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The Panama Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world, with about 7% of global trade passing through. It also relies heavily on rainfall. Without enough freshwater flowing in, the canal’s locks can’t raise and lower ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Droughts mean fewer ships per day, and that can quickly affect Panama’s finances and economies around the world. But the same freshwater is also essential for Panama’s many other needs, including drinking water for about two million Panamanians, use by Indigenous people and farmers in the watershed, as well as hydropower. When the region experiences droughts, as it did in 2023–2024…

Welcome to AI Decoded, Fast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week here. OpenAI says it will release an open-source model–but why now? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Monday that his company intends to release a “powerful new open-weight language model with reasoning” in the next few months. That would mark a major shift for a company that has kept its models proprietary and secret since 2019. The announcement wasn’t a total surprise: After the groundbreaking Chinese open-source model DeepSeek-R1 showed up in January, Altman said during a Reddit AMA that he realized…

One of the world’s most iconic and controversial maps just got a major redesign. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in New York has unveiled the final version of an updated map of its subway system, marking the first time the map has had a full redesign since 1979. It’s a visually bold, user-centric design that, according to the MTA, will make it easier for people to understand where they’re going and how to use the system. The new maps are expected to be installed in train cars and stations over the next few weeks. The map features bright, color-coded lines for each train line, which criss-cross a stylized map of the city in horizontal, vertical, and dia…

Are you ready for another 140 days of summer vacation? Disney announced today that the long-awaited reboot of its animated hit Phineas and Ferb will be back on June 5 for the start of a 40-episode run across Disney’s linear and streaming platforms. The action picks up the summer after the show’s original run left off, with the kids a year older but not visibly changed—except for an extra orange stripe on Phineas’s trademark T-shirt. Co-creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh are back at the helm. Originally launched on Disney XD in 2008 (after a 2007 “sneak peek”), the animated show—about two inventive stepbrothers on summer vacation, their pet pl…

It’s summer again. A decade may have passed in real time since stepbrothers Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher had their last summertime adventure on TV, but it’s just one unremarkable school year later for the characters in the beloved animated TV series Phineas and Ferb. The longest-running show in Disney Channel history, Phineas and Ferb aired from February 2008 to June 2015, winning five Emmys and becoming the most successful animated series for kids (ages 6 to 11) and tweens (ages 9 to 14) in Disney Television Animation history. It became the No. 1 animated TV series among tweens in 2009, supplanting Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. Tina Fey, Ben Stiller, …

Healthcare professionals tend to have many pairs of scrubs, and those scrubs can get worn out, especially with frequent washing. Or maybe some scrubs just aren’t the right fit, style, or comfort level anymore. Instead of tossing those in the trash, scrubs company Figs is launching a new recycling program to give old scrubs a second life. It’s the latest take-back program in partnership with SuperCircle, a recycling management company that has worked with J. Crew, Reformation, Parachute, and other brands to help keep textiles out of landfills. Called “Scrubs That Don’t Suck,” the circularity initiative will collect old, used, worn out, or simply uncomfortable scru…

At Visa’s ETA Transact event on April 3, the payments giant introduced three new products designed to simplify and secure payment acceptance. These innovations—Authorize.net 2.0, Unified Checkout, and the ARIC Risk Hub—all aim to enhance efficiency and fraud protection for businesses navigating an increasingly complex commercial landscape. By integrating the three new tools, Visa seeks to service businesses end to end—from integrating with existing platforms to accepting more payments, reducing checkout friction, and managing risk efficiently. “Visa is looking to wherever appropriate to invest in next-generation technologies and uplift our products,” says Rob Cam…

Walking around the factory floor of Twincraft Skincare, outside Burlington, Vermont, there is the unmistakable scent of soap. The general manager points out the luxury lines and designer labels for whom they manufacture soaps and lotions, as well as the basic, inexpensive bars and bottles left on hotel room sinks. The factory runs two 10-hour shifts per day, four days a week, with an overtime option as needed. At over 400 employees, Twincraft is one of the top employers in the state. In the last few years, there’s been a boom in skincare products and, to meet demand, Michele Asch, Twincraft’s chief people officer, says they’ve had to hire over 180 people over the pas…

Ikea’s new collection is all about accessibility. The furniture maker’s new Bäsingen collection, which is available this month, includes six items for the bathroom that the company designed to be easy to use for people with disabilities: a shower chair, two kids of stools with rails, a towel rail, a shower shelf, and a toilet roll holder. The products range from about $12 to about $39. The collection was designed to be sturdy and non-slippery, with tube handles on the stools and that are thick for an easy grip. The dark color for the products in the collections was also chosen so the items would be easily visible, but stylish enough so to be something you’d want t…

In HBO’s hit show Succession, patriarch Logan Roy pitted his children against each other for the top spot of leading his media conglomerate. Those who’ve seen the show will know how it ends, but what if he took a different route? What if he established a collaborative, multi-generational leadership team to guide Waystar RoyCo into the future? Granted, it would have made for far less dramatic tension (and probably fewer award wins) for the show. But for Roy’s shareholders, it would’ve been a smarter move in a rapidly changing media industry. Succession planning is a non-negotiable principle for any thriving organization, yet it’s also one of the hardest to get right. …

In today’s turbulent economic climate, there’s an intense pressure to perform. Organizations are exploring new business models and ways of working to accelerate growth and stay competitive. Boards and shareholders demand results, which pushes leadership teams to dial up their expectations. The term “accountability” has become a buzzword in discussions, but far too many misunderstand and misapply it. When leaders talk about creating a culture of accountability, they often rely on “shame and blame” tactics. This approach might seem effective in the short term, but it ultimately undermines the culture leaders seek to build. Instead of motivating individuals to do more, i…

Four years ago, if you found yourself at one particular intersection of Buenos Aires, you would see a nondescript, three-story parking garage with no cars inside. That building still exists—but it’s completely unrecognizable. Today, that structure looks like a stubby, UFO-like tower mushrooming from a concrete pedestal with a landscaped ramp curving upward. The metamorphosis is thanks to a multiyear project by New York architecture firm ODA. Ola Palermo, as the reimagined structure is known, has become a mixed-use building with cafés, restaurants, and Class A office space. The cherry on top of this (concrete) cake is an open-air promenade that peels off the sidewalk, wi…

Job searching can feel like a full-time job in and of itself. Endless networking coffees and cover letter drafts can make it easy to get discouraged. And while it’s helpful to get support from family, friends, and your significant other, they may not truly grasp the day-to-day grind that’s needed to keep the momentum going. In fact, for many, searching for a job is an isolating experience. According to a recent American Staffing Association/Harris Poll Workforce Monitor survey, 72% of Americans say applying for jobs can feel like sending résumés into a “black box.” And four out of 10 unemployed U.S. job seekers revealed they didn’t land a single job interview in a ye…

For those tired of waiting in line to buy a new smartphone or anxiously refreshing a delivery tracking site to make sure a new phone arrives intact, Verizon’s Straight Talk Wireless brand is offering another option: phones from a vending machine. Straight Talk, a Verizon prepaid brand exclusively available at Walmart, has launched vending machines that dispense packaged iPhone and Android devices, similar to the tech vending machines often seen at airports. Customers can browse phones and plans via a touchscreen interface, then pick and pay for what they want, all without needing to wait for a salesperson. And when they take their new phone out of the box, it’s a…