As writers, we are propelled to read a lot. It comes with the territory. Sometimes we come across brilliant articles and stories that leave us thinking “Why didn’t I think of that?” But always ends with us saying, “that was a beautiful piece”. So we thought to put together some of the amazing stories written by fellow writers at other media organizations. This list is dedicated to remarkable writers whose stories inspired us this year. Here is a compilation of great stories from other writers we wish we wrote in 2022.

The banks collapsed in 2008 – and our food system is about to do the same (from The Guardian by George Monbiot)

While financial collapse would have been devastating to human welfare, food system collapse doesn’t bear thinking about – George Monbiot.

While this article by Monbiot presents itself as yet another article in a pool of others that has revealed we all are about to go hungry in the world, the article remains distinct. Using a previous event of huge concern, Monbiot uses non-technical terms to explain how global food, like global finance, is a complex system and how a slight disturbance can tip the entire system over its critical foundation.

Of course, one need not be told of how essential food systems are to the 8 billion people across the world presently. We have seen death, conflict, disease, and poverty stemming from food insecurity in some parts of the world, especially in less wealthy nations. What would then happen if the entire global food system collapsed? I bet the consequence defies imagination. 

• Adekunle Abetiloye, Staff writer

It’s Quite Sad That Non-Africans Value African Digital Artists More  (from The Republic by Ojimba Abalaka)

This is an interesting interview from The Republic with visual artist and book cover illustrator, Renike Olusanya. In the dialogue, we can see through the artist’s eyes how underappreciated digital art is in Africa compared to other continents.

Olusanya tells readers that she believes African digital artists are undervalued: “If I could change anything about the African art industry, it would be how digital artists are treated. They are often exempted from art activities and undervalued. It’s quite sad that non-Africans value African digital artists more than their people do,” she says. More so, she expresses disgust with the general bias between traditional artists and digital artists.

• Ishioma Emi, Staff Writer

Of God and Machines (from The Atlantic by Stephen Marche)

Every time I log in to social media, there’s a random (often white) person saying Artificial Intelligence is coming to rapture all our jobs. We’ve also often heard people criticize this tech trend, saying the tech industry is “playing god” and how it might unlock the mark of the beast. I’ve been curious about what the future of AI would be for all of us. There’s no doubt that AI will be a bigger part of our lives than it is now. But what would it mean for us? Are we going to be living in a dystopia as the movies predict?

Stephen Marche successfully answered most of my questions in one article with so much nuance and imagination. And for that, I’m both grateful and jealous at the same time.

• Oluwatosin Ogunguyibe, Staff  Writer

The Awesome Audacity of Chase Hall (from Vogue by Dodie Kazanjian)

Three years ago, when Chase Hall was 25 and doing a residency at Skowhegan in Maine, he had a revelation about his art. “One of the teachers there, the artist Sondra Perry, and I had been having deep conversations every day,” he tells me, “and near the end of my time, she said, ‘You love Black history, but your mom is white. Where is that in the work?’ It kind of ruined me, but it also made me.”

This story is about art. It is about an artist and what inspires him. But most of all it is about the significance of representation. And Dodie captures that just well. Through eloquent and almost poetic storytelling, she invites us into the artist’s world, all the while projecting the different ways people distinguish their craft in a busy world. Which can be hard because sometimes it feels like everything already exists and there is not much to be done.

• Suotunimi Orufa, Staff Writer and curator of stories we wish we wrote in 2022.