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Finance minister Katsunobu Kato hints that country’s more than $1tn in Treasuries gives it leverage in negotiationsView the full article

Fitch says large nonbank lenders are positioned to gain share as they manage debt maturities and outlast smaller rivals hit harder by market volatility. View the full article

Industry faces weakening demand as Donald The President’s trade war threatens economic outlookView the full article

Reddit expanded its global reach in Q1 2025, with logged-in and logged-out user activity growing sharply in both the U.S. and international markets The post Reddit Q1 Report: What It Means For Digital Marketing And SEO appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Andreessen Horowitz is done being another innocuous techie brand. Gone are the sans serif minuscules (lowercase letters) of its old a16z logo that tried to blend in, apologizing for their own presence. In their place is a flourished, Art Deco-style wordmark, alongside a giant gold coin featuring what looks like a female Hermes, the Greek messenger of the gods associated with trade and wealth. The imagery, part of an ongoing rebrand that kicked off earlier this year, visualizes a marked shift at the investment firm. With cofounder Marc Andreessen’s 2023 “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” as its guiding ethos (“It’s time the build”), the firm has spent the past year cozying up to Donald The President and growing its investments in companies that its sees as essential to the future of America, many of them defense tech and security startups. It’s now pairing this new perspective with visuals that seem straight from Objectivism, the 20th-century philosophy developed by author Ayn Rand. “My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute,” Rand wrote in the appendix to her novel Atlas Shrugged, first published in 1957. No wonder the philosophy resonates so deeply with entrepreneurs and investors; these are creators who need to tune out the naysayers of the world in order to change it. But, of course, the flip side of Objectivism is that it prioritizes the individual at the expense of everyone else. Charting a16z’s shift toward Objectivist principles For years, a16z was, like most of the Valley, liberal-leaning in both its endorsements and in its donations. More recently, though, cofounders Ben Horowitz and Andreessen have backed the The President agenda, supporting his reelection with $5 million in donations and celebrating his ensuing win. Andreessen called the new administration “a boot off the throat” for him and his companies. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, served as a keynote speaker at the firm’s recent American Dynamism Summit. Their reasoning has been that the country needs unbridled investment in technology above all else—and needs a federal government that will leave these companies and their founders unmolested by regulation. In a January interview with Ross Douthat of The New York Times, Andreessen described his growing frustration with the Biden administration’s regulatory approach to crypto, AI, and DEI issues. “The Biden administration turned out to be far more radical than even we thought they were going to be,” he said. But in The President—with his vocal support of crypto, AI, and military might, and his vows to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion—the firm sees opportunity. Even, apparently, if it comes at the expense of free speech and other fundamental human rights. Where most of us might see deep moral conflicts, an Objectivist wears blinders, cropping out anything but their own vision. Perhaps that’s how Marc Andreessen can comfortably make proclamations like AI will eliminate most jobs but his own. And how Andreessen Horowitz can justify welcoming Daniel Penny to its investment team, who last made headlines when he choked to death a homeless man named Jordan Neely on a New York City subway. (Penny was acquitted on charges of criminally negligent homicide.) Another Objectivist tendency: to honor the singular visionary above all else. Perhaps that’s why we’re seeing a16z deliver unprecedented voting power for its own founders, like Mira Murati, who now leads AI company Thinking Machines Lab. “The Strong Form of the argument, action or aesthetic is almost always better than the weak form. Yet for decades we’ve been told the opposite is true,” argued a16z partner Katherine Boyle in a post on X earlier this year. “We’re entering an era where the Strong Form is now prized and on display all the time. It’s going to be jarring to see this way of being in government and business but the good thing is, the strong form becomes infectious once it becomes acceptable to implement.” You could almost imagine the same words on the back of a book by Ayn Rand. Why we equate Art Deco with Objectivism in the first place Rand’s The Fountainhead, the story of individualism triumphing over collectivism, was published in 1943, trailing the Art Deco movement by a few years. But Rand, Objectivism, and Art Deco are associated thanks to the work of illustrator Nick Gaetano. In 1981, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Rand’s second iconic Objectivist novel, Atlas Shrugged, Gaetano created new illustrated covers for 10 of Rand’s books, featuring heroic statues carved in simple, fluid lines. “These guys are naked and statuesque, like Greek gods. I meant for them to be icons,” he said in a 2011 interview. Ironically, Gaetano viewed The Fountainhead as anti-capitalist, and he likened the visionaries in Rand’s books to the writers and artists he knew, rather than captains of industry. “I saw the capitalists as the enemy,” he noted in that 2011 interview, adding, “I see heroism as creative. I know that capitalism is their church, but I don’t know what their