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When the NFL and Apple Music announced Bad Bunny as the 2026 Super Bowl half-time show headliner, the choice surprised some. But to anyone tracking the data over the past few years, it was inevitable. In 2022, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti redefined the market, driving Latin music’s streaming growth to new heights. It later became the first Spanish-language album nominated for Grammy Album of the Year. The takeaway is simple: When you have accurate, real-time data, you don’t guess where culture is going, you know. That kind of foresight is exactly what industries need now, especially as AI accelerates change at a pace that demands evidence, not instinct. In real time, …

The U.S. stock market is drifting lower on Tuesday following mixed data on the economy’s strength, which did little to clear uncertainty about where interest rates may be heading. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% in afternoon trading and remains a bit below its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 271 points, or 0.6%, as of 1:53 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged. Treasury yields eased a bit, following a larger initial drop, after one report said the U.S. unemployment rate was at its worst level last month since 2021, but employers also added more jobs than economists expected. A separate report, meanwhile, …

The conversation about AI in the workplace has been dominated by the simplistic narrative that machines will inevitably replace humans. But the organizations achieving real results with AI have moved past this framing entirely. They understand that the most valuable AI implementations are not about replacement but collaboration. The relationship between workers and AI systems is evolving through distinct stages, each with its own characteristics, opportunities, and risks. Understanding where your organization sits on this spectrum—and where it’s headed—is essential for capturing AI’s potential while avoiding its pitfalls. Stage 1: Tools and Automation This is w…

Greetings, salutations, and my thanks—as always—for reading Fast Company’s Plugged In. Me: “Are you here just to monitor for safety?” Guy sitting in the driver’s seat of the Tesla Model Y I’m riding in: “I can’t specify.” That was the extent of the conversation during a recent trip I took using Tesla’s Robotaxi service. I was curious why the car that picked me up had a human in it: After all, Tesla bills its service as “the future of autonomy,” and the car did, in fact, drive itself for the entirety of my 4.5-mile journey. But I didn’t get any answers from this guy—or Tesla the corporate entity, which prides itself on ignoring the media and didn’t reply to my …

Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad said Friday it is launching flights to Kabul, making it the latest airline to offer direct routes to the Afghan capital. Etihad, which announced a record $476 million profit in 2024, said the new service responded to “growing demand” for travel between the United Arab Emirates and Afghanistan and that the three weekly flights starting in December would support “trade, travel, and community ties.” “The UAE hosts one of the largest Afghan communities in the Gulf, with around 300,000 Afghans living and working in the country, according to the Afghan Business Council,” the airline said in a statement. “The new flights will further strengthen these e…

Most American cities have street networks that are engineered for us to comfortably drive much too fast for our surroundings. Even our old, pre-automobile cities have been “upgraded” to make dangerous driving habits easy. Transportation professionals are allowed to use good judgment when deciding how to design city streets, but they often need to be reminded, especially in cities where the state department of transportation has authority. It’s not enough for you as a good urbanist to tell an engineer to make better choices. After all, they’re not a malicious bunch trying to wreck society. They’re conforming to the long-established rules of the industry. The AA…

Michelle, a 42-year-old marketing executive, was scrolling through her grocery app when she saw the total: $87. A year ago, her weekly cart never dipped below $200. Chips, late-night snacks, and bottles of wine had given way to produce, yogurt, and lean proteins. But that same morning, a $900 charge for her GLP-1 prescription landed on her credit card. Whatever she was saving at the supermarket felt dwarfed by the cost of her medication. Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are being hailed as medical breakthroughs. They’re not just changing waistlines—they’re changing household budgets. And as these shifts ripple through everyday spending, the finan…

Innovation hubs were once the darlings of corporate strategy, promising to future-proof businesses and spark breakthrough ideas. But two decades in, the cracks are showing. Too many hubs have struggled to prove their worth, and some have quietly shut down altogether. In reality, these costly spaces never lived up to the hype—and the future lies elsewhere. Rather than investing in shiny new labs, organizations should be cultivating innovation communities: networks of people, inside and outside the company, who collaborate around shared challenges and opportunities. Looking Back: Proliferation Innovation hubs have proliferated through private enterprise over the…

