COVER STORY This issue:  ‘To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others.’ After a presidency beset by crisis, a singular leader became an icon of service. Jimmy Carter was not a president of the first rank, but he managed by dint of unceasing effort to become an iconic world leader, with an inspiring, if often contentious, legacy as a dogged peacemaker. His presidency—beset by a horrible economy, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the seizure of American hostages in Iran—was a stunning political failure but a greater substantive success…To understand the world we live in, read TIME.

It was a complicated year for climate action, with glimmers of hope amid halting progress. By early November, it was virtually certain that 2024 would be the hottest year on record. The evidence was being felt around the world—from flooding that killed hundreds in Spain to drought in 48 of America’s 50 states. Insurance giants dropped coverage in danger zones and warned about the growing challenge posed by climate change. Amid all that, a casual observer might have expected negotiators gathered at U.N. climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan…

Tech companies raced ahead with AI, driving markets and stirring regulators. In 2024, both cutting-edge technology and the companies controlling it grew increasingly powerful, provoking euphoric wonderment and existential dread. Companies, like Nvidia and Alphabet soared in value, fueled by expectations that artificial intelligence (AI) will become a cornerstone of modern life. While those grand visions are still far into the future, tech undeniably shaped markets, warfare, elections, climate, and daily life this year…