Table of contents for April 29, 2019 in TIME Magazine

NEAR THE END OF TARA WESTOVER’S breakout memoir, Educated, she pauses on a timeless question, “Who writes history?” Decades from now when we look back at this era, it’s a fair bet that the answer will be many of the people on this year’s list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Among them is Westover herself, who has captivated readers with her astonishing journey from the mountains of Idaho to Cambridge and Harvard universities, and beyond. Westover is self-taught, but her impact on the world has been to educate the rest of us—about the silos we live in and the obstacles faced by so many in our society. We all have teachers, some we know intimately, others who inspire from the page or the screen. This holds true…

After 23 frustrating years of trying to identify the elusive Golden State Killer—who terrorized the state of California from 1976 to 1986—a fortuitous phone call brought me to genetic genealogist Barbara Rae-Venter. I wondered if the work she was doing, using DNA samples from related individuals to find their common ancestors, could identify an unknown offender like the Golden State Killer, based on the DNA he left behind at crime scenes. Rae-Venter assured me it could. Over the course of 4½ months, we painstakingly pursued the strategy laid out by Rae-Venter. With her guidance, we ultimately identified the suspected Golden State Killer as Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., a former police officer. Since DeAngelo’s arrest in April 2018, more than 25 horrific cold cases—many of which had frustrated their investigators…

In this world, there are only two things: good food and bad food. What Chrissy Teigen and I have in common is that we like good food. I first met Chrissy on the set of my show, On the Table. The idea was to interview the guest while we cooked a meal together. She was a riot. She was out-of-her-mind funny, and we had a blast. But while she might come off as lighthearted, Chrissy’s cooking is truly excellent. She’s a true perfectionist and extremely precise. She remembers where she came from, and she’s very proud of that. Her father is of Norwegian descent, her mother is Thai and she’s American, and she’s bringing her culture to the food world. Her cookbooks are made for people to cook at home,…

In the summer of 2017, the venture-capital industry was hit hard with continuous reports of harassment, which brought the enduring challenges of discrimination, sexism and vast underrepresentation of diversity in Silicon Valley to harsh light. This is especially consequential because VC firms shape the companies that influence our entire culture; it’s imperative they have diversity in their DNA. We needed a champion of change, someone who not only promoted progress but also epitomized it. During this critical moment, Aileen Lee, an industry veteran who charted her own path by starting Cowboy Ventures, stepped up to the challenge. Aileen reached out to fellow women investors and mobilized us to collectively catalyze change through All Raise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing and improving the lack of diversity and inclusion throughout…

Inspiring educators One teacher can change a young person’s life, giving them the confidence to pursue their biggest goals. But in the past year, teachers have left an impact well beyond their classrooms, launching a social-justice movement that was impossible to ignore. Teachers are the foundation of our democracy. They’re the conscience of our society. When teachers stand up for themselves—as Jay O’Neal and Emily Comer did in West Virginia, and as others have since done in Oklahoma, Arizona, California and beyond—it is a message to all of us. If teachers are standing up, you can stand up. The only way to stop hatred and division in our country is through education, and that requires investing in our teachers. These strikes have been a wake-up call about the lack…

When I first met Hasan Minhaj in 2014, we had just been hired to work together at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. We were both fresh-faced kids trying to find our voice in the fast-paced world of late-night television. Fast-forward five years later, Hasan is still as fresh-faced as ever, but his voice booms across screens around the world, thanks to his groundbreaking Netflix show Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. After hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and releasing his stand-up special Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King in 2017, the opportunity for a late-night show of his own wasn’t just obvious, it was necessary. We’ve needed Hasan’s voice since Donald Trump came down that golden escalator and turned immigrants and Muslims into his targets. See, Hasan is a first-generation,…

I met Indya Moore three years ago at a film screening, where, eyes brimming with tears, she told me she loved me. For the next 90 minutes I could concentrate on nothing but Indya. This is her gift: the ability to transfix you with her vulnerability and boldness, beauty and intellect. A year later, we came together again for Pose, a trailblazing series that changed the landscape of television and our lives. Writing her character Angel proved healing for me as a trans woman who had walked in those same platform shoes, longing for more than the crumbs society had thrown girls like us. But a greater gift has been watching Indya rise from an adolescence navigating foster care in the Bronx to critical acclaim as an actress and…

Richard Madden has a rigor and a discipline in his work that makes him a very tough self-critic. In fact, he’s much tougher on himself than anyone else is. In him, this is an asset. In Cinderella, he created a Prince of fine soul and sensibility. He found an English accent that he used offscreen and on for the entire duration of the shoot. It was a world away from his own Scottish brogue and Celtic being. He wanted no part of that in this spiritual aristocrat. But one thing I observed that Richard and the Prince did share was the heart of a gentleman. Richard can certainly unleash wildness and ruthlessness when the role requires a charisma of danger. He was an electrifying Romeo when I directed him onstage…

