What's on Your Mind?

For generations, we’ve been taught that early equals disciplined and late equals lazy. But that’s not biology—it’s a moral story disguised as science. As an expert in applied chronobiology, I’ve spent more than 20 years studying how biological rhythms shape work and wellbeing. It turns out that about 30% of people are early chronotypes (morning types), 30% are intermediates, and 40% are late chronotypes (evening types). Yet most workplaces still run on early-riser time—rewarding visibility over value, and hours over outcomes. When we align our schedules with our internal clocks, performance and motivation rise—but it takes courage to be honest about what that looks li…

Below, Jon Levy shares five key insights from his new book, Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius. Levy is a behavioral scientist. For the last 15 years, he has studied what makes leaders and teams succeed, working with everyone from Nobel laureates to Olympic captains and Fortune 500 executives. He is also the founder of The Influencers, a one-of-a-kind private dining club with thousands of members, many of whom are some of the world’s most respected leaders. What’s the big idea? Success isn’t about raw talent or a single heroic leader. It’s about how we align, focus, and unlock the resources within our teams. Intelligent teams crea…

Ed Zitron peels off his green button-up shirt to reveal the gray tee beneath. Now properly uniformed, two cans of Diet Coke queued up before him, he’s ready to record this week’s episode of his podcast, Better Offline, at audio behemoth iHeartMedia’s midtown Manhattan studio. The topic on this July afternoon, as usual, is artificial intelligence. One of Zitron’s guests, screenwriter, director, and producer Brian Koppelman, talks about paying $200 a month for ChatGPT Pro. When Koppelman earnestly asks, “Do you not think AI is mind-bogglingly great at times?” Zitron’s answer—“No!”—comes so quickly it seems to spring directly from his cerebral cortex. It would have b…

To a certain point, cars are fantastic inventions making it easy to get to far-flung places, opening doors for new places to live or work or play. But there’s a tipping point when the built environment and our lives are arranged around motor vehicles where the benefits start to come undone. Building to prioritize space-hogging cars brings a long list of negative externalities. In Greek mythology, the god Dionysus granted King Midas his wish for the power to turn everything he touched to gold. Midas revels in the effortless wealth—objects, furniture, and even the ground beneath him turn to gold. The Midas touch was great right up until he wanted to eat or drink or jus…

Starbucks will pay about $35 million to more than 15,000 New York City workers to settle claims it denied them stable schedules and arbitrarily cut their hours, city officials announced Monday. The company will also pay $3.4 million in civil penalties under the agreement with the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. It also agrees to comply with the city’s Fair Workweek law going forward. A company spokeswoman said Starbucks is committed to operating responsibly and in compliance with all applicable local laws and regulations in every market where it does business, but also noted the complexitiesc of the city’s law. “This (law) is notoriously c…

It’s almost the end of the year, and for many, that means health flexible spending account (FSA) funds are set to expire. FSAs allow employees to set aside pretax money to pay for healthcare expenses such as copays, some medications, and deductibles. But many people aren’t aware that the funds don’t always roll over into the next calendar year after December 31. Sometimes, employers will provide grace periods of up to two and a half months past the end of the year to allow for extra time to use your FSA funds. Others may allow you to carry over up to $660 per year. But 33% of employers have a hard deadline, so if you don’t use your funds by the end of the year, they’r…

Panera Bread is spending millions to overhaul its menu in an attempt to lure back the customers it’s lost in recent years. In a downward fast-food spiral, Panera hasn’t significantly increased its revenue since 2023. Now, the company says it’s putting money back into better ingredients, staff, and its cafés. The St. Louis-based chain, known for its sandwiches, soups, and salads, hasn’t been delivering on its signatures. Panera last year started using the cheaper iceberg lettuce in its salads, for example, and customers weren’t happy. “You know what guests told us?” said Paul Carbone, CEO of Panera Brands, the parent company of Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels,…

The early stages of building a brand are critical. Beyond identifying their audience, brands also have to connect with them while demonstrating their utility. For the five companies recognized as 2025 Brands That Matter honorees in the on the rise category, in four years or less they have managed to do both those things with aplomb. Whether it’s Unrivaled’s unique NIL and athletic proposition for WNBA athletes, Scarlett Gasque’s ability to tap into underserved shoppers, or Alan-1’s efforts to give the arcade game an upgrade for avid players, these brands have proven their strengths. Alan-1 Alan-1 creates arcade and video game products inspired by the 1980s. In …

Students applying to college know they can’t—or at least shouldn’t—use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read them. AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed, admissions directors say. It can be a delicate topic, and not all colleges are eager to talk about it, but higher education is among the many industries where artificial intelligence is rapidly taking on tasks once reserved for humans. In some cases, schools are quietly slipping AI into their evaluation process, experts say. Others are touting th…

During college, a friend convinced me to take an improv comedy class. An introvert by nature, I was way out of my depth. On the first day, I was so nervous I thought I might faint. But I ended up loving it—and learning a lot. In addition to silly warm-ups to get rid of inhibitions (zip, zap, zop, anyone?), I discovered the magic of “Yes, and . . .” In improv, “Yes, and” is more than just a phrase; it’s a mentality—to accept whatever idea or proposition is thrown at you, no matter how outlandish, rather than shutting it down. This mantra helped the flow of our improv performances, but it turned out to be a great life lesson as well. From that point on, I tried practici…

