What's on Your Mind?

It’s graduation season, and that means commencement speakers are offering up their best advice for how to live a happy, healthy, and successful life. But instead of being met with welcoming smiles and engaged head nods, one topic is being met with anger and boos—AI. In a series of recent incidents, listeners have balked as commencement speakers have either told them to embrace artificial intelligence, or have otherwise mentioned the ever-expanding technology in a speech. It happened when Gloria Caulfield, vice president of strategic alliances for the Orlando-based company Tavistock, began telling the graduating class at the University of Central Florida’s Col…

When University of Pennsylvania student Crystal Yang was in high school, she and her friends were avid players of the trendy online game Wordle. One of Yang’s friends, however, is blind and was unable to join in. That inspired Yang, while still a high school student, to work with researchers at Texas A&M University looking at conversational audio interface possibilities for the game. Soon, she founded a nonprofit called Audemy that has developed more than 50 audio-powered games accessible to blind and visually impaired players. The organization is now also at work on an accessible gaming console that will incorporate audio and tactile features and can function wi…

If AI lives up to its hype and we can “outsource” the thinking, planning, and strategy parts of our jobs, do we risk losing the skills that make us human? Research from the Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability found that there is “a significant negative correlation between frequent AI tool usage and critical thinking abilities, mediated by increased cognitive offloading.” In other words, use AI too much, and your mental faculties take a nosedive. But there’s another way to think about the issue. Could AI actually improve our cognition by freeing up our mental bandwidth for higher-value work? Make time for strategic thinking I’ve wor…

As any Studio Ghibli fan will testify, an afternoon spent binging Hayao Miyazaki classics is guaranteed to leave a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Now, this feeling is backed by science. A study published by JMIR Serious Games, a peer reviewed journal focused on how gaming is connected to education, health, and social change, looked into how the brain responds to both watching films produced by the Japanese animation studio and playing the open-world game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The researchers gathered 518 postgraduate students and divided them into four groups. Some played Breath of the Wild and some watched Studio Ghibli films like My Neighbor Totor…

Whether we like it or not, AI has infiltrated the workplace and employees are under pressure to use it. However, according to a new study, you may want to skip asking AI to help you manage matters of the heart. The two-part study, titled “Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence” was recently published in Science. The experiment made the case that using chatbots for personal advice and navigating emotional situations can be harmful because because the system is designed to tell people what they want to hear. Using chatbots may reinforce troubling behavior rather than help people take accountability for harm and apologize. A recent Cog…

U.S. consumers often pay more for gluten-free products, yet these items typically provide less protein and more sugar and calories compared with gluten-containing alternatives. That is the key finding of my new study, published in the journal Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. This study compared gluten-free products with their gluten-containing counterparts, and the findings suggested that many perceived benefits of gluten-free products—such as weight control and diabetes management—are exaggerated. Currently, many gluten-free products lack dietary fiber, protein, and essential nutrients. Manufacturers often add supplements to compensate, but the incorporation of d…

If you’ve ever felt like your pet knows exactly when to pull you away from the stress of your computer screen, you aren’t alone. A landmark study surveying over 30,000 pet owners in 20 different countries found that 78% of dog or cat owners report that their pets remind them to take breaks during work or tasks, with 50% of the participants saying this happens daily. The study, which was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Mars, is the largest international survey of its kind in the world. The findings resonated deeply with David Reilly, Global VP at Mars Petcare. “If my dog’s at daycare, I don’t take a break at lunch time,” he says. “But if my dogs’s not at daycare…

An aging brain’s sad, slow decline may not be as inevitable as everyone thinks. A new scientific study from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), has come to the startling conclusion that a single protein is the catalyst for cognitive dysfunction—and the damage it causes can be reversed. Scientists at UCSF’s Bakar Aging Research Institute examined activity in the hippocampus, the brain’s command center for learning and memory. Comparing young and old mice, the researchers discovered that older brains, unlike younger ones, were flooded with the FTL1 protein. To figure out whether the protein was actually the culprit or just another byproduct of the a…

With TikTok’s future in the U.S. still uncertain, Substack is doubling down on attracting video creators. As of yesterday, creators can now publish video posts directly from the Substack app—a feature previously limited to desktop. This update marks a significant shift, enabling creators to upload, publish, and monetize videos entirely from their phones. They can instantly reach subscribers via email, app notifications, or both, streamlining content distribution like never before. “This isn’t just about adding video, it’s about creators building more engaged communities that make independent publishing stronger than ever,” Substack cofounder and CEO Chris Best tel…

