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I don’t know the last time I flew somewhere to visit a mall. But I’m here in King of Prussia, Pennsylvaina—a Philadelphia suburb—walking around a vast shopping complex that’s seemingly frozen in the ‘90s. Despite it being 11 a.m. on a Friday, cars whizz by to fill the endless parking lots, perhaps to peruse the Nordstrom or grab lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. A few years ago, I’d be looking up at a two-story Lord & Taylor. But instead, that big box retailer has been transformed into the next big bet in the experience economy: the inaugural Netflix House. Netflix has been experimenting with expanding its digital footprint into IRL since 2020—welcoming mil…

La Niña, a climate pattern that can affect weather worldwide, has officially arrived. La Niña is fueled by colder-than-normal Pacific ocean temperatures, which then affect the pattern of the Pacific jet steam. It’s the cooler counter to El Niño, which involves warmer-than-normal ocean waters. Both are part of a weather system called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). La Niña conditions emerged in September, the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said on Thursday. They’re expected to continue through the end of the year, and potentially until February 2026. This La Niña is expected to remain weak, weather experts said, but it could still…

For most people, leaving Apple after two decades would mean stepping away from sleek design and obsessive detail. For Xander Soren, it simply meant translating those principles into a different medium and bottling them. During his 20-plus years at Apple, Soren helped shape some of the company’s most culture-defining products and creative tools. He was the original product manager for iTunes, worked on the launch of the iPod, led the development of GarageBand, and oversaw features like iPhone ringtones that became ubiquitous parts of Apple’s ecosystem. His career spanned Apple’s rebirth into a design-led powerhouse, a period in which he absorbed the philosophy of …

Resilience is not an inherited trait. It is a disciplined practice—a way of showing up that is cultivated over time through deliberate training of the body, mind, and spirit. In high-stress environments, whether on the battlefield, in the boardroom, or in the quiet turmoil of daily life, the ability to remain steady amid volatility is what separates reactive living from intentional leadership. What many discover, often through hardship, is that resilience is less about bracing against impact and more about widening the internal space between stimulus and response. That space—Viktor Frankl called it the foundation of freedom—allows for clarity, intentionality, and courage.…

It has been an odd few weeks for generative AI systems, with ChatGPT suddenly turning sycophantic, and Grok, xAI’s chatbot, becoming obsessed with South Africa. Fast Company spoke to Steven Adler, a former research scientist for OpenAI who until November 2024 led safety-related research and programs for first-time product launches and more-speculative long-term AI systems about both—and what he thinks might have gone wrong. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. What do you make of these two incidents in recent weeks—ChatGPT’s sudden sycophancy and Grok’s South Africa obsession—of AI models going haywire? The high-level thing I make of it …

As AI talent salaries soar into the stratosphere—with new graduates commanding $200K+ and Meta dishing out $100M+ compensation packages—many early-stage founders are wondering: How can you build a frontier technology company when single individuals are getting paid well more than the average Series A total financing? As a partner at Bison Ventures, I back founders working in deep tech, particularly those using AI. I’ve seen firsthand the challenges startup teams are experiencing competing with Big Tech compensation packages flush with stock options. Assuming the only way to win is to outbid is a losing strategy. Here’s the advice I share with founders. In this pie…

For decades, design followed a singular truth. Whether it was the insistence that “form follows function” or the later pivot toward “form follows emotion,” the industry tended to adhere to a simple formula for design thinking: Find your North Star and follow. But that formula does not fit today’s reality. “Form follows X” is no longer a clean equation, because X isn’t a single variable. It’s a constellation that refuses to be reduced to one guiding idea. Modern design across brands, products, and experiences must use a multidimensional approach, speaking to function, feeling, context, narrative, culture, and experience, all at once. HUMAN EXPERIENCE DESIGN …

Washington is bracing for what could be a prolonged federal shutdown after lawmakers deadlocked and missed the deadline for funding the government. Republicans supported a short-term measure to fund the government generally at current levels through November. 21, but Democrats blocked it, insisting the measure address their concerns on health care. They want to reverse the Medicaid cuts in President Donald The President’s mega-bill passed this summer and extend tax credits that make health insurance premiums more affordable for millions of people who purchase through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act. Republicans called the Democratic proposal a no…

