What's on Your Mind?

Gen Z came of age in an environment that previous generations couldn’t have imagined when we entered the workforce. They’ve never known the world without the internet or cellphones. Their education and early career paths were disrupted by a global pandemic that kept them at home, learning and working over a screen. They’ve been learning digital skills their entire lives. It’s no wonder that their perspective on work is different than ours—and it’s time for us to pay attention. With the aging U.S. workforce, we need to attract and retain Gen Z talent for our companies to thrive—and this means a focus on skills-first hiring. Gen Z wants employers to value the skills…

Starting today, if you call an Uber in Austin you can match with a self-driving Waymo vehicle. The launch in the Texas capital is part of an expanded partnership between the two tech companies. Waymo’s autonomous vehicles are already available on the Uber platform in Phoenix, and the companies plan to launch next in Atlanta. “With Waymo’s technology and Uber’s proven platform, we’re excited to introduce our customers to a future of transportation that is increasingly electric and autonomous,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. Austin riders who request an UberX, Uber Green, Uber Comfort or Uber Comfort Electric can be matched with a Waymo all-e…

When it comes to airports, travelers tend to fall into two camps. There are the anxious types who show up four hours early, with plenty of time to leisurely peruse duty-free and enjoy the airport lounge. And then there are those who breeze into the airport with 45 minutes to spare, hoping for the best. But a viral trend on TikTok, dubbed “airport theory,” would put even that latter group’s nerves to the test. The theory suggests arriving at the airport just 15 minutes before your flight to clear security. The concept has taken off online, racking up 400 million views. Unsurprisingly, it’s already led to plenty of missed flights. “It is currently 9:24, and my fligh…

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you carefully laid out all the context for your manager, only to have them cut you off? Or maybe you’ve found you’re eager to dive into the tactical details of a project while they keep steering the conversation back to vision. These moments can leave you frustrated and confused. You’re doing what seems logical, yet somehow it’s not landing. The good news is that these disconnects usually aren’t about your competency or the quality of your ideas— they’re about different styles. Studies have found that two primary dimensions shape how people communicate and approach their interactions at work. The first is dominanc…

Microsoft employees stream down a hallway by the dozen, smartphones and paper coffee cups in hand, many clad in heavy coats on this frigid February morning. The setting is idyllic—Lake Washington is in full view through floor-to-ceiling windows—but they stride purposefully. As they do, they pass a digital sign with a tersely worded call to action: All squads ship Competing/differentiating Growing work every sprint to double Successful Sessions ABS (Always Be Shipping) Despite the profusion of Microsofties on the premises, this isn’t Microsoft’s sprawling Redmond campus. Instead, these staffers have taken over a Hyatt hotel in Renton, another Seattle su…

For filmmakers with a fondness for certain fonts, using them frequently enough in their work can turn typography into a sort of signature. See the typeface in a film, and you know exactly who the director is. Wes Anderson has an obsession with Futura, while John Carpenter set his film credits in Albertus, a formal serif. Papyrus is now synonymous with James Cameron’s Avatar franchise, and more than 40 of Woody Allen’s films use Windsor. For director Sean Baker, whose comedy-drama Anora won the 2025 Oscar for Best Picture and netted him the Academy Award for Best Director, his font of choice is the tall, narrow, decorative Aguafina Script. Created by type desig…

When Netflix was finally ready to bring back its massive international hit TV series Squid Game for Season 2 after a three-year hiatus, it had a unique marketing challenge: remind people why they fell in love with a Korean action drama that revolves around a murderous contest. Approximately 39 months had passed since the debut of Squid Game took the world by storm with its coordinated green tracksuits, Pink Guards, and twisted takes on children’s games. The first season exploded to the surprise of everyone, becoming a global pop culture sensation. Back in 2021, Netflix marketing outside Asia was largely reactive to what audiences were excited about. This time, there …

Meta’s Messenger has a new logo set in Facebook blue. The instant messaging app dropped the multicolor gradient used in its previous logo for a solid blue that matches the shade used by Meta’s flagship app. Some small, subtle refinements were also made to the lightning-bolt shape inside the Messenger logo’s word-bubble mark. Secondary versions of the logo appear in black or white. “We often refine our designs to enhance the look and feel of our products,” a Meta spokesperson tells Fast Company. “In this spirit, you’ll find that we’ve updated the Messenger color palette.” Online, some suggested the change was made because of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comment t…

