If you’re not a magazine editor, you may not know. But picking your favorite articles is *something like* picking from you children. We worked hard on everything we published this year, and we’re proud of each article, essay, review, profile, and list for its own reasons. Except whereas it’s entirely inappropriate to choose favorites among your kids, we editors choose favorites all the time. Here are 10 articles we loved editing this year:

3 Things Leadership Books Didn’t Teach Me

God and the Docks

The Paper and Ink Work of Explaining America to Itself

Table Talk

Who Wins in the Ubiquitous New World of Mainstream Sports Betting?

The Magnificent Meal

The Science of the Brain and the State of the Soul

How ‘Bluey’ Made Me a Better Dad

Fantasy Stories Aren’t About Escape. They’re About the Truth

Katherine Paterson Is Right at Home