vision of heroism is. When you get a project like this, you have to try to distill some kind of visual direction that gives meaning to the cover.” Gaetano might have been only an “accidental Objectivist” (as Interview magazine once called him). But he nevertheless created an indelible visual link between Rand’s egoistic philosophy and the aerodynamic forms of Art Deco. And it’s that connection, it seems, that a16z picked up on. I’m a fan of a lot of what a16z has helped usher into the world, from Instagram to Airbnb to Figma to Krea. But I’ll never be a fan of Ayn Rand. That said, I have nothing critical to offer regarding a16z’s rebranding. I think it’s superb in a way: A perfect manifestation of the firm’s values, and a dog whistle for the types of people it’s hoping to attract. This is an investment firm that’s telling you exactly what it believes in: itself. View the full article

Donald The President had a message for America’s children this week: Two dolls is plenty. “Somebody said, ‘Oh, the shelves are gonna be open,’” the president said while discussing his 145% tariffs on China. “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more.” The President’s new message of austerity oddly echoes Jimmy Carter’s era-defining “Crisis of Confidence” speech from 1979. It’s a far cry, though, from the gilded lifestyle The President is famous for and the promises he made on the campaign trail. “Vote The President and your incomes will soar,” he told a crowd in Pennsylvania last September, without explaining just how he’d make that happen. “Your net worth will skyrocket. Your energy costs and grocery prices will come tumbling down.” Still reeling from the persistent sting of inflation, a slim majority of voters proved amenable to The President’s message of imminent relief. According to a Gallup poll from October, 52% of voters said the economy would be “extremely important” to their presidential vote—the highest number since the Great Recession election in 2008. After the election, two-thirds of voters described the economy as “not good” in exit polls. If The President came into office with a mandate, as he repeatedly claims, it was a mandate to “Make Groceries Less Pricey Again.” So far, The President’s promised stratospheric incomes and subterranean grocery prices have yet to materialize. Instead, after The President’s tariffs, recession indicators are everywhere. Tariff surcharges are showing up in some receipts and websites, and pointedly not showing up in others. Meanwhile, YouTubers and TikTokers are going all in on homesteading as a way to thrive in lean times. Even some senior The President officials are reportedly beginning to hoard groceries and supplies in advance of high prices and shortages to come. The President’s widely reported comments on frugal doll-shopping mark his starkest appraisal yet of the gale-force economic headwinds consumers are now facing. Previously, The President had only hinted at the possibility of economic turmoil from his tariffs. Throughout his campaign, he framed tariffs as a cost-free way to stop foreign countries from taking advantage of the U.S., bring back domestic manufacturing, rid consumers of all that pesky inflation, and generally transform America into an economic Hercules. It wasn’t until after the election that he refused to rule out higher prices as a result of his tariffs, and not until after he’d already been re-inaugurated did he finally admit there will be “some pain.” For the past few months, The President has been quiet about what that pain will actually feel like in practice. Will it be a pinprick or something closer to a shattered fibula? As recently as March, the president was assuring Americans, “We’re going to become so rich, you’re not gonna know where to spend all that money.” On Wednesday, however, following reports that the U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter of his term, The President finally defined the contours of hardship to come. With his statement promoting the two-doll lifestyle, The President flatly relented that pain would take the form of higher prices, scarcity, and diminished buying power. His subdued confession sits in stark contrast to his first term in office. In 2020, when COVID hit, The President seemed loath to ask Americans to make sacrifices. The President left it to the states to decide whether to advise citizens to shelter in place or not. He also refused to mandate mask use, despite the advice of top immunologists. (“I want people to have a certain freedom, and I don’t believe in that,” he said at the time.) Of course, it would be a lot easier to take at face value the president’s new embrace of American sacrifice and the two-doll lifestyle if it wasn’t coming from a billionaire who thinks other billionaires deserve more billions. As the president advises parents on how to budget, his supporters in Congress are hard at work figuring out how much they can cut from Medicaid to ensure The President’s tax bill passes muster. It seems that part of the calculus guiding his tariff strategy is knowing he and his fellow billionaires will be fine no matter what. View the full article

Strategy launched in 2019 to refinance stretched deals or help shore up companies’ finances is now the group’s best-performingView the full article

