Editors’ picks: Our favourite interviews of 2014

Thought leaders in their field, dispensing insights and wisdom. Major icons, looking back at their career and forward to the future. Emotional, remarkable stories of escape, of resilience.

Here’s a look back on the year that was, with our 30 favourite interviews from 2014.

ARTS AND CULTURE

• LAURA JANE GRACE, PUNK ROCKER AND TRANSGENDER WOMANOn her transition, her relationship with her daughter, and her sometimes testy relationship with the punk-rock community. By Adrian Lee.

• JONI MITCHELL, SINGER-SONGWRITEROn Georgia O’Keeffe, the Kardashians, the men she loved and her life in British Columbia. By Elio Iannacci.

• DOLLY PARTON, COUNTRY MUSIC MAVENOn Miley Cyrus, feminism, and her secret to a successful 50-year marriage. By Elio Iannacci.

• MARTIN SHORT, ACTOR AND COMEDIANOn joy, death, the enduring legacy of SCTV, and why memoir-writing was easier than the idea of writing it. By Nancy Macdonald.

• JANG JIN SUNG, FORMER POET LAUREATE OF NORTH KOREAOn his dramatic rise, perilous escape, and being part of Kim Jong Il’s inner circle. By Katie Engelhart.

• BINYAVANGA WAINAINA, AUTHOROn being one of Kenya’s leading literary figures as well as a gay man in Africa, at a time where it’s dangerous to be one. By Adrian Lee.

POLITICS

• ASHRAF GHANI AHMADZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTANOn security, enforcing women’s rights, and sitting down with the Taliban. By Sally Armstrong.

• RAFAEL BARAK, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO CANADAOn the current violence, the murder of teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir, and how the conflict may one day end. By Michael Petrou.

• PHILLIPPE COUILLARD, PREMIER OF QUEBECOn striking while the iron’s hot, curbing Quebec’s overspending and uncovering public servants’ veiled faces. By Paul Wells.

• ROMEO DALLAIRE, RETIRED SENATOROn peace, child soldiers, and retirement. By John Geddes.

• TOM FLANAGAN, FORMER POLITICOOn the death of free speech, falling out of favour with Stephen Harper, and his return from political exile. By Paul Wells.

• NINA KHRUSHCHEVA, PROFESSOR AT THE NEW SCHOOLOn what her grandfather, Nikita Khrushchev, would have thought of Vladimir Putin, and why this will all end in disaster. By Katie Engelhart.

HEALTH AND SCIENCE

• BRUCE AYLWARD, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR-GENERAL AT WHO AND POLIO EXPERTOn eradicating the disease worldwide, and why a failure to immunize every child could lead to an outbreak here. By Kate Lunau.

• JEAN AND ALASTAIR CARRUTHERS, BOTOX PIONEERSOn their regrets about not securing a patent, its use by teenagers, and why it could be a generation’s penicillin. By Anne Kingston.

• LANCE DODES, AUTHOR OF ’THE SOBER TRUTH’On why Alcoholics Anonymous’s promotion of abstinence may be a problem. By Kate Lunau.

• ATUL GAWANDE, SURGEON AND AUTHOROn what he didn’t learn in medical school and how medicine is failing us in its approach to death. By Brian Bethune.

• TIM JAGATIC, DOCTOR WITH MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES On his Ebola patients, working in a haz-mat suit when it’s 40° C, and the agony of knowing the right help is out there. By Charlie Gillis.

• CARL LAVIE, AUTHOR OF ’THE OBESITY PARADOX’On why fitness is more important than being thin, and the health benefits of extra weight. By Kate Lunau.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

• CHAD DICKERSON, CEO OF ETSYOn maker culture and how Etsy plans to stay true to its roots. By Adrian Lee.

• JACQUES POITRAS, AUTHOR OF ’IRVING VS. IRVING’On the massive influence and uncertain future of the Maritimes’ most powerful family. By Chris Sorensen.

• STEPHEN POLOZ, BANK OF CANADA PRESIDENTOn jobs, household debt and the economy. By Jason Kirby.

• STEPHEN WETMORE, CEO OF CANADIAN TIREOn going high-tech and beating back Target. By Chris Sorensen.

SOCIETY

• DANAH BOYD, PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER AT MICROSOFT RESEARCHOn balancing parenting and privacy and the other side of online bullying. By Brian Bethune.

• BRIGID SCHULTE, AUTHOR OF ’OVERWHELMED’On how ’keeping up with the Jones’ is now about how much stuff you can cram into your calendar, and how multi-tasking can make you stupid. By Cathy Gulli.

• PAULA TODD, AUTHOR OF ’EXTREME MEAN’On online abusers, the joy they get from hurting others, and the rise of adult cyberbullies. By Brian Bethune.

• BRIAN WANSINK, DIRECTOR OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY’S FOOD AND BRAND LABOn why we eat what we eat, and how eating mindlessly might actually be a good thing. By Anne Kingston.

SPORTS AND GAMES

• ADAM CAMPBELL, MARATHON MANOn completing one of the most gruelling races in the world and finishing in third—despite being struck by lightning. By Adrian Lee.

• BRIAN MCKEEVER, WINTER PARALYMPIANOn losing his vision, racing with a guide, and the crowds in Sochi. By Aaron Hutchins.

• VICTORIA COREN MITCHELL, EUROPEAN POKER TOUR WINNEROn her old-fashioned game, beating younger math whizzes and why you’re naturally a gambler—or you’re just not. By Katie Engelhart.

• CHRIS PRONGER, NHL LEGEND AND NEW NHL DISCIPLINARIAN On the potential conflict of his new gig in the NHL’s department of player safety, and how his kids were his salvation as he dealt with injury. By Nancy Macdonald.