What's on Your Mind?

Burger King is teaming up with Star Wars for a limited-time menu, bringing a galaxy far, far away to its restaurants. The promotion launches May 4—often celebrated as Star Wars Day— at participating US resturants with themed packaging and exclusive items tied to The Mandalorian and Grogu, which arrives in theaters May 22. “Star Wars has shaped generations of fans, and as we head into the release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, we saw an opportunity to bring that excitement straight into our restaurants,” Joel Yashinsky, Chief Marketing Officer of Burger King U.S. & Canada, said in a press statement. The themed packaging includes four collectible …

Jon Dale’s love affair with birds began when he was about 10 and traded his BB gun for a pair of binoculars. Within a year, he’d counted 150 species flitting through the trees that circled his family’s home in Harlingen, Texas. The town sits in the Rio Grande Valley, at the convergence of the Central and Mississippi flyways, and also hosts many native fliers, making it a birder’s paradise. Dale delighted in spotting green jays, merlins, and altamira orioles. But as he grew older and learned more about the region’s biodiversity, he knew he should be seeing so many more species. Treks to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, which spans 2,088 acres near the border with Me…

A popular “true crime” YouTube channel has been pulling in millions of views with videos about gruesome murders. As it turns out, None of them are real. One of those videos, titled “Husband’s Secret Gay Love Affair with Step Son Ends in Grisly Murder,” claimed to detail a gruesome crime in Littleton, Colorado. After it amassed nearly two million views, viewers reached out to local reporter Elizabeth Hernandez. But there was no record of the crime—because it never happened. The murder was entirely fabricated by a YouTube channel called True Crime Case Files that used ChatGPT and AI-generated imagery. According to 404 Media’s Henry Larson, over 150 similar videos ha…

Enterprises have often dreamed about AI systems that can reason across their most sensitive data, execute multistep tasks, and explain their logic while remaining inside a highly governed environment. Snowflake and Anthropic are betting they can finally crack the code. Through a multiyear, $200-million expansion of their agentic AI partnership, the companies plan to deliver an operational “control plane” that uses Anthropic’s latest Claude models, such as Sonnet and Opus 4.5, to power enterprise intelligence. The announcement landed alongside Snowflake’s Q3 earnings for fiscal year 2025, which showed the company maintaining strong momentum. Snowflake reported $1.21…

When the new Chevy Bolt arrives early next year, it will start at $29,995, making it one of the most affordable new EVs in the U.S. It’s thousands of dollars cheaper than Tesla’s “affordable” new versions of its Model 3 and Model Y. It’s also significantly less expensive than the average gas car, and like other EVs, it’s cheaper to operate. GM faces major headwinds with the loss of the $7,500 tax credit for electric cars, and it’s scaled back production plans and cut jobs in response. But the new Bolt is so affordable that it could win over consumers even without the incentive. “We wanted to get that under-$30,000 number,” says Jeremy Short, chief engineer on GM’…

The most expensive bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction is no longer a dusty pre-Prohibition relic or a museum-grade antique. It’s a 1982 bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle. This weekend at Sotheby’s New York, a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle 20-Year-Old Single Barrel “Sam’s” (1982) sold for $162,500, setting a new record for the most valuable bottle of American whiskey ever sold at auction. Only 60 hand-numbered bottles of the legendary “Sam’s” release were ever produced, bottled at a staggering 133.4 proof, the highest proof Van Winkle expression ever released. The bottle hadn’t appeared at auction in more than a decade. And it wasn’t alone. That record-s…

Most people say they want to live to a ripe old age. But that isn’t really true. What people really want is to live to a ripe, old age in good mental and physical health. Some of us actually get to live this dream. These folks are known as super-agers and they make it well into their 80s not just in decent physical shape, but also with minds at least as sharp as people 30 years younger. How do they manage it? That’s the question Northwestern University researchers have been aiming to answer with a 25-year-long study. It examined the brains and lifestyles of almost 300 super-agers. As you’d expect, a quarter century of data shows it really helps to be born with lu…