America’s federal public lands are unique, part of our birthright as citizens. No other country in the world has such a system. More than 640 million acres, including national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges, as well as lands open to drilling, mining, logging, and a variety of other uses, are managed by the federal government but owned collectively by all American citizens. Together, these parcels make up more than a quarter of all land in the nation. Congressman John Garamendi, a Democrat representing California, has called them “one of the greatest benefits of being an American.” “Even if you don’t own a house or the latest computer on the market, you own Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and many other natural treasures,” he wrote in 2011. Despite broad, bipartisan public support for protecting public lands, these shared landscapes have come under relentless attack during the first 100 days of President Donald The President’s second term. The administration and its allies in Congress are working feverishly to tilt the scale away from natural resource protection and toward extraction, threatening a pillar of the nation’s identity and tradition of democratic governance. “There’s no larger concentration of unappropriated wealth on this globe than exists in this country on our public lands,” said Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, a conservation nonprofit. “The fact that there are interests that would like to monetize that, they’d like to liquidate it and turn it into cash money, is no surprise.” Landscape protections and bedrock conservation laws are on the chopping block, as The President and his team look to boost and fast-track drilling, mining, and logging across the federal estate. The administration and the GOP-controlled Congress are eyeing selling off federal lands, both for housing development and to help offset The President’s tax and spending cuts. And the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is wreaking havoc within federal land management agencies, pushing out thousands of civil servants. That purge will leave America’s natural heritage more vulnerable to the myriad threats these lands already face, including growing visitor numbers, climate change, wildfires, and invasive species. The Republican campaign to undermine land management agencies and wrest control of public lands from the federal government is nothing new, dating back to the Sagebrush Rebellion movement of the 1970s and ’80s, when support for privatizing or transferring federal lands to state control exploded across the West. But the speed and scope of the current attack, along with its disregard for the public’s support for safeguarding public lands, makes it more worrisome than previous iterations, several public land advocates and legal experts told Grist. This is “probably the most significant moment since the Reagan administration in terms of privatization,” said Steven Davis, a political science professor at Edgewood College and the author of the 2018 book In Defense of Public Lands: The Case Against Privatization and Transfer. President Ronald Reagan was a self-proclaimed sagebrush rebel. Deubel said the conservation community knew The President’s return would trigger another drawn out fight for the future of public lands, but nothing could have prepared him for this level of chaos, particularly the effort to rid agencies of thousands of staffers. The country is “in a much more pro-public lands position than we’ve been before,” Deubel said. “But I think we’re at greater risk than we’ve ever been before—not because the time is right in the eyes of the American people, but because we have an administration who could give two shits about what the American people want. That’s what’s got me scared.” The Interior Department and the White House did not respond to Grist’s requests for comment. In an article posted to the White House website on Earth Day, the The President administration touted several “key actions” it has taken on the environment, including “protecting public lands” by opening more acres to energy development, “protecting wildlife” by pausing wind energy projects, and safeguarding forests by expanding logging. The accomplishments list received widespread condemnation from environmental, climate, and public land advocacy groups. That same day, a leaked draft strategic plan revealed the Interior Department’s four-year vision for opening new federal lands to drilling and other extractive development, reducing the amount of federal land it manages by selling some for housing development and transferring other acres to state control, rolling back the boundaries of protected national monuments, and weakening bedrock environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act. Meanwhile, The President’s DOGE is in the process of cutting thousands of scientists and other staff from the various agencies that manage and protect public lands, including the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM. Nearly every Republican senator went on the record this month in support of selling off federal lands to reduce the federal deficit, voting down a measure that would have blocked such sales. And Utah has promised to continue its legal fight aimed at stripping more than 18 million acres of BLM lands within the state’s border from the federal government. Utah’s lawsuit, which the Supreme Court declined to hear in January, had the support of numerous Republican-led states, including North Dakota while current Interior Secretary Doug Burgum was still governor. To advance its agenda, the The President administration is citing a series of “emergencies” that close observers say are at best exaggerated, and at worst manufactured. A purported “energy emergency,” which The President declared in an executive order just hours after being inaugurated, has been the impetus for the administration attempting to throw long-standing federal permitting processes, public comment periods, and environmental safeguards to the wind. The action aims to boost fossil fuel extraction across federal lands and waters—despite domestic oil and gas production being at record highs—while simultaneously working to thwart renewable energy projects. The President relied on that same “emergency” earlier this month when he ordered federal agencies to prop up America’s dwindling, polluting