Emilia Clarke, they said. I confess—I worried. Ten years on Game of Thrones is enough to turn anyone funny. Would she still have bone-white hair and eat only raw horse? Bear in mind that I despise the word bubbly, but my first encounter with Emilia left me with the impression of having just drunk a glass of high-quality champagne rather quickly. Steady on, I thought. First impressions can mislead. The intimacy of a nine-week shoot will reveal all. Especially one that starts—starts, mind you—at 2 a.m. What was revealed was a woman of mickle might, whose instincts, whetted by years of hard work in environments that were not always safe or healthy, are as finely honed as any I’ve encountered. She has the courage of a small lion, the stamina…

I was first introduced to Khalid through his 2016 debut single, “Location.” It kept showing up in my life, and I thought, “This song is so good—so understandable, emotional and soulful. Who is this?” Khalid is totally unique. He’s a beautiful writer with the ability to take human concepts and make you understand and feel them. He has a full, powerful voice that is somehow unassuming and smooth at the same time. He’s accessible—almost like you’ve met somebody like him before, although there’s nobody else like him. He has his own style, and I think we’re all hungry for individuality right now. I love that his first album didn’t have any features. It’s a beautiful, powerful statement: “Here I am. This is me.” I’m excited that he is so clear about…

Every modern U.S. President tries to influence the world. President Donald Trump has done this through opposing the NATO countries not paying their fair share, pushing China and our North American neighbors for fairer trade agreements and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear agreement. His boldest move in this direction is likely his personal efforts on the issue of North Korea. President Trump has, in fact, used the past year to place his imprint on a problem spanning more than six decades. Despite denuclearization agreements in 1992, 2005 and 2008, North Korea has become a nuclear power. President Trump decided to ramp up sanctions early in his tenure (which other Presidents have done) but decided to take a very different tack thereafter. In June 2018 President Trump broke with decades of…

He came, he saw, he Facebooked—live. The most unconventional of politicians ran the most unconventional of campaigns, a whirlwind of rallies, speeches, energy, all captured live in the moment on social media, financed on a shoestring, with grit and determination and a message: No longer would Brussels dictate immigration policy; no longer would the “party of Davos” dictate Italy’s sovereignty; no longer would the European elites silence the Italian citizens. Matteo Salvini resurrected Italy’s national pride. The real vision was to form a government with the antiestablishment Five Star Movement—marking the first time a major industrial power combined the right and the left, the populist and the nationalist. Actual governing has been difficult. As Interior Minister, Salvini closed the ports to illegal immigration, reduced human trafficking and stared down the…

Born to privilege, Robert S. Mueller III has lived his life governed not by a sense of entitlement but of duty. Distinctly apolitical, he confounds those who can’t comprehend a person driven by his all too uncommon values: honor, integrity, humility, service. He is the inverse image of the man he would ultimately come to investigate. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Mueller volunteered to serve in Vietnam, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with a V for valor during what would be the defining experience of his life. Soldier, prosecutor, FBI director, and when our country needed someone to untangle Russian election interference, he served again. Taking daily incoming fire, he neither flinched nor retaliated. He just did his job. For Mueller, it’s always about the work,…

Londoners were heartbroken to wake up to news of the horrific terror attack in Christchurch, shocked by the callous targeting of innocent civilians for no reason other than their faith. Jacinda Ardern’s leadership since the attack has been an inspiration to us all. Not only is she delivering such swift action on gun control, she has sent a powerful message around the world about our shared values—that those who seek to divide us will never succeed, and that New Zealand will always protect and celebrate the diversity and openness that make our countries so great. Londoners stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Christchurch. We will never forget that when terror sent ripples of fear through communities around the world, New Zealand’s Prime Minister proudly stood up for hope,…

For generations, the U.S. and Russia were the two great spacefaring nations. But there’s now a third, China, and the man at the helm of the burgeoning China National Space Administration (CNSA) is physicist Zhang Kejian. Kejian, who started only last year, is already making his mark. In 2018, China led the world in successful orbital launches. In January 2019, the country’s Chang’e 4 rover landed on the far side of the moon—the first-ever soft touchdown in that lunar hemisphere. A Chinese space station is in development. Half a dozen missions have already flown carrying Chinese astronauts—or taikonauts—to Earth orbit, and the CNSA is ultimately aiming for crewed flights to the moon. Other plans include the development of a new heavy-lift rocket and robot probes to Mars and Jupiter. Most important,…

The year 2008 was a reckoning. While millions of Americans lost their livelihoods to Wall Street’s greed, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lost her dad to lung cancer, and her family fell off a financial cliff. She watched as our government bailed out Wall Street while it ignored families like hers. She learned the hard way that in America today, Washington protects the powerful while leaving hardworking people behind. Her commitment to putting power in the hands of the people is forged in fire. Coming from a family in crisis and graduating from school with a mountain of debt, she fought back against a rigged system and emerged as a fearless leader in a movement committed to demonstrating what an economy, a planet and a government that works for everyone should look…