A new consensus is growing within the scientific community about climate change: The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050, as set out in the Paris Agreement, is probably out of reach. We’ve already experienced the first full calendar year beyond this threshold, with last year’s global average temperature being 1.6 C higher than that of the preindustrial era. And while a single year at this level isn’t enough to confirm without a doubt that the Paris goal is a goner, several recent scientific papers have come to the same unsettling conclusion that a new era of warming has already begun. How hot will things get within our lifetimes? The answer…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency faces a legal challenge after approving a controversial plan to include radioactive waste in a road project late last year. The Center for Biological Diversity filed the challenge last month in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals under the Clean Air Act. The advocacy group says the federal agency has prohibited the use of phosphogypsum, a radioactive, carcinogenic, and toxic waste generated by the fertilizer industry, in road construction since 1992, citing an “unacceptable level of risk to public health.” The legal challenge is centered on a road project proposed at the New Wales facility of Mosaic Fertilizer, a subsidi…

We’re exposed to microplastics in myriad ways: Those tiny, degraded bits of plastic are in our soil, our water, even in our air. They then get into our bodies, lodging themselves in our organs—including our brains. An adult human brain can contain about a spoon’s worth of microplastics and nanoplastics, recent research found—not a spoonful, but the same weight as a disposable plastic spoon. That amount was higher—by seven to 30 times—than the amount of microplastics found in other organs, such as livers or kidneys. The concentrations were even higher (by three to five times) in individuals diagnosed with dementia. And even more concerning, experts say, is how these l…

Female streamers are being told to hire security after a spate of recent attacks. Popular Twitch stars Valkyrae, Cinna, and Emiru were out in public at the Santa Monica Pier on March 2 as part of their “sisathon” streaming marathon, when a man lunged toward them, saying, “I’ll kill you right now.” The streamers called for help from security as the man chased them before the stream turned off. He had tracked their location using the live broadcast and earlier had gotten down on one knee, proposed to the three streamers, and asked one for her phone number, which she refused. Issuing an update later that evening on X, Cinna posted, “Hey everyone we are safe. Unfort…

After more than eight decades in operation, craft retailer Joann is going out of business, closing all 800 of its stores and laying off 19,000 employees. The news comes after the retailer’s restructuring plans failed and a liquidator opted to purchase its assets. Joann is far from the only retailer in its death throes these days. Recent data shows that the number of retail-store closures is expected to double during 2025, to roughly 15,000 from the 7,300 or so in 2024. Accordingly, Joann is in a similar boat to companies such as Red Lobster, Big Lots, and Party City, which have each announced plans to either completely close up shop or enact big restructuring in …

Serena Williams is joining the ownership group of the WNBA’s first Canadian franchise, the Toronto Tempo, the team announced Monday. She will partner with Larry Tanenbaum, Chairman of Kilmer Sports Ventures for the Tempo, who will begin play in the 2026 season. “I am thrilled to announce my ownership role in the first Canadian WNBA team, the Toronto Tempo,” said Williams. “This moment is not just about basketball; it is about showcasing the true value and potential of female athletes — I have always said that women’s sports are an incredible investment opportunity. I am excited to partner with Larry and all of Canada in creating this new WNBA franchise and legacy.…

U.S. grocer Kroger said on Monday CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after a board investigation found that his personal conduct was “inconsistent” with certain company policies. The conduct is not related to financial performance, operations or reporting, and it did not involve any Kroger associates, the company said. The surprise ouster of the 64-year-old executive comes after the company in December terminated a two-year effort to buy rival Albertsons in a $25 billion deal, an attempt McMullen had staunchly defended as a way to fight higher prices and better compete with Walmart and Costco. Meanwhile, Albertsons has sued Kroger for an alleged breach of contra…

There’s more to winning than just winning. The way someone handles their tremendous success, after all, can transform a winner back into a loser—something Adrien Brody proved last night with a rambling, rule-defiant acceptance speech that managed to snatch reputational defeat from the jaws of career victory. With many of his peers gathered under one roof, and the whole world watching, he put on a masterclass in how not to behave at work. Not only did Brody win his second best actor award last night—this one for The Brutalist, putting him in an elite class of multi-winners along with Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, and Marlon Brando—he also won a slot in the Guinness World …