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On Valentine’s Day 2025, heavy rains started to fall in parts of rural Appalachia. Over the course of a few days, residents in eastern Kentucky watched as river levels rose and surpassed flood levels. Emergency teams conducted over 1,000 water rescues. Hundreds, if not thousands of people were displaced from homes, and entire business districts filled with mud. For some, it was the third time in just four years that their homes had flooded, and the process of disposing of destroyed furniture, cleaning out the muck and starting anew is beginning again. Historic floods wiped out businesses and homes in eastern Kentucky in February 2021, July 2022 and now February 20…

Earlier this month, Nike dropped the “Flagstaff” colorway of its Book 1 sneaker, the signature model of Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker. Its dark green shade reflects Flagstaff, Arizona’s situation in the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest—it’s not all cactuses and sand in the Grand Canyon State—and the shoe plays off Booker’s status as one of the many second-home owners in the area. “When Book needs to escape the desert heat,” the Nike copy explains, “he heads to Flagstaff, where he can walk the mountain paths worry-free.” Nike’s use of local color seems to be part of a larger branding trend that emphasizes small-scale authenticity over brute-force bigness. As a lo…

In 1865, a new department store opened in Paris called Printemps (which is French for “spring”). The architecture is a stunning Art Deco masterpiece, replete with mosaics, dramatic turrets, and enormous windows with dramatic displays of recent products. Today, it sits among other iconic Parisian landmarks, like the Galleries Lafayette store and the Opera. But back then, there was nothing nearby except a railway line that only carried cargo. “When we opened our store on Boulevard Haussmann, it was a completely new area,” says Jean-Marc Bellaiche, CEO of Printemps Groupe, the store’s parent company. “It was a bet that this neighborhood would become hot and vibrant. It …

Dallas is prepared to spend big to protect its logo. In fact, the Dallas City Council voted last week to spend up to $200,000 as part of a federal lawsuit to cancel the trademark of Triple D Gear, a Dallas apparel company that the city argues uses a logo so similar to its own that it causes confusion. One sign of a good civic mark, whether it’s a logo or a flag, is whether it becomes a symbol of popular expression. People get tattoos of the Chicago flag, for example, but not the flag of Illinois (hence the state’s efforts to redesign it). The Dallas logo, then, has done its job. Maybe too well. The city’s logo, which has been in use since 1972, features concentric…

If you’ve skimmed your feeds today, there’s a good chance you’ve seen many headlines exclaiming that around two million donuts have been recalled due to possible listeria contamination. However, these headlines are a bit misleading as the recall happened over a month ago. Confused? Here’s what to know about the listeria donut recall, whether your morning donut is safe to eat, and why you’re just hearing about the recall now. What’s happened? Over the past day, the internet has been flooded with articles about a massive donut recall, with two million of the tasty treats affected. However, though this recall is widely being reported on now—the second week in Febr…

The Super Bowl is one of the world’s most significant single-day sporting events. It attracts over 100 million U.S. viewers and tens of millions of international viewers, making it an entertainment phenomenon. For Eagles fans who are not making the trip to the Superdome in New Orleans, there will be plenty of places to watch in Philadelphia—including rowdy bars, living rooms and even home tailgates, all while the city is lit in Eagles green. For me, the Super Bowl is a real-life laboratory. As a sports scientist, neuropsychology professor and the former athletic director at Drexel University in Philadelphia, I investigate how high-performance athletes prepare cogn…

László Toth, a Hungarian Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor, emigrates to the United States after World War II in search of a new life. After a rough start, a wealthy businessman recognises his talent and offers him a job that will change his life. This is a very brief summary of Brady Corbet’s film The Brutalist, which stars Adrien Brody as Toth. While the protagonist of this almost four-hour film is fictional, his story is inspired by many real figures. During the rise of Nazism in Germany, and especially after the de facto demise of the Weimar Republic in 1933, many intellectuals, scientists and other educated people chose to emigrate in search of a…

In just a couple of years, generative AI (GenAI) has made a big impact on the way people, companies, and entire industries think about work. It’s helping doctors and nurses, who spend more than a third of their work week on paperwork, free up more time to focus on patients. Scientists are using GenAI ideation to achieve research breakthroughs. In the field of law, where time is so valuable it’s often measured in six-minute increments, GenAI’s ability to understand and analyze documents faster than any person can is quickly becoming indispensable. Many legal teams doing text-heavy work are using innovative GenAI tools to speed their race against the ever-present clock.…

