What's on Your Mind?

Apparently any place looks better if you just say it’s Japan. That’s according to a TikTok trend, dubbed the “Japan effect.” First reported in Casey Lewis’s youth trends newsletter After School, the trend has users making slideshows of two images. For all intents and purposes they are the same, except one is labelled with the original location and the second is labelled Tokyo, Japan. The idea being that the “Japan effect” is so strong, just the location tag can filter how we perceive an ordinary street or an average American neighborhood. Scrolling through the comments, those watching these TikTok videos genuinely believe the second image looks better than the f…

Earlier this year, TikTokers declared the start of the Great Meme Depression of 2025. In the months since, things haven’t picked up much. As 2026 approaches, some internet users have decided to take matters into their own hands rather than risk yet another year of AI slop and brainrot humor. It’s time to take it back to 2016. The Great Meme Reset of 2026 was first proposed by TikTok creator joebro909 in a video from March, according to KnowYourMeme, in the thick of The Great Meme Depression. In the clip, he suggested that all memes be wiped from memory in an effort to rescue TikTok from the drought. In September, TikTok creator golden._vr took up the call, …

It’s not just Hollywood that’s been grappling with how to deal with AI-generated characters. Wikipedia editors are figuring all this out as they go along, too. Following reports this week that an AI “actress” named Tilly Norwood is attracting interest from talent agents and rattling real-life performers who make their living in movies and on TV, Wikipedia editors moved quickly to create a page for the character—and almost immediately began arguing over how to describe it. Is it a synthetic actress? Is it even a she? Can Tilly Norwood, despite having 45,000 followers on Instagram, be accurately described as doing anything? These are the types of questions tha…

Tim Cook has led Apple for the past 14 years. In that time, the company’s market cap has jumped from $348 billion to $4 trillion. While his predecessor, Steve Jobs, might have been a leader in the field of innovation, few CEOs have shown the business acumen of Cook. But according to a report in the Financial Times, Cook’s run as CEO could be over as soon as next year. The report has set off a guessing game as to who will take over the tech giant when Cook departs. (Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the FT story.) The name most commonly mentioned is John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering, though reportedly no final decisions …

Last week, the Financial Times reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook may step down next year. This news seemed to have little impact on Apple’s stock price, but it certainly sparked conversations among Apple fans and armchair tech pundits. Some people have long criticized Cook as a bean counter and “ops guy,” believing he was not the right person to helm the 21st century’s leading consumer technology company, especially one previously guided by a product visionary like Steve Jobs. Many of these same people are now hoping that Apple’s next CEO will be Apple’s current senior vice president of hardware engineering, John Ternus. They see Ternus as a “product guy” like Jobs. Or…

Changing an organism’s genome is a profound act, and the tools you use to make the changes don’t alleviate the need for responsible regulation. Since bursting onto the scene in 2012, CRISPR technology has been used to modify dozens of species from bacteria to livestock to plants, and even human embryos. Many countries have put ethical guardrails in place to prohibit creating designer babies. However, in agriculture, gene-edited crops are largely exempt from regulatory oversight, creating a “Wild West” where anything goes and edited crops are free to enter the food supply. Unlike “traditional” genetically modified organisms (GMO)—used since the 1990s to create Roun…

After the crystal ball drops on New Year’s Eve in New York City, it will rise again, sparkling in red, white, and blue to usher in 2026 and kick off months of celebrations for the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday. The patriotic touches at this year’s Times Square gathering, including a second confetti drop, will offer an early glimpse of what’s ahead: hundreds of events and programs, big and small, planned nationwide to mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. “I’m telling you right now, whatever you’re imagining, it’s going to be much more than that,” said America250 Chair Rosie Rios, who oversees the bipartisan commission created by Congress …

Timothée Chalamet just posted an 18-minute-long video to his Instagram to promote his upcoming A24 film, Marty Supreme. It might be his best role yet. In the video, Chalamet—sporting a bright yellow tank top, buzz cut, and dainty necklace—joins a Zoom call full of supposed marketing executives who will be leading the promotional campaign ahead of the film’s release on December 25. After awkward introductions, Chalamet proceeds to fill up the meeting’s airtime with increasingly ridiculous suggestions for the film’s marketing efforts, leaving the eight other members of the call scrambling to accommodate his wild ideas. On A24’s YouTube channel, where the video…

