Being the voice of Paddington Bear and serving as a wartime head of state are typically roles for different people, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has both on his resume. He’s had the world’s attention since 2019, when he parlayed his popularity as a comedy actor into a hugely successful presidential campaign. But after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Zelensky’s international prominence rose to a new level.

As the face of the war effort, Zelensky is widely perceived as the embodiment of Ukraine’s resoluteness in the fight for its independence and the democratic values it shares with its Western allies. Ukraine’s army is smaller and less powerful than that of its enemy, so garnering the support of sympathetic countries has been instrumental to its ability to sustain a prolonged defensive campaign. Zelensky’s ability to generate positive PR for his country’s cause and secure much-needed aid and military equipment have been key contributors to Ukraine’s military successes.

The sketch comedian-turned-supreme commander in chief seemingly possesses an endless supply of swagger and media savvy—traits that have helped him rally the troops at home and win critical support abroad. From his olive green attire to his stubble, everything about Zelensky’s wartime appearance conveys one message: He is fighting alongside his people.

“The president is here”

At the onset of the war, US officials reportedly offered to help Zelensky evacuate from the country. He didn’t take them up on it, and is said to have responded with the now-iconic motto, “I need ammunition, not a ride.”

He secured the ammo, as well as the admiration of Ukraine supporters worldwide. Starting on the second day of the war, when Zelensky declared “the president is here” in a selfie video recorded on a street in Kyiv’s government district, his regular addresses to the nation remain a powerful rallying cry. He’s also used speeches to lawmakers in allied nations to set the agenda on international support for the war effort and hasn’t shied away from leveraging social media to speak directly to Russian citizens.

Zelensky’s popularity beyond Ukraine’s borders is such a potent force that some world leaders have been accused of copying Zelensky’s style and exploiting visits to Kyiv as photo ops to boost their own popularity at home.

Place in history: Zelensky’s public persona as a courageous statesman leading his country through its darkest hour has drawn comparisons to Winston Churchill. But as with Churchill’s tenure, Zelensky’s presidency is not devoid of controversy. Both his war and peacetime governing will ultimately play a part in shaping his legacy.

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Runner-up: Elon Musk

Most newsrooms have long established an Elon Musk beat, but the former world’s richest person really outdid himself in newsworthiness in the past twelve months. The habitually provocative entrepreneur apparently figured that stirring the pot on Twitter wasn’t enough, so this year he decided to buy it.

His tumultuous acquisition of the bird app in the name of turning it into his own free-speech utopia, as well as the subsequent mass layoffs and fraught policy changes at the company, were nothing short of a variety show (except with real people). In case anyone got bored, there were also scandalous attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, which prompted a not-so-diplomatic response from the country’s foreign ministry.

Musk’s purchase of Twitter has caused troubles at his other companies: Tesla stock has lost a significant chunk of its value since the acquisition. His controversial decisions made even some of the biggest Musk loyalists question his judgment, and led to a wider recognition that perhaps our tech billionaires don’t have brilliant solutions to all of life’s problems.

Runner-up: SCOTUS

In June, months after a draft opinion leaked, a majority of the Supreme Court’s justices ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in a decision that upended decades of reproductive health policy in the US and had a profound impact on the fall’s midterm elections. More landmark decisions are coming next year and this time they’ll affect generations of current and former college students: SCOTUS will rule on the legality of POTUS’s student debt forgiveness plan and affirmative action in college admissions.—SK

In August, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a virtual selfie on Facebook to celebrate the launch of the company’s Horizon Worlds metaverse platform in France and Spain. It looked like it came straight out of GoldenEye 007 on N64, and he was promptly roasted to a crisp by the internet hordes.

Some choice commentary:

• “Love how they perfectly captured the cold, soulless, and empty Zuckerborg corporate approved feeling”—Twitter user lukebju19951
• “In fortnite you can be Goku with a shotgun”—Twitter user lordbeef

After Zuckerberg endured plenty of cyberbullying, he posted a new, higher-res virtual self-portrait that featured much more detailed background imagery on Instagram. He admitted via caption, “I know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic…the graphics in Horizon are capable of much more.”

However, the new images—like Horizon World’s similarly unimpressive legless avatars—still looked more like an old Pixar movie than the latest Halo. And that caused the internet to question…what exactly is Meta spending billions of dollars on?

Bottom line: Meta has gone all-in on its metaverse and its augmented- and virtual reality technologies, but the effort is bleeding money. And, at least so far, it’s not earning the company many likes from the public.

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Runner-up: BalenciagaGate

Balenciaga’s holiday campaign featured child models holding teddy bear-shaped bags decked out in BDSM-style gear. The luxury brand quickly apologized, but internet sleuths discovered legal documents concerning child pornography in photos for another campaign that further stoked the fire—and prompted a second apology the same day. Even longtime Balenciaga supporter Kim Kardashian publicly denounced the brand.

Runner-up: An Applebee’s commercial during a CNN news segment on the Ukraine war

Applebee’s was metaphorically pelted with awesome blossoms after an advertisement for “$1 boneless wings” aired split screen-style next to the news outlet’s live coverage of Russia invading Kyiv. Applebee’s served dad energy in its apology, saying it was “disappointed” in CNN for running the ad. After the incident, the fast-casual restaurant suspended all its advertising on the network.—JW

While we consider ourselves the funniest, most brilliant, and most gorgeous team at the company, the Brew’s video team is clearly coming for the throne with the truly hilarious content they produced over the past year.

Here are some of the most popular Brew videos from 2022.

The best of TikTok:

• Worth it? A breakdown of HBO Max’s House of the Dragon
• 60-Second Startup: A chat with the CEO trying to revolutionize the future of allergy treatment
• An explainer: Why doesn’t Taylor Swift own her own music?

The best of YouTube Shorts:

• Our most viewed video ever: Employee Social Experiment
• Asking the big questions: How much to rent this in NYC?
• Technically in compliance: How salary transparency in NYC is working out
• IYKYK: Signs your employees are watching the World Cup in the office

The best of YouTube:

• Fresh energy: What it’s like to have a Gen Z coworker
• Unique challenges: Training a CEO to be human

The best of Instagram:

• How much for a house? Money with Katie argues with her dad
• Top tip from Excel Dictionary: How to remove an image background

This week, we’re resurfacing the most-clicked “Brew’s Bets” from the entire year.

Dive back into the week:

• Shallow dive: The ancient Turkish art of marbling, called Ebru.
• Medium dive: Dozens of useful fitness tips.
• Deep dive: Learn this trick to never forget the difference between i.e. and e.g. again.
• Cannonball: 100 ways to slightly improve your life without really trying.

Turntable: It’s the final Turntable of the year . If you haven’t tried our find-the-word game at all in 2022, well…December 26 seems like the perfect time to start. Play it here.

2022 markets trivia

It’s been a mostly terrible year for assets worldwide due to central banks jacking up interest rates to tame soaring inflation. In today’s quiz, we’ll see just how closely you’ve been following our Markets section all year. In the first section you’ll find a selection of assets, and you have to pair them with their year-to-date performance in the second section.

Section 1

Bitcoin, WTI crude oil, S&P 500, Campbell Soup, Tesla, Amazon, Exxon Mobil

Section 2

+71%
+31%
+4.3%
–19.8%
–50%
–64.9%
–69%

*Performance as of market close on Friday, December 23.

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+71% (Exxon Mobil)

+31% (Campbell Soup)

+4.3% (Oil)

–19.8% (S&P)

–50% (Amazon)

–64.9% (bitcoin)

–69% (Tesla)