Businesses still spend billions each year on management training programs, but here we are in 2025—with a growing leadership gap and executives scrambling for answers. And if I can get honest for a moment: We’re still approaching the problem backward. Senior leaders keep promoting high-performing individual contributors into leadership roles and expecting them to figure it out on the fly. Many don’t have the time, support, or temperament to lead people well. Then we’re surprised when the results are uneven or the team burns out. Before companies invest in another round of training, they need to start with a more fundamental question: Are we choosing the right …

Mark Manson’s 2016 book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck delivered some hard truths and prescient advice to millions of readers seeking answers. Now he’s building an AI-based application to do the same. At that time, Manson says the self-help field was “unrealistic, not very evidence based—just designed to make you feel good,” inspiring him to write a book that offered “a more skeptical, realistic, and zero bull shit approach to personal growth and self-help.” Nearly a decade later, Manson says he’s seeing the same pattern in the digital world, with millions turning to generic AI platforms for guidance, only to receive unrealistic, potentially harmful advice. T…

New research now suggests that our brains are still in the teenage phase until we “peak” in our early thirties. Researchers from the University of Cambridge looked at scans from around 4,000 people up to the age of 90 to reveal the connections between their brain cells. Rather than progressing steadily over our lifetimes, research published in the journal Nature Communications suggests our brain goes through five distinct phases in life, with key turning points happening at ages nine, 32, 66, and 83. The first stage, from birth to nine, sees the brain rapidly increasing in size. Around age nine, the “adolescent” phase begins as the brain works on increasing its e…

Since Pantone began naming its Color of the Year in 2000, we’ve seen two flavors of both brown and yellow, three variations of purple, blue, and turquoise, and four distinct takes on orange. But for the first time ever, Pantone’s color is essentially a non-color. Or you could call it every color. Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year is a white. In Pantone language, that’s code 11-4201—aka Cloud Dancer. Pantone—which operates somewhere between a trend forecaster and social psychologist—argues that Cloud Dancer is part of a great cultural reboot. In the era of AI, everything feels like it’s changing on a daily basis, and the overstimulation of the internet is only…

Russian authorities said Thursday they have imposed restrictions on Apple’s video calling service FaceTime, the latest step in an effort to tighten control over the internet and communications online. State internet regulator Roskomnadzor alleged in a statement that the service is being “used to organize and conduct terrorist activities on the territory of the country, to recruit perpetrators (and) commit fraud and other crimes against our citizens.” Apple did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The Russian regulator also announced that it has blocked Snapchat, a messaging app for sharing photos, videos and text messages, citing the same grounds it gave…

While the iPhone 17 is expected to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season, some of the early adopters of Apple’s latest phone may be moving on to something different already. New data from B-Stock, a B2B marketplace for wholesale liquidation of returned and overstock inventory, finds that large cellular carriers are already moving “bulk quantities” of iPhone 17s through the resale channels for B2B customers. One sale on the site currently offers 111 iPhone 17 Pro Max units (with bidding for the lot standing at $80,200 as of Wednesday afternoon). All totaled, there were more than 300 iPhone 17 devices up for resale on the site as of Wednesday. The sale…

Scented candle lovers, the day you have waited for all year is finally here. Today marks the kick-off of the annual Candle Day sales event from Bath & Body Works, during which the retailer’s pricey scented wax pillars will go for just a third of their regular cost. Here’s what you need to know about Candle Day 2025. What is Candle Day 2025? Candle Day is Bath & Body Works’ annual candle sale bonanza. Throughout the year, many of the company’s three-wick candles go for $29.95 each, but during Candle Day, many of those candles can be had for prices as low as $9.95. Due to the massive savings, Candle Day is a sales event that candle lovers across…

Every year, open enrollment forces Americans to confront a familiar dilemma: Pay more for coverage that delivers less, or gamble on going without it. This year, that choice has become even starker. Employers are shifting more costs to workers, marketplace premiums are poised to rise, fewer prescription drugs are covered by insurance, and 3.8 million people could lose insurance annually if Affordable Care Act subsidies aren’t extended. Together, these developments represent a structural break in the U.S. healthcare system. It’s a perfect storm that will price many Americans out of health insurance altogether—many involuntarily, but some voluntarily. Fed up with s…

This year’s busiest shopping day was a boon for live-shopping apps. Even at a time of inflation and economic uncertainty, Americans were ready to spend come Black Friday. U.S. online spending was up 9.1% from last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics. While holiday spending has typically been dominated by traditional e-commerce, live-shopping platforms TikTok Shop and Whatnot also reported record-breaking sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On Black Friday, the livestream marketplace Whatnot reported more than $75 million in single-day live sales, tripling last year’s total. On average, shoppers bought 40 items per second. One small busi…

Below, Jane Marie Chen shares five key insights from her new book, Like a Wave We Break: A Memoir of Falling Apart and Finding Myself. Jane is a leadership coach, public speaker, and cofounder of Embrace Global, a social enterprise that developed a low-cost infant incubator. She has been a TED Fellow, an Echoing Green Fellow, and a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum. Her many honors include being recognized as a Forbes Impact 30 and receiving The Economist’s Innovation Award. What’s the big idea? Like a Wave We Break is a story of self-discovery. When achievements define us or serve as an escape from hidden scars of trauma, we do ourselves and othe…