When I started modeling, there were no black makeup artists. It was a challenge to look our best with makeup artists who didn’t really understand our skin color, photographers who had never photographed black models and film that didn’t register darker colors. At the end of the day, we were just trying to get people to really see us. All you want to do is to be seen for who you are. Pat McGrath allows us to be seen. Her makeup is not just nice makeup—her bold, beautiful colors make a statement. You usually don’t get that with world-renowned makeup artists. People are afraid of stepping outside the box. People of color have long been immersed in beauty, from adorning our bodies and our hair in Egyptian times and in…

In November 2008, a young Harvard Business School student emailed me and asked to meet with me to discuss a business idea. Her boldness inspired me to see her right away. She much later confessed to me that when she saw me, her idea of renting designer clothing online was only three days old. As soon as Jennifer Hyman began to deliver her pitch with passion and confidence, I knew she would go far. And go far she has. The company Jennifer co-founded, Rent the Runway, has not only become a $1 billion business—a milestone fewer than 20 woman-owned companies in the U.S. have ever achieved—but also did so when Jennifer was nine months pregnant. Its highly successful introduction of a sharing economy for fashion is completely transforming our industry.…

Mukesh Ambani’s father Dhirubhai was a visionary in Indian business, whose Reliance Industries conglomerate pioneered ways of targeting global scale. But Ambani’s vision is now even more ambitious than that of the father whose blessings he unfailingly invokes at the launch of each initiative. The scale of his Reliance Jio mobile-data network, which has already connected over 280 million people in India with low-cost 4G, is impressive by any standard. But what is truly jaw-dropping is the way it will allow Reliance to potentially dominate a staggering array of new businesses. When its enormous retail division is married to the Jio network for e-commerce, it will give Amazon a run for its money. When the media entities Ambani owns begin leveraging Jio, he could create India’s default entertainment destination. The…

Walt Disney liked to say that success is built on “the four C’s”: curiosity, confidence, courage and constancy. Few CEOs better embody those qualities than the one running Disney today, and it’s why I invited Bob Iger to join the board of my foundation. Bob’s curiosity about new technology and markets—and his commitment to them—allowed an iconic 20th century company to become one of the most innovative of the 21st century. Walt would approve. Bob’s confidence and courage led Disney to make gutsy moves—like acquiring Pixar and 21st Century Fox, and moving into direct-to-consumer content—that value long-term potential over short-term gains. Embracing that kind of risk has brought rewards: under his leadership, Disney has released 11 of the 20 biggest movies of all time. Walt would definitely approve. As…

A glorious mask of floating feathers. A delicate armor of black and gold lace. A revived 1970s pattern of bold lipsticked mouths. Acid yellow Birkenstocks on my happy feet for the Oscars. Pierpaolo Piccioli escorted me across the threshold from clothes to fashion. Our friendship has been built on our mutual appreciation for the way celebratory costume can be interpreted for a living, breathing human life. His reign in the House of Valentino has been a lesson in grace. He feels no need to erase the past but builds on its foundation and by doing so makes the future of the house stronger, braver. His inclusionary vision is evidenced by the way he honors the craftspeople in his atelier and shares a meal with them after the couture events.…

Check the box and you lose the ability to secure a job, rent an apartment or get a loan. The formerly incarcerated—returning citizens—often face a cruel irony in America. Having paid their debt to society, too many are banned from the ballot box that could help them dismantle policies that essentially extend their sentences. Desmond Meade decided to break this pattern for 1.4 million Floridians. Homeless and suicidal, with a felony record, Desmond fought to graduate with a law degree. When he learned he could not vote for his own wife, a candidate for the state legislature, he became president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and led the charge to adopt a constitutional amendment to re-enfranchise Floridians with felonies. Amendment 4 needed 60% of the vote to pass; in…

Soon after learning that she was one of a group of journalists being honored by TIME as Person of the Year in 2018, Filipino reporter Maria Ressa had a startling realization—she was the only one of the honorees who was not either dead, a recent survivor of a deadly attack or imprisoned. She has since been arrested and released on bail multiple times. Around the world, a new generation of authoritarian leaders is leading a concerted and intentional assault on truth, with serious consequences for journalists such as Maria who are committed to exposing corruption, documenting abuse and combatting misinformation. Maria’s Manila-based news site, Rappler, has already been indicted by President Duterte’s government on questionable tax-evasion charges, and Maria was arrested and briefly imprisoned earlier this year for allegedly violating…

When I met Yemeni human-rights defender Radhya Almutawakel last year, just before the Senate’s historic vote to end U.S. support for the Yemen war, I was struck by the clarity she brought to a conflict that too few have noticed. Yemen faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis not because of natural disaster, she told me, but because of man-made armed conflict: “Yemenis are not starving, they are being starved.” Four years into the Saudi-led coalition’s war against the Houthi rebels, Mwatana, the organization that Radhya co-founded, has documented hundreds of abuses by all sides. Houthi forces indiscriminately attack civilian neighborhoods. Coalition airstrikes kill and maim thousands. The U.S. has continued to sell the Saudis billions of dollars in weapons. Mwatana documents the results. Radhya and her colleagues face risks…