As a potential TikTok ban looms in the United States (again), Substack is making (another) play for video creators to join its platform. Back in January, Substack CEO Chris Best wrote on his personal account that the company was “going to rescue the smart people from TikTok!” It seems he’s making good on that promise, as the company announced on Monday that it’s rolling out a scrollable video feed in its app. Given the timing of this TikTok-like launch, Substack appears eager to capitalize on the potential void left behind if TikTok is actually banned this time around. Substack first launched video in 2022, later introducing an in-app Media Tab in 2024. The latest…

It’s the dream: You finish a huge project that wins widespread acclaim—from your boss, your peers, your clients, your friends and family. You’re flying high. The world should be your oyster. And yet? You can’t find the inspiration to follow up. Your productivity dries up. You’re afraid lightning won’t strike twice. You fear being a one-hit wonder. Maybe not in the obsolete pop star sense—but in the professional, creative, successful sense. It’s a horrible, limiting feeling that kills your productivity, not to mention confidence. But according to research from the Rotterdam School of Management in the Netherlands, there’s a cause for the feelings of inadequac…

I have spent decades in the high-stakes world of finance, in rooms with CEOs, politicians, and men who run major organizations. On paper, these men have everything figured out. But when the doors close and the room gets quiet, a surprising truth tends to surface: They feel profoundly alone. They have golf partners, colleagues, and acquaintances. They can debate politics or dissect a balance sheet for hours. And they know who to rely on when it comes to resolving an issue in the business they know so well. But when life fractures, as it always does, these same capable men don’t know who to call. We are living through what the former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Mu…

You’ve just lost your job. It hard. It’s really, really hard. There’s the initial shock, rage or panic—but then it’s time to immediately hop on the endless merry-go-round of excruciating applications, unresponsive recruiters, pleading LinkedIn DMs, and occasional existential crises. You can quickly feel hopeless, all alone, adrift, angry, and at wit’s end. That’s where we come in. Fast Company—the go-to authority on career development, workplace innovation, and business news—is debuting Between Jobs: a brand new pop-up newsletter, written for folks freshly out of work and on Day 1 of navigating their new normal. Want to hire a ghostwriter for your LinkedIn pro…

Loneliness isn’t just a lingering by-product of COVID lockdowns—it’s a public health crisis. The impacts of social isolation are said to be as detrimental to human health as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, according to former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Loneliness can increase the risk of heart disease and strokes by roughly 30%, and dementia by about 50%. In some ways, we’ve never been more connected thanks to online networks. Yet for many people, social media has fueled perceptions that others are living fuller, more vibrant lives in comparison to their own. Some have found that online interactions pale in comparison to in-person hang outs. Champagne sales…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. To maintain sales in this softer housing market environment, Lennar spent an average of 14% of the final sales price on incentives in Q1 2026—back to its 2010 levels. Put another way, a $450,000 home sold with a 14% incentive rate translates to $63,000 spent on buyer incentives. That’s a lot of incentives. Ever since the pandemic housing boom fizzled out, homebuilders like Lennar have compressed their gross margins—which hit all-time highs during that boom—in order to deploy bigger incentives to entice homebuyers. Indeed, at the height of the p…

Charli XCX is making a trip to the Sundance Film Festival in January. The pop singer-songwriter appears in three films premiering at the 2026 festival, including a mockumentary that she produced and stars in. Programmers on Wednesday unveiled a lineup of 90 feature films set for the festival’s last hurrah in Park City, Utah. The slate includes documentaries on basketball great Brittney Griner, Nelson Mandela, Salman Rushdie, Courtney Love, and Billie Jean King. There are starry features with the likes of Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Seth Rogen, Channing Tatum, Danielle Brooks, Olivia Colman, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Alexander Skarsgård, and Ethan Hawke. Olivia Wilde di…

Robert Redford’s legacy and mission were always going to be a key component of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, which will be the last of its kind in Park City, Utah. But in the wake of his death in Septemberat age 89, those ideas took on a new significance. This January, the institute that Redford founded over 40 years ago, plans to honor his career and impact with and a screening of his first truly independent film, the 1969 sports drama “Downhill Racer,” and a series of legacy screenings of restored Sundance gems from “Little Miss Sunshine” to “House Party,” festival organizers said Tuesday. “As we were thinking about how best to honor Mr. Redford’s legacy, it’…

