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When cities throw out single-family zoning rules—like Minneapolis did in 2018, or Cambridge, Massachusetts, voted to do this year—the first new multifamily construction projects on a block often come from developers, not homeowners converting existing dwellings. And no matter how desperately a city needs new housing units, change often happens slowly. In part, that’s because even if someone is interested in adding apartments to their own house for extra income, they might not know where to start. But in Toronto, which ditched single-family zoning in 2023, a tool kit makes it easier for “citizen developers” to understand their options and how much construction might cost. …

In American culture, importance and attention are often misaligned. This disconnect is one of the greatest challenges we in the STEM world face. Too often, society’s most essential stories are drowned out by the drama of the moment—pushed aside by the next headline or fleeting scroll. Today’s media environment is a relentless battle for attention, which is why, when a cultural moment aligns with science, we must seize it. Elevate it. Share it. Right now, we have just such a moment: the discovery of a new exoplanet reminiscent of Luke Skywalker’s home world, the upcoming launch of Andor Season 2, and the arrival of May 4th—also known as National Star Wars Day (a de…

Chili’s Grill & Bar turned 50 this year. But as a new generation of diners is learning, it’s still got it. Thanks to a series of well-timed marketing efforts—and at least one viral hit appetizer—diners are flocking to the restaurants, which just posted a same-store sales increase of more than 30 percent in its last fiscal quarter. Traffic is up more than 20 percent. Kevin Hochman, CEO of Chili’s parent Brinker International, credits some of this success to operational adjustments: better kitchen technology, better cook training, and a recent dishwasher-listening tour in which the often invisible, but absolutely vital, employees who clean the chain’s dishes were as…

In the future, your roof could generate power not only from the sun but also from falling rain. In a recent study, scientists demonstrated a new way to capture renewable energy from rainwater. “There is a large amount of energy in rain,” says Siowling Soh, an engineering professor at the National University of Singapore and author of the study, which was published in ACS Central Science. “This large amount of energy is wasted every day. There is currently no commercial technology that tries to harvest it.” When water flows down a pipe, it can pick up and move tiny electric charges from the pipe’s surface. That creates a small electric current. It’s similar to the …

In a perfect world, workplaces would be environments of mutual respect, open communication, and fair treatment. Unfortunately, that’s not always the reality. Whether you’re dealing with a micromanaging boss, a dismissive colleague, or a workplace culture that undervalues your contributions, knowing how to assert yourself is essential to avoiding burnout and developing as a professional. Standing up for yourself doesn’t mean becoming combative or aggressive. Instead, it’s about cultivating confidence, setting boundaries, and advocating for your worth. Here’s how to grow a backbone at work while maintaining professionalism and integrity. Recognize your value This…

If you were to establish an electric truck company today, would the trucks be built in America? In April 2025, the answer is yes. In 2022, even after the pandemic, the answer might have been different. That was the year I initially founded Chang Robotics, a company that manufactures what we believe to be one of the world’s most powerful battery-operated commercial rigs. Its first commercial use will be for fast snow removal in airports and other mission-critical facilities. At the time, advisors, investors, and partners all said “Let’s take this to China. I’ll bet we could get this done in six months.” I declined. New Manufacturing Should Focus on Bei…

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. We need to change the conversation about how we diagnose autism—and what we believe causes it. Lately, there’s been growing attention on environmental toxins and singular external triggers as explanations for autism. But the reality is far more nuanced. As a clinical geneticist and PhD genomic scientist with over a decade of experience working in medical affairs and clinical genomics, I’ve …

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. This year, I launched my first direct-to-consumer product: Scribbly, an AI-powered children’s book company that puts your kid right into the story. Until now, I’ve mostly built apps for businesses, and collecting user feedback for those projects has been straightforward and structured. The D2C world is different. Read the Google reviews of any hotel or restaurant, and you’ll get a feel for…

“If this is your first time being poor, I’m Kiki, and I’m trying to make it affordable to eat by using depression, recession and wartime recipes,” says TikTok creator Kiki Rough in a video posted last month. While most people wouldn’t turn to the 1940s for dinner inspiration, Rough’s video has since racked up over four million views. “‘We are so back’ as says my 104-year-old grandparents,” one comment reads. “The economy must be cooked if this is trending,” added another. Rough’s video dropped just days after President The President’s global tariff announcements in April, which sent the stock market tumbling and triggered headlines warning of a looming rec…

