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TurboTax has a new flagship—its first foray into physical retail—in SoHo. The warm, welcoming Japandi-styled space on the corner of Broadway and Grand is adorned with plants, plush sofas, and a 30-foot-long screen on a curved slatted oak wall that displays color fields. Up front, there’s a sensory dome with chromatherapy-inspired lights and a soothing soundscape piped into the area and in the back there’s a coffee bar. It reads more like the lobby of a wellness hotel than a tax store. The entire space, designed by Gensler, is meant to be an antidote to the negative sentiments associated with doing your taxes—the cocktail of fear, uncertainty, and doubt millions of Am…

The Most Interesting Man is set to make a return to television. In a marketing push that kicks off with a new 60-second spot airing on ESPN during the College Football Championship Game, Heineken’s Dos Equis has rehired Jonathan Goldsmith to play the Most Interesting Man, closing the ad with a familiar, iconic line. “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I still prefer Dos Equis.” That copy, the return of Goldsmith, and even the original campaign’s Western-themed instrumental music were all elements of what felt like “some magic that we need to bring back,” says Alison Payne, chief marketing officer of Heineken USA in an interview with Fast Company. Payne, who…

Everything from coffee to a used car is more expensive these days, and now your music streaming service is too. Spotify announced this week that it will raise prices for U.S. subscribers – again. Spotify Premium plans will jump up to $12.99 from $11.99 starting with the next billing date. The streamer last increased prices for U.S. users in 2024 after a decade-plus run of charging $9.99 for ad-free listening on its premium individual streaming plan. The main individual plan isn’t the only Spotify subscription getting a price hike. Discounted student plans are getting bumped up to $6.99 from $5.99, the Duo two-person plan will go to $18.99 from $16.99 and the stre…

In two years, there could be a space station orbiting the moon. NASA’s Gateway Lunar Space Station, set to launch as early as 2027, will support the Artemis IV and V moon missions and, eventually, be a jumping-off point for missions to Mars. And maybe, one day, a colony. But before any of that can happen, the Gateway will need a power source—a powerful one, at that. The challenge is getting that energy supply into orbit the way anything reaches space: in the nose cone of a rocket. Gateway’s power will come from a pair of blankets of photovoltaic cells, known as Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSAs). Each is roughly the size of a football end zone, and together they’ll pro…

The Justice Department’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has brought heightened attention to a key drama that will play out at the central bank in the coming months: Will Powell leave the Fed when his term as chair ends, or will he take the unusual step of remaining a governor? Powell’s term as Fed chair finishes on May 15, but because of the central bank’s complex structure, he has a separate term as one of seven members of its governing board that lasts until January 31, 2028. Historically, nearly all Fed chairs have stepped down from the board when they are no longer chair. But Powell could be the first in nearly 50 years to stay on as a governo…

Taco Bell is saying “new year, new offerings” with the launch of its “Luxe Value Menu.” From Friday, January 16, the fast food chain will offer 10 items for $3 or less. Initially, only Taco Bell Rewards members can access the new menu using the Taco Bell app or by checking in through the drive thru or in-store kiosk. The Luxe Value Menu will be available to all Taco Bell customers from Thursday, January 22. However, starting 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 27, Taco Bell will give 30,000 Rewards members a new menu item for just $1. The deal is first come, first served, exclusively through the app. What’s on the new Taco Bell Luxe Value Menu? The 10 menu ite…

By the time they get into their 20s, every generation seems to have nostalgia for one year from their teenage years. For people in my generation (Gen X), that year is usually cited as 1994—the final year before the internet really started taking hold. But if a recent trend on TikTok is anything to go by, the year Gen Z is most nostalgic for is 2016. Here’s what you need to know. ‘2026 is the new 2016’ In recent days, TikTok has been flooded with variations of the phrase “2026 is the new 2016.” Along with the phrase, TikTokers are posting throwback pictures to when they were younger, listening to songs popular a decade ago, and reminiscing about how t…

The sonic backdrop of the Twin Cities in 2026 is a cacophony. As thousands of ICE agents raid residential neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, and businesses, they’re trailed by the ambient noise of piercing sirens, whirring helicopters, and screeching whistles at all hours of the day, along with the occasional boom of flashbang grenades and the odd cry for help. Conspicuously silent in all the commotion, however, are major corporations that are headquartered in Minnesota. It’s a list that includes some of the most well-known consumer-facing brands in the country, including Target, Best Buy, and Land O’Lakes—all of which have an obvious direct stake in the comm…