As nasty tornadoes popped up from Kansas to Kentucky, a depleted National Weather Service was in scramble mode. The agency’s office in Jackson, Kentucky, had begun closing nightly as deep cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency began hitting. But the weather service kept staffers on overtime Friday night to stay on top of the deadly storms, which killed nearly 20 people in the Jackson office’s forecast area. It’s a scenario likely to be repeated as the U.S. is on track to see more tornadoes this year than in 2024, which was the second-busiest tornado year on record. Forecasters said there was at least a 10% risk of tornadoes Tuesday for 10.6 million peop…

Nissan is recalling thousands of its 2025 and 2026 vehicles due to a flaw which could potentially cause the door to open while driving, increasing the risk of injury or a crash, according to a notice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Nissan North America, Inc. is recalling approximately 26,432 vehicles, including certain “2025 Altima, Sentra, 2025-2026 Frontier, and 2026 Kicks” because the door strikers, which hold the door in place, may have been improperly welded and can break. The company estimates about 1% have the defect that prompted the recall. “Customers may notice a rattling noise from the door striker if only one side of …

Since the launch of ChatGPT three years ago, almost everyone has used Artificial Intelligence in some fashion to help with their work and the world collectively believes AI holds potential. I have written on AI subjects three times before in this series – on strategy & AI, on AI investment, and on AI’s impact on entry level hiring. The third was co-authored with friends Ahmad Zaidi, co-founder and CEO of AI start-up TransforML, and Gui Loureiro, Regional CEO Walmart Canada, Central America, Chile and Mexico and co-author of Reinventing the Leader. That team returns for this Playing to Win/Practitioner Insight piece on leadership and AI. And as always, you can find all…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Zillow is facing mounting legal battles—including a lawsuit Tuesday brought by the Federal Trade Commission alleging that Zillow paid rival Redfin $100 million to exit and stop competing in the online apartment rental listings market. The FTC claims the arrangement—framed publicly as a “partnership”—was in fact an unlawful anticompetitive agreement that eliminated Redfin as a meaningful competitor in the online rental space. According to the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the February 2025 deal requi…

In the heart of Aceh province in northwestern Sumatra, the Ketiara Cooperative, led by the remarkable Ibu Rahmah, is facing a crisis unfolding as we speak. This community of women-led farmers was devastated by the rare Cyclone Senyar over the Thanksgiving weekend, which caused catastrophic mudslides. Farms have been decimated, homes destroyed, and two vital bridges have been washed away, isolating entire villages and cutting off access to essentials like food, clean water, and electricity. Hundreds of people have died and hundreds more are still missing in their worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. Grace Farms, a cultural and humanitarian center in New Canaa…

Cargill Kitchen Solutions is recalling more than 212,000 pounds of Egg Beaters and Bob Evans liquid egg products because they may contain a cleaning solution with bleach, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This recall comes at a time when egg prices have hit record highs as the country faces decreasing supplies due to an ongoing bird flu outbreak. Here’s what to know. What’s included in the liquid egg recall? The recall covers 212,268 pounds of liquid egg products, which were produced on March 12 and March 13 and distributed in eight states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas, and possibly nationwide, accor…

The fate of Google’s vast empire is now in the hands of a federal judge in Washington, D.C., as hearings begin to determine whether the tech giant should be broken up for maintaining an illegal monopoly in search. If the court rules against Google, the outcome could send shockwaves through the tech industry. The company might be forced to divest major assets—potentially including its Chrome browser or even the Android operating system. While the government has taken similar antitrust actions in the past, it’s been more than 25 years since a household name faced a breakup of this scale. So, what happened to the companies that were split up—or nearly split up—under …

Fashion designers from across North America are bringing together inspiration from their Indigenous heritage, culture and everyday lives to three days of runway modeling that started Friday in a leading creative hub and marketplace for Indigenous art. A fashion show affiliated with the century-old Santa Fe Indian Market is collaborating this year with a counterpart from Vancouver, Canada, in a spirit of Indigenous solidarity and artistic freedom. A second, independent runway show at a rail yard district in the city has nearly doubled the bustle of models, makeup and final fittings. Elements of Friday’s collections from six Native designers ran the gamut from silk paraso…