1. Hates Earl Grey tea 2. Loves to dance tango 3. Skipped second grade 4. Roots for both the St. Louis Cardinals and L.A. Dodgers 5. Plays the bagpipes 6. Counts 13 as a lucky number 7. Is married to a folk singer 8. Is ambidextrous 9. Lived in Turkey as a child 10. Is a godparent to Elton John’s sons 11. Is actually named Addison 12. Had dachshunds named Stanley and Boodgie 13. Is the namesake of an asteroid 14. Got a driver’s license at age 35 15. Likes the smell of skunk The Quiz □ A. JACINDA ARDERN □ B. WILLIAM BARR □ C. POPE FRANCIS □ D. JANE GOODALL □ E. DAVID HOCKNEY □ F. LEBRON JAMES □ G. GAYLE KING □ H. LADY GAGA □…

Africa’s greatest asset is also its defining challenge—its growing population of young people. With 60% of its population under 25, Africa is the world’s youngest continent. By 2100, almost half of the world’s youth are expected to be from Africa. Harnessing that is no small undertaking. But it is one that my friend Fred Swaniker committed to early, to become one of Africa’s foremost leaders. Fred understood that the key to success was not about leading the youth along a preordained path, but about allowing them to become authors of their own stories. That is what has inspired his educational initiatives: the African Leadership Academy, African Leadership Network and African Leadership University. Together, they hope to educate 3 million leaders of tomorrow. Fred has the passion, understanding and ability…

If you haven’t read Educated yet, chances are you know someone who has. Tara Westover’s brilliant memoir has been on the best-seller list since its release, and for good reason. Her story of growing up in a Mormon survivalist home—and eventually escaping to earn a doctorate from Cambridge University—is hard to put down. I had the opportunity to sit down with Tara last year, and she’s somehow even more impressive in person. Her unique perspective on polarization in America feels especially important right now. Educated isn’t a political book, but it touches on common divides in our country: red states vs. blue states, rural vs. urban, college-educated vs. not. Tara has a lot of smart things to say about overcoming those divides, and I’m glad Educated’s success has given…

Scientist He Jiankui showed the world how human embryo editing is relatively easy to do but incredibly difficult to do well. Going against the consensus in the scientific community that CRISPR-Cas9 technology is still too experimental and dangerous to use in human embryos, he applied it to forever change the genomes of twin girls to give them immunity to HIV. His reckless experimentation on the girls in China not only shattered scientific, medical and ethical norms, it was also medically unnecessary: while the girls’ father is HIV-positive, it’s rare for fathers to pass on the virus to their children, and if they do, potent drugs can now control the infection. Since 2012, when CRISPR-Cas9 transformed research, scientists have purposely taken a cautious and deliberate approach, focusing on how to…

The wild success of Bohemian Rhapsody was a group effort … literally. Queen entrusted Rami Malek with representing their legacy, the story of their lives, and the memory of their friend and bandmate. Somewhere during said crucible, he earned it. He developed the skill without which his many attributes as an artist might have been squelched—principled leadership. He’s understated and kind, complicated and relatable; he’s downright mercurial. Crucially, he’s a good man evolving alongside his potential. As a fan and friend, that’s what I’m particularly proud of. Cosmic gratitude for Sam Esmail, whose inherent belief in Rami precipitated their groundbreaking partnership in Mr. Robot. Lastly, I contend that his mother Nelly, his father Said, his sister Yasmine and his brother Sami are the foundational pillars to his rise. Mighta…

Brie Larson is a warrior on- and offscreen. When she’s not shattering records and stereotypes as Captain Marvel in Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero movie—which has made more than $1 billion at the global box office—she’s fighting fiercely for gender equality, inclusivity and an end to sexual harassment in the workplace. For Brie, it just comes naturally. Her activism is an extension of who she is. She sits at a table and wants to make sure everyone has access to it. She is constantly investigating how to be a better ally. The first time I met her, she was taking a breather outside of an annual adult prom; the next time, she was hosting a conversation (complete with graphs and a PowerPoint presentation) about the lack of representation in film.…

I met Glenn Close in the early ’80s on the set of The Natural, where her character brought light into my character’s life after circumstances had surrounded him with darkness. Her portrayal was beautifully acted, and my admiration for her work only grew with time. Glenn is a major talent, an actor who is deeply committed to her craft. She doesn’t play roles as much as she transforms herself into them, never allowing her own personality or celebrity to get in the way. Through many years now, I’ve been able to call her a friend and colleague. She never looks back, and neither do I. I just try to keep up with her—looking forward to her next performance, always. Redford is an Oscar-winning director, an actor and environmental advocate…

At just 25 years old, Yalitza Aparicio defies paradigms. Before starring in Roma, she had no acting experience, yet she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Although she was terrified of the ocean, she rushed straight into its roaring, precarious waves for the most impactful scene of the film. She didn’t speak Mixteco, but she learned the language and spoke it fluently and full of raw, authentic emotion for most of her dialogue. Yalitza can take any task that’s put in front of her and excel in ways no one thought possible. I knew this from the moment I met her, after searching Mexico for almost a year and watching more than 3,000 auditions; I knew Yalitza was the one as soon as she…