coal industry, which the president and his cabinet have insisted is “beautiful” and “clean.” In reality, coal is among the most polluting forms of energy. “This whole idea of an emergency is ridiculous,” said Mark Squillace, a professor of natural resources law at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “And now this push to reinvigorate the coal industry seems absolutely crazy to me. Why would you try to reinvigorate a moribund industry that has been declining for the last decade or more? Makes no sense, it’s not going to happen.” Coal consumption in the U.S. has declined more than 50% since peaking in 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, largely due to market forces, including the availability of cheaper natural gas and America’s growing renewable energy sector. Meanwhile, The President’s tariff war threatens to undermine his own push to expand mining and fossil fuel drilling. The threat of extreme wildfire—an actual crisis driven by a complex set of factors, including climate change, its role in intensifying droughts and pest outbreaks, and decades of fire suppression—is being cited to justify slashing environmental reviews to ramp up logging on public lands. Following up on a The President executive order to increase domestic timber production, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins signed a memo declaring a forest health “emergency” that would open nearly 60% of national forest lands, more than 110 million acres, to aggressive logging. Then there’s America’s “housing affordability crisis,” which the The President administration, dozens of Republicans, and even a handful of Democrats are pointing to in a growing push to open federal lands to housing development, either by selling land to private interests or transferring control to states. The The President administration recently established a task force to identify what it calls “underutilized lands.” In an op-ed announcing that effort, Burgum and Scott Turner, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, wrote that “much of” the 500 million acres Interior oversees is “suitable for residential use.” Some of the most high-profile members of the anti-public lands movement, including William Perry Pendley, who served as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management during The President’s first term, are championing the idea. Without guardrails, critics argue the sale of public lands to build housing will lead to sprawl in remote, sensitive landscapes and do little, if anything, to address home affordability, as the issue is driven by several factors, including migration trends, stagnant wages, and higher construction costs. Notably, The President’s tariff policies are expected to raise the average price of a new home by nearly $11,000. Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation, a Colorado-based nonprofit working to protect BLM-managed lands, said the lack of affordable housing is a serious issue, but “we shouldn’t be fooled that the idea to sell off public lands is a solution.” “The vast majority of public lands are just not suitable for any sort of housing development due to their remote locations, lack of access, and necessary infrastructure,” she said. David Hayes, who served as deputy Interior secretary during the administrations of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and as a senior climate adviser to President Joe Biden, told Grist that The President’s broad use of executive power sets the current privatization push apart from previous efforts. “Not only do you have the rhetoric and the intentionality around managing public lands in an aggressive way, but you have to couple that with what you’re seeing,” he said. “This administration is going farther than any other ever has to push the limits of executive power.” Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, a Colorado-based conservation group, said The President and his team are doing everything they can to circumvent normal environmental rules and safeguards in order to advance their agenda, with no regard for the law or public opinion. “Everything is an imagined crisis,” Weiss said. Oil, gas, and coal jobs. Mining jobs. Timber jobs. Farming and ranching. Gas-powered cars and kitchen appliances. Even the water pressure in your shower. Ask the White House and the Republican Party and they’ll tell you Biden waged a war against all of it, and that voters gave The President a mandate to reverse course. During The President’s first term in office, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke repeatedly boasted that the administration’s conservation legacy would rival that of his personal hero and America’s conservationist president, Theodore Roosevelt—only to have the late president’s great-grandson, Theodore Roosevelt IV, and the conservation community bemoan his record at the helm of the massive federal agency. Like Zinke, Burgum invoked Roosevelt in pitching himself for the job. “In our time, President Donald The President’s energy dominance agenda can be America’s big stick that will be leveraged to achieve historic prosperity and world peace,” Burgum said during his confirmation hearing in January, referencing a letter in which the 26th president said to “speak softly and carry a big stick.” The Senate confirmed him to the post in January on a bipartisan 79 to 18 vote. Some public land advocates initially viewed Burgum, now the chief steward of the federal lands, waters, and wildlife we all own, as a palatable nominee in a sea of problematic potential picks. A billionaire software entrepreneur and former North Dakota governor, Burgum has talked at length about his fondness for Roosevelt’s conservation legacy and the outdoors. Whatever honeymoon there was didn’t last long. One hundred days in, Burgum and the rest of The President’s