December 27, 2022

By the staff of The Morning

Good morning. Today we share stories that stood out to our editors but that you might have missed.

A humpback whale breaching in the waters off French Polynesia.Ellen Garland

Good reads

Whales rarely sing more loudly than war.

In the fight for finite reader attention, big stories win: Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Queen Elizabeth II's death and rare protests in China. But this news, while important, can overshadow good stories — about whales passing their songs to each other across oceans, lyric poetry at M.M.A. fights or the fading art of embalming.

So like we have in years past, the Morning team asked editors around the Times newsroom for the articles, podcasts and videos that didn't get the attention they deserved this year. These are their selections.

Enjoy these 25 stories:

The world's longest-running tattoo business draws saints in Jerusalem.
Try the "joy workout."
Raccoons are like high school students: The shy ones come out ahead in the long run.
Motorcycles race at impossible angles on a carnival's Wall of Death. (We loved these photos.)
A case for falling back in love with the Walkman.
"I believe in Jesus, guns and babies": More than 100 Republican midterm ads used firearms to galvanize voters.
A poetry festival celebrating a fading language drew stadium-size crowds in India.
New York City officials released a video on how to survive a nuclear attack. It was poorly received.
YouTubers are highlighting the vanishing role of Black people in horse racing.
These charts show how far the Supreme Court has shifted to the right.
Rock climbing is drawing tourists to Malawi.
A professor spreads the hashtag #yes2meat, pushing back against climate science. The meat industry is funding his work.
A police chief is pushing to take over a public library in a central California farming town.

Car redesign has changed Formula 1.
The owners of the celebrity-packed Carbone in New York are trying to replicate their restaurant's success on (almost) every continent.
He set aside just 30 minutes for his first meeting with a woman who, unknown to him, was an Ethiopian princess. This year, they married.

A stainless steel fence is a status symbol for some Asian homeowners in New York.
The Daily Wire is trying to turn Nashville into a Hollywood for conservatives.
Hundreds of school counselors describe how the pandemic has gripped children with anxiety.
Is Hollywood regressing after its #MeToo reckoning?
A Black community thrived for decades despite segregation and economic hardship. Could residents rebuild after a wildfire?
Listen to conversations with Afghan girls about life under Taliban rule.

Barbara Kingsolver wrote an Appalachian elegy — hillbillies not included.
This is what it's like to navigate the internet with limited vision.
Soft launch your relationship on social media.

Continue reading the main story

THE LATEST NEWS

Politics

George Santos in November.Mikayla Whitmore for The New York Times

Representative-elect George Santos, a New York Republican, admitted to lying about his work and college history but said it would not stop him from taking office.
Here are the key findings of a Times investigation into Santos's background.

MORNING READS

Jamie Chadwick won her third title this year in the W Series, a women's racing league.Molly Darlington/Reuters

Female drivers: They remain a rarity in top racing series like Formula 1, NASCAR and IndyCar.

Quiz time: Can you tell if a fourth grader wrote this, or if the new chatbot did?

Eye candy from heaven: The Webb Telescope is exceeding expectations.

Anger and the body: Lost your cool? Your heart, brain and gut are taking notice.

Advice from Wirecutter: How to organize important documents.

Lives Lived: Don Christopher, known as "the Garlic King," turned the much-maligned bulb of garlic into a staple and elevated the sleepy town of Gilroy, Calif., into the garlic capital of the world. He died at 88.

SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETIC

Should Tua play again this year? The Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is back in concussion protocol. After his early-season head injury and Miami's diminished playoff chances, does it make sense to get him back on the field?

Nets on track: Brooklyn won its ninth straight game last night and climbed to third place in the Eastern Conference — without drama.

Continue reading the main story

ARTS AND IDEAS

What was for dinner in 2022

Inflation has hit kitchens hard — over the past year, the price of food eaten at home rose 12 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — and as dinner got more expensive, Times readers sought out simple meals. That shows in NYT Cooking's list of the 20 most popular recipes of 2022. "With the exception of a few special project dishes — we're looking at you, Thanksgiving! — they are all easy, economical and exciting recipes to live your messy, beautiful life by," Margaux Laskey, a Cooking editor, wrote.

The No. 1 recipe of the year: J. Kenji López-Alt's San Francisco-style Vietnamese American garlic noodles, which are easy enough for a weeknight but pack a lot of taste, thanks to 20 smashed garlic cloves.

PLAY, WATCH, EAT

What to Cook

Sang An for The New York Times

Here's another easy meal: A comforting one-pot chicken dish with coconut rice.

What to Read

Some favorite books, new and old, recommended by your fellow Times readers in 2022.

What to Watch

"Broker," a new movie filmed in South Korea, turns a potentially grim tale into a poignant road picture.

Now Time to Play

NYT

The pangram from yesterday's Spelling Bee was pavilion. Here is today's puzzle.

Here's today's Mini Crossword, and a clue: Macaroni shape (five letters).

And here's today's Wordle.

Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.

P.S. The Times's Kashmir Hill got help from a special contributor reporting a story: a 7-month-old baby.

Here's today's front page.

"The Daily" is about the first union at Amazon.

Matthew Cullen, Lauren Hard, Lauren Jackson, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Ashley Wu contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.