BESSEMER, Ala.—They all came here for peace, and so far, the land has given it to them. For Marshall Killingsworth, the peace comes from the owls whose hoots echo across the valley as he sits in his favorite spot in his garden. For David Havron, it’s looking up at the stars at night as the moonlight glistens off the lake just outside his back door. For Mary Rosenboom, it’s the calls of the songbirds as the sun slowly sets over the hilly terrain. For Becky Morgan, it’s the view of the mountain from her recliner—through the long windows that line the sides of her home. But all these residents in this area of rural Jefferson County are afraid—fearful that their peac…

If you’ve been eager to try cultivated meat—meat grown from cells, without the need to raise an entire animal—your options, so far, have been limited. The innovation has only appeared on a handful of restaurant menus since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) But if you’re in the Bay Area, you’re in luck: Cultivated meat startup Mission Barns will be selling its pork meatballs (made with a base of pea protein plus the company’s cultivated pork fat) at Berkeley Bowl West, one location of an independent grocery store in California. It marks the first retail sale of cultivated meat in the United States, though the products are available for…

Coffee giant Starbucks just announced its rewards program is about to get a major overhaul. On Thursday, the chain said its newly revamped rewards program will make its debut on March 10. According to Starbucks, it will feature a new, three-tier membership structure that will allow for “greater earning power” for its 35.5 million active North American members. The new program will allow consumers to move through three tiers: green (the starter level), followed by gold, and finally, its reserve membership tier. To achieve gold status, 500 stars are required. To become a reserve member, you’ll need to accumulate 2,500 stars within a 12-month period. The higher the …

Bourbon was once hailed as the poor man’s drink. The spirit has since developed, however, from a mass-market American staple into a luxury class, and limited releases, higher prices, and brands vying for prestige have caused a crowded top tier. Even though the premium field has widened, the very top of the market remains stubbornly narrow, according to whiskey expert Fred Minnick. During a blind tasting of his top 100 American whiskeys of 2025, Minnick evaluated leading contenders anonymously. Even without labels, the rankings reflected the same hierarchy seen at retail and on the secondary market. The most scarce, high-status bottles still rose to the top, regar…

Hello again, and welcome back to Fast Company’s Plugged In. Apple may have perfected splashy product-launch keynote events, but it’s never been wed to them. In terms of sheer quantity of new stuff, this week was about as eventful as it gets. And yet the company chose to dispense its announcements via press release over three days. Monday brought the iPhone 17e and a new iPad Air. Tuesday offered new MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros, plus a couple of displays. In each instance, the advances were incremental: faster chips, beefier specs, and other updates that are welcome, but not exactly memorable. But on Wednesday, Apple concluded its slow-roll product-fest with something…

Before food influencers were deep-frying Chipotle burritos, putting an entire serving of mac and cheese on their Chick-fil-A sandwich, and making McDonald’s hash browns into ice cream sandwiches, there was another food-hack-slash-Frankenfood that ruled the internet: the quesarito. This week, Taco Bell brought it back to its official menu. The quesarito is exactly what its name implies: a fully loaded burrito that, instead of being wrapped in a regular tortilla, has been lovingly sealed inside a giant quesadilla. It’s the epitome of fast-food gluttony, and as of December 18, it’s back in Taco Bell stores for a limited time for $6.70 (and a relatively modest 570 calorie…

A California lawmaker has introduced a first-in-the-nation bill meant to ban companies from embedding AI chatbot technology into toys designed for children. Announced on Friday, the measure comes amid growing concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on child welfare, and a number of local and federal proposals to limit kids’ access to LLM chatbots. This particular legislation would target toys that simulate friendship and companionship through large language technology. For toy manufacturers, LLMs can provide an easy, albeit risky, way of creating a personality for a particular doll or character. AI models aren’t pre-scripted the way most talking toys are…