Some directors are known for their typographic flair—from the ultrawide tracking of Christopher Nolan’s film titles to Quentin Tarantino’s genre vernacular font and lettering selections. But last week, as we reported on Sean Baker’s extensive use of Aguafina Script across his past four movies, we wondered: How many other directors have firmly embraced a single, singular typeface—and what does that typeface say about their films? The first part is easier to answer. “It is rare,” says title designer and Art of the Title editor-in-chief Lola Landekic. “It’s a very interesting choice. As a creator, you have to sort of commit to a specific aesthetic. And I think yo…

One of the giants of the gaming business has tumbled off a cliff. Ubisoft, the French game publisher best known for the Assassin’s Creed series, just announced plans to dramatically reorganize its business. In the process, the company will kill six games it had in the works, including a long-awaited Prince of Persia title that was expected this month. Ubisoft shares dropped by more than 30% following the news. The game publisher said the changes are designed to make it more agile in order to drive a “sharp rebound” for the company, which has seen its stock tank over the last five years. To chart that course, Ubisoft said it will selectively close the game studios…

In the UK, it is currently Dying Matters Awareness Week. Grief—and the impact of death and loss—is something that nearly all of us will experience at some point in our working lives. Despite this, many workplaces are not equipped to have these tricky conversations and are unsure how to best support their staff with their mental well-being while grieving. At This Can Happen, we conducted an in-depth, two-stage research project into how workplaces are supporting employees with grief—the Grief In The Workplace Report—and the findings are eye-opening. We found that 87% of respondents with lived experience felt grief had impacted their mental well-being, yet 46% felt that…

Here’s a sad story: The other day, my wife and I woke up and realized we were out of coffee. Honestly, if you want to throw a wrench into the Murphy household and hamper our routine, take away the coffee. Anyway, the story ends much better; I threw on a baseball hat and drove to the supermarket down the road. But it also reminded me of a study I’ve wanted to share here, led by researchers at Tulane University who analyzed data on 40,725 Americans and their coffee-drinking habits over nearly a decade. In short, they found something remarkable about when people drink their coffee. Drink it in the morning The study, supported by the U.S. National Heart…

When Nicholas Bloom, the William Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University in California, started studying working from home in 2004, “it was hard to get anyone engaged,” he says. Even in 2018, “no one had any interest whatsoever.” In 2025, that’s hard to fathom. Between the pandemic and technological advancements, WFH has become a norm among white collar workers. Not only has it normalized; it’s also destigmatized. The act that used to generate memes of Homer Simpson on the couch, prodding a distant computer with a stick has gained “positive connotations,” says Bloom. Working from home is seen as a privilege. It’s also here to stay. For their latest study,…

Chili’s is celebrating National Margarita Day this month with a new romcom Lifetime holiday movie. The casual-dining restaurant chain and cable network will debut a 15-minute TV short film, called I’ll Be Home For National Margarita Day, first airing on Lifetime on February 19 and available on Lifetime.com, YouTube, and social platforms. Starring actors Maria Menounos and Taye Diggs, the new flick hits on all the classic Lifetime tropes, including a big-city-dwelling woman returning to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who happens to be a bartender at Chili’s. The reunited lovers must work together to save a small town’s National Margarita Day celebrati…

A new memoir that paints Facebook’s parent company and its executives in a negative light is rising on Amazon’s Best Sellers rankings faster than you can ask a Meta AI assistant to define “Streisand effect.” Careless People, written by former Meta employee Sarah Wynn-Williams, was the No. 5 best-selling book on Amazon as of early Thursday afternoon, one day after an arbitrator ordered the author to temporarily stop promoting the book. Meta spokesperson Andy Stone applauded the emergency ruling yesterday on Threads, saying it affirmed that the “false and defamatory book should never have been published.” However, the legal fight appears to have drawn increased atte…