If you’re planning to hit up a movie over the long weekend, you’re in luck. Going to the theater will be a bit cheaper for two days, as long as you believe popcorn is a must-have movie accessory. That’s because Cinemark, in partnership with Lowes, is celebrating National Popcorn Day, which falls on Mon. Jan. 19, with a reprise of last year’s Bring Your Own Bucket (BYOB) event. To celebrate, select Cinemark theaters will let you bring a bucket (any bucket) to fill to the brim on the 18th and 19th for just five bucks. And yes, they really mean any bucket. Per the announcement, Cinemark says, “Get creative with it—any container can be a bucket, including a Lowe’s 5-…

I told myself I won’t check emails until I check off my “one thing” to do for the day. I couldn’t do it. I always reach for the phone in the morning. Willpower wasn’t enough. The brain is wired to take the path of least resistance. Fighting it every day with willpower won’t work. These days I use systems. I work with rituals. I get my most important tasks (MIT) done between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. I schedule my MIT’s the night before. And get straight to work at the scheduled time. Ninety percent of the time at the same place. I’ve done it for so long, I do it on autopilot now. My three-hour block means no motivation required. I’m not relying on willpower to stay “producti…

How can you keep your brain agile and young throughout your life, even as you get older? By spending time on creative pursuits as often as you can. That’s the fascinating finding of a study by researchers from Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez in Chile and Trinity College in Ireland, among others. As the study’s authors note, earlier studies have shown a connection between creative activities such as playing a musical instrument and improved brain health. They wanted to know just how creativity affects brain health. So they first recruited more than 1,200 healthy people as controls, and then compared them with 1,467 research participants who spent at least some of their time …

For a long time, I told myself I was choosing stability. I was working at a prestigious university, doing work that mattered, surrounded by smart people. The role had legitimacy and the paycheck came on the same day, in the same amount, every month. The path forward was clear and the structure well-defined. At that point in my life—raising very young kids—that predictability felt not just comforting, but necessary. My work mattered, and it held up easily when I described it to others. I could justify why staying made sense. And yet, I was unhappy. Not in a dramatic, crisis-driven way. There was no single bad boss or catastrophic moment that forced my hand. I…

Most American presidents aspire to the kind of greatness that prompts future generations to name important things in their honor. Donald The President isn’t leaving it to future generations. As the first year of his second term wraps up, his Republican administration and allies have put his name on the U.S. Institute of Peace, the Kennedy Center performing arts venue and a new class of battleships. That’s on top of the “The President Accounts” for tax-deferred investments, the The PresidentRx government website soon to offer direct sales of prescription drugs, the “The President Gold Card” visa that costs at least $1 million and the The President Route for Internationa…

Put down Wordle. New brain-exercise-for-the-day just dropped. “Can you read 900 words per minute?” a viral post that has been doing the rounds on X, challenges. “Try it.” If you made it to 600 words per minute, that’s more than twice the speed of the average reader. If you made it to 900, congratulations—according to some back-of-the-napkin math, that makes you 278% faster than the national average (which is 238 words per minute). By that same logic, it could take you around 40 seconds to read this 600ish word article. But should it? As one X user pointed out, “this is like brainrot for reading.” Or as Jane Ollis, medical biochemist and founder at AI-pow…

When you think of tools for studying substance use and addiction, a social media site like Reddit, TikTok, or YouTube probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the stories shared on social media platforms are offering unprecedented insights into the world of substance use. In the past, researchers studying peoples’ experiences with addiction relied mostly on clinical observations and self-reported surveys. But only about 5% of people diagnosed with a substance use disorder seek formal treatment. They are only a small sliver of the population who have a substance use disorder—and until recently, there has been no straightforward way to capture the experien…

Big city or small town? Tourist trap or undiscovered sights? Following an itinerary or spontaneous exploring? Travel has become a trend as generations raised on social media catch flights, not feelings. But Gen Z and millennials may also be redefining travel—all in the search of a more authentic adventure. Hidden-gem locations and no-stress getaways are top of the list for young travelers. It’s a shift from the kinds of bucket-list destinations that have saturated Instagram and TikTok and fueled an overtourism crisis in recent years. As traveler-favorite towns are combatting high influxes of visitors, some travelers are looking to new horizons. They’re …