Too often it seems we have a surplus of bluster in our national politics and a deficit of action. But then there’s Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In the 2018 midterms, Nancy was the driving force that brought a Democratic majority back to the House, and opened the door for a Congress that’s more diverse than any other in our nation’s history and has some of its youngest members ever. Never one to back down from a bully, Nancy didn’t mince words during a visit to the White House after the elections. “Please don’t characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting,” she said, standing up for herself and millions of Americans. She delivered. Under her leadership, Democrats passed the first major gun-safety bill in a generation and desperately needed…

Dr. Leana Wen is the first physician to lead Planned Parenthood in half a century, and she’s just what the doctor ordered. As health commissioner of Baltimore, Wen issued a blanket prescription for the opioid antidote naloxone for every resident in the city, a bold decision that saved nearly 3,000 lives. Now, she’s working to expand the sexual- and reproductive-health services offered at Planned Parenthood health centers, including cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, affordable birth control, maternal health services, mental-health counseling and hormone therapy for trans people. All the while, she’s making it clear that the organization is not backing down from the fight to protect the right to safe, legal abortion. My lifelong fight for reproductive rights stems directly from my mother’s illegal abortion in the 1960s. Similarly,…

In 2016, the situation in Ethiopia was very bad. People were being killed and many were in jail, and I wanted the world to know what the government was doing. That’s why, during the 2016 marathon at the Rio Olympics, I crossed my wrists at the finish line—to symbolize that the Ethiopian people want to stop the killing, stop the jailing. We don’t want a dictatorship. After that, I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back. The government was killing dissidents. I missed my country; I missed my mother. She cried to me on the phone every day for two years. Then last March, while I was training in Kenya, I heard that Dr. Abiy Ahmed would be the next Prime Minister. In Ethiopian history, we have never seen…

By many quantitative metrics, Zhang Yiming is the top entrepreneur in the world. After just seven years, his AI-based social-media company ByteDance is the most valuable startup, valued at $75 billion with over a dozen mobile products globally boasting over 1 billion monthly users. By qualitative metrics, Zhang is no less impressive. Arguably the first fully mobile AI company, ByteDance succeeded in areas where Google, Facebook and Tencent have not (personalized news, video-based social media and going global, respectively). And he’s an impressive leader. Zhang is soft-spoken yet charismatic, logical yet passionate, young yet wise. He says he never sets boundaries. He challenged his team to reinvent users’ window to the world and never settle for less. As Zhang has said, “Romance is all about imagining interesting things that could happen…

More than 30 million Mexicans voted for a change in the last election, and that’s exactly what they got. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (or AMLO, as he is called) travels in economy class and refuses to live in the presidential mansion of Los Pinos; his main message is against corruption; and every morning, at 7 a.m., he gives a press conference (known as la mañanera). Yes, it is in sharp contrast with previous leaders. But is that what Mexico really needs? AMLO likes to think of himself in big, historical terms. He defined his government as the “Fourth Transformation” (after independence from Spain, the reform period and the Mexican revolution). But his full control of the Congress and his very personal style of making decisions have raised flags among…

This year Pope Francis has addressed the whole Catholic Church on the tragedy of sexual abuse of minors by clergy. He convoked an important meeting of church leadership in February because he believes in protecting the young, and that Catholic leaders around the world should be on the same page. He is determined to put in place guidelines and policies to protect children and other vulnerable people. He believes we should not only pay attention to the symptoms, however tragic they are, but we should also go deeper and discern what are the roots of this “clericalism”—this evil abuse of conscience and power. In his mind and in his heart, the abuse of these innocent persons is an abuse of the body of Jesus Christ. With great courage and wisdom,…

Jair Bolsonaro is a complex character. After three months as Brazil’s President, he represents a sharp break with a decade of high-level corruption, and Brazil’s best chance in a generation to enact economic reforms that can tame rising debt. The former army officer is also a poster boy for toxic masculinity, an ultraconservative homophobe intent on waging a culture war and perhaps reversing Brazil’s progress on tackling climate change. But fascination with his appetite for controversy obscures an important truth about his country: Brazil remains a dynamic democracy with robust institutions that will limit both the good and the harm he might do. If he is to accomplish anything, Bolsonaro will have to learn to work within this system, to cut the deals needed to advance his agenda one step…

The enthusiasm in and around the Department of Justice was palpable when President Trump announced his nomination of Attorney General William Pelham Barr. A brilliant and principled conservative lawyer, Barr brings unique experience to the challenge of working at the intersection of law and politics. During his first stint as Attorney General, from 1991 to 1993, Barr dealt with politically sensitive cases, appointed special and independent counsels, handled delicate national-security issues, and navigated contentious congressional oversight requests. He earned widespread respect for his integrity and professionalism, and he enhanced that reputation in the private sector. Now Barr returns to public service with a hearty sense of humor, a lifetime of wisdom and a valuable perspective about the Department of Justice. He knows the history, he understands the issues, he respects…

