Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek 2022 Jealousy List
All the stories we wish we wrote this year.
At Bloomberg Businessweek, we don’t overpay for social media platforms, try to back out of M&A deals, force employees to declare how hardcore they are, or bloviate about free speech while suspending the accounts of pesky journalists. No, far from it. In fact, we at the magazine and our friends throughout Bloomberg News have an annual rite of passage dedicated to free speech: the Jealousy List, wherein we honor our peers, competitors and rivals for committing such annoyingly great journalism that they deserve a tip of the cap. Congratulations for ruining our year, Elon—er, honorees! —The Editors
Max Abelson, finance reporter, Bloomberg News, @maxabelson
Set Adrift
from the New York Times
Forget The White Lotus. The story about tragedy in paradise that will stay with me is this gripping and grim account of two men disappearing into the South Pacific. David Wolman’s reporting on the lives they’d led emphasizes the cruelty—and toll—of the pandemic era’s disinformation.
Jim Aley, features editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @jimaley
The Colorful History of Haribo Goldbears, the World’s First Gummy Bears
from Smithsonian Magazine
As my colleagues can attest, I have two consistent cravings: (1) longform articles about some fascinating, little-known aspect of business history and (2) gummy bears. This piece hits both. And I’m jealous for not knowing that 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of Haribo Gold Bears—obvious news peg. Congrats, Michele Herrmann of Smithsonian Magazine for this scoop of chewy deliciousness.
Ari Altstedter, reporter, Bloomberg News, @aaltsted
What Do Female Incels Really Want?
from the Atlantic
Kaitlyn Tiffany is my favorite writer on internet culture, and this story sums up why. It profiles a community of women who, like the notorious male “incels,” say society has forced them into involuntary celibacy. Tiffany engages with these women’s ideas rather than trivializing them and reveals fascinating insights about how gender and dating work, both online and off.
Stephanie Baker, reporter, Bloomberg News, @StephaniBaker
Londongrad: How the Lebedevs partied their way to power
from Tortoise
I thought I knew the story of how former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny cozied up to former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This story (and podcast) didn’t tell me anything new, but it stitched events together in an alarming way. Evgeny’s rise from London party boy to Lord Lebedev, against the advice of the security services, is riveting.
Dina Bass, technology reporter/Seattle bureau chief, Bloomberg News, @dinabass
A charter school chain promised a world-class education. Instead they billed the state and let kids ‘sit there quietly’
from KUOW
A classic example of shoe-leather, public service reporting. KUOW’s Ann Dornfeld spoke with 50 parents and staff at Washington state’s largest charter school chain about how English-language learners and students with special needs—many of them children of color from low-income families—were shortchanged and held back as the chain collected state funding for promised services.
Susan Berfield, senior reporter, Bloomberg News, @susanberfield
The Landlord & the Tenant
from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and ProPublica
This incredible investigation took nine months to report. It was worth the time! This is a devastating and infuriating story about two people whose lives collide in the worst way possible. The reporting is impeccable, the writing spare and direct. The result is a portrait of a dysfunctional system (several, actually) that enables a landlord to do great harm and requires a tenant to pay a terrible price.
Matthew Boyle, senior reporter, Work Shift, @bizboyle
Fútbol with Grant Wahl
from Fútbol with Grant Wahl podcast
Grant Wahl’s untimely death while covering the World Cup in Qatar hit me hard, as I’ve known him since I was a cub reporter and he an editor at our college newspaper. He chose to cover soccer (both men’s and women’s) when it was still an afterthought in the US, and his stories chronicling not just the games but also the personalities and politics behind the scenes helped take it mainstream. This is his fantastic podcast.
Aeriel Brown, photo editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
28 Days
from Glamour
I thought about paid parental leave a lot this year—especially during the first four weeks of my own leave with a sick, colicky baby. This interactive story felt personal. It’s well researched, well executed, sensitive and unflinching. It shows what 28 days’ postpartum looks like—and makes the case for paid leave for families and birthing people.
