being truthful about the way in which OpenAI was utilizing the specter of blocking fairness gross sales to maintain former staff in line. These tales broke information and created actual change in maybe crucial AI firm on the market. There’s no higher instance of Future Good’s affect on the world in 2024.
A model of this story initially appeared within the Future Good e-newsletter. Join right here!
