It’s that time of year. Future Perfect As in the past, we’re rounding up our most read stories of the year This little trip down memory lane can give us a sense of the breadth and depth of Future Perfect’s coverage — and what stories and topics excite you, the audience, the most.
This year’s Top 10 list includes many of our classic topics, such as animal welfare and factory farming, represented by Marina Bolotnikova’s piece on why Thanksgiving is the right day to ditch the turkey and go vegetarian. Our love of trying to predict the future is evidenced by our ever-popular predictions for the New Year. and AI security, as shown by Seagal Samuel and Kelsey Piper’s newsbreaking exposé of OpenAI.
But there were also surprises on the list, such as outside writers Gil Berndoler and Matthew C. Mai’s earlier warning that America’s military is running short of its most important component: soldiers. Or Dylan Matthews’ fascinating deep dive into the little-known State Department Intelligence Bureau that has a better track record than the CIA in predicting world events.
This time of year, I’m always grateful for our amazing staff and slate of outside contributors, and for the attention of our visitors — especially those who subscribe to this newsletter (and others we’ve launched this year: Marina and Kenny Torella’s Processing Meet and Seagal’s Ethics Advice column (Your mileage may vary, which comes through this feed twice a month). Here’s to a bigger and better 2025.
1) “Traveling this summer? Maybe don’t let the airline scan your face” by Seagal Samuel
I’ll reveal a little secret of the journalism business: timing matters. We published Seagull’s takedown from an airport facial screening in mid-summer Record-setting air travel seasonAmericans took to the skies again now that Covid was more or less in the rearview mirror. Millions of these fliers have likely allowed airlines to scan their faces without thinking, but as Segal writes, it’s something you can opt out of — and due to privacy concerns, you probably won’t. should Remember this holiday season to opt out.
2) “You’re Probably Eating Too Much Protein” by Kenny Torella
I learned two things when this piece came out in January. One, very few of us actually need to hyperload on protein, unless you’re an active bodybuilder. In fact, Kenney writes, the average American is already eating significantly more protein than the Dietary Guidelines recommend without even trying, thanks to our meat-heavy diet. And two, our readers have really, really strong opinions about nutritional science. I’m not sure any other single piece has generated so much reaction this year.
3) “Kate Middleton says she is cancer free. But why is she and so many young people getting sick?” By Dylan Scott
Here’s another journalism lesson: If you have an in-depth story to report about a somewhat obscure health issue — in this case, the rise of certain cancers among young people — make sure you push it when one of the world’s most famous figures becomes part of that story. Dylan Scott, who has been a great addition to Future Perfect this year as an editor and writer, brings a deep expertise in health reporting to this story on the rise of colorectal cancer in patients under 50. The news that the Princess of Wales was now cancer free helped reach a much wider audience.
4) “24 Things We Think Will Happen in 2024” by Future Perfect staff
You are only human love To read about what we think will happen in the year ahead. (A separate prediction piece we did for Vox’s 10th anniversary about 10 things we think will happen in the next 10 years was also popular.) Why? I’d like to think it’s because our audience has deep faith in our ability to analyze trends that help shape the future, but maybe you’re looking forward to seeing all the wrong predictions we make. Well, good news! If you come back on December 30, you’ll see how well (or poorly) we did.
5) “Is oat milk unhealthy? That’s the wrong question.” By Benji Jones
Benz, who can usually be seen trekking to colorful locations around the world to document the plight of biodiversity for Vox’s climate segment, appeared on Future Perfect in February to dismiss the lawsuit against oat milk. As Benji explains, foods should not be categorized through a simple dichotomy of good/bad. And we mustn’t overlook the fact that nondairy oat milk is a win-win for either the environment or the animals we share it with.
6) “America Is Not Ready for Another War – Because It Has No Soldiers” by Gil Berndolar and Matthew C. by Mai
One of my goals in 2024 was to make the future of war a big part of Future Perfect’s coverage. Whether we like it or not—and I don’t—conflicts are escalating, and the technology we use in warfare is changing rapidly. That’s why I asked Catholic University Senior Research Fellow Gil Berndoler and Defense Priorities Associate Matthew C. Was very happy to see this exterior from Mai. It connects two major trends—demographic change and the rise of global conflict—and shows how they are intersecting in a way that is dangerous for the United States.
7) “8 million turkeys will be thrown in the trash this Thanksgiving” by Marina Bolotnikova
Journalism Lesson No. 3: Don’t let a big holiday go by without capitalizing on audience interest. Factory farming stories have become something of a tradition for us over Thanksgiving, but Marina’s piece was a real tour de force. He started with an outrageous premise – Americans don’t really do that choice Many turkeys — and those who care about animal welfare — have turned it into a call to take back Thanksgiving. Sidegivinganyone?
8) “Warren Buffett’s Breakup with Gates Foundation Will Shock the World” by Kelsey Piper
At Future Perfect, we do our celebrity breakup news a little differently. There is certainly delicious gossip behind billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett’s decision not to give his fortune to the Gates Foundation after his death, as had long been planned. But Kelsey was more concerned about what would be lost when Buffett’s $137 billion fortune went to his three grown children, rather than to one of the most effective global health charities. As he put it: “‘Three concerns must agree on how to spend $135 billion’ is the phrase More like the premise for a sitcom than a process that would do a real good job with that much money.”
9) “The Obscure Federal Intelligence Bureau That Got Vietnam, Iraq, and Ukraine Right” by Dylan Matthews
Dylan Matthews is best known today as the man who started an endless debate about whether it is moral to pay to rebuild Notre Dame instead of saving children’s lives. (It’s not.) But I know Dylan has nothing better to do than dig deep into an obscure part of the federal government and interview DC veterans about how things were in the old days. That aspect of Dylan led to one of my favorite stories of 2024: a profile of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research, which put much larger and better-funded intelligence agencies to shame with its oracular predictive powers.
10) “‘I’ve Lost Faith’: Why the OpenAI Team Is in Charge of Protecting Humanity” by Kelsey Piper “Seagull Samuel and leaked OpenAI documents reveal offensive tactics against former staff”
I’m cheating a little by including two stories in one slot, but hey, I’m the editor. The reality is that these two stories are deeply connected, according to an investigative report by ChatGPT-maker OpenAI that we published in May. In the first, Segal Samuel tapped former OpenAI employees to give the inside story on how the AI startup’s superintendence team — the people charged with securing future superintelligence — went kaput. In the second, Kelsey Piper obtained company documents showing that CEO Sam Altman was being untruthful about the way he was using threats to block OpenAI equity sales to keep former employees in line. These stories broke the news and drove real change at perhaps the most important AI company out there. There is no better example of the impact of Future Perfect on the world in 2024.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Future Perfect Newsletter. Sign up here!
