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American healthcare faces a persistent paradox: We have extraordinary medical technology, yet patients often spend years navigating a system that treats symptoms before identifying the underlying cause of disease. This dynamic is especially pronounced for children with neurological conditions such as epilepsy, developmental delay, and intellectual disability. Many families endure years of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, specialist referrals, and inconclusive tests before receiving a definitive diagnosis. Clinicians often refer to this prolonged journey as the “diagnostic odyssey.” It is emotionally draining for families and deeply frustrating for physicians t…

One of the major changes unleashed by the pandemic—and the accompanying spread of remote work—was the large migration of employees from major urban areas. With many jobs no longer anchored to city-based offices, people were free to move to almost anywhere else they preferred to live—often at lower costs to boot. But now, new survey data indicates that exodus has reversed course, with grim labor markets and tightening return-to-office (RTO) mandates causing employment-focused workers to head back to metropolises again. That finding was one of many big changes noted in the State of Global Hiring study by payroll and human resources service company Deel. It said that whi…

Fashion, it turns out, is a leading indicator. Long before mainstream business commentary catches up to a structural shift in the economy, the runway has usually already staged it. The announcement that John Galliano—arguably the greatest couturier alive—has signed a two-year creative partnership with Zara is one of those moments. It looks like fashion news. It is actually a signal about the future of value creation itself. The most surprising move in fashion in years To understand the shock value, a little context. Galliano’s career has been defined by the haute maison—Givenchy, his own label, Dior, and then a celebrated decade at Maison Margiela, where he orchest…

For the first time since 1972, astronauts are on their way into deep space as part of NASA’s Artemis II mission. The mission sees the Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts to the moon, where they will orbit it, gathering data for future Artemis missions that will see humans touch down on the moon’s surface once again. But unlike in 1972, you don’t have to be a space agency to track the latest lunar mission. NASA has an interactive online tool that lets you see where the Orion spacecraft is and follow it as it performs its maneuvers through space. Here’s what you need to know. This NASA tool lets you track the Artemis II mission NASA has launched a site…

If you want to understand where AI-assisted parenting is headed, skip the research lab and look into a messy living room at 2 a.m. Some of the most revealing use cases are happening in the homes of AI engineers who have just become parents. Few environments are more demanding: high stakes, low sleep, a never-ending stream of split-second decisions with imperfect information. No mom or dad (us included) has patience for a tool that adds friction, noise, or guilt to the daily gauntlet of childcare. It is why parents—especially those who build products—are a valuable and overlooked source of AI product intelligence today. Consider Daanish Masood. When his young son w…

In the world of tax law, truly “free” lunches are rare. Usually, a tax break in one area requires a sacrifice in another. However, if you know where to look, the tax code contains several freebies—legal provisions that allow you to increase wealth, generate income, and gift money without the IRS taking a single penny. Here are five of the most powerful financial freebies available to investors today. 1) The 0% capital gains rate Most investors assume that selling a winning stock always triggers a tax bill. However, for those in the lower income brackets (up to $50,400 for individuals or $100,800 for married couples in 2026), the long-term capital gains tax rate is …

Impulse, a sleek induction stove that began shipping to customers last year, advertises itself as “unlike any other induction stove ever made.” But that product is now at the center of a legal fight. Copper, another company making next-generation induction stoves, sued Impulse on Friday in federal court in Delaware for patent infringement. At the center of the dispute is a shared design choice: Both companies build stoves with batteries tucked inside, a feature that boosts performance, eases installation in homes without electrical upgrades, and doubles as energy storage to ease strain on the electric grid. It’s a novel idea, and one that Copper patented first…

Layoffs rose sharply in March, and a quarter of these job losses were due to AI. Job cuts rose about 25% in March reaching 60,620 up from 48,307 cuts the month before. The new data comes from outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, who released the report on Thursday. While cuts could be seen across industries, more than 52,000 tech jobs have been cut so far this year with 18,720 happening last month. Reductions took place at major technology companies like Meta, Oracle, Block, and more. However, the report explained that the number was driven up significantly by the workforce reduction at Dell Technologies (DELL), making the t…

In October 2024, two entrepreneurs launched a tech news podcast. Eighteen months later, OpenAI just bought it. The ChatGPT maker announced Thursday it has purchased TBPN (Technology Business Programming Network) for an undisclosed sum, bringing the tech world’s buzziest podcast into the AI company’s fold. TBPN is run by Jordi Hays and John Coogan, founder of VC party and cofounder of Soylent, respectively. Here’s what to know about the deal: How will this arrangement be structured? The announcement makes a big claim, stating that TBPN will maintain “editorial independence.” This separation will give the podcasters space to make editorial decision…

Across the U.S., the realities of healthcare affordability are reaching a breaking point, with premiums and out-of-pocket costs straining household budgets and forcing some families to consider going without coverage or delaying care, simply because they cannot pay. This isn’t just about numbers on a spreadsheet. It’s about everyday decisions: skipping preventive visits, postponing prescriptions, or weighing health needs against rent and groceries. As healthcare costs grow while federal funds and subsidies shift, our systems are under duress, and people are being forced to make impossible choices. In this context, the question for business leaders, in healthcare and b…

Over the last decade, we have been perfecting the algorithms of convenience, and in doing so we have inadvertently moved away from the frequent human interactions that sustain our communities and our workplaces. Throughout my 25-year career in philanthropy, I have worked on challenges like climate change, gun violence prevention, chronic disease prevention, and closing the opportunity gap for workers. While these issues are undeniably critical, I truly believe we cannot solve them in a vacuum of social isolation. We have created a world of unprecedented digital convenience—we use grocery delivery apps, self-checkout lines, streaming services, and text messages, versu…