Inflation has risen in three of the last four months and is slightly higher than it was a year ago, when it helped sink then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. Yet you wouldn’t know it from listening to President Donald The President or even some of the inflation fighters at the Federal Reserve. The President told the United Nations General Assembly late last month: “Grocery prices are down, mortgage rates are down, and inflation has been defeated.” And at a high-profile speech in August, just before the Fed cut its key interest rate for the first time this year, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said: “Inflation, though still somewhat elevated, has …

Suzanna’s Kitchen, a Georgia-based food production company, has issued a recall of 62,550 pounds of fully cooked, bone-in breaded chicken products. The chicken, which was distributed nationwide, was recalled over mislabeling. While the product was labeled with a product code that classifies it as non-allergen-containing, the product contains soy. According to the recall notice, which was issued on December 12, the affected product is the eight-piece cut, bone-in breaded chicken portions that were produced on October 16, 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mark of inspection and establishment number printed on the side of the package is “P-1380.” …

The Ah Louis Store in San Luis Obispo, California, turns into a winter wonderland every holiday season. Green garlands, giant nutcrackers, baubles and bows go up in early November on the historic downtown building that houses the gift shop. Inside, customers can choose from over 500 different types of ornaments and a variety of holiday gift baskets. “We really just make it a magical spot,” co-owner Emily Butler said. “Whether you come in or not, we want to make sure that we’re spreading that holiday joy.” But Butler says she and her twin sister-business partner had to work harder this year to turn browsers into buyers and to make a profit. Many of the decorations and s…

I recently had an unsettling rideshare experience. Let me paint a visual picture. You have a Tesla doing its self-driving thing, a guy just sitting in the driver’s seat “supervising,” and a terrified human (me) in the backseat looking on in horror. Finally, I said, “Please keep your hands on the wheel when you’re driving me, OK?” Tesla’s autonomous functionality might be safe, but I don’t have enough trust yet to allow a Tesla to get me from Point A to Point B without a human steering it. There’s a parallel between self-driving cars and the current perceptions of AI and agents. You might be comfortable letting one of these automobiles make a simple right-hand …

Office dress code has been trending more casual for years, and the pandemic helped turn athleisure and sweatpants into business casual. And now, there’s a growing debate around one practice long thought to be standard for anyone wishing to look presentable and professional: ironing. In fact, many people on social media are saying they never iron anything—whether it’s work clothes or otherwise. “For science, how many of you still own an iron—the one for taking wrinkles out of clothing—AND know how to use it?” one Threads user recently asked. It’s a sentiment others have shared online from TikTok to Facebook. Naturally, the replies were divided. “I use min…

In the tournament of pop culture—an arena increasingly obsessed with charts, data, and stat lines—Taylor Swift has, by most measures, already emerged the victor. In her nearly two decades in the public eye, she has become a billionaire by engineering one of the most dependable fan bases on the planet: a legion willing to buy every vinyl variant for her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, and generate such collective frenzy at her 149-date Eras Tour that it registered as seismic activity. Swift has become something like an institution, around whom various rituals and practices have formed, whether the exchanging of friendship bracelets or sharing easter eggs wi…

It’s official: 2025 was the year of slop. Merriam-Webster just announced in a post that its “human editors” have chosen “slop” as the 2025 Word of the Year. The dictionary’s official definition of the word is “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence,” a far cry from its original meaning. When the term was first coined in the 1700s, slop meant “soft mud,” before slowly morphing into a synonym for “rubbish.” Today, it’s the perfect four-letter word for the state of the internet. “In 2025, amid all the talk about AI threats, slop set a tone that’s less fearful, more mocking,” the dictionary’s post re…

We know that people with ADHD often approach work differently than might a neurotypical person. And while ADHD can manifest in traits like impulsivity and being easily distracted, the condition is also associated with many desirable qualities—including, it seems, incredible creativity. That’s the upshot of new research recently presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress in Amsterdam. Researchers conducted a pair of studies involving 750 participants, finding that those with ADHD may experience more frequent episodes of mind-wandering, and that that, in turn, could lead to greater creative thinking abilities. “Previous research …

An increasing number of companies are finding the much-promised financial gains of implementing artificial intelligence in the workplace have been slow to materialize. But that isn’t stopping many CEOs from spending even more on AI in the coming year. A new study from advisory firm Teneo finds that 68% of CEOs will increase their AI spending next year. A growing number, however, are aware that they need to start showing returns on that investment—and an important part of their job is convincing shareholders to remain patient. “As efforts shift from hype to execution, businesses are under pressure to show ROI from rising AI spend,” the company wrote. “Large-cap CEO…

