What's on Your Mind?

Americans are seeking financial relief and, in some cases, are even desperate enough to go against conventional financial wisdom. A record number of Americans are turning to their retirement funds to cover emergency expenses. According to newly released data from Vanguard, 6% of 401(k) holders took hardship withdrawals last year. The number is up from 4.8% in 2024, and well above prepandemic levels of about 2%. Taking funds out early is not recommended because early withdrawals from 401(k) plans are taxed. In addition, the funds incur a 10% penalty if the person withdrawing them is under the age of 59½. (The IRS does allow some exceptions to the penalty, includin…

Get ready to pay more to fly. The war in Iran has sent fuel prices surging. On Friday, spot prices for jet fuel were nearly $4 per gallon, up roughly 80% from a month ago, when they were hovering around $2.25. The price increases are a result of the just-begun war in Iran, which has caused shipping and production stoppages and delays. At the same time, airlines are seeing higher demand than they were a year ago. Data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that during January, the number of airline passengers was up almost 4% year-over-year, while demand for air cargo was up 5.6%. On top of that, the war itself is causing some airlines to ca…

Groceries are a little harder to come by in dozens of neighborhoods this year in the wake of an ongoing retreat from The Kroger Co. The Cincinnati-based supermarket company has been shuttering locations since June of last year, when it announced a footprint optimization plan that would result in the closure of about 60 stores. According to a Fast Company review of local media reports and online review platforms like Yelp, Kroger could be more than halfway through that process. Some 33 stores have already closed, with at least three more confirmed so far this year. Closures in the months since the announcement largely impact stores under the flagship Kroger ba…

By now, anyone who follows major brands has seen it or heard of it: The small bite that went ‘round the world. McDonald’s CEO and chairman Chris Kempczinski recently posted a video of himself on Instagram trying the brand’s newly launched Big Arch burger. It was basically the golden arches version of a dorky corporate unboxing. When he got the Big Arch into his grips, he took a reasonable, if small, bite and said, “I love this product. It is so good.” Cue the online mockfest. Kempczinski didn’t deliver the news like an amphetamine-laced nano-influencer. No, here he was eating like some quarter-zip normie on a first date. On a scale of 1-10 in exec…

As companies ramp up pressure on their workers to embrace AI, a new source of workplace conflict has emerged. A report released this week by background check company Checkr suggests that managers and employees are increasingly at odds over AI use in the workplace. Most employees seem to view AI with skepticism, adopting it largely in response to directives from managers and leadership. For many leaders, however, it has become a business imperative as they scramble to keep up with competitors and assuage shareholder concerns—and managers seem to be absorbing that message. The Checkr report, which surveyed 3,000 workers (half of whom were managers and half of whom were …

If you’re looking for a job or hiring, the question is no longer whether AI is involved—but how aggressively you’re using it. Generative AI has wormed into every stage of recruitment, from drafting applications and filtering candidates to AI-led interviews. It’s the wild west out there. (And it’s getting wilder.) Both employers and prospective employees are exasperated. Examples abound. Last year, Anthropic urged prospective applicants to not use AI systems when applying to jobs at the AI company, even asking them to sign a contract to confirm they read and understood the ask. Goldman Sachs has implemented blocks and employs AI detection software, while McKinsey act…

Gap stock is plummeting this morning in early trading after the company reported its fourth-quarter results after the bell yesterday. As of this writing, shares of Gap Inc. (NYSE: GAP) are down more than 12%, and its recent temporary store closures are partly to blame for that. Here’s what you need to know. Gap’s Q4 2025 results The iconic retail chain turns 56 this year, and during its long life, it has seen its fair share of ups and downs. The company’s name-brand Gap stores were an iconic mall staple in the 80s and 90s, but in the early 21st century, the brand faced growing competition from online rivals and shifting brand loyalties among Gen Z—something the com…

There aren’t enough hours in the day to be an expert on every issue (even though we’re expected to hold a strong opinion on just about everything). I prefer to stick to topics I’m already familiar with or in the process of learning. But sometimes, especially on X/Twitter, I’ll post color commentary about an issue that’s not in my wheelhouse. It’s a good way for me to keep the bigger picture of human flourishing in sight. Those topics might be childhood independence, economics, mental health, or vehicle size. I’m not singularly focused on vehicle size, but it’s a growing issue among people who already drive badly. The percentage of new vehicle sales/leases for pickup t…

Hello again, and welcome back to Fast Company’s Plugged In. Apple may have perfected splashy product-launch keynote events, but it’s never been wed to them. In terms of sheer quantity of new stuff, this week was about as eventful as it gets. And yet the company chose to dispense its announcements via press release over three days. Monday brought the iPhone 17e and a new iPad Air. Tuesday offered new MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros, plus a couple of displays. In each instance, the advances were incremental: faster chips, beefier specs, and other updates that are welcome, but not exactly memorable. But on Wednesday, Apple concluded its slow-roll product-fest with something…

Dream job alert: Wendy’s is looking to hire a “chief tasting officer”—and the role pays $100,000. The fast-food company launched a contest to find the perfect person for the unique job. The new CTO will create content and taste-test Wendy’s food on camera. Wendy’s is known for its humorous approach to marketing and branding. The job ad is no exception. The contest website reads: “Do you hate your job? Are you too iconic to be opening PDFs for your boss? Ever been told you’re a personality hire? Do you care more about bacon than bottom lines? Are you more about JBC than KPI?” Want to try your luck at landing the coveted role? Here’s what you need to kno…

