The Conversation produced more than 2,200 articles in 2022. Ten of our readers’ favorites are listed below. Each one represents a different “desk” – or subject area focus – at The Conversation.

Dreaming up, commissioning and editing stories that resonate with readers the way these do is no easy task. In my role of managing editor, I often describe The Conversation as “the little newsroom that could,” because we employ a mere 20 editors. Just to give you an idea of scale, The New York Times – considered by some the largest news organization in the world – employs approximately 1,700 journalists.

We were able to produce so much outstanding content last year thanks to our close collaboration with academics willing to share their expertise – from a group of engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder who calculated a nuanced answer to the common question of whether you save energy by turning down your air conditioning before leaving the house to an educator who explained why she gave up grading papers.

We heard a lot last year about news fatigue, but many of these stories were read over a million times, either on our website or through one of the thousand other media outlets that trust us enough to pick up our content.

Of course, it is not just the blockbusters that made our team proud. As a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, we don’t chase clicks and we’re able to do stories that we feel are important and under-covered by other media.

Here are a few stories you may have missed that are well worth a read:

Newsletter and Special Projects Editor Martin LaMonica suggests this compilation of stories examining the historical origins of the war in Ukraine.

Our outreach team of Katrina Aman and Joel Abrams have many favorites, but suggest this biography of Ada Limón, published as she stepped into her new role as poet laureate.

I found some new insights in this story about how aging muscles respond to exercise.

I’m excited about what our team will produce in 2023. Send me a note and let me know what you’re curious about in 2023. Maybe your idea will land on this list next New Year’s Day.

Thanks for reading and supporting our work!