Joshua Brustein, technology editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @joshuabrustein
Line Goes Up — The Problem With NFTs
from Folding Ideas, YouTube
I spent an embarrassing amount of time on crypto this year, and two of the most joyful hours were spent watching this savage video. It assumes the natural format of a crypto explainer—an infinitely confident dude looking straight the camera and talking and talking—to tear it all down. It’s overly long and probably too mean, but looking back, it’s hard not to conclude that Dan Olson had it all right.
Thomas Buckley, reporter, Bloomberg News, @tgbuckley
Inside James Cameron’s Billion-Dollar Bet on ‘Avatar’
from the Hollywood Reporter
James Cameron is one of the most successful and expensive filmmakers in Hollywood history. His highly anticipated Avatar sequel, which opened in theaters on Dec. 16, needs to gross about $2 billion just to break even. No one captures his talent and the stakes better than Rebecca Keegan, the author of a book on Cameron’s life and work.
Noah Buhayar, data editor, Bloomberg News, @nbuhayar
Play mini golf to see how politicians tilt elections using maps
from the Washington Post
Stories about political gerrymandering usually make my eyes glaze over, but this piece from the Washington Post made me outraged anew. It’s a great example of how interactive journalism can make us engage in fresh ways with important topics.
Katherine Burton, senior reporter, Bloomberg News, @burtonkathy
Retirement the Margaritaville Way
from the New Yorker
Nick Paumgarten’s article on Jimmy Buffett’s Florida retirement communities is part business story, part commentary on the economy, tax policy and aging in America. It’s told with much humor, and even though it’s written in the first person, Paumgarten’s voice never overshadows the story’s characters.
Austin Carr, technology reporter, Bloomberg News, @AustinCarr
Javanka in Exile
from Washingtonian
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were big names in business for years, constantly blurring the line between the corporate and political worlds. Then, abruptly after the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, the power couple disappeared. To where? Turns out they’ve been hiding in plain sight in Surfside, Florida. For Washingtonian magazine, reporter Bob Norman explores their Sunshine State exile.
Max Chafkin, columnist, Bloomberg Businessweek, @chafkin
The evolution of Blake Masters
from Jewish Insider
Jewish Insider’s scoops about Peter Thiel’s protege revealed not only Masters’s political vulnerabilities but also the weakness of Thiel’s broader vision for the Republican Party. Matthew Kassel unearthed Masters’s old posts on forums for gun enthusiasts and body builders to paint a portrait of a coherence-challenged contrarian who had, over the years, flirted with elements of the extreme and kooky far right.
Emma Court, health-care reporter, Bloomberg News, @emmarcourt
Hello, World! Part One: Eliza
from the Paris Review
I don’t know what, exactly, I expected AI chatbots to be like or to say, but this series of conversations between AI chatbots and author Sheila Heti completely broke my brain—in a good way. In this first part, Heti and “Eliza” talk about everything from God to the internet’s purpose and even what it’s like to be a bot. Brilliant!
Alan Crawford, senior editor, Bloomberg News, @ACBerlin
Chris Arnade Walks the World
from Substack
Chris Arnade brings a refreshing honesty to his walks, introducing readers to the lives and neighborhoods of societies left behind in a meander that takes in bar reviews, exchanges on buses and thoughts on urban planning. Best known as a photographer, his dispatches from the US border with Mexico give agency to the poor, often recent immigrants, and manage to convey a compelling portrait of modern America.
Enda Curran, reporter, Bloomberg News, @endacurran
Inside Chernobyl, 200 Exhausted Staff Toil Round the Clock at Russian Gunpoint
from the Wall Street Journal
Great reporting on one of the subplots of the Russian invasion of Ukraine: the risk of a nuclear disaster. The WSJ reporters vividly captured behind-the-scenes detail as the Chernobyl plant found itself in the middle of conflict. Anyone who was engrossed by the HBO drama should read this dispatch.
