What did you encounter this year that truly moved you?
U2 + Gospel Choir - I still haven't found what I'm looking for
youtube.comNicole Ripka, investor at Collab Fund
I loved seeing this painting in person. It used to be my desktop background in college. - Daisy Alioto, Dirt.fyi
Shrek Retold - Full Movie
youtube.comShrek Retold is a full re-creation of Shrek by 200 storytellers, each recreating a snippet of the movie in their own style. An impressive feat in itself, for me, the film put cooperation and creativity on full display. You can just do things. Especially fun things. Especially unnecessary things. And especially together. - Matt Klein, ZINE
I think there was something freeing about watching something so earnest. - Edmond Lau, meme artist at Nostalgia Express
Among 2025’s surprises was a new pope. What moved me wasn’t his grasp of technology or its accompanying high stakes, but the quiet clue he offered about how he plans to live in the midst of it. In an interview, he mentioned a small, old book—The Practice of the Presence of God—about turning normal life into prayer, attention, and steadiness. One line keeps following me: “Blind as we are, we hinder God, and stop the current of His graces.” That’s the whole modern problem in a sentence. Per E.O. Wilson, “We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom.” In 2026, I want to practice the one thing AI can’t automate: interior attention. No matter your religious practice, the invitation lands: make room for God’s presence in our lives. — Tom White, White Noise
... See moreLast year I found my great grandma’s old diaries, they ranged from the moment she met my great grandpa until they got married, which was 16 years being together without a ring—from 1911 to 1927. As you may imagine, my great grandpa wasn’t the best man, he brought much pain to her and my family, but reading about it made me infinitely grateful for
Seeing Helen Pashgian at The Getty. It’s raining in Los Angeles and I’m crying at the museum. Uncommon for me, but apparently not so uncommon for this installation. I wandered in by accident, but once I was there, I couldn’t tell you how long I stayed, in awe of what was unfolding in front of me. A great Light and Space artwork, Pashgian’s
... See moreWhat truly moved me this year were the calls I have been doing as part of The GrownUp Table, my free mentoring program for women and new immigrants. — Anna Gat, founder of Interintellect
Attending Derrick Gee's 'Radio Hour' in Berlin.
Derrick Gee is a music critic, who hosts IRL 'radio hours': a mix between a listening session, live podcast and talk show. There were 100 or so of us sitting in this cozy, large auditorium in complete silence, listening to a playlist of songs curated by Derrick, interspersed with spoken word essays
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