Merry Christmas, friends!

2022 has been one of my most personally fulfilling years so far.

I wrote a book, interviewed a number of fascinating people, and watched my daughter transform from a baby to a toddler. Those are the highlights, of course. But 2022 has also been filled with a number of moments that weren’t always easy to navigate.

Through it all, however, I always knew there was one uplifting corner of the internet: this newsletter and its amazing readers. Each year, I’m so thankful for our conversations and for those of you who reach out with great ideas, kind words, and helpful feedback.

Below, I’ve compiled some of the best profiles, interviews, podcasts, and videos that I’ve shared throughout the year. I hope you enjoy.

Here is 2022 through the eyes of The Profile. (If you want more year-end-reviews, check out the 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017 editions as well.)

✨ BEST PROFILE DOSSIERS

(These are normally only accessible to premium members but I've unlocked them for a limited time. If you want the full archive, become a premium member here.)

• Diana Nyad, the first person to swim unassisted from Cuba to Florida

• Jerry Seinfeld, the lifelong student of comedy

• Melanie Perkins, the billionaire founder of the world's most valuable software startup

• Svante Pääbo, the geneticist unlocking the secrets of our DNA

• Martine Rothblatt, the futurist creating life-saving technology

• Ron Finley, the gangster gardener

✨ BEST PROFILE COLUMNS

• Q&A with Polina: How I Built the Profile (I answer reader questions about making mistakes, generating ideas, growing a newsletter, building daily habits, reading memoirs, and more.)

• 15 Months Without Alcohol (If you’re “sober-curious,” this one’s for you.)

• 10 Practical Pieces of Advice for First-Time Parents (I crowdsourced the ultimate guide to parenthood.)

• Why You’ll Never Win the Status Game (Although it’s impossible to opt out of the status game, you can play with good intent.)

• Inside the Book-Writing Process: How I Wrote a Book in the ‘Edges of Time’ (Here's the truth about how I wrote a book while taking care of a newborn.)

✨ BEST PROFILE ORIGINAL INTERVIEWS

• Bridgewater co-CEO Mark Bertolini offers practical strategies to help us become better leaders in our personal and professional endeavors

• UFC Champion Francis Ngannou explains what it really means to bet on yourself

• Photojournalist Lynsey Addario shares stories from the front line and delves into how she assesses risk in a war zone

• Author Robert Hoge teaches us how to accept our imperfections, differences, and all the "ugly" things that make us uniquely ourselves.

…The above is only an excerpt. Read the full article below:

Read the Full Article Here

PROFILES.

— The CEO of Anti-Woke, Inc [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The iconic author-editor duo
— The mom who stole her daughter’s identity
— Hollywood’s power player
— The Christmas tree tycoons

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The CEO of Anti-Woke, Inc: Biotech founder Vivek Ramaswamy believes that “woke-ism” has overtaken religious faith, patriotism, and the work ethic as a key American value. Corporate virtue-signaling and hypocrisy are everywhere, he says. “Let’s muse about the racially disparate impact of climate change as you fly on a private jet to Davos,” he told an audience. To Ramaswamy, ESG is simply a smoke screen designed to distract from the less virtuous things that companies do to make money. Here’s why he stepped away from his business to become a cultural critic. (The New Yorker)

“That is this new secular religion in America that says that your identity is based on your race, your gender, and your sexual orientation, full stop.”

The iconic author-editor duo: Bob Gottlieb, 91, has edited author Bob Caro, 87, since his first book, The Power Broker, was published in 1974. The two men often spar during the editing process on subjects great and small. There were, apparently, many blowups about punctuation, most especially the semi-colon: Caro for, Gottlieb against. Take a look inside this 50-year friendship. (New York Magazine)

“The editor’s relationship to a book should be an invisible one.”

The mom who stole her daughter’s identity: In early 2016, a blonde stranger with round cheeks arrived at a domestic violence shelter near the small town of West Plains, Missouri, visibly shaken. She said her name was Lauren Ashleigh Hays and that she was 22 years old. For the next two and a half years, Lauren thrived. She led story time for the kids at a local library, appeared in a production of a Jesus-centered domestic violence play, and dated her fair share of the town’s young men. But the persona she was building would turn out to be an outrageous lie. And then she was gone, leaving residents to wonder who she really was, and if any of the love and care they had invested in her ever meant a thing. (ELLE Magazine)

“The lies were small at first, lies a child would tell. Then things escalated.”

Hollywood’s power player: Jessica Chastain’s passion for telling women’s stories has won her a Best Actress title, inspired a production company, and made her a bold-faced name within the industry. But the Hollywood heavyweight isn't stopping now. (Marie Claire)

“There's no part of our industry that she doesn't see as a learning opportunity.”

The Christmas tree tycoons: Christmas trees are big business in New York. A few eccentric, obsessed, sometimes ruthless tycoons control the sale of almost every single tree in the city. They call themselves “tree men,” and they spend 11 months a year preparing for Christmastime — which, to them, is a blistering 30-day sprint to grab as much cash as they can. (Curbed)

“Greg is Christmas incarnate.”

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