Anna Edney, national health-care reporter, Bloomberg News, @annaedney
When They Warn of Rare Disorders, These Prenatal Tests Are Usually Wrong
from the New York Times
Sarah Kliff and Aatish Bhatia found that more often than not, the grave predictions that newer prenatal tests offer are usually wrong. Kliff has a talent for illuminating broken parts of the US health-care system, and once again she didn’t disappoint.
Shawn Donnan, senior writer for economics, Bloomberg News, @sdonnan
Yukon salmon populations are falling. The cultural damage is vast.
from the Washington Post
The features I’m most jealous of have me ruing a missed adventure. Reading this by Bathsheba Demuth and Olivia Ebertz had me traipsing through the subarctic, dipping my toes in the Yukon, absorbing the silence in the fishing camps. It’s about what we’re losing. That it was in one of the final editions of the Post’s venerable Outlook section, which we lost this year, resonated all the more.
Paula Dwyer, senior editor, Bloomberg News, @paulaEdwyer
The Remote Control Killers Behind Russia’s Cruise Missile Strikes on Ukraine
from Bellingcat
If you (like me) ever wanted to experience the adrenaline rush of being a war correspondent but didn’t think you had the chops or the nerve (yup, me again), now you can be Ernie Pyle from your armchair. Throughout the 11 months of war in Ukraine, Bellingcat.com has used open-source intelligence to pull together pretty amazing investigative details about Russian weaponry, troop movements and drone strikes. One remarkable piece in October revealed that Russia has seconded young men and women in Moscow and St. Petersburg with IT and video-gaming backgrounds to target the cruise missiles pummeling Ukraine’s energy grid.
Josh Eidelson, labor reporter, Bloomberg News, @josheidelson
The Rise of the Worker Productivity Score
from the New York Times
A panoramic look at how and why workers in all sorts of industries—bankers, radiologists, cashiers, architects, attorneys—became subject to digital monitoring that measures (often incorrectly) how much and how well they’re working. It’s a tour de force investigation that illuminates the allure of this technology for management and the costs for workers and the public: lack of bathroom breaks, persistent anxiety and perverse incentives.
James Gaddy, deputy editor, Bloomberg Pursuits
How a Phoenix record store owner set the audiophile world on fire
from the Washington Post
You don’t have to be a crate digger to get drawn into this story about how a company that built a successful business by marketing high-quality vinyl records to music nerds was undone through a mixture of hubris and stupidity. It’s further proof that years of training aren’t necessary to commit journalism—just passion and a nose for truth.
Akayla Gardner, White House reporter, Bloomberg News, @gardnerakayla
Just Wait Until You Get to Know Ron DeSantis
from the Atlantic
Mark Leibovich masterfully wrote about what many in the political world have only whispered about Ron DeSantis, one of the most-talked-about potential challengers to Donald Trump’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination. He persuaded politicians to share painstaking awkward interactions with the Florida governor over his years in public service, and ultimately peeled back the curtain on one of the GOP’s not-so-charismatic rising stars.
Eric Gelman, news editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @eag111
Anti-Social Conservatives
from Gawker
Many excellent essays have tried to explain the virulence of the MAGA movement. This one focuses on the nihilistic contempt for a civil society based on compassion and caring about others that is at the heart of today’s conservative movement.
Felix Gillette, editor, reporter, co-author of It’s Not TV: The spectacular rise, revolution, and future of HBO, @felixgillette
Sources: Commanders boss Snyder claims ‘dirt’ on NFL owners, Goodell
from ESPN
Some truly great reporting on a truly not-great business culture.
Ellen Huet, tech reporter, Bloomberg News, @ellenhuet
A Crime Beyond Belief
from the Atavist Magazine
In this unbelievable true-crime yarn, someone says: “There’s this saying, ‘If you hear hooves, think horses not zebras.’ But zebras do exist.” Katia Savchuk paints a devastating portrait of how police and investigators assumed a California woman’s kidnapping was an elaborate hoax—but the truth was even more bizarre.
