The New York Times launches the Headway initiative, which explores the world’s challenges through the lens of progress

The New York Times today launched the series Hindsight, a collection of journalism that looks at how people of years past expected the future to play out, how it actually played out and what we can learn from the result.

Hindsight is the first project to come out of Headway, a team of journalists exploring the world’s challenges through the lens of progress. It is funded philanthropically by The Ford Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Woodcock Foundation. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors serves as a nonprofit fiscal sponsor. The Times retains full editorial control of the Headway initiative. All of Headway’s stories and its public square will be freely accessible without a subscription.

Hindsight explores the claims, promises and projections made in the past on issues like climate, poverty, clean water and HIV/AIDS. Anchoring the project is "What Does It Mean to Save a Neighborhood?" by Michael Kimmelman, which looks at the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and probes what the slow start of New York City’s plan to protect residents in lower Manhattan reveals about governance and progress.

In a letter addressed to the people of 2021, Matt Thompson, editor, Headway, invites readers to participate in Headway’s public square by sharing their surprises and conclusions from reviewing the outcomes of Hindsight.

In five additional stories, journalists dig to find the answers to the same questions: Did it happen? And what does the outcome reveal?

• “Hundreds of Companies Promised to Help Save Forests. Did They?” by Lucy Tompkins
• “What Can One Life Tell Us About the Battle Against H.I.V.?” by Sarika Bansal
• “Europe Met a Climate Target. But Is It Burning Less Carbon?” by Lois Parshley
• “Extreme Poverty Has Been Sharply Cut. What Has Changed?” by Lucy Tompkins
• “Millions More People Got Access to Water. Can They Drink It?” by Lucy Tompkins