The Chinese coffee giant Luckin is reportedly acquiring the third wave coffee mecca Blue Bottle in a deal worth just shy of $400 million. It’s more than another acquisition: Luckin is making its most aggressive move on Starbucks since it opened its first U.S. locations in New York in 2025 in a rivalry that is quickly heating up. But to understand what’s at play, we need to zoom out for a moment to take a quick scan of the global coffee market. Inside the coffee wars With around 40,000 stores and $37 billion in revenue, Starbucks is the biggest coffee company in the world. While it’s had a few stagnant years, its all-star CEO Brian Niccol has been staging a desi…

It could have easily become a high-rise luxury condo complex. Or maybe a struggling office tower now being converted into luxury condos. Maybe a parking garage, or a data center. But instead, 30 years ago this spring, Alameda County Parcel Number 8-641-8-5 became home to the Oakland Ice Center—where recently-crowned Olympic gold-medalist figure skater Alysa Liu still trains. Located just north of downtown Oakland, in what the city considers the Uptown Retail and Entertainment Area, parcel 8-641-8-5 was just a vacant, privately-owned lot back in 1991. But in that year, Oakland’s now-defunct Redevelopment Agency acquired it as part of a three-parcel transaction for …

American employers unexpectedly cut 92,000 jobs last month, a sign that the labor market remains under strain. The unemployment rate blipped up to 4.4%. The Labor Department reported Friday that hiring deteriorated from January, when companies, nonprofits and government agencies added a healthy 126,000 jobs. Economists had expected 60,000 new jobs in February. Revisions also cut 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls. The job market had been expected to rebound this year from a lackluster 2025 when the economy, buffeted by President Donald The President’s erratic tariff policies and the lingering effects of high interest rates, generated just 15,000 jobs a mont…

The past week has been a brutal one for many working in the tech and financial industries. Thousands of jobs have been lost—or will be lost soon—from companies including Block, Morgan Stanley, Capital One, eBay, and, as reported today, software giant Oracle. Here’s what you need to know about the layoffs. Oracle to cut ‘thousands’ of jobs The most recent news of layoffs came yesterday, after Bloomberg reported that the database software giant Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) is planning to cut “thousands” of jobs as soon as this month. And yes, artificial intelligence is to blame—but not solely because AI is directly taking jobs. Instead, Oracle i…

When considering AI’s impact in cities, many residents and government officials envision a dark future of unbridled surveillance, hollowed-out city halls and unaccountable bots calling the shots based on biased training data. We, on the other hand, embrace a much more optimistic vision. With ambitious local leadership, AI, and especially the coming wave of agentic AI, can offer a profound opportunity not only to make government services more efficient but also to transform how cities fulfill their end of the social contract. As long-time public servants and champions of government innovation at our respective universities, we understand the challenges local governmen…

New York is the latest state to consider a bill that would prohibit AI chatbots from dispensing advice that licensed professionals would normally give, such as medical or legal advice. The bill would also allow people who believe they were harmed by such advice to sue the operator of the chatbot. Senate Bill S7263, introduced by Democratic state Senator Kristen Gonzalez, passed out of a technology committee on a 6–0 vote last week and now advances to a reading on the floor of the Senate. Interestingly, the bill requires operators to clearly label their chatbots as AI, but stipulates that such a label isn’t enough to shield them from lawsuits under the statute. The…

Grocery Outlet is joining the ranks of retailers planning to shutter storefronts this year. The discount grocery store chain announced its fourth-quarter and full 2025 fiscal year results on Wednesday, along with a plan to close 36 stores. This move to close stores follows a previous restructuring plan concluded in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, another attempt to “improve long-term profitability” and optimize growth. The company reported an increase in net sales, but an operating loss of $234.8 million and a net loss of $218.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025. The optimization plan, which is expected to be largely completed during fiscal year 20…

For the past few years, leaders have been trying to decode what’s happening to attention at work. We’ve debated burnout, quiet quitting, and whether younger employees simply approach productivity differently than previous generations. But new workplace data suggests something far more basic may be happening: many employees aren’t disengaged—they’re visually exhausted. New research from VSP Vision Care and Workplace Intelligence found that desk workers now spend nearly 100 hours each week looking at screens, with most reporting that digital eye strain is directly affecting their productivity. Workers experiencing visual discomfort say it reduces their output by nearly …

While some girls dream of getting their first designer handbag, Lela Rose—who grew up in Dallas—dreamt of getting her own pair of boots from Lucchese, the legendary luxury bootmaker founded in 1883 in San Antonio. When she got married, her whole family got fitted in Lucchese boots, blending their formal wear with a nod to their Texas roots. Nearly three decades later, Rose is not just wearing the brand—she’s designing for it. Rose’s eponymous clothing label, which she launched in 1998, and Lucchese, the 143-year-old bootmaker, will launch a collaboration on March 10. It’s a partnership that makes sense: two brands with deep Texas roots finally finding each other. …

If you walked into Oyuna Uranchimeg’s office at the University of St. Thomas’ emerging media department, you’d see a poster from the Beijing 2022 Olympics and two other tokens of Olympic memorabilia. It’s not something you’d likely think twice about. She’s not the only person to have sports-themed office decorations. What you won’t know—unless you’re told—is that Uranchimeg is herself a Paralympian. She competed in Wheelchair Curling for Team USA in 2022, and will do so again in the 2026 Games. But that hasn’t stopped her from working full-time for the university’s emerging media department as an administrative assistant. She’s the department’s problem solver. Pe…