If a City is going to operate a multimodal transportation system, then it helps to understand the motivations of people who continue to choose personal cars for their short trips. Bicycle advocates often talk about this in terms of “bike trips not taken” because of a lack of quality infrastructure. Survey after survey shows that many people opt out of cycling because of gaps in the bike lane network, busy intersections to cross, or other real or perceived pain points. And case study after case study shows that when cities create comfortable and convenient bike infrastructure, more people choose to ride bikes. There’s a similar issue with public transportation tha…

Social media companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia since the country banned use of the platforms by those under 16, officials said. “We stared down everybody who said it couldn’t be done, some of the most powerful and rich companies in the world and their supporters,” communications minister Anika Wells told reporters on Friday. “Now Australian parents can be confident that their kids can have their childhoods back.” The figures, reported to Australia’s government by 10 social media platforms, were the first to show the scale of the landmark ban since it was enacted in December over fears about…

Almost 1 million Frigidaire minifridges are being recalled because they pose the potential to catch fire, according to a notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released on Thursday. The notice expands an earlier recall from 2024. Canada-based Curtis International is recalling another 330,000 minifridges, on top of the 634,000 minifridges it recalled back in July of 2024. The company has received at least six reports of the model EFMIS121 minifridges catching fire, with property damages, per the CPSC notice. The minfridges were sold exclusively at Target stores nationwide and online at Target.com from January 2020 through October 2023, for a…

For a moment, Eric Adams was riding high. Fresh off trips to Dubai and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the now jobless ex-mayor of New York City was back in Times Square on Monday to announce his first initiative as a private citizen: a new cryptocurrency coin that would also serve to beat back antisemitism and “anti-Americanism.” “We’re about to change the game,” he promised, without describing how, exactly, the digital asset would support those lofty ambitions. “This thing is going to take off like crazy.” But after surging to a nearly $600 million valuation within minutes of its launch, the new coin, dubbed NYC Token, went into free fall, losing nearly 75…

Rumors are circulating of potential strike action next month from CorePower Yoga instructors, who say they are paid less per hour than the cost of a single class drop-in fee. CorePower Yoga has a cult following online, particularly for their Hot Sculpt classes, and currently has more than 200 locations across the US. But in the r/Corepower subreddit, a recent post urges members to pause or quit their membership to show support for instructors, who are fighting for fair wages and cleaner studios. “If you can stomach it to pause or quit your membership, it will benefit you as a consumer as well as the instructors who are paid on average $16/hour to teach and who a…

As protests in Iran intensify, satellite technology has become one of the only ways for people in the country to circumvent a total internet blackout and heavy restrictions on phone service. Now, as a number of people in the country turn to SpaceX—the company now providing free access to Starlink—there are growing calls for Apple to get involved, too. At least one member of Congress has now reached out to Apple urging the company to turn on satellite texting in Iran. The office of Rep. Buddy Carter, a Republican from Georgia, confirmed to Fast Company that they’d been in touch with Apple about opening up satellite messaging—which lets iPhone users send messages even w…

A major fast food franchisee has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The franchisee, Sailormen Inc., operates 130 Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen locations in Florida, and like the franchisees of other big-name fast food chains in recent years, has faced numerous economic headwinds. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? On January 15, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee Sailormen Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. Sailormen has been a Popeyes franchisee since the 1980s, and it currently operates 130 locations of the popular fried chicken chain. The conditio…

Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday. Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports coming into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1%, growing to about 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its total tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from 84% to about 15%, he told reporters. “Our relationship has progressed in recent months with China. It is more predictable and you see results comi…

Quickfire question: Who, in a business, should be responsible for AI? Most of us would assume the tech side of an organization should hold the bag: the CTO, CIO, CDO, CMO or perhaps even a new chief AI officer. And while this direction certainly made sense in the early wave of AI adoption—when it was still a mere tool—the rise of agentic AI (read: autonomous, intelligent agents that behave less like gadgets and more like colleagues) forces us to rethink our assumptions. Which means we should be asking whether AI should be treated as a technology or as a member of the team. And if it’s the latter, is HR actually the role best positioned to oversee it? WHY HR IS…