Mo Salah is a better human being than he is a football player. And he’s one of the best football players in the world. You’d be hard-pressed to find a professional athlete in any sport less affected by their success or status than Mo, which is incredible because I can’t imagine the kind of pressure that comes with the intensity of adoration he receives. Mo is an iconic figure for Egyptians, Scousers and Muslims the world over, and yet he always comes across as a humble, thoughtful, funny man who isn’t taking any of this too seriously. As a footballer, he plays with an infectious joy. I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to be able to play as well as him, and watching his face light up…

Gayle King, journalist. More often than not, this isn’t the way we’ve described her. The signifier we most often used was in connection to her personal relationships. We’ve spoken of her in an adjacent manner. We’ve regarded her in the context of others. But when you have the heart of Gayle King, that’s not necessarily a negative thing. You’re just fine not being the most known person in the room. In fact, you’re genuinely happy for the person who is. What most don’t understand about Gayle is that this perfected proximity to others is a superpower that the best journalists possess. To be present, but not centered. To observe. To bear witness. Gayle has long honed this craft. So the fact that this year she is being lauded as one…

After spending more than a month in a Czech jail on false corruption charges in 2006, Vera Jourova decided to delve into European law to understand how such injustice could be committed. Now, as the European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Jourova is a leading voice calling for regulation of big tech companies. Thanks to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which Jourova helped to pass and implement, Europeans have rigorous new privacy rights. She continues to fight to make data protection an everyday reality, in defiance of intense pushback. Jourova approaches this difficult task with a passion that comes from a fundamental belief: that her mission is to protect Europeans. We now see more clearly the dark side of tech, but it still holds so much promise.…

Last year, Tiger Woods and I spent time together, just the two of us, talking about being fathers. We discussed how we want our children to see us and how you balance your dedication to them with competitive drive. I told him about how my son, who just turned 4, has started to realize what I do. We bonded over the fact that we wanted our children to watch us at our best. Tiger told me that he hoped his children, who are 11 and 10, would one day see him win a major. On April 14 in Augusta, Ga., they did just that when Tiger won his 15th career major—and first in 11 years—capping arguably the greatest comeback in sports history. What a dream come true. For Tiger. For…

I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for as long as I can remember. But it wasn’t until I met and got to know her that I understood how wonderful a person she truly is. Taylor makes the job of creating music for millions of people look easy. It all comes from her—her belief in magic and love, and her ability to be as honest and raw as possible. She’s the master of putting the perfect amount of thought into not overthinking, and that’s why her music connects so well. I was so lucky to be able to open for a handful of her stadium shows on the 1989 World Tour. And I quickly learned that the magic of Taylor Swift doesn’t come from the lights, dancers or fireworks (although…

Spike Lee can’t be described in a single word. I might struggle to do it in 200. He’s a visionary, a trailblazer, a provocateur and a true American original. He’s made more than two dozen films across nearly every genre, and all of them have been completely different. But to me, the common thread across his career may be his impeccable timing—his ability to understand the cultural landscape of the moment and deliver a spot-on message. At times, this has bordered on clairvoyance. Malcolm X was released in November 1992, just a few months after racial injustice had ignited a war on the streets of Los Angeles. 25th Hour was in preproduction in New York when the planes flew into the towers. Spike pivoted and expertly wove the tragedy…

Her story, spoken while holding back tears, shook Washington and the country. Her courage, in the face of those who wished to silence her, galvanized Americans. And her unfathomable sacrifice, out of a sense of civic duty, shined a spotlight on the way we treat survivors of sexual violence. Christine Blasey Ford’s ambition wasn’t to become a household name or make it onto this list. She had a good life and a successful career—and risked everything to send a warning in a moment of grave consequence. At her core, she is a teacher. And through her courage, she forced the country to reckon with an issue that has too often been ignored and kept in the dark. Harris, a Senator from California, is a Democratic presidential candidate…

A world and Olympic track-and-field champion several times over, Caster Semenya has taught us that sex isn’t always binary, and caused us to question the justness of distributing societal benefits according to “male” and “female” classifications. Semenya identifies as a woman, but has testosterone levels higher than the typical female. Her success has brought controversy in elite sport, with many arguing that her biological traits give her an unfair advantage in women’s competition. But Semenya is fighting that. Sport eligibility, she and others say, should not be based on hormone levels or other differences of sex development. If successful, Semenya’s effort could open the door for all who identify as women to compete in track events without having to first medically lower their testosterone levels below a proposed limit. Ultimately,…

Loving Michelle Obama wasn’t much of a choice. It was something that came naturally, because of how she carried herself. Because she resembled us and was moving in spaces where, as black Americans, we weren’t exactly meant to be, she seemed so powerful. When I first met her, I was embraced by a warm, regal, confident woman who possessed a reassuring calm, on the eve of President Obama’s historic first Inauguration. The way she looked, walked and spoke, in that warm but authoritative tone, we saw our mothers and sisters. She was strong and ambitious and spoke her mind without sacrificing honesty or empathy. That takes a lot of courage and discipline. She would’ve been impactful simply by being in the White House, the first African-American First Lady. But…