Benedikt Kammel, senior editor, European editing hub, Bloomberg News, @bekammel
A Girl Loses Her Mother in the Jungle, and a Migrant Dream Dies
from the New York Times
Some stories linger with you for a long time, and this one certainly did. A harrowing tale of raw determination and drama, with a happy ending of sorts. Powerful photos that really bring to life human tragedy but also human kindness.
Jeremy Keehn, features editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @jeremy_keehn
True Grit
from the Atavist Magazine
One of my favorite nature writers, J.B. MacKinnon, tells of three feral cows who survived the flood that engulfed Cedar Island, North Carolina, when Hurricane Dorian struck. How did this near-miracle occur? MacKinnon explores reasons hydrological, evolutionary and behavioral, asking in the process whether cows get their proper due. The final paragraphs will break your heart, then delight you.
Devin Leonard, senior writer, Bloomberg News, @devinleonard
The Sordid Saga of Hunter Biden’s Laptop
from New York Magazine
This sprawling examination by Andrew Rice and Olivia Nuzzi of one of the most divisive topics in recent US history has everything a great magazine needs: fantastic scenes, characters, quotes, insights. Just wish I’d written it!
Tim Loh, reporter, Bloomberg News, @timloh
Meeting the Ancestors: DNA from a medieval German cemetery opens a window on the history of today’s largest Jewish population
from Science
Andrew Curry captures so much of the promise—and sensitivities—of the burgeoning field of ancient DNA research with this colorful, lively feature on researchers who extracted almost-700-year-old genetic material from dental remains in a 14th century Jewish burial site in central Germany. The DNA shines a new light on the origins of Ashkenazim, the world’s major Jewish population.
Jessica Loudis, senior editor, Bloomberg News, @jl142
‘How Did This Man Think He Had the Right to Adopt This Baby?’
from the New York Times Magazine
Rozina Ali goes deep into the case of “Baby L,” an Afghan infant who was adopted by a US Marine—against the wishes of her family—after her parents were killed in an American military operation. A brilliant/infuriating/riveting story that should be on the desk of anybody involved in making foreign policy.
Leonor Mamanna, senior photo editor, Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Pursuits
The Humiliating History of the TSA
from the Verge
The lead alone is worthy of making the list, but this long read on the history of TSA security, with tremendously good anecdotes and strong reporting, is something I think about every time I get to the airport.
Annie Massa, investing reporter, Bloomberg News, @antoniabmassa
The Surreal Case of a CIA Hacker’s Revenge
from the New Yorker
Did an irascible CIA hacker—whose temper earned him the nickname “Nuclear Option”—leak troves of top-secret data because he was vexed with his co-workers? Blending espionage and petty office grievances, this story was a Jealousy List no-brainer from the minute I read it. Patrick Radden Keefe does it again, durn it.
Liz McCormick, chief correspondent, Bloomberg News, @mccormickliz
Rebecca Walker: Women Talk Money interview
from Rational Reminder Podcast
This podcast delves into how people’s views, choices and emotions—especially women’s—are formed regarding money. I passed it on to my daughters so they can be in charge of their own financial futures. Given that it’s an anthology of various women in different life circumstances, it touches on many important themes—and the struggles that women, women of color and marginalized people face.
Anders Melin, wealth reporter, Bloomberg News, @melinanders
Inside Wealth-Conference Con Man Anthony Ritossa’s Wild Web of Lies
from Vanity Fair
Adam Ciralsky’s account of a con man in high finance is a reminder that what matters above all else in journalism is this: the story. Many probably wrote off Anthony Ritossa as shady but inconsequential. Ciralsky, however, started digging and uncovered a classic tale of how lies beget more lies that eventually, infallibly, collapse under their own weight.
