What's on Your Mind?

All eyes are on Netflix, which is set to report fourth-quarter earnings after Tuesday’s closing bell. In the ongoing saga over whether will Netflix will acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the streaming giant is now offering to pay all cash for the deal, revising a previous bid that included a mix of stock with cash, according to filing from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Tuesday, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery announced the amended agreement, which simplifies the deal for investors who no longer have to worry about Netflix’s fluctuating stock price. The news comes as Netflix continues to stave off a hostile takeover bid from rival Skydanc…

Efficiency dominates conversations about AI. We celebrate its ability to automate and optimize so businesses can move faster and people can work smarter. But AI is becoming more integrated into people’s lives in ways that go far beyond productivity. In a world obsessed with speed and efficiency, the future of AI isn’t just intelligent—it’s beautiful. AI is now a force that enhances creativity, self-expression, and confidence. AI does not just optimize life—it elevates it. Consumers are embracing AI for everything from recipe creation and travel planning to interior design and fitness regimens. They are turning to AI for recommendations on shows, movies, music, restaur…

Iranians have been struggling for nearly two weeks with the longest, most comprehensive internet shutdown in the history of the Islamic Republic — one that has not only restricted their access to information and the outside world, but is also throttling many businesses that rely on online advertising. Authorities shut down internet access on Jan. 8 as nationwide protests led to a brutal crackdown that activists say has killed over 4,000 people, with more feared dead. Since then, there has been minimal access to the outside world, with connectivity in recent days restored only for some domestic websites. Google also began partially functioning as a search engine, with …

A relatively new category of solopreneur is booming, and its ascent is challenging perceptions of what it means to be self-employed. Since 2018 demand for fractional expertise—or specialized talent that works for one or many firms on a limited or part-time basis—has tripled, according to a recent study by workforce intelligence company Revelio Labs. The most popular part-time executive position, according to the study, is CFO, which makes up 18% of fractional executive roles, followed by CMO at 14% and CEO at 10%. Revelio Labs’ chief economist Lisa Simon says the skyrocketing demand for fractional executives is largely a function of the current job market. She exp…

For years, leaders have been told that ”being true to themselves” and “ignoring what others think” represent the gold standard of effective leadership, a kind of moral and emotional north star. But in practice, this type of advice often gets leaders into trouble. For a vivid illustration, consider how two famous fictional (yet hyper-realistic) characters, namely Don Draper (Madmen) and Michael Scott (The Office) embody these two mantras. Draper clings to a rigid, unchanging identity, using “this is who I am” as armor to avoid confronting his insecurities, while Scott approaches management with unfiltered candor, oversharing, and acting on impulse. Both believe they ar…

Balancing gut feelings with hard data isn’t a soft skill. It’s a strategic advantage. In an era where AI, automation, and ubiquitous dashboards flood us with metrics, it’s tempting to believe that better spreadsheets alone will yield better decisions. But our most consequential choices rarely emerge from a cell in column D. They arise from an ongoing negotiation between intuition and rational analysis. The paradox is this: as technology becomes more sophisticated at processing information, the human capacity to notice what matters—the intangible signals of opportunity or risk—becomes more valuable. Yet most organizations force a false choice. We either roman…

Curving walls of clay brick and the dappled light of a forest canopy make up the design of the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion, the annual architectural installation that has become one of the field’s most prestigious commissions. This year’s pavilion is being designed by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo of LANZA atelier, a Mexico City-based architecture studio. An annual installation outside the Serpentine art gallery in London’s Kensington Park that is freely open to the public from June through October, the Serpentine Pavilion is high-brow design that’s unusually accessible. Isabel AbascalAlessandro Arienzo Hitting the premise on the nose, LANZA atelier’s desi…

The Sundance Film Festival may be a little bittersweet this year. It will be familiar in some ways as it kicks off on Thursday in Park City, Utah. There will be stars, from Natalie Portman to Charli XCX, and breakout discoveries, tearjerkers, comedies, thrillers, oddities that defy categorization and maybe even a few future Oscar nominees. The pop ups and sponsors will be out in full force on Main Street. The lines to get into the 90 movies premiering across 10 days will be long and the volunteers will be endlessly helpful and cheery in subfreezing temperatures. But the country’s premier showcase for independent film is also in a time of profound transition after decades…

This month, American shopping malls received another nail in the coffin. Francesca’s, the women’s fashion and accessories chain, has reportedly quietly begun shutting down all its stores. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? The women’s fashion and accessories chain Francesca’s has reportedly begun the process of going out of business, which will involve shutting down all of its stores. The news of the closures was first reported by Women’s Wear Daily. Per that report, a customer service representative confirmed it is currently closing all its stores, with liquidation sales underway. However, the chain has not broadly announced the news. Fast Co…

The CEO job description has remained remarkably stable for decades—but the times they are a’changin’. That stability persisted through wave after wave of technological change. The internet, mobile, cloud computing—each transformed business operations, but none fundamentally altered the CEO’s core responsibilities. Strategy, culture, resource allocation, organizational design—the essential functions remained constant even as the tools improved. AI is different. It isn’t just a tool that executes; it is also a system that makes choices. It makes judgments about customers, employees, and strategy. And this means that when you deploy AI, you’re not just installing sof…