One hot new phone of 2025 has no screen, can’t send a text, and needs to be plugged into the wall. But to buyers of the Tin Can, that’s a definite plus. The Tin Can, from a Seattle startup of the same name, grew out of conversations cofounder and CEO Chet Kittleson had with fellow parents about the challenges of enabling kids to connect with friends and relatives without giving them full-fledged cellphones. While children of the 20th century could pick up the house landline to call a grandparent or schedule a sleepover, today’s kids are often left dependent on parents for scheduling playdates and connecting with family until they’re old enough to carry their own smar…

The Tin Can phone is designed to be a simple and screen-free way for children to connect with friends and family. But since Christmas morning, when many families unwrapped and installed the retro, landline-style phones, network issues have left many users unable to make or receive calls. “Ultimately, Christmas Day overwhelmed us,” says Tin Can cofounder and CEO Chet Kittleson. “We spent months preparing for it, and we just didn’t get it all right.” Tin Can customers on social media including Reddit and Instagram have reported a variety of issues both making and receiving calls with the devices. Some new users also experienced trouble setting up their accounts an…

Think you’ve got game? Time to put it to the test with Tinder’s latest launch in collaboration with OpenAI. On Tuesday, Tinder rolled out The Game Game—a new experience designed to help users practice their flirting skills by chatting with an AI voice, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o model. Players are dealt a stack of virtual cards, each introducing a different AI persona and a hilariously exaggerated rom-com scenario (think: a luggage mix-up at the airport or accidentally crushing someone’s sunglasses on the beach). Your challenge? Charm your way through it. The bot makes the first move, and users respond in real time—earning feedback on their game as they go. Nail t…

Small dwelling units are booming as solutions for affordable housing, camping, and glamping. But of most interest, at present, is the opportunity this category provides as a source of transitional housing during times of climate crisis and regional disasters such as the L.A. fires. California already had increasingly positive regulation toward accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and tiny homes prior to the January 2025 Los Angeles fires. In the wake of the current disaster, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass issued an emergency executive order: Return and Rebuild. This new mandate eliminates the significant regulatory hurdles of rebuilding to organize efforts with a theme of “urgency,…

Maybe your car broke down, your computer was stolen, or you had a surprise visit to urgent care. Emergencies are inevitable, but you can prepare to deal with them by building an emergency fund. “There are so many things that happen in our lives that we don’t expect and most of them require financial means to overcome,” said Miklos Ringbauer, a certified public accountant. The industry standard is to save three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund. However, this can feel daunting if you live paycheck to paycheck or if you have debt. But if you’re in either of these situations, it’s even more crucial to build a financial safety net that can help you in tim…

Even when Americans have health insurance, they can have a hard time affording the drugs they’ve been prescribed. About 1 in 5 U.S. adults skip filling a prescription due to its cost at least once a year, according to KFF, a health research organization. And 1 in 3 take steps to cut their prescription drug costs, such as splitting pills when it’s not medically necessary or switching to an over-the-counter drug instead of the one that their medical provider prescribed. As pharmacy professors who research prescription drug access, we think it’s important for Americans to know that it is possible to get prescriptions filled more affordably, as long as you know how be…

In today’s fast-paced, tech-driven world, commanding attention during meetings or presentations is an increasingly complex challenge. Attendees are often preoccupied with emails, notifications, or social media, turning valuable discussions into background noise. To overcome the issue, presenters must intentionally foster engagement that goes beyond just delivering information. The importance of engagement Engagement is the bridge between delivering information and fostering collaboration. When people feel actively involved in a conversation or presentation, they are more likely to pay attention, retain information, and contribute meaningfully. Think about meetings …

Ashlee Piper is a former political strategist turned eco-lifestyle journalist. She has been a Professor of Sustainability Marketing at Loyola University Chicago and eco instructor for LinkedIn Learning. Well-known companies, such as Airbnb, LUSH, and Nissan, have sought her counsel on sustainability practices. Piper has spoken at the United Nations, SXSW, and has a popular TED Talk. What’s the big idea? A life of overconsumption can feel almost inescapable in our hyper-personalized advertising ecosystem. Billions of dollars go into getting people hooked on shopping. Fortunately, a way out of this addictive cycle is the No New Things challenge, which guides anyone f…