On a recent call with a major sports organization to discuss experiential communications, a marketing leader pushed back with a familiar argument, “Why wouldn’t I just take a few million dollars and do an ad buy instead? I can reach the same number of people.” But reach isn’t the problem for today’s brand leader. With marketing teams facing a 54% increase in content production demands, generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Sora, HeyGen, and OpusPro have made it easier or cheaper to produce content at scale to saturate feeds and timelines with ad-ready messaging. Yet, the biggest mistake in doing so is believing that speed and volume equal impact. When reach and efficiency…

At SXSW 2026, the creator economy moved firmly into the spotlight as a defining force in modern marketing. Creators are no longer viewed as content producers alone. They are business owners, cultural drivers, and trusted voices with direct relationships to engaged communities. SXSW’s creator-first approach reflects a broader evolution across marketing. Creators aren’t just a marketing channel; they’re becoming the primary way brands build relevance and connection. As the SXSW Creator Economy track made clear, creators now sit at the intersection of culture and commerce, shaping what people buy and how they discover and engage. For brands, this means moving beyond …

Volatility and rising accountability are reshaping every industry. Philanthropy isn’t immune. In moments like this, leadership drives meaningful progress. As chief philanthropy officer at UNICEF USA, I work with C-suite leaders and philanthropists to turn bold commitments into lasting impact. Carol J. Hamilton has spent four decades in the C-suite at L’Oréal USA and continues to serve across corporate and nonprofit boards. Between us, we’ve seen philanthropy evolve and adapt. We came together to talk about what leadership requires in this moment. Michele Walsh: You played a key role in shaping a global company’s philanthropic efforts. Since leaving L’Oréal USA…

Today, April 3, 2026, is Good Friday. It is an important day to Christians in the United States and around the world. But unlike in many other countries, Good Friday, in many U.S. states, isn’t an official holiday. When it comes to institutions and businesses, some observe the holiday, while others don’t. That can make it confusing for people to know exactly what is open and what is closed on Good Friday. Here’s what you need to know. Is Good Friday a national holiday? No, the federal government does not recognize Good Friday as a national holiday. This means that many federal institutions that are typically closed on public holidays remain open on Good Fr…

Hello again, and welcome back to Fast Company’s Plugged In. More than 15 months ago, I wrote about Surf, a discovery engine for the social web from Flipboard—itself an earlier twist on the same concept dating to the early days of the iPad. At the time, it was still a rough draft, and in private beta. Rather than rushing it out to a broader audience, Flipboard took its time. The app went through a series of revisions that were both numerous and substantial, ending up significantly different than the intriguing prototype I tried in December 2024. This week, the company finally deemed Surf ready for prime time. It’s now live in web form at Surf.social; a beta Android…

Baltimore, known for being a leader in medicine and technology as well as for its fiercely community-driven residents, is one of many cities trying to determine how to grapple with some of AI’s most pressing issues. And recently, the city has been sounding the alarm. Artificial intelligence is changing the way we live and work. In many ways, the tools are wildly helpful—solving business problems, advancing medicine, and even helping solopreneurs thrive without a team. However, the technology comes with some worrisome drawbacks and, given the lack of federal oversight, the risks are beginning to reshape local politics. That seems especially true in Baltimo…

This week, the labor movement in architecture scored a win. Sage & Coombe Architects, a women-led firm based in New York City, unanimously approved a collective bargaining agreement. It’s the second American practice to ratify a contract, after Bernheimer Architecture in 2024. “This contract, the second in the industry, sets a standard for workers at Sage and Coombe and beyond,” Architectural Workers United (AWU), a group that has been helping firms organize, announced on April 1 via Instagram. The agreement’s details have yet to be made public. The milestone marks a significant move in the design industry’s unionizing efforts, especially after high-profile se…

While companies cram artificial intelligence features you never asked for into their apps, Domino’s seems to have found a valid use case for the technology: more accurate tracking of when your pizza will be ready. When Domino’s launched its pizza tracker in 2008, it was a marvel of UX. The tracker gave customers a lens into when their pizza would be ready through a simple interface that lit up as the pizza progressed from ordered to baked to delivered. The tool turned Domino’s into a tech company, and inspired industries (and governments) to adopt the same UX for their own needs. Now, Domino’s made the biggest update to its pizza tracker in years. The new tracke…

A few days ago, the electric grid in California hit a new milestone: At 7pm on March 29, batteries provided 12.3 gigawatts of power—roughly as much as six Hoover Dams, or around 43% of the total demand on the grid. Nearly all of that battery storage was built in the last five years. “Until 2020 or 2021, battery storage was still quite expensive, but we’ve seen huge price drops over the last few years,” says Nicolas Fulghum, senior energy and climate data analyst at Ember, a global energy think tank. When it’s paired with solar power, it can “bring some of that excess generation in the middle of the day to where it’s really needed, which is during the peak demand in th…

Most organizations think they have a productivity problem. They don’t. They have a work design problem. I’ve spent decades studying how people solve problems and take action, and the same pattern keeps showing up. Productivity dips, so leadership responds the way they always do: new tools, redesigned workflows, and an engagement initiative with a catchy name. And it works, but only for a while. Teams rally around the new process. Leaders feel good about the momentum. Then, a few months later, the same questions come back. Why does the work still feel harder than it should? Why are capable, committed people running on fumes? And typically, motivation is…