Vega Farms, a California-based food producer, has voluntarily recalled Vega Farms-branded in-shell eggs due to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 60 people and led to more than a dozen hospitalizations. Here’s what you need to know about the outbreak, impacted products and retailers, and what to do if you have the recalled eggs in your possession: How many people got sick? In a notice posted on Friday, December 12, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warns businesses and consumers to avoid eating, serving, or selling recalled in-shell Vega Farms eggs. According to the agency, 63 California residents have reported illnesses lin…

Humans are a unique species, because of our collective knowledge of our own mortality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average life expectancy for males in the United States is 75.8 years. That means entertainer extraordinaire Dick Van Dyke is defying statistics by turning 100 years old this Saturday, December 13. As he reaches this milestone birthday, let’s take a look back at his impressive career, what he credits his longevity to, and how he plans to celebrate. We’ll also cover how you can get in on the action and celebrate the Mary Poppins actor. A brief Dick Van Dyke biography Richard Wayne Van Dyke was born in West P…

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. I’m Mark Sullivan, a senior writer at Fast Company, covering emerging tech, AI, and tech policy. This week, I’m focusing on how generative AI and agents might radically change websites. I also look at the “circular” arrangements that are financing the AI boom, and at Blackrock’s big move into data centers. Sign up to receive this newsletter every week via email here. And if you have comments on this issue and/or ideas for future ones, drop me a line at sullivan@fastcompany.com, and follow me on X (formerly Twitter) @thesullivan. How AI and agent…

Flight delays and disruptions at U.S. airports have persisted for a fourth consecutive day due to staffing issues stemming from the government shutdown, which began on October 1. Air traffic controllers are expected to work without pay during the shutdown. As federal employees begin to feel the financial impact of the shutdown, many are calling out of work. And as the shutdown continues, many airports are struggling with growing staffing issues. Over 16,000 flights have been delayed since Monday According to FlightAware, which tracks flight delays, disruptions, and cancellations, as of late Thursday morning, more than 16,000 flights flying into, within, or out …

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Most of America’s largest homebuilders have publicly stated that the peak 2025 housing market saw softer-than-expected conditions, particularly in many parts of the Sun Belt. This softer housing market environment caused unsold inventory to tick up. Indeed, since the pandemic housing boom fizzled out, the number of unsold completed U.S. new single-family homes has been rising: August 2016 —> 61,000 August 2017 —> 63,000 August 2018 —> 69,000 August 2019 —> 79,000 August 2020 —> 52,000 August 2021 —> 34,000 Aug…

“Somehow, it didn’t leak.” When I caught up with Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe after the company’s “AI & Autonomy Day” keynote on December 11 at its Palo Alto headquarters, he marveled that the company had managed to keep the event’s news under wraps until it was ready for its big reveal. It did—and there was a lot to discuss. At the keynote, Rivian unveiled its Gen 3 platform, which will turn the maker of EV trucks, SUVs, and vans into an autonomy company, a focus he says will subsume “the whole business” of transportation. Debuting late next year in a version of the upcoming R2 SUV, the Rivian Autonomy Computer platform is powered by a chip the comp…

Across the internet, eagle-eyed sleuths are crying “AI slop” after Saturday Night Live aired segments with what looks like AI-generated imagery. The first instance, from Saturday’s cold open, shows an illustrated Christmas storybook. The images feature a hazy, yellow-ish hue and an image of streets that don’t connect. The next, in “Weekend Update” showed an image of a woman playing a slot machine in an otherwise empty casino while using an oxygen tank with tubes that weren’t connected. While the images were on screen for a fraction of the episode, they have led to some very vocal backlash by fans, who are convinced they are AI-generated.On Reddit, viewers ca…

“Season’s greetings” aren’t as cheery when it’s a season of layoffs. November marked the eighth time this year that job cuts were up over the same period the year before, according to research from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. To make matters worse, hiring in November was down 35% from 2024, marking the lowest year-to-date total since 2010. News about the current labor market can be unnerving—even more so when layoffs are hitting your company. Being prepared can help make it less so. And one group of people knows more about that than most. A page out of the prepper book The word prepper may bring to mind images of shows like Doomsday …