Want to be wealthier? Get married. According to a study published in Journal of Sociology, the net worth of a married person grows approximately 75 percent more during their thirties, forties, and fifties than the net worth of an unmarried person. (That’s per person in the relationship, not per couple.) Want to make a higher income, and feel more satisfied with your job? Get married. A Washington University in St. Louis study found that people with relatively prudent and reliable partners tend to perform better at work, earning more promotions, making more money, and feeling more satisfied with their jobs. What the researchers call “partner conscientiousness” pred…

While working as an engineer at Tesla, Niccolo Cymbalist never planned to start a business. But he’d been considering an idea for new technology—an autonomous, wind-powered cargo ship. Then, while on paternity leave in 2024, he discovered a free program that helps scientists and engineers launch businesses for the first time. Weeks after finishing the program, called 5050, Cymbalist had launched a startup called Clippership. The company’s first ship is being built in the Netherlands this year. Without the accelerator, he says, the company likely wouldn’t exist. The program has now helped scientists and engineers launch 100 businesses, from Huminly, which uses enzy…

The blockchain is coming to Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said on Monday that it was developing a platform to trade tokenized securities, digital representations of assets like stocks and bonds. But exactly when the 233-year-old financial institution will turn it on is still up in the air. Supporters of the technology argue that the change could modernize the NYSE, giving traders some of the same advantages that are enjoyed by investors in the cryptocurrency world. But Wall Street stalwarts are wary of altering a system that has been the bedrock of securities trading for more than two centuries. Curious what the fuss is about? Here’…

Like many industries, architecture has jumped on the artificial intelligence bandwagon. AI tools are becoming everyday parts of the practice of architecture, from iterating design concepts to optimizing floor plans to accelerating the creation of construction documents. Some architecture firms are even branding themselves as “AI-driven.” AI’s infusion into architecture is well underway, but it’s also an ongoing process. Firms are finding new ways of making these emerging tools work for the way they design buildings, while also grappling with what AI could do to a profession so dependent on actual human intelligence. Fast Company asked architects from some of the top f…

A great, fictional man once declared: “I believe virtually everything I read.” David St. Hubbins, lead singer and guitarist of Spinal Tap, mocked the earnest confidence of rock stars in the same way AI futurists are now mocking critical thinking itself. Right now, most of the tech industry has adopted St. Hubbins’ line without the irony. Google is embedding AI into Chrome. Tech leaders are declaring the end of websites. Hundreds of links will collapse into single answers, traffic will disappear, the open web gets hollowed out. The future belongs to whoever wins inclusion in the AI’s response, not whoever builds the best site. Sigh. We spent the last decade le…

A self-described “rat pack” of five “food-loving journalists” just bought the trademark to the defunct food magazine Gourmet, updated it for the modern reader, and brought it back as an online newsletter—all without consulting the magazine’s former publisher, Condé Nast. And if you didn’t know that already, you might’ve been able to guess it from the publication’s new wordmark. The logo looks nothing like what you’d expect from the magazine that shuttered in 2009. Instead of a crisp, delicate script, this wordmark is unapologetically blocky, chunky, and weird. It’s more reminiscent of forgotten sheet pan drippings: certainly not pretty too look at, but more delicious …

For professionals looking to moodboard, but sick of juggling Instagram lists and Pinterest boards, Cosmos arrived in 2023 to woo millions of users in an otherwise crowded market. With a pared-back design, and an algorithm trained on a carefully seeded list of creatives, it topped the Design category in the App Store, and the company reports it’s now used by creative teams at companies including Nike, Apple, and Amazon, who snag over 10 million pieces of content a month from across the internet for their collections. This growth has been enough to raise a $15 million Series A from Matrix Partners, GV, Accel, and Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena, as the company con…

The most qualified marketing candidates already know how to spot a bad ad. They scroll past headlines that don’t resonate, tune out vague language, and ghost messages that feel robotic. And when your job post reads like a corporate compliance document instead of an invitation to do meaningful work, they won’t even click. More than 80% of job seekers check company reviews and ratings before applying, according to Glassdoor. And it’s not just about perks: Edelman’s Trust Barometer found that nearly 6 in 10 employees choose where to work based on shared values. These aren’t surface-level preferences; they signal a deeper shift in expectations. Candidates want a reason to…

Protein is everywhere these days. The cultural obsession with the macronutrient has become unavoidable; from constant protein-adjacent Instagram ads to protein-focused recipes and protein-filled Chipotle bowls, Starbucks drinks, and Pepsi products. All of these products are starting to sound like part of some big, loud, fitness influencer chorus. But there’s one brand that’s managed to break through the noise—often, by saying nothing at all. Early this month, the protein bar company David debuted a print campaign in the New York City subway system featuring plain images of its bars, with no text or embellishments, surrounded by a sea of blank white space. It’s the en…