One of the greatest gifts of my creative life has been the opportunity to write words to be spoken by Sandra Oh. The reason is simple: Sandra Oh is a virtuoso. She treats dialogue like notes of music—every word must be played, every syllable correctly toned. She’s always been an extraordinary actor. Her body of work makes that clear. Ten years of playing Dr. Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy made her place in the acting landscape undeniable. Her award-winning turn as Killing Eve’s Eve Polastri makes her legendary. Her comic timing is priceless. Her dramatic well is endless. Her talent is a song to be heard. With her nuanced characters, Sandra Oh has chosen to fearlessly take up space in a universe that has not always made space for…

I play in the NFL, so you’d think I wouldn’t be star-struck much. But last March, when I—along with Drake and Travis Scott—got in a Fortnite game with Ninja for the first time, I was at a complete loss for words! I was among the millions of people all across the world who had been watching Ninja (real name: Tyler Blevins) play Fortnite, the popular video game, every day for months. He was the unquestioned best in the world at his craft, something I had so much respect for both as an athlete and as a fan. Now, he was single-handedly blending gaming and pop culture. I’ve been a huge video-game fanatic my whole life. But people have seen it as childish and a waste of time. Ninja was…

Rookie Grand Slam tournament champs often fall short at their next major. All Naomi Osaka did was conquer the world again. A little more than four months after shocking the great Serena Williams at the U.S. Open last September, Osaka lost three match points in the second set of the Australian Open final. If she had wilted, no one would have blinked. Osaka, 21, is still young. She had her U.S. Open moment to fall back on. But no—Osaka controlled her mind and let her superior power do the work. She won another Slam. Osaka was born in Japan, the country she represents, but grew up in the U.S., initially in the home of her Haitian grandparents. Some people want her to embrace a single identity. She’s more concerned…

I met Marlon James when I interviewed him about A Brief History of Seven Killings at the New York Public Library, and he and his work both deeply impressed me. The novel announces its ambitious playfulness in its title; it’s not brief (it’s long), not a history (it’s high-octane fiction) and contains not seven but many hundreds of killings, circling around the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. It won the Man Booker Prize and turned Marlon into one of the most important voices of his literary generation, a role he has gleefully embraced on social media and elsewhere, speaking out on race, literature, gay rights and whatever else is on his mind. He has followed Brief History with an even more ambitious project: Black Leopard, Red Wolf is the first…

Years ago, Samin Nosrat taught me how to make fresh mozzarella bocconcini; I remember she was so encouraging, showing me how to carefully hand-form the little bocconcini in hot water. There is magic in the way Samin teaches. She wins you over immediately with an irresistible combination of warmth, honesty, deep understanding of cooking and that ebullient laugh of hers. If anyone can show us how to cook, it is Samin. So it’s no surprise that her book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat and her Netflix series are both so groundbreaking. Her book is rich with science and technique but never feels weighty; it has a joyful, whimsical quality that demystifies cooking in a very personal way. You can feel that same exuberant curiosity and radical openness in Samin’s series—she’s…

There is no one in Hollywood quite like Dwayne Johnson, and certainly very few who are as busy. If you have had the pleasure to work with him, as I have on the Fast and Furious films, you know that he is full of heart and creates an environment on set filled with warmth and positivity. Dwayne is someone who believes the sky is the limit and will go above and beyond to make sure he gives 100% every single day, whether he is at the gym, working with his charity (the Dwayne Johnson Rock Foundation), being with his family and friends, or working on a new project. He is the true embodiment of the idea that people may forget what you said, people may forget what you did,…

I grew up with all of the black sitcoms—Amen, Good Times, 227—and every once in a while, you saw an actor peek out from the comedy and the 30-minute shtick: something that separated them from the rest. That’s what I saw in Brenda Jenkins, the character Regina King played on 227. She became every young black girl in America. I saw myself in her, and I saw an actor bring that to life. We started interacting at Alfre Woodard’s Sistahs events during awards season. She was absolute family, right away. During those events I remember her just embracing me, making me feel at home, making me feel seen. When we meet now, we meet as sisters who know the road; we’re on the battlegrounds together as women and women…

Mahershala Ali has been captivating audiences for years, so the fact that he’s recently been lauded with the highest honors our industry bestows is not surprising. I’ve had the opportunity to work with him twice: once as an actor, the other as a producer. I didn’t have any scenes with him in Hidden Figures, but I was such a fan that I went to the set to watch him work with Taraji P. Henson. He didn’t disappoint. As an artist, I’d always regarded him as a skillful tactician, but seeing the choices he has employed in real time felt like an acting clinic. His Colonel Jim Johnson had a quiet resolve, a soulful yet bold quality that allowed his humanity and dignity to shine through. As an executive producer of…

Clare Waight Keller has an early memory of being told to hold still while her mother pinned clothes on her little body. Tellingly, Clare credits that experience for her love of fashion. As a kid whose mother also sewed, and who requested special purple pants, I grew up believing that fashion was personal and expressive. But while my pursuit of sartorial splendor was dependent on my mother’s labor, Clare was inspired to seek a career. Armed with incredible talent, Clare graduated from the Royal College of Art, where she was taught the importance of exploring opportunities and learning the business. Clare stood out because she learned the business so successfully and artfully, and because her clothes reflected the innately human and beautiful. Clare’s simple wedding gown for Meghan Markle was…