Mark Milian, managing editor, Bloomberg Technology, @markmilian
Francis Ford Coppola’s $100 Million Bet
from GQ
I’m fascinated by auteurs and by the idea of a lifelong project. Christopher Nolan conceived his film Inception when he was 16. At 17, John Lennon wrote One After 909 and finally finished it for the Beatles’ final album. Megalopolis might be the grandest of them all, and this article finely captures the weight of such an endeavor.
Jeff Muskus, features editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @JeffMuskus
Kabul Falling
from Project Brazen
This podcast series by Project Brazen hands the mic at unparalleled length to ordinary Afghans caught in the Taliban takeover and its aftermath. The team’s grit and dedication to telling these kinds of stories, in this way, is inspiring. The subjects’ voices have stayed with me.
Jordi Ng, art director, Bloomberg Businessweek
Did the Oscar-Winning Director Asghar Farhadi Steal Ideas?
from the New Yorker
A well-written story about how the internationally acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (whose films I love) stands accused by a former student he taught in a documentary workshop of stealing her idea for a film. Against the backdrop of the female-led counterrevolution in Iran, this reckoning for one of Iran’s foremost filmmakers is an extremely powerful story.
Natalie Obiko Pearson, investigations reporter, Bloomberg News, @natalieobiko
The Demon River
from Hakai
J.B. MacKinnon takes the most unpromising of topics—weather patterns and infrastructure—and turns it into a thriller-like read about Western Canada’s worst storm ever. I lived the event and covered it as a reporter, but couldn’t convey the enormity of what was happening. That’s a common failure, I think, of climate change reporting. This is how it’s done.
Emma O’Brien, managing editor for Asia global business and Covid coverage czar, Bloomberg News, @ek_obrien
Proud, Scared and Conflicted. What the China Protesters Told Me.
from the New York Times
Getting anyone to talk in Xi Jinping’s China is tough, which makes Li Yuan’s conversations with a dozen young people who took part in November’s protests against Covid Zero truly remarkable. Although seemingly shortlived, the demonstrations across China’s cities showed the world that even the most powerful authoritarian government can be shaken, and that it’s more vulnerable than ever.
David Papadopoulos, senior editor, Bloomberg News, @davidelgreco
In Record Numbers, Venezuelans Risk a Deadly Trek to Reach the U.S. Border
from the New York Times
It’s hard to look at the pictures, but that’s what makes this piece so powerful. As someone who’s covered Venezuela for decades, I’ve been involved in a lot of stories on the crisis there and have read many pieces about the horrors of the Darien Gap. None of them has ever affected me quite the way these images did.
Rebecca Penty, senior editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @rpenty
Is What You Believe About Food Sustainability Wrong? Robert Paarlberg Thinks So.
from Business for Good Podcast
I love when journalists amplify well-informed perspectives that contradict prevailing views on important topics. Paul Shapiro does just that in his interview with Harvard University professor Robert Paarlberg, who challenges the notion that buying local, when it comes to food, is preferable. The interview is part of a body of thought-provoking work from Shapiro’s Business for Good Podcast.
Pat Regnier, finance editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @patregnier
Divisions in Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire Blur on His Trading Titan Alameda’s Balance Sheet
from CoinDesk
Ian Allison’s story on the strange holdings of Sam Bankman-Fried’s hedge fund was the first domino to fall in a chain reaction that revealed FTX to be insolvent. CoinDesk and Allison deserve recognition for editorial grit: The news site’s owner is a cryptocurrency conglomerate that’s been hurt by fall of FTX.
David Rocks, senior editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @RealDavidRocks
The Precarious Future of Sanibel Island: After Hurricane Ian, should the government help people rebuild, or help them leave?
from the New Yorker
After Hurricane Ian ripped through Florida’s Gulf Coast in autumn, residents of Sanibel Island—which tops out at a maximum elevation just a few feet above sea level—swore to rebuild. This thoughtful piece from the New Yorker examines whether that’s a good idea.
