What's on Your Mind?

You don’t wait for the sidewalk. You don’t check an app to see if it’s working. You don’t wonder if it’s meant for someone else. Sidewalks are just there—always available, always on. And when they’re well designed, you barely notice them. They quietly support everything: commerce, mobility, safety, health, and freedom of movement. Sidewalks don’t require instructions. They’re intuitive. Step on, move forward. That’s the framing we need for local bus service. A well-run bus system is an express sidewalk—a piece of infrastructure that dramatically expands the number of destinations within walking distance. Unfortunately, buses aren’t thought of that way. In most Ame…

As a potential TikTok ban looms in the United States (again), Substack is making (another) play for video creators to join its platform. Back in January, Substack CEO Chris Best wrote on his personal account that the company was “going to rescue the smart people from TikTok!” It seems he’s making good on that promise, as the company announced on Monday that it’s rolling out a scrollable video feed in its app. Given the timing of this TikTok-like launch, Substack appears eager to capitalize on the potential void left behind if TikTok is actually banned this time around. Substack first launched video in 2022, later introducing an in-app Media Tab in 2024. The latest…

The era of subway gate jumping could soon be over. By this fall, 20 stations across the New York City subway system will begin testing new gate systems that aim to make it all but impossible for someone to get through the gate to the subway platform without paying a fare. This week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced the planned piloting of four gate control systems as part of its effort to crack down on fare evasion in the subway system. The four systems will be installed in five stations each across the MTA’s subway network to test their effectiveness. In contrast to the conventional turnstile gates seen in many subway stations, the MTA’s …

The year is 2014, and I’m stuck in Ukraine. I have a particularly antsy mother who wasn’t keen on me visiting the country just weeks into Russia’s attempted invasion, and she is expecting me back home. In Odessa—hundreds of miles away from the Maidan and the nascent conflict—the worst example of war I’d seen was a heated snowball battle between those who wanted to remain Ukrainian and those who wanted to be Russian. The reason I’m stuck has nothing to do with Russia: It’s bad fog grounding flights at the tin hut airport I’m due to fly out of. But with no reliable phone communication back home, I know my family will put two and two together and make five. The probl…

Just a short drive outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, the quaint city of Kannapolis is seeing a rapid economic revival. The city, which was traditionally known for its textile mills, has recently transformed into a research hub in the for Southeast. And right in Kannapolis’s city center, less than a ten minute walk from the Georgian-style city hall, sits Atrium Health Ballpark: the home of the Minor League Baseball team known as the Cannon Ballers. Over the last five years, the Cannon Ballers have played an increasingly vital role in Kannapolis’s revitalization. Throughout the course of a season, the team’s total attendance is around 200,000 people—a number m…

Because hiring staff is typically a time-consuming and costly process, many companies are now opting to interview multiple candidates at once. The Society for Human Resource Management reported that group interviews have become increasingly popular among employers. For applicants, this changes the interview experience significantly. Instead of fielding questions about your résumé in a one-on-one setting, you’ve now got to vie for a role alongside other applicants and take part in real-world workplace scenarios designed to showcase your leadership skills. Tech companies and brands such as Disney, Starbucks, and The Gap are choosing to adopt the trend. Not only can…

On the first Saturday of May, millions of Americans tune in to the Kentucky Derby to watch horses and their jockeys compete on the Churchill Downs racetrack in America’s longest-running sporting event. The Derby has been held annually on the same racetrack since 1875; it’s an event largely built on tradition. Horse racing viewers tend to skew older, but this year, Churchill Downs is looking to modernize the event for new viewers by embracing old traditions while also introducing brand partnerships that appeal to Generation Z. Casey Ramage, Churchill Downs’ vice president of marketing, brand, and partnerships, says the Kentucky Derby is a “cultural moment” for eve…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. Zillow economists have an economic model called the Zillow Market Heat Index, designed to assess the competitiveness of housing markets nationwide. This model evaluates factors like home price fluctuations, inventory levels, days on market, and buyer demand to produce a score that indicates whether a market is hot (benefiting sellers) or cool (benefiting buyers). A higher score indicates a hotter metro-level housing market where sellers have more power. A lower score indicates a colder metro-level housing market where buyers have more power. Acco…