You don’t have to be young to fight the power. Take Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the former Malaysian Prime Minister who came out of retirement last year to lambaste his successor Najib Razak, who is accused of embezzling millions of dollars from the country’s 1MDB development fund. Venting moral outrage, the colloquially called Dr. M swept back to power in a landslide election victory in May 2018 at age 92. The formidable old warhorse dazzled during a grueling campaign, gathering vast crowds; his reliance on core values united electoral groups, and his age inspired trust in a grand man of politics. Now 93, Mohamad has committed to hand over power to the former leader of the opposition, Anwar Ibrahim, 71, whom he released from jail days after his victory. For Malaysia,…

I admired Jane Goodall long before we ever met. I knew of her landmark work with chimpanzees in Gombe. I had read about her, read books written by her, but it was only when I got to spend more time with Jane a few years ago that I truly felt I was in the presence of one of the most impactful and important leaders on the planet. She chose to go to Tanzania at the age of 26 to study chimpanzees, and the research she conducted there, in the jungle at the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, ended up changing behavioral science forever. Since then she has committed her life to environmental protection. Even now, at the young age of 85, Jane spends nearly every day spreading optimism and raising…

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has perfected the art of patience. Raised in the township of Soweto, he honed his political skills helping his country navigate its way out of apartheid. Then, when he was sidelined for the presidency in the 1990s, he harnessed his cunning and gregariousness to make a vast fortune in business, while his rivals sank the country into dysfunction and cronyism. Now finally, at 66, Ramaphosa, or Cyril, as he’s known to South Africans, has the chance to end corruption and grow the stalled economy. That could be his toughest battle yet. Blackouts, grinding poverty and massive unemployment have left millions desperate for quick results. Vicious infighting in his African National Congress party leaves him vulnerable to a coup, or perhaps an ouster in elections on…

Washington in recent years has been described as a place that lurches from crisis to crisis. One person has done more to defuse these crises time and again than any other individual in American government. His steady hand at the tiller of the U.S. Senate has been a source of stability for our economy and certainty in our tumultuous political process. With his mastery of parliamentary procedure and commitment to principled democratic governance, he has shaped the direction of the Supreme Court for generations to come. He has done this while staying true to the priorities of the people from his beloved home state of Kentucky, who with good reason have entrusted him to be their voice in Washington. My friend Mitch McConnell is that leader. Whatever your politics or…

Though the United Arab Emirates is nominally ruled by President Khalifa bin Zayed, it is his younger brother, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed, who calls the real shots. And what shots those are. MBZ has gone after his rivals—the Iranians, the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar—with risky gambles: troops in Yemen, a blockade of Qatar and crackdowns interspersed with reform at home. His penchant for risk taking has inspired imitators: Mohammed bin Salman, the dubious crown prince of Saudi Arabia, has taken more than a few pages from the MBZ playbook. MBZ’s military-first approach, which has earned the UAE the nickname of Little Sparta among some U.S. officials, carries costs born of blood in Yemen and reputation in Western capitals. But MBZ attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and…

As U.S. Secretary of Commerce, I saw Marillyn Hewson in action when she served as one of our nation’s finest commercial diplomats on vital international economic missions. Trained as an industrial engineer, and now, as CEO, in her 20th job at Lockheed Martin, she has doubled the company’s market cap and broken countless barriers in an industry long dominated by men. She was born of humble roots in Kansas, and we share the tragic impact of the loss of a father to a heart attack at much too early an age. She helped care for her siblings and took odd jobs to assist her single mother in paying the bills. Marillyn has said her mother’s resilience “taught me everything I needed to know about leadership.” Today, she works tirelessly to…

The Saudi people owe a huge debt of gratitude to Loujain al-Hathloul. When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised to modernize the kingdom, the most celebrated change, allowing women to drive in June 2018, was built on the fearless, longtime efforts of activists like Loujain. She was among the first to challenge laws that are out of touch with Saudi Arabia’s young majority population, boldly posting videos of herself driving, running for the country’s first municipal elections to allow women in 2015, and signing the 14,000-strong petition urging an end to restrictions on women’s rights to marry or travel outside the country without a male guardian’s permission. Unfortunately activism also revealed the crown prince’s intolerance for civil society. Saudi authorities have jailed Loujain, along with other women activists, over…

In 2018, over 2,700 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Since that number is so unfathomably large, I think it is helpful to focus on one woman’s story. Even one is overwhelming. Mirian (a pseudonym, for her and her family’s safety) came to the U.S. with her 18-month-old son. She was legally seeking asylum from civil unrest in Honduras, looking for a better life for herself and her family—we say these are American ideals. But at the border, Mirian was forcibly separated from her son. He wasn’t old enough to speak, let alone understand why they were ripping him from his mother. It took two months and 11 days for them to be reunited. Mirian could’ve stayed quiet. Instead, she joined a class-action lawsuit filed…