Danielle Sacks, senior editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @daniellesacks
The Future of Abortion in a Post-Roe America
from the Atlantic
While most of us still hadn’t taken seriously the possibility that Roe v. Wade might be overturned, Jessica Bruder had already embedded with the midwives, doulas and other activists pragmatically plotting for the unimaginable that would soon become our reality. In a piece that’s somehow both harrowing and a delight to read, it thrusts you into this secret network of abortion-refugee preppers.
Erik Schatzker, editorial director, New Economy Forum, @ErikSchatzker
The Elon Financial Mindf---
from Puck
This prescient piece unpacked and exposed the brutal financial truths (i.e., zero equity value) of Elon Musk’s Twitter deal before anyone else could figure out the math. William D. Cohan’s analysis has since been parroted by everyone, and Musk is actively seeking a solution to the desperate debt problem revealed here.
Deena Shanker, reporter, Bloomberg News, @deenashanker
Oatly’s Growing Pains Trip Up Pioneer of Oat Milk
from the Wall Street Journal
Plant-based companies that can’t make their products is supposed to be MY beat! Although we’ve broken news on Oatly’s leaving customers empty handed, WSJ got behind the curtain and told us why it was happening. Good for them!
Stacey Shick, editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @staceyshick
The Philly pole climber who caught and shotgunned 7 beers says, ‘This is not my first rodeo’
from the Philadelphia Inquirer
When the Philadelphia Phillies made it to the World Series in October, fans celebrated in the streets as only Philly does: by climbing the light poles. Stephanie Farr’s interview with a man who got too drunk to come down is so full of delicious details and wacky twists that you’ll have no regrets reading it (much like “Shrimp” himself).
Alexander Shoukas, design director, Bloomberg Businessweek
Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone
from BBC
Adam Curtis’s BBC series on the collapse of communism in Russia simply shows footage and captions from that period, making you feel like a witness to it happening in real time. With more voices than ever fighting to narrate the world to us, there’s something to the idea of letting images do the talking.
Anne VanderMey, tech editor, Bloomberg News, @vandermey
$100 Million to Cut the Time Tax
from the Atlantic
Annie Lowrey put a bow on a maddening American injustice when she coined the term “Time Tax.” The phrase describes the bureaucracy foisted onto the US public—think tax-filing tedium and the lengthy paperwork required to receive even modest government benefits. Happily, her latest look at the issue is sunnier, examining fresh efforts to address the problem.
Joel Weber, editor, Bloomberg Businessweek, @joelwebershow
Andrew Ross Sorkin’s Interview of Sam Bankman-Fried
from DealBook Summit
For a moment there, SBF wasn’t talking. (Then he couldn’t help himself and wouldn’t stop talking. And now he’s in jail, not really talking again.) Sorkin delivered the goods with his exclusive interview—best enjoyed with beer and popcorn—and reminded all of us: When you’re first, you’re first.
Lee Wilson, art director, Bloomberg Businessweek
The Ferrari Fugitives
from Toronto Life
An incredible story of fraud and deception that involves dubious binary options trading and the life savings of countless innocent victims around the globe. The story follows three brothers from St. Catharines, Ontario—Josh, Jonathan and David Cartu—who siphoned millions of dollars to fuel a life of luxury.
Jane Yeomans, photo editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
Eli Detweiler Is The Auctioneer
from the Bitter Southerner
A tale of economic change told through the auctioneer. The photos are great—and I love that you can hear him auctioning off items.
Daniel Zuidijk, journalist, Bloomberg News, @dzuidijk
How Telegram Became the Anti-Facebook
from Wired
We’ve heard so much about Facebook and Twitter in the past few years, but the messaging app Telegram has received precious little coverage. In an instant, this February story by Darren Loucaides changed that. His reporting in Wired marked the start of a trend that would see the app treated with the same seriousness afforded to its better-known competitors.