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Growing up, graphic designer, editor, and author Chip Kidd was about as artsy as he could be in 1970s suburban Reading, Pennsylvania. “I glommed onto comic books very early on,” he says. “I loved to draw. I loved to write. I took up the drums and joined the marching band; all of this typical artsy-gay-kid-that-can’t-come-out stuff.” Still, he says, he knew he wasn’t the most talented in drawing. “There’s always that other kid that draws better than you who gets the gig to draw everything for the yearbook; It’s not tragic. It’s like, alright, I’ve got to figure something else out.” That something else, as it happens, worked out pretty well. Today, Kidd is approaching …

If my three-decade journey in the corporate world has taught me anything, it’s that in business, as in life, the only certainty is uncertainty. In the past 20 years, periods of upheaval, from pandemics to financial crises to AI hysteria, have restitched the fabric of how we work, travel, and communicate. While this uncertainty can generate tension and turmoil, it also forges the best leaders. I’ve seen bosses and colleagues navigate all types of volatility, where the margin between success and failure can come down to a single action or inaction. So, what distinguishes leaders who can successfully shepherd teams through uncertain times from those who can’t? I beli…

Welcome to exhausted America 2025: Most adults are more than a little fine with doling out cash as gifts, and many plan to be asleep before midnight on New Year’s Eve, according to a new AP-NORC poll. About 6 in 10 Americans say cash or gift cards are “very” acceptable as holiday presents, but they’re much less likely to say that about a gift that was purchased secondhand or re-gifted, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “Cash is OK for the grandkids I guess,” said Nancy Wyant, 73, in rural central Iowa. “But I’m a gift giver.” Come New Year’s Eve, she’ll be fast asleep before 2026 rolls around. “At our ag…

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. The AI ‘arms race’ may be more of an ‘arm-twist’ The big AI companies tell us that AI will soon remake every aspect of business in every industry. Many of us are left wondering when that will actually happen in the real world, when the so-called “AI takeoff” will arrive. But because there are so many variables, so many different kinds of organizations, jobs, and workers, there’s no satisfying answer. In the absence of hard evidence, we rely on anecdotes: success stories from founde…

The cloning industry is contracting—ironically, perhaps. On Tuesday, Colossal Biosciences announced that it has acquired ViaGen Pets and Equine, an animal cloning firm, marking Colossal’s first acquisition since it launched in 2021. Texas-based Colossal Biosciences is best known for its controversial “de-extinction” endeavors, which involve efforts to recover species that have died out. Earlier this year, the company claimed to have “brought back” dire wolves, an assertion that was disputed by some experts, as the animals were created by modifying the DNA of existing gray wolves. The company has also sparked debates about the ethics of bringing species back …

It’s a little-known fact that Columbia University, in Manhattan, was home to the first mining school in America—the School of Mines—founded in 1864. For the past three decades, the university’s program has been mothballed. Parts of its curriculum were subsumed into the more fashionable subjects of earth and environmental engineering. But next fall, Columbia University will offer a bachelor of science degree in mining engineering once again. Other schools are barreling down, as well. The University of Texas at El Paso is also relaunching its mining engineering degree, starting in the fall of 2027, after a 60-year hiatus. The University of Texas system is providing $20…

There are many made-up celebrations these days, but at least National Pizza Week delivers something tasty. Coming in hot on the heels of so-called quitter’s day, when many people abandon their New Year’s resolutions, pizza shops around the U.S. will be tossing around some deals that could save customers some dough. Of course, many people don’t need an excuse to eat pizza—on any given day, about 11% of Americans do so, according to a study released in 2024 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Americans grappling with the high cost of living got some relief as inflation cooled in November, but that doesn’t mean that food prices have come down—and particularly for famili…

On Wednesday morning, local time, over one million Australian children discovered their social media accounts had vanished. And it may not be long before kids in other countries find themselves in a similar predicament. Under the new law, which was approved late last year, no one under the age of 16 in Australia will be allowed to set up accounts on platforms including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, X, Snapchat, Twitch, and Reddit. Any accounts for people in that age category will be deactivated or removed. The law is meant to protect the mental health of children from the addictive nature of social media. Australia’s law goes three years beyond the de fact…

It looks a little like a sleek window AC, but a new device from Chinese appliance giant Midea is actually a reversible heat pump that can both cool and heat a home—and it’s designed to heat efficiently even when the temperature outside drops as low as 22 degrees below zero. The heat pump, called the Midea PWHP, just launched commercially after years of development. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been testing it in freezing temperatures in upstate New York. It works better than my gas furnace, and uses less energy. And the form factor and cost could help heat pumps—which already outsell gas furnaces—spread even faster. A new type of heat pump Like other heat pumps, the P…

Twenty years ago, Jack Dorsey changed the world. He opened his phone and sent a message to a new platform he had created: “just setting up my twttr”. That post carries the ID 20. (A post he shared last week has the ID 2032161152470565367—a small detail that captures how dramatically the platform has scaled in the intervening decades.) just setting up my twttr — jack (@jack) March 21, 2006 Following that first message, Dorsey’s short-form social network quickly cemented its role in our digital lives. In 2009, as a plane landed on the Hudson River in New York, users followed events in real time as people posted from the scene. In 2011, Sohaib Athar, then living in Abbott…