Going global has been good business for Max. Since the video streamer’s debut in 39 Latin American and Caribbean countries a year ago, it has expanded to more than 70 markets globally, including Europe and Asia. These new audiences have helped grow its user base. In its most recently reported quarter, Max added 7.2 million global subscribers, bringing its total subscriber count to 110 million. As its audience grows, Max is also focusing on premium content and cracking down on password-sharing. JB Perrette, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming and games, appeared on Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies podcast to talk Max’s international exp…

A computerized system that calls balls and strikes is being tested during Major League Baseball spring training exhibition games starting Thursday after four years of experiments in the minor leagues. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is an advocate of the Automated Ball-Strike System, which potentially as early as 2026 could be used to aid MLB home plate umpires, but not replace them. Starting in 2024, MLB focused testing on a challenge system in which the human umpire makes each original call. Data from the spring training test could cause MLB to make alterations to the system for Triple-A games this season. How does the Automated Ball-Strike System work? …

The Brannock device—that sliding metal gadget used in shoe stores to measure the dimensions of your feet—was invented 100 years ago this year. But footwear fitting hasn’t really gotten more advanced since, says Dan Cataldi, founder and CEO of custom insole maker Groov. For most people, it still comes down to finding shoes by style and size, taking a few steps in them, and hoping for the best. And when it comes to insoles, the part of the shoe that you actually walk on, people with medical issues and professional athletes might get custom orthotic inserts fitted by a doctor, while most people make do with what comes in their shoes or, in a pinch, a cushioning insert from …

Today’s fast-paced workplace requires us to change and adapt at increasing speeds, while managing complex interpersonal demands. Despite these challenges, we can utilize emotional intelligence to meet these continually increasing demands and excel in our new reality. The basis of emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our emotions—as well as know how they impact others. Beyond that, emotional intelligence gives us greater ability to understand the emotions of others, allowing for greater empathy. This in turn increases our ability to work effectively with others of different backgrounds and perspectives. Glenn Llopis, author of …

Slightly under 10 years ago, when I reviewed a new Apple MacBook, I devoted a surprising percentage of my wordage to its port. Yes, port—it had only one. The sleek, minimalist laptop was one of the first devices in the world to sport USB-C, a new type of wired connectivity that carried both power and data over a cable with a slim, reversible connector. USB-C held the potential to replace pretty much all the other ports then in use on phones, tablets, laptops, cameras, headphones, and other gadgets. At the time, they included USB in its familiar, full-size form (officially known as USB-A), multiple variants of Micro-USB and Mini-USB, myriad proprietary power jacks, and…

Southwest Airlines’ signature tagline “Bags Fly Free” seems to be a thing of the past. Since its inception nearly 60 years ago, the airline has offered customers two complimentary checked bags as part of its pitch to distinguish it from competitors. But by this summer, it seems, Southwest will have to replace its oft-repeated slogan with a new one: “bags fly for an added fee.” That’s because any customers who are not members of Southwest’s frequent fliers programs or traveling in an upgraded seat will have to pay for their checked bags, starting with flights booked after May 28, according to a company press release. The airline did not provide specific rates for…

The 2025 tax season is in full swing, and the number one question most people have on their minds after filing their return is, “Where’s my tax refund?” Thankfully, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a quick and easy online tool to help you check the status of your tax refund. Here’s what you need to know about the tool as well as how long it may take to receive your refund. Check your tax refund status with the IRS’s ‘Where’s My Refund?’ tool If you’re anxious about where your refund is, there’s good news: you can check its status in just a few seconds using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool from the IRS. Checking your refund status is pretty easy. Here’s h…

There’s no question that the face of America is changing. Those under 18 are the first majority minority generation: 53% are non-White; one in four are Hispanic, and one in five are the children of immigrants. But while evolving racial demographics are reshaping rising generations, we are no longer a young nation: by 2030, Americans older than 65 will outnumber those under 18, a major deviation from 2000 when 26% were under 18 and just 12% were over 65. Add to that a widening wealth gap: The gap between top one fifth incomes and bottom one fifth incomes has increased by 53% in the past decade. To better understand the impact of these changes on the mindset and needs o…

