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Pope Francis left a lasting legacy, not least his appreciation for art. In his 2025 biography, Hope, Francis spoke of his admiration for the Baroque painter Caravaggio. He recalled that during his travels to Rome as a cardinal, he prayed in front of the painting by Caravaggio—The Calling of Saint Matthew. The painting is found in the chapel dedicated to St. Matthew in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The donor of the chapel was a French cardinal, Matthieu Cointerel, who died in 1585. This was the first commission for Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, who was hired in July 1599. A year later, The Calling of Saint Matthew and The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, depict…

Known as the self-help guru whose tagline “let them” has encouraged millions to stop worrying what others are doing or saying, and focus on their own personal growth, has another significant lesson: don’t be afraid to keep moving forward to goals. During an interview with Norah O’Donnell on CBS Sunday Morning this week, Robbins said, “If you feel stuck in your life, it doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means that what’s missing in your life is growth. And if I can get you to grow and learn in any area of your life, you start to change.” The 57-year-old mother and former lawyer—who, at one time in her 40s, was unemployed and over a million in debt—shares her motivati…

Is technology a hero or a villain? That question keeps coming back to me. Especially now, as the world watches the ripple effects of the USAID funding freeze and the relentless wave of climate disasters. Tech companies sit right at the heart of these crises—not as bystanders, but as some of the most powerful players in how they unfold. And yet, tech’s public image has never been more conflicted. On one hand, technology has enabled incredible breakthroughs in humanitarian response. AI can predict floods before they hit. Blockchain helps track aid deliveries in fragile contexts. Real-time data platforms put lifesaving information directly into the hands of frontline respo…

This weekend, you will need to put on your Sunday clothes—especially a fancy hat—a day early. The 151st Run for the Roses, better known as the 2025 Kentucky Derby, will take off at 6:57 p.m. ET, on Saturday, May 3, at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Twenty three-year-old thoroughbreds have qualified through the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points system and are ready to leave it all on the track. Here’s what you need to know going into the big race day. Drama on and off the track Trainer Bob Baffert is back after serving a three-year suspension beginning in 2021, which was instituted after the 147th Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, tested positiv…

The death of Pope Francis has been announced by the Vatican. I first met the late Pope Francis at the Vatican after a conference called Saving Our Common Home and the Future of Life on Earth in July 2018. My colleagues and I sensed something momentous was happening at the heart of the church. At that time, I was helping to set up the new Laudato Si’ Research Institute at the Jesuit Hall at the University of Oxford. This institute is named after the pope’s 2015 encyclical (a letter to bishops outlining church policy) on climate change. Its mission is rooted in the pope’s religiously inspired vision of integral ecology—a multidisciplinary approach that addresses soc…

Chances are you’ve had a bad boss at some point in your career. Research shows that up to 65% of employees would take a new boss over a pay raise, and roughly half of people who quit their jobs cite their manager as the main reason for leaving. Bad bosses are not just annoyances; they’re productivity drains, engagement killers, and mental health hazards. They create toxic cultures, stifle growth, and often drive the best people out while promoting dysfunction. So why do we keep ending up with them? Companies have long tried to solve the “bad boss” problem. They spend billions on leadership development programs, executive coaching, and increasingly, AI-powered feedbac…

The European Union’s law enforcement agency cautioned Tuesday that artificial intelligence is turbocharging organized crime that is eroding the foundations of societies across the 27-nation bloc as it becomes intertwined with state-sponsored destabilization campaigns. The grim warning came at the launch of the latest edition of a report on organized crime published every four years by Europol that is compiled using data from police across the EU and will help shape law enforcement policy in the bloc in coming years. “Cybercrime is evolving into a digital arms race targeting governments, businesses and individuals. AI-driven attacks are becoming more precise and de…

The generative AI revolution has seen more leaps forward than missteps—but one clear stumble was the sycophantic smothering of OpenAI’s 4o large language model (LLM), which the ChatGPT maker eventually had to withdraw after users began worrying it was too unfailingly flattering. The model became so eager to please, it lost authenticity. In their blog post explaining what went wrong, OpenAI described “ChatGPT’s default personality” and its “behavior”—terms typically reserved for humans, suggesting a degree of anthropomorphization. OpenAI isn’t alone in this: humans often describe AI as “understanding” or “knowing” things, largely because media coverage has consistently fr…

As a nearly 60-year-old brand, Hot Wheels has been a playroom staple for generations of children. But while the tiny cars and buildable track sets have managed to find their way into the playrooms of millions of children, the looping, curving track pieces have always been a bit of a challenge to actually put together. Mattel, which created the Hot Wheels brand in 1968, knows this is a pain point, especially at the younger end of their target market. Recent research found that less than a third of kids aged 3 to 6 are able to assemble Hot Wheels track sets without help. “That to us was a really big call to say that we need to approach this in a different manner,” says Rob…

The past 12 months have been rough for many retail chains. Major names like Big Lots and Joann filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the closures of hundreds of locations. In Joann’s case, those locations are gone for good, while some Big Lots locations have been reopened under new ownership. Unfortunately for another retailer—the fast fashion chain Forever 21—it seems like none of its more than 350 stores in the United States will get a last-minute reprieve. Instead, it now appears likely that all Forever 21 stores in the U.S. will suffer the same fate as Joann’s stores. Here’s what you need to know about the Forever 21 store closings. What’s happened? Earlier th…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Many companies forget AI-powered enterprise applications are just business apps at the end of the day. The reality is, AI is simply another arrow in our quiver, albeit incredibly more powerful. But what IT has done since generative AI exploded on the scene is frantically rush to deploy any and all possible applications, causing massive confusion and huge resource wastes, without delivering much …

