Christmas Specials
A thousand words
The year as told through illustrations
Our art department staff looked back to highlight some of their favourites from the past year
Show and tell
A year of our visual journalism
In 2024 we found new ways to cover a range of topics, from war to the future of energy—and, of course, elections.
How good are good Samaritans?
When doing the right thing goes wrong
How a car crash in Los Angeles rewrote the law on helping strangers
The titanic Triassic
Of all the geological periods, the Triassic was the most fabulous
In 50m years it spawned dinosaurs, seafood, geopolitics—and our distant ancestors
Home for the holidays
A network of volunteers is rescuing dogs and cats by bringing them north
Tens of thousands of animals are moved to new states each year, so they can find homes
Around the world in 50m paces
A journalist retraces humanity’s journey out of Africa—on foot
The Economist tries “slow journalism” with Paul Salopek
The Japanese art of child-rearing
Why do small children in Japan ride the subway alone?
The pluses and pitfalls of the world’s most disciplined primary schools
Life, the universe and everything
A chart that shows everything that has ever existed
Could the universe itself be a black hole?
The Ivy League rat race
Finance, consulting and tech are gobbling up top students
Are they abandoning their dreams—and does that matter?
Carnal knowledge
How better data could lead to better sex
What we don’t know about human sexual behaviour is scandalous
The tadpole that conquered the world
How the axolotl rose from obscurity to global stardom
A tale that unites Alexander von Humboldt, Diego Rivera and Pokémon
