Naina Bajekal

New York

Writer at Naina’s Substack

Director of Communications @open_phil | Prev. Executive Editor @TIME | https://t.co/EeNGZPLl5w

Articles

My Week at the Buzzy Meditation Retreat That Promises Bliss on Demand

Aug 6, 2024 | time.com | Naina Bajekal

26 minute readAugust 7, 2024 7:00 AM EDTNick Cammarata has always been unusually happy. The 31-year-old AI safety researcher had a good childhood, but it wasn’t just that; situations that made others depressed seemed to roll off him. “I think I was probably happier than 99% of people. It’s just kind of unfair luck,” he says. “I figured maybe what I had was as good as it gets.”Then, in 2021, as part of an effort to investigate whether life could get even better, Cammarata discovered the jhanas.
Ncuti Gatwa - TIME

May 16, 2024 | everand.com | Naina Bajekal

NCUTI GATWAMold-breaking actorBY NAINA BAJEKAL/LONDONWhen Ncuti Gatwa got the call that would change his life, he was walking into a London barbershop. The Rwandan-born Scottish actor froze as his agent shared the news: he had just been cast as the lead in the beloved British sci-fi series This wasn’t just another job—it was something that would cement his place in British cultural history. He told his agent he’d call back.
How Ncuti Gatwa Is Bringing ‘Doctor Who’ Into a New Era

May 15, 2024 | time.com | Naina Bajekal

MORE + READ ARTICLE [video id=M0LVkY6i ] When Ncuti Gatwa got the call that would change his life, he was walking into a London barbershop.
The Young Billionaire Using AI to Secure the Future of Japanese Businesses

May 15, 2024 | time.com | Chad de Guzman |Moises Mendez II |Naina Bajekal |Olivia B. Waxman

“I’m not quite sure how I feel about my wealth,” one of Japan’s youngest billionaires tells TIME from his office in Tokyo. “But I continue to work hard to create good businesses.” Shunsaku Sagami, 33, owes his fortune—Forbes recently estimated his net worth to be $1.9 billion—specifically to the business of helping other businesses.
Olympian Simone Manuel Is on a Mission to Get Everybody Into the Pool

May 15, 2024 | time.com | Alice Park |Chad de Guzman |Moises Mendez II |Naina Bajekal

Growing up, Simone Manuel was used to being the only Black swimmer on the pool deck. “There was a feeling of loneliness,” she says. When she beat the field in the 100-m freestyle at the 2016 Olympics, she became the first Black American swimmer to earn an individual Olympic gold. After making history, her swimming journey became challenging in a different way.
RAYE Can’t Escape Her Success

May 15, 2024 | time.com | Moises Mendez II |Naina Bajekal |Olivia B. Waxman |Yasmeen Serhan

As a teenager, RAYE attended the BRIT School, a legendary South London performing-arts academy that has bred successful songwriters and recording artists like Jessie J, Adele, and Amy Winehouse. These days, RAYE is regularly compared to Winehouse, but back then she remembers walking through the hallways, looking at pictures of the alumni, and thinking, “That’s gonna be me one day.” At the 2024 BRIT Awards, she earned her place in those hallowed halls.
How TIME Chose the 2024 Women of the Year

Feb 20, 2024 | time.com | Naina Bajekal |Lucy Feldman |Cate Matthews

IdeasBy Naina Bajekal, Lucy Feldman and Cate MatthewsFebruary 21, 2024 6:38 AM ESTNaina Bajekal is executive editor and international editor at TIME. She oversees teams working across several verticals, including World, Technology, Health and Climate. She is the editor of the TIME100 AI list and the co-editor of TIME's annual Women of the Year list. Lucy Feldman is a senior editor at TIME, where she oversees coverage of books and authors.
How We Chose the 2024 Women of the Year

Feb 20, 2024 | news.yahoo.com | Naina Bajekal

Filmmaker Greta Gerwig appears on the 2024 Women of the Year cover. Credit - Photograph by Zoey Grossman for TIMETaraji P. Henson knows what it means to be undervalued—and she wants to fix that. In a December interview, the actor made headlines with an uncompromising critique of pay inequality in Hollywood, saying that after more than 20 years in the industry, she is still compensated with only a fraction of what her white and male counterparts are paid.
Sam Altman Is TIME's 2023 CEO of the Year

Dec 5, 2023 | time.com | Naina Bajekal |Billy Perrigo

More Must-Reads From TIMEWho Will Be TIME's Person of the Year 2023? Why Cell Phone Reception Is Getting WorseThe Dirty Secrets of Alternative PlasticsColumn: It's Time to Scrap the Abraham AccordsIsraeli Family Celebrates Release of Hostage GrandmotherIn a New Movie, Beyoncé Finds FreedomThe Top 100 Photos of 2023Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More?
Stella McCartney on Wanting to Make Fashion More Sustainable

Aug 8, 2023 | time.com | Naina Bajekal

Stella McCartney doesn’t want you to feel bad. The British fashion designer understands it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the ways the products we eat, buy, and wear come with unintended consequences—for society, for animals, for the planet. And so even if she’s talking about the harrowing conditions workers suffer in fast-fashion factories or the devastating climate impact of animal agriculture, she’s eager to emphasize that the goal isn’t guilt.