People are fascinated with leadership, and rightly so. After all, most of the “big things” that happen in the world (both good and bad) can be directly traced to decisions, behaviors, or choices of those who are in charge: presidents, prime ministers, CEOs, executives, and anyone tasked with turning a group of people into a high-performing unit, coordinating human activity, and shaping the impact institutions have on society, all the way down to individuals. In line, scientific research shows that up to 40% of the variability in team and organizational performance can be accounted for by the leader—in other words, who we put in charge, or who emerges as leaders, drastica…

Thanksgiving is a beautiful day filled with family, loved ones, and good food. All that merriment takes copious amounts of labor and planning ahead. It is almost inevitable that something will fall between the cracks and a last-minute store run will be necessary. But is that even possible? Here’s a quick breakdown of what is open and closed on Thanksgiving 2025 to help you out in a pinch should you have a missing cranberry sauce crisis. But first let’s take a look at everyday services: Is Thanksgiving a federal holiday? Yes, Thanksgiving is a federal holiday celebrated annually in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. This makes Novem…

How would a school shooting affect your employees? It’s something that most employers never want to think about, but it’s a horrifyingly real threat to any community—and the companies and organizations that do business there. Following the death of my youngest son, Dylan, in the 2012 Sandy Hook School shooting, I can tell you first-hand about the lasting trauma that occurs when your child is injured or killed in this type of tragedy—and how that ripples through the entire community. In October, we held America’s Safe Schools Week, a national initiative to raise awareness about school violence and promote safety. It’s also a time for companies to recognize they have a …

Streetwear used to be about rebellion, community, and self-expression but now it’s walking down luxury runways with $2,000 price tags. Fast Company hit the streets of New York at the iconic Jeff Staple store launch to ask real streetwear fans: Is streetwear still streetwear? Is the culture still alive? Or has luxury killed the vibe? View the full article

FIFA slashed the price of some World Cup tickets for teams’ most loyal fans following a global backlash and some will get $60 seats for the final instead of being asked to pay $4,185. FIFA said Tuesday that $60 tickets will be made available for every game at the tournament in North America, going to the national federations whose teams are playing. Those federations decide how to distribute them to loyal fans who have attended previous games at home and on the road. The number of $60 tickets for each game is likely to be in the hundreds, rather than thousands, in what FIFA is now calling a “Supporter Entry Tier” price category. FIFA did not specify exactly wh…

Advertising in generative AI systems has become a fault line. Last month, OpenAI released that it would start running ads in ChatGPT. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, OpenAI’s chief financial officer defended the introduction of ads inside ChatGPT, arguing that it is a way to “democratize access to artificial intelligence,” and that this decision is aligned with its mission: “AGI for the benefit of humanity, not for the benefit of humanity who can pay.” Within days, Anthropic fired back in a Super Bowl commercial, ridiculing the idea that ads belong inside systems people trust for advice, therapy, and decision-making. In some way, this is a spat about ho…

Gustaf Westman, the homeware designer known for his delightfully chunky objects, just unveiled his latest project. It’s a shelf inspired by classic puzzles. Gustaf Westman In a new video posted to his Instagram, Westman introduces the Puzzle Shelf, a modular unit that comes in the form of several components resembling giant puzzle pieces. Users can assemble the shelf however they see fit, as well as select their own piece colors, which include white, forest green, fire-engine red, pink, a range of blues, and even a metallic silver. It’s currently available on a made-to-order basis, as each unique shelf is produced by a London-based 3D-print artist. Westman’s ir…

Over the last decade, dozens of cities have reshaped streets around cycling and slower, safer, healthier travel. Take Paris: at rush hour, boulevards that were once packed with cars are now filled with thousands of people on bikes, newly planted trees, and cleaner air. In a detailed new analysis, the urban design consultancy Copenhagenize ranked 100 global cities on how far they’ve come to make it easier to bike—examining everything from changes in bike infrastructure to whether cities are promoting cargo bikes for delivery and teaching kids to bike in school. Nearly all top-ranked cities are in Europe, where strong pro-bike policies have lowered speed limits, added se…

It should be shocking to nobody that we’re dealing with an absolute surplus of AI consumables. Breakthroughs. Policy changes. New tools that promise to “10x your productivity.” Most of it is either too technical, too abstract, or just plain filler. You don’t need another wall of text, you need the signal. Luckily, there are a handful of AI newsletters that consistently deliver real value without taking up half your morning. (My editor wanted to make sure you knew about Fast Company’s own such newsletter, by senior reporter Mark Sullivan: AI Decoded. You can sign up for it here.) The Rundown AI: The Daily Scan If you have exactly five minutes between pouring…

House fires burn hotter and spread faster than ever before, leaving families with as little as two minutes to safely escape their homes. Despite that short window to reach safety, families are startlingly unprepared: Only 26% of American families have developed and practiced a home fire escape plan. The disconnect between the urgency of fire safety and actual household preparation points to a fundamental challenge in home safety education. Traditional approaches (pamphlets, static demonstrations, and classroom presentations) often fail to create the lasting behavioral change needed when seconds matter most. At Kidde, our ultimate goal is to help keep everyone safe…