What's on Your Mind?

Spending just 36 minutes listening to your own brain waves, over four sessions, can reduce stress and anxiety, according to a new study by neuroscientists at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Published in the journal Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health, the study looked at how to reduce stress-related symptoms in 144 healthcare workers with moderate-to-high levels of perceived stress. The healthcare workers were placed in two groups: one that received four sessions of a sound-based relaxation intervention over two weeks, and another that was put on a control group waitlist. The workers spent a little over half an hour relaxing in a …

Data shows that workers and bosses are already at war over where to work, with management demanding more days in the office and employees trying to buck these mandates. But according to a recent report, a new front has opened in the battle over workplace flexibility. It centers not on where employees work but when. When videoconferencing company Owl Labs surveyed 2,000 U.S. workers for its 2025 State of Hybrid Work report, almost half reported they did not have enough flexibility in regard to when they worked. What kind of flexibility were they hoping to get? Something that Owl Labs calls “microshifting.” You may know it simply as breaking up your day as you see …

Stocks are drifting near their record heights on Wall Street Wednesday, while the price of gold falls again to trim more off its tremendous gain for the year. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading and is sitting just underneath its all-time high, which was set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 65 points, or 0.1%, coming off its own record. The Nasdaq composite was 0.3% lower, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time. Bank stocks were holding relatively steady after Capital One Financial, Western Alliance Bancorp and others reported stronger profits for the summer than analysts expected. The report from Western Alliance was particularly welcome af…

The Louvre in Paris reopened on Wednesday, three days after thieves made off with historic jewellery worth an estimated 88 million euros ($102 million) in a spectacular heist that has raised urgent questions over security lapses at the museum. Visitors queued to enter through the Louvre’s glass pyramid for the first time since Sunday’s brazen robbery, in which hooded assailants broke through a second-floor window using a stolen movers’ lift before making off with jewels from the royal collection. Later on Wednesday the museum’s director will appear before the French Senate to answer lawmakers’ questions. The Galerie d’Apollon, the ornate gilded hall that was r…

Cable giant Charter Communications is laying off close to 1,200 employees, or just over 1% of its 95,000-person workforce, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. The job cuts will be related to corporate management positions within the company and will not impact sales or service roles, the source said, adding that the layoffs are intended to streamline operations. Charter follows other media and cable peers that are trimming their workforce. Last month, Reuters reported exclusively that Comcast was planning to cut jobs at its biggest unit, housing broadband and pay TV, to centralize operations. Newly merged Paramount Skydance will begin ma…

“What?!” That single word is the most frequent reaction Aasiyah Abdulsalam gets when she tells people about her company, Renatural, which makes wigs with no lace. The surprise stems from the fact that most commercial wigs today are built with a lace base—a lightweight mesh cap that mimics the scalp but is really scratchy and only comes in a limited palette of colors. Instead of lace, Abdulsalam has designed a proprietary silicone band to anchor the wig without visible mesh. After launching the Wig Fix three years ago and selling 80,000 units in her first year, she decided to expand from simply supplying an accessory to reinventing the wig itself. Launching tod…

Don’t look now, but meme stock mania appears to be back with a vengeance this week. This time around, Beyond Meat, Inc. (Nasdaq: BYND) and Krispy Kreme, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNUT) are the two main stocks getting all the attention from meme investors. Here’s what you need to know. Beyond Meat shares skyrocket again On Monday, Fast Company reported on the surging share price of Beyond Meat, the producer of plant-based meat alternatives. The company started the trading week by enjoying a stock price surge of more than 67% in premarket trading that day. But far from any change in the company’s financial fundamentals, what seemed to be driving shares higher were short…

For many, picking up a controller at the end of a long day to neutralize some zombies or take on a side quest with a fairy is a way to unwind and escape from the demands of work. But it might also have some unexpected benefits that follow you from the character select screen and into the office. A new report from the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) finds that the motivations behind gaming go far beyond fun. While 66% of the more than 24,000 players in 21 countries surveyed say they play primarily for enjoyment, the majority credit gaming with developing real-world skills, like problem-solving, teamwork, adaptability, and critical thinking. All useful tr…

Fast-food companies, beware: Gas stations and convenience stores are coming for your customers. Fireside Market, a Wisconsin convenience store chain, announced a new store concept in Slinger, Wisconsin, designed to sell more burgers and less gas. It has a drive-through, curbside pickup area, and gourmet menu items—and it’s a model of the convenience store of the future. Fireside Market’s burger and sandwich menu is several steps up from the outdated idea of day-old taquitos spinning on a rotating food warmer at the local convenience store. Instead, its menu has items like a burger topped with bacon, pastrami, and balsamic-onion jam, and a grilled-salmon sandwich. …

Iceland has long been known as the only habitable place in the world free from mosquitoes. (Antarctica is also mosquito-free, but is not habitable to humans). The Nordic country has been spared from the insects in part because of its intense winters and oceanic climate—until now. Mosquitoes have been found in Iceland for the first time this month, a sign of how our warming world is enabling the pesky and downright deadly insects to expand their range. An insect enthusiast in Kjós named Björn Hjaltason posted about his discovery in a Facebook group that translates to “Insects in Iceland,” multiple Icelandic news outlets have reported. “Ladies and gentlemen—may I i…