A new year has brought a new pay rate for more than 8.3 million Americans. The minimum wage is going up in 19 states this week, with workers in Hawaii earning as much as $2 more an hour. Collectively, these pay increases will boost paychecks by a total of $5 billion, according to the Economic Policy Institute. While the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour hasn’t budged in nearly two decades, and still applies in eight states, many states and cities have steadily been increasing their minimum wages to well over double that amount. Seattle’s minimum wage, at $21.30 per hour, is now nearly triple that federal threshold. As is the case with Seattle, 47 cities …

Planning to hit the road this holiday season? Or maybe just thinking about an extended drive of some sort for sometime in the new year? The next time you’ve got a driving adventure ahead of you, today’s Cool Tools discovery is exactly the new virtual companion you need. It’s a truly cool app I encountered recently that enhances your standard navigation setup and offers some really smart extras that’ll make whatever trip you’re taking infinitely more interesting—and enjoyable. Lemme show ya what it’s all about. This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sor…

As the founder, chair, and CEO of the Exceptional Women Alliance, I am privileged to work alongside extraordinary women leaders who reshape industries and redefine what leadership looks like. Within this sisterhood, we challenge, support, and elevate one another, sharing not just professional expertise but a commitment to lead with impact. Nicole Brownell is one of those leaders. She is a COO and growth strategist whose work sits at the intersection of digital transformation, product innovation, and behavioral intelligence. She has guided companies through scaling, designed GTM strategies that combine creativity with analytics, and she focuses on using data to deepen con…

Quantum computing insiders, investors, and skeptics have been waiting on an announcement from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that has enormous implications for the future of the industry: the list of companies that have survived Stage A of the agency’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) and are advancing to Stage B. The QBI was launched in July 2024 to “rigorously verify and validate whether any quantum computing approach can achieve utility-scale operation” by 2033, according to DARPA. In essence, the QBI seeks to determine if a quantum computer technology is worth pursuing—if its benefits will be greater than the effort and resources it ta…

Job searching can feel like a full-time job in and of itself. Endless networking coffees and cover letter drafts can make it easy to get discouraged. And while it’s helpful to get support from family, friends, and your significant other, they may not truly grasp the day-to-day grind that’s needed to keep the momentum going. In fact, for many, searching for a job is an isolating experience. According to a recent American Staffing Association/Harris Poll Workforce Monitor survey, 72% of Americans say applying for jobs can feel like sending résumés into a “black box.” And four out of 10 unemployed U.S. job seekers revealed they didn’t land a single job interview in a ye…

Identifying which companies you hope to work for is one of the biggest hurdles job seekers face. I know this because I was a search consultant for over 25 years. Now, I have an executive résumé and LinkedIn profile writing practice. And my clients almost always ask questions about how to find future employers. I advise them to use AI chatbot platforms like ChatGPT, Claude AI, and Perplexity. To help the platforms work their magic, I encourage them to use NAICS codes in their prompts. Here’s how to do this: What are NAICS codes? NAICS is the acronym for the North American Industry Classification System. It assigns six-digit codes to companies as follows: …

For most baseball fans, hope springs eternal on Opening Day. Many of those fans—more than you might think—are women. A 2024 survey found that women made up 39% of those who attended or watched Major League Baseball games, and franchises have taken notice. The Philadelphia Phillies offer behind-the-scenes tours and clinics for their female fans, while the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees offer fantasy camps that are geared to women. The number of women working professionally in baseball has also grown. Kim Ng made history in 2020 when she became the first woman general manager of an MLB team, the Miami Marlins. As of 2023, women made up 30% of central office…

There’s a quiet transformation underway in how we eat. It’s not being led by chefs, influencers, or climate activists. It’s being driven by a new class of pharmaceuticals that are changing the way millions of people relate to food itself. GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy work by altering hunger signals in the brain. These medications don’t just help people feel full sooner. They are reshaping consumption patterns across the board. When hunger changes, everything from portion sizes to snacking habits and flavor preferences follows. This is fueling a broader redefinition of how we think about protein. What used to be a food category mostly associated with muscle-…

Monday, April 21, 2025, is Easter Monday. It’s the final day of the long weekend of Easter celebrations that traditionally kicks off on Good Friday and is celebrated by millions of people across the world. But while Easter Monday may be a widely celebrated religious holiday, many institutions remain open on the day, even if they were closed on Good Friday or Easter Sunday. However, some institutions will be closed in observance of the day. Here’s what you need to know about what’s open and closed on Easter Monday 2025. Is Easter Monday a federal holiday? No. Easter Monday is not a federally recognized public holiday in the United States. This means that fe…

AI is rapidly changing the world around us, from the way we engage online to how we work. But while the technology is able to complete an astonishing number of tasks, humans are far from obsolete. A new report from McKinsey is shining light on why humans are still essential. According to the report, roughly 57% of work hours can be automated. Meanwhile, 70% of the skills employers look for can be used for both automated work and nonautomated work. This means over the next five years, humans will have to adjust their work habits to make room for automation. McKinsey designed an index to assess how automation will impact each skill used in the workplace today. Acc…