TikTok and Instagram are flooded with reels of food influencers hyping already viral restaurants or bringing hundreds of thousands of eyes to hidden gems. With sauce-stained lips, exaggerated chewing, and that signature hooked finger over their mouth, they urge viewers to “run, don’t walk” to these must-try spots. But how trustworthy are these glowing reviews? Platforms like Yelp and Google Reviews long ago opened the door for anyone with an internet connection to play food critic. But the rise of short-form video has democratized the food-reviewing game to a whole new level. OnTikTok and Instagram, driving engagement is the name of the game, and posting hyperbolized …

TJX Companies, parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods, among other retail brands, reported strong sales and operating results on Wednesday for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended February 1. For Q4, TJX exceeded Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales of $16.35 billion. However, its revenue and earnings guidance for the coming fiscal year were below analyst expectations, according to a consensus estimate cited by CNBC. Key takeaways Here are the main points from the announcement: Q4 fiscal 2025 (13-week period): Net sales: $16.4 billion (flat compared to the prior year’s 14-week period). Consolidated comparable store sales: …

Earlier this week, communities around the world observed World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. It’s a day to honor those we’ve lost and recommit ourselves to preventing future tragedies. As someone who’s worked in the transportation industry for more than 25 years, I come at this topic as an insider. You may have heard the term “Vision Zero” in local political campaigns or public safety PSAs. Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all severe crashes. It’s not just a marketing campaign, it’s an approach to road safety that begins with this basic understanding: Severe crashes are preventable. The status quo believes the fantasy that traffic violence is…

Over the past three decades, a wealth of research has shown that psychological safety—the perception that it is safe to speak up and take risks without fear of embarrassment, rejection, or retribution—is one of the most consistent and important predictors of leadership competence and team effectiveness. As one of us (Amy Edmondson) has illustrated in The Fearless Organization, when team members trust that their voice will be heard and valued, they are more willing to take the kinds of interpersonal risks that innovation requires. Unsurprisingly, this matters enormously in today’s organizations. Whether the challenge is developing a new product, responding to a shiftin…

Just when you thought you’d seen it all on Capitol Hill, reopening the federal government appears to have hit yet another roadblock: Hemp. A day after Democratic Senators reached a deal with their Republican counterparts in the Senate to end the longest government shutdown in history, a vote on the agreement was held up by a provision in the bill that would ban the unregulated sale of hemp-based or derived products. The provision relates to funding for the Department of Agriculture, and was flagged by Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, home to a burgeoning hemp industry. Paul introduced an amendment to strip the language on Monday, but the amendment failed. Subsequent…

We live in a world that is saturated with leadership wisdom—from countless books to endless streams of think pieces—yet the gap between what leaders know and what they do is as wide as ever. The thing is, leadership transformation is hard. It takes courage to step outside the status quo. And it’s deeply human to cling to comfort and choose habit over risk. In our years of working with leaders, we’ve noticed those who succeed at continuously evolving their leadership mettle strike a balance between three impulses. To make the concept easier to grasp, we visualize each impulse as a persona: the Kid, the Scientist, and the Gardener. These personas act as a framewor…

For decades, human organs, some of the most fragile cargo imaginable, have been transported on ice. Not because it was the best method, but because that’s how it had always been done. A process with life-or-death consequences remained unchanged simply out of habit. I didn’t fully grasp the flaws in this system until I experienced it firsthand. I saw the gaps in coordination, the last-minute scrambles, and the life-altering consequences of relying on outdated methods. But identifying a problem isn’t the same as knowing how to fix it. Innovation happens when leaders refuse to accept the way it’s always been done. It happens when they show up, ask questions, and stay…

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. While virtual doctor visits were available prior to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic kicked them into overdrive: From 2018-2022, the percentage of American hospitals offering telehealth jumped over 14% to 86.9%. In 2021, McKinsey reported that the use of virtual care had stabilized at 38 times higher than before the pandemic. That same year, 85% of doctors offered it and 37% of adults surveyed had us…