After a yearlong search, the Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday that its new home will be Boulder, Colorado, keeping Sundance in the mountains but moving it out of Park City, the Utah ski town that had for decades provided the premier independent film gathering its picturesque snowy backdrop. Organizers said that after 40 years in the mountains, the festival had outgrown Park City, and lacked the necessary theaters or affordable housing to continue hosting what has become one of North America’s most sprawling movie events. Sundance had narrowed down the options to Salt Lake City (with a smaller presence in Park City), Cincinnati and Boulder. Boulder, organi…

Multimedia and experiential brand Sunnie is turning over a new page with the announcement of its first zine, launching in Target stores and online on April 7. The limited edition, 50-page print issue will feature actress Kiernan Shipka on the cover. Target stores will sport a Sunnie endcap through July. The zine will be available for purchase alongside Sunnie Reads book picks, an exclusive tote, and products from Sunnie brand partners like e.l.f., Gimme Beauty, OFF!, and Not Your Mother’s haircare. The zine itself will feature classic teen-mag pieces like personal essays, advice, quizzes and horoscopes, and the Shipka cover story. In her interview, the actress dis…

Are you ready for it? February 9 is Super Bowl Sunday. The Kansas City Chiefs are looking for the first-ever “three-peat” in Super Bowl history, while the Philadelphia Eagles are looking for redemption after their last unsuccessful attempt for the Lombardi Trophy . . . against the Chiefs. Super Bowl LIX is a rematch of Super Bowl LVII, in 2023, which the Chiefs won 38-35, and was the start of their three-peat quest. (Fun fact: The term three-peat was actually trademarked by NBA legend Pat Riley back in the late 1980s when he was head coach of the L.A. Lakers. This past week, the NFL struck a deal with Riley to use it if the Chiefs win.) Here’s what you need to know ab…

As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, the battle off the field for advertisers to win over 120 million-plus viewers will be just as heated as the rivalry between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. Dozens of advertisers are pulling out all the stops for Super Bowl 60, airing Sunday on NBC. They’re hoping that audiences tuning in will remember their brand names as they stuff their ads with celebrities ranging from Kendall Jenner (Fanatics Sportsbook) to George Clooney (Grubhub), tried-and-true ad icons like the Budweiser Clydesdales, and nostalgia for well-known movie properties such as “Jurassic Park” (Comcast Xfinity). Each year Super Bowl ads offer a snapshot of…

This weekend, a showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, some star-studded commercials, and a Bad Bunny concert are taking place. Regardless of which part of Super Bowl LX is most important to you, it is all going down on Sunday, February 8, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Here’s a quick recap before kick-off. How did the Seahawks and Patriots get to Super Bowl LX? This isn’t the first time that the Seahawks and Patriots have faced off in the championship game. In 2015, Seattle was defeated by the Patriots 28-24 after an eleventh-hour interception on the one-yard line. New quarterbacks Drake Maye and Sam Darnold m…

Drake Maye vs. Sam Darnold. Two stingy defenses. A second-year head coach vs. a veteran coach in his second act. Super Bowl 60 is set and it’s a rematch: The New England Patriots vs. the Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots will seek their NFL-record seventh Super Bowl victory when they face the Seahawks on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Led by Maye, coach Mike Vrabel and a stifling defense, the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the first time since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won their sixth ring together seven years ago. The Patriots (17-3) beat the Denver Broncos 10-7 on Sunday in the AFC championship game to advance to their 12th Super Bowl. Dar…

In the run-up to this weekend’s Super Bowl in New Orleans, fans couldn’t be more excited to see the Philadelphia Eagles face off against the Kansas City Chiefs, as the latter attempts to make Super Bowl history as the first team to win the championship three times in a row. With advertising prices hitting all-time highs, and an exciting halftime show featuring recent Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar scheduled, why are ticket sales plummeting? That’s right: Ticket prices for Super Bowl LIX are down 30% over this past week, or around 50% cheaper than last year. Currently, the cheapest seats are selling for somewhere between $3,057 to $4,300 before taxes on the secondary mar…