In January 2025, Fortune Brands Innovations announced it was moving its company’s portfolio from individual offices across the country to one central headquarters outside Chicago, which meant hundreds of employees would need to relocate, or else lose their jobs. The move would take place in a phased approach beginning at the end of the summer, then-CEO Nicholas Fink told employees. Unsurprisingly, the news sent a jolt through the company, which owns several home and security brands including Moen and Master Lock, employees told Fast Company. On LinkedIn, a steady stream of goodbye posts from employees who refused the move emerged over the next several months. Tha…

CIOs are grappling with how to leverage AI, but most are asking the wrong question. It’s not about an “AI strategy.” It’s about a business strategy powered by AI. At Samsara, when we focused AI on clear business problems, we cut support chat volume by 59% with virtual agents, our IT help assistant auto-resolved 27% of tickets during the pilot, and engineers accepted about 40% of suggested code from AI code-assist, freeing teams to ship faster and tackle harder work. My takeaway is that if you treat AI as a separate initiative, you’ll chase tools. If you treat it as leverage on a business KPI, you’ll create impact. The VC Mindset: Investing in AI My philosop…

A few meters below the former site of Seville’s 1992 World Expo, a promising climate experiment blending ancient technology and modern science is underway. Rows of black pipes run along the ceiling and down the bare concrete walls. These, in turn, connect to bright blue and green tubes and enormous silver pumps. In a control room to the side, an array of monitors display the heat, humidity and wind speed above. “We have deployed several types of cooling systems here, each one used depending on climatic conditions,” says Maria de la Paz Montero Gutiérrez, a researcher at the University of Seville, from down in the building’s bowels where she is helping supervise th…

McDonald’s limited-time McRib sandwich is a cultural icon. And like any item of its ilk, it’s divisive. On the one hand, the saucy, vaguely rib-esque boneless pork sandwich has a fan base so dedicated that it’s inspired its own Reddit megathread, merch, and a website called the McRib Locator. But on the other, the McRib has long been critiqued for its off-putting form factor and dubious ingredients. Now, a new class action lawsuit is asking the question that’s always plagued the sandwich: Is the McRib actually rib? The lawsuit, which was filed on December 23, 2025, in the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that McDonald’s has purposefully been misleading cust…

A child-size table and small chairs make up the centerpiece of a playroom. It’s where children do crafts, host tea parties for their dolls, play hide-and-seek, and build forts. So it makes sense that people buy a lot of them: By 2030, Americans will spend an estimated $12 billion on play tables. [Photo: Bauen] The market is flooded with sets, ranging from inexpensive ones like Ikea’s $50 version to more design-forward varieties like Lalo’s $300 set. Still, husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Lynn and Cassidy Rouse believe there’s room in the market for a better-designed version. More specifically, they wanted to create a set that was indestructible, easy to assemble, us…

Imagine that you pull up to a skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan. You step out of the car and walk into the lobby, where the staff greets you by name and ushers you to an elevator. Upstairs, another staff member brings you coffee just the way you like it, minutes after you arrive. A barber is on hand to give you a fresh shave before an important Zoom call, and afterwards, you drop by a caviar tasting that’s happening in the shared lounge. Amid an interior of travertine, green marble, and glass, a dedicated hospitality team and concierge service wants to make sure clients don’t waste time with the “little frictions” of everyday life. This “sanctuary” might sound like one …

After two years of declines, United States greenhouse gas emissions increased in 2025—a change driven by increased electricity use, due in part to data centers and cryptocurrency mining, as well as cold winter temperatures that meant homes required more heating. Emissions increased 2.4% in 2025, according to preliminary data from the research firm Rhodium Group. That’s higher than the country’s GDP growth, which increased by a projected 1.9%. That the country’s emissions grew more than its GDP is notable: Climate experts have long noted that it’s both possible and necessary to reduce emissions while still growing the economy. And for the past few years, the U.S. h…