When both my picky kids discovered they loved eggs, it was a blessed relief for meal planning. After years of trying to find dinners that everyone was happy to eat, my kids’ affinity for eggs added quiche, frittatas, and omelets to our cooking repertoire. We now go through two dozen eggs a week at chez Guy Birken. Which means I have personally been paying very close attention to spiking egg prices. My local grocery store is selling a dozen eggs for $5.99—more than two times the price of eggs as of March 2024. If you’ve been wondering why you need a second mortgage to afford your breakfast, here’s what you need to know about this price eggsplosion. Supply and dema…

The Panama Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world, with about 7% of global trade passing through. It also relies heavily on rainfall. Without enough freshwater flowing in, the canal’s locks can’t raise and lower ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Droughts mean fewer ships per day, and that can quickly affect Panama’s finances and economies around the world. But the same freshwater is also essential for Panama’s many other needs, including drinking water for about two million Panamanians, use by Indigenous people and farmers in the watershed, as well as hydropower. When the region experiences droughts, as it did in 2023–2024…

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. There’s a seismic shift reshaping the labor market, with tremors across government and business. The latest signal of this transformation is the announcement of the Skills-First Workforce Initiative, a collaboration of top employers aimed at making the skills needed for jobs more transparent. It follows an announcement from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who on April 2nd unveiled his Ma…

As an introvert, I dread large conferences. I get invited to a number throughout the year, and I usually scramble to find excuses for why I can’t attend. Since I have spent much of my career posing as an extrovert, some people are surprised to discover that I really don’t enjoy networking at large gatherings. I worry about feeling overwhelmed by the crowds, not remembering people’s names, having to sit alone for meals, drawing a blank and not being able to engage in small talk, and, of course, worried I won’t know anyone there. Just thinking through all of this is absolutely exhausting. Last year, I was invited to speak and attend Transform, a conference focused on dr…

The Fast Company Impact Council is a private membership community of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual membership dues for access to peer learning and thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Customer experience is at a tipping point. Companies are struggling to see results from AI, digital transformation, and personalization. But let’s be real: Most companies aren’t connecting the dots. Consumers want seamless, human-like engagement, but too often they’re met with fragmented systems and half-baked AI solutions. The good news? The gap between what customers expec…

Hotel art has changed. In the last few years, generic photography and reproductions of works by Old Masters have given way to remarkable pieces of artwork befitting top-notch museums and the world’s best private galleries. Though it may feel like a 180-degree shift from the boring artwork that preceded these new and imaginative displays, hotels becoming cultural destinations unto themselves, by hanging up artwork ideal for the world’s top museums and private galleries, makes sense. “The standard used to be that you’d put a picture in a frame and call it a day—but hotels don’t cut it anymore with this,” says Spencer Bailey, editor-in-chief of a multivolume book s…

After years of working in PR and branding for luxury beauty, Jaimee Lupton decided to break away and disrupt the space by making beauty products that are accessible. With her business partner and real-life partner Nick Mowbray, she launched Monday haircare in 2020. Lupton saw a gap in the market for a brand that was targeted toward a younger demographic. There were few haircare brands that addressed the needs of younger customers, and even fewer who knew how to speak to those customers through their branding, messaging, and packaging. Lupton knew the power of a personalized message, and she created Monday with that in mind. The haircare company has received its …

The iconic Louvre in Paris is no stranger to crowds. Since first opening in 1793, the museum has played host to millions of guests and undergone dozens of expansions and renovations to accommodate them. Today, though, overtourism has brought the historic site to a breaking point. In a typical year, the Louvre is prepared to accommodate 4 million visitors. But in 2024, almost 9 million people—70% of them originating from outside of France—passed through its doors. “Visiting the Louvre is a physical ordeal,” museum director Laurence des Cars wrote in a widely publicized leaked memo. Now the Louvre will now undergo a massive renovation to address overcrowding and ex…

When plastic entered the design world in the 20th century, it was hailed as a wonder material—something strong, durable, lightweight, affordable, and malleable enough to sculpt into expressive, futuristic-looking forms. But the material lost its halo as the environmental consequences became apparent, plastic waste being one of them. The design industry has been figuring out what to do about this for years. It’s tried recycling, reducing the amount of material in a product, developing bio-based compostable alternatives, or switching to something else entirely. But not all companies are able to easily switch up their production lines or find alternatives. Now, a growing bo…