On the morning of March 20, Mathew Roberts was working at a chemical plant on the outskirts of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when he was involved in an accident with a forklift. Unresponsive and in critical condition, the father of two and Iraq War veteran known for his big laugh and warm smile was taken from the Nutrien nitrogen plant to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident, along with local law enforcement, but Roberts’s family members said they are still waiting for answers. The workplace death is not unusual in Louisiana, which has been ranked the sixth-most-dangerous s…

When we think of summer bags, we tend to think of big totes we can carry to the beach or a farmers market. But this year, bag designers are reimagining the summer staple as a piece of art you can carry around with you. They’re taking the seasonal materials we’re used to seeing—raffia, straw, wicker—and transforming them into beautiful, interesting shapes. They’re meant to do more than hold your phone; they’re designed to give you pleasure and start conversations. Here are our favorite sculptural bags of the season. Camilla Clutch Cult Gaia, $298 Cult Gaia first made a name for itself with a half-moon-shaped bamboo Ark bag, which went viral. Since then,…

Norman Foster has always treated technology as a form of expression. As one of the pioneers of high-tech architecture (along with his friend and colleague Richard Rogers), his buildings celebrate exposed structure, advanced engineering, and machine-age style. Think of the flashy steel trusses and tension rods of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank headquarters, the transparent spirals of the Reichstag dome in Berlin, or the diagonal frame of the elliptical Gherkin in London. His latest project, dubbed the Gateway to Venice’s Waterway, recently unveiled at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale, extends that tradition into electric mobility. Developed with Porsche and the …

Would you share the pages of your journal with a bunch of strangers, because that’s the idea behind social wellness app Exist. The new iOS social wellness app wants to turn journaling into a social experience. Originally designed with Gen Z in mind, Exist unexpectedly found its audience among middle-age users, with the average sign-up age landing at 40. Seeing this, the founders pivoted to focus on this group, creating a space for real, raw conversations about life’s challenges. Exist calls itself the edgier cousin of Calm and Headspace, but instead of solo meditation, it puts social journaling at the center of its mission. The app is built on the idea that heali…

Duolingo launched 148 new language classes that were built by generative AI, the company announced Wednesday. The move, which more than doubles it current language offering, comes as the gamified learning platform is facing criticism for replacing contract workers with artificial intelligence. “Developing our first 100 courses took about 12 years, and now, in about a year, we’re able to create and launch nearly 150 new courses. This is a great example of how generative AI can directly benefit our learners,” Duolingo CEO and cofounder Luis von Ahn said in a press release. “This launch reflects the incredible impact of our AI and automation investments, which have…

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…

In my decades of working in cybersecurity, I have never seen a threat quite like the one we face today. Anyone’s image, likeness, and voice can be replicated on a photorealistic level cheaply and quickly. Malicious actors are using this novel technology to weaponize our personhood in attacks against our own organizations, livelihoods, and loved ones. As generative AI technology advances and the line between real and synthetic content blurs even further, so does the potential risk for companies, governments, and everyday people. Businesses are especially vulnerable to the rise of applicant fraud—interviewing or hiring a phony candidate with the intent of breaching an o…

The images of Panera Bread’s new Croissant Clutch could be straight out of a fashion magazine. Highlighted against a warm, glowing orange-and-brown background, the accessory looks out of place in its web store alongside the company’s Mac N’ Cheese Pillow and “Just Baked” onesie. The fast-casual chain’s newest handbag—what it calls “carb couture”—is an insulated clutch that’s reminiscent of a croissant in both shape and fabrication, with pleats to evoke the buttery breakfast food’s flaky layers. According to Panera, it’s also the best possible way to carry around its new menu item, a melted, crispy croissant toasted sandwich, without it getting, well, too melty. It doe…