Two papal tailors and no conclave orders. The conclave that begins next Wednesday to elect a successor for Pope Francis is the first in 46 ½ years for which the Vatican hasn’t ordered a set of cassocks for the new head of the Catholic Church — at least from the two best-known papal tailors. That isn’t stopping Ranieri Mancinelli, who opened his ecclesiastical tailoring shop near the Vatican in the 1960s, from making three simple white cassocks just in case: the traditional small, medium and large sizes to cover all possible heights and girths. “I’m doing this on my own to be able to present these cassocks for the next pope, without knowing who he will be,” Man…

Shares of Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE: KSS) were up nearly 10% on Thursday after the company fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after just four months on the job, appointing Chairman Michael Bender as interim chief executive officer effective immediately. Buchanan’s termination comes after an investigation by Kohl’s‘ board found he violated the company’s code of conduct twice, and was involved in undisclosed conflicts of interest stemming from a personal relationship with a vendor, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Buchanan’s termination is unrelated to the Company’s performance, financial reporting, results of operations and did not involve any other Company personnel,”…

Organizations look structured and logical from the outside—boxes and lines, reporting relationships, KPIs, and performance frameworks. But walk into any real meeting, and you’ll sense it: side glances, shifting energy, people going silent when one voice enters the room, unexplained resistance to change, and power dynamics no slide deck could predict. That’s not just dysfunction. That’s the system speaking, and most leaders aren’t listening. That is why we need something called systemic intelligence. Systemic intelligence is the capacity to sense and respond to the invisible forces shaping an organization’s behavior, culture, and outcomes. It’s not about…

Some good news for Publishers Clearing House (PCH) customers: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said Wednesday that the sweepstakes company is paying for refund checks to 281,724 customers who ordered a product after receiving and clicking on an email, which included “deceptive and unfair” practices, according to the FTC’s allegations. Here’s what you need to know. What happened? Publishers Clearing House, which has been known for decades for its sweepstakes deals and big checks, agreed to pay a total of about $18.5 million in refunds and make substantial changes to its e-commerce operations. “While we disagreed with the FTC’s assertions at the time, we we…

In the early days of the current AI boom, The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement. It was a seismic move, but perhaps the most notable thing about it is what came after. In the subsequent months, publisher after publisher signed licensing deals with OpenAI, making their content available to ChatGPT. There were others who chose litigation, certainly, but most major media companies opted to take some money rather than spend it on lawyers. That changed last week when Ziff Davis filed its own copyright lawsuit against OpenAI. Ziff owns several major online properties, including Mashable, CNET, IGN, and Lifehacker, and garners a massive amou…

Financial markets are volatile. Consumer confidence is at its lowest level in five years. Economists say recession risks are rising. It all adds up to financial uncertainty for a lot of Americans. Roughly half of U.S. adults say that President The President’s trade policies will increase prices “a lot,” according to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center of Public Affairs Research. And about half of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the possibility of the U.S. economy going into a recession in the next few months. Matt Watson, CEO of Origin, a financial planning app, says it’s a period of uncertainty for everyone, including experts. “No one…

Microsoft’s cloud computing and artificial intelligence business helped deliver $70.1 billion in sales and boosted profits by 18% for the January-March quarter, a dose of relief for investors during a turbulent time for the tech sector and U.S. economy. The company reported quarterly net income of $25.8 billion, or $3.46 per share, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings of $3.22 a share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $70.1 billion in the period, its third fiscal quarter, up 13% from the same period a year ago and also beating Wall Street expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $68.44 billion …

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…

Ideo—the global design firm famous for putting Design Thinking into the lexicon of corporate America—has vastly reduced its staff as appetite for its services have waned. But two years following the culling, the company has hired a new CEO. Michael Peng will take the role in June. Peng is a former Ideo partner who has spent the last five years leading the venture studio Moon Creative Lab, which was founded by the Japanese investment firm Mitsui & Co. “His leadership will bring a unique blend of human-centered creativity, multicultural fluency, thoughtful collaboration, and strong business acumen,” the company announced in a press release. Meanwhile, Derek Robs…