Robert Redford’s legacy and mission were always going to be a key component of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, which will be the last of its kind in Park City, Utah. But in the wake of his death in Septemberat age 89, those ideas took on a new significance. This January, the institute that Redford founded over 40 years ago, plans to honor his career and impact with and a screening of his first truly independent film, the 1969 sports drama “Downhill Racer,” and a series of legacy screenings of restored Sundance gems from “Little Miss Sunshine” to “House Party,” festival organizers said Tuesday. “As we were thinking about how best to honor Mr. Redford’s legacy, it’…

The Coca-Cola Co. said sales of premium beverages and mini cans helped boost its third-quarter results despite tepid demand in the U.S. and elsewhere. The Atlanta beverage giant said Tuesday it continues to see a divergence among consumers in North America and Europe, with higher-income buyers opting for its more expensive brands like Smartwater, Topo Chico, and Fairlife, while middle- and lower-income consumers are under more pressure. Henrique Braun, Coke’s chief operating officer, said the company has focused on affordability by shrinking package sizes and leaning into sales of mini cans. Earlier this month, Coke announced it will sell individual, 7.5-ounce min…

Taylor Swift is an economic force all on her own. The superstar’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce brought not only eyeballs to his games but a monetary boost to the city overall. Thanks to her Eras tour, Swifties spent an estimated $5 billion across the country. And most recently, she spurred fans to give more than $2 million in donations to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s sea otter program—just by wearing an old t-shirt. Earlier this month, Swift launched her “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” movie, an 89-minute film tied to the release of her latest album. It was only shown in theaters for three days. Eagle-eyed fans notice…

OpenAI has released a new web browser, the company’s latest bid to become consumers’ chief gateway to the web. The new browser, called ChatGPT Atlas, will initially be available on macOS on the desktop. Versions for Windows, iOS, and Android are coming soon, OpenAI says. OpenAI worked hard to build as many AI-driven features into Atlas as possible. For example, Atlas learns the user’s browsing history and, in some cases, can make content suggestions proactively. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that this first version of the browser is just the start, pledging to add “way more stuff that we will tell you about later” and adding that the company “can take thi…

My friend turned to me the other day with a sly smirk and whispered, “Are you also part of Group 7?” I shook my head, unsure of what she meant—feeling left out of whatever secret club she was referring to. It didn’t take long for the algorithm to catch up with me. Within a few hours, my For You Page on TikTok was flooded, and before I knew it, I, too, was officially part of the internet’s newest inside joke. “Group 7” began as a simple experiment by musician Sophia James, who wanted to promote her new song So Unfair—and experiment with the quirky nature of TikTok’s algorithm. TikTok’s For You Page, or FYP, described by the Guardian as “uncannily good at predi…

Netflix missed Wall Street’s third-quarter earnings targets because of an unexpected expense from a dispute with Brazilian tax authorities, while it offered a forecast a touch ahead of Wall Street projections for the rest of the year. The report failed to impress investors accustomed to fast-paced growth from the streaming video pioneer. Shares of Netflix, which had risen 39% this year ahead of the earnings report, fell 6.3%, to $1,163.80, in after-hours trading on Tuesday. Netflix posted net income of $2.5 billion and diluted earnings per share of $5.87 for July through September, a period when the animated K-Pop Demon Hunters became the most-watched movie in Net…

Seeking a flatter management structure is a leadership trend you could compare to fashion’s craze for skinny jeans—trendy yesterday, forgotten tomorrow, then back in fashion again before you know it. Recently, big tech firms like Meta, Microsoft, and Google made headlines for cutting management positions to lower costs and increase productivity—turning some of their workloads over to AI tools. But a new survey from San Francisco-based workplace communications outfit Firstup shows that eliminating too many management jobs can have some unexpected effects on the way your teams work, sometimes damaging employee engagement, which undermines productivity. This is definitel…

In 2022, Elisha Zepeda had given up on becoming a designer and was working as a barista at an Oregon bookstore. Today, he’s a salaried book cover designer at Penguin Random House and an in-demand freelance designer—and it’s all thanks to one TikTok video. Zepeda spent four years at California State University working for his school’s marketing department. After he graduated in 2018, though, he faced a problem that’s become commonplace for job seekers today: No one in the design industry seemed to be hiring. So he started working as a barista at a local bookstore with a coffee shop. While organizing the shop’s books into categories by color palette and typography, he b…

In July, President The President signed an executive order aimed at expanding access to alternative investments like private equity and cryptocurrency in retirement accounts. The move reflects a broader shift in how Americans think about wealth building and financial freedom, and it is a signal to employers that the future of employee benefits is going to look very different. While crypto may have once seemed fringe or speculative, digital assets have steadily moved into the mainstream. From Fortune 100 companies to institutional investors, the appetite for diversification beyond traditional asset classes is growing. According to a survey by NYDIG, 36% of employees ag…