team have taken not a stick, but a wrecking ball to America’s public lands, waters, and wildlife. Earlier this month, the new CEO of REI said the outdoor retailer made “a mistake” in endorsing Burgum for the job and that the administration’s actions on public lands “are completely at odds with the longstanding values of REI.” At an April 9 all-hands meeting of Interior employees, Burgum showed off pictures of himself touring oil and gas facilities, celebrated “clean coal,” and condemned burdensome government regulation. Burgum has repeatedly described federal lands as “America’s balance sheet”—“assets” that he estimates could be worth $100 trillion but that he argues Americans are getting a “low return” on. “On the world’s largest balance sheet last year, the revenue that we pulled in was about $18 billion,” he said at the staffwide meeting, referring to money the government brings from lease fees and royalties from grazing, drilling, and logging on federal lands, as well as national park entrance fees. “Eighteen billion might seem like a big number. It’s not a big number if we’re managing $100 trillion in assets.” In focusing solely on revenues generated from energy and other resource extraction, Burgum disregards that public lands are the foundation of a $1 trillion outdoor recreation economy, nevermind the numerous climate, environmental, cultural, and public health benefits. Davis, the author of In Defense of Public Lands: The Case Against Privatization and Transfer, dismissed Burgum’s “balance sheet” argument as “shriveled” and “wrong.” “You have to willfully be ignorant and ignore everything of value about those lands except their marketable commodity value to come up with that conclusion,” he said. When you add all their myriad values together, public lands “are the biggest bargain you can possibly imagine.” Davis likes to compare public lands to libraries, schools, or the Department of Defense. “There are certain things we as a society decide are important and we pay for it,” he said. “We call that public goods.” The last time conservatives ventured down the public land privatization path, it didn’t go well. Shortly after The President’s first inauguration in 2017, then-Congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican representing Utah, introduced legislation to sell off 3.3 million acres of public land in 10 Western states that he said had “been deemed to serve no purpose for taxpayers.” Public backlash was fierce. Chaffetz pulled the bill just two weeks later, citing concerns from his constituents. The episode, while brief, largely forced the anti-federal land movement back into the shadows. The first The President administration continued to weaken safeguards for 35 million acres of federal lands—more than any other administration in history—and offered up millions more for oil and gas development, but stopped short of trying sell off or transfer large areas of the public domain. Yet as the last few months have shown, the anti-public lands movement is alive and well. Public land advocates are hopeful that the current push will flounder. They expect courts to strike down many of The President’s environmental rollbacks, as they did during his first term. In recent weeks, crowds have rallied at numerous national parks and state capitol buildings to support keeping public lands in public hands. Democratic Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who voted to confirm Burgum to his post and serves as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has taken to social media to warn about the growing Republican effort to undermine, transfer, and sell off public lands. “I continue to be encouraged that people are going to be loud. They already are,” said Deubel, the executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation. “We’re mobilizing. We’ve got business and industries. We’ve got Republicans, we’ve got Democrats. We’ve got hunters and we’ve got nonhunters. We’ve got everybody speaking out about this.” In a time of extreme polarization on seemingly every issue, public lands enjoy broad bipartisan support. The 15th annual “Conservation in the West” poll found that 72% of voters in eight Western states support public lands conservation over increased energy development—the highest level of support in the poll’s history; 65% oppose giving states control over federal public lands, up from 56% in 2017; and 89% oppose shrinking or removing protections for national monuments, up from 80% in 2017. Even in Utah, where leaders have spent millions of taxpayer dollars promoting the state’s anti-federal lands lawsuit, support for protecting public lands remains high. “Even in all these made up crises, the American public doesn’t want this,” Hill said. “The American people want and love their public lands.” At his recent staffwide meeting, Burgum said Roosevelt’s legacy should guide Interior staff in the mission to manage and protect federal public lands. Those two things, management and protection, “must be held in balance,” Burgum stressed. Yet in social media posts and friendly interviews with conservative media, Burgum has left little doubt about where his priorities lie, repeatedly rolling out what Breitbart dubbed the “four babies” of The President’s energy dominance agenda: “Drill, Baby, Drill! Map, Baby, Map! Mine, Baby, Mine! Build, Baby, Build!” “Protect, Baby, Protect,” “Conserve, Baby, Conserve,” and “Steward, Baby, Steward” have yet to make it into Burgum’s lexicon. —By Chris D’Angelo, Grist This article originally appeared in Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for its newsletter here. View the full article

Branded is a weekly column devoted to the intersection of marketing, business, design, and culture. Costco has been on a good run lately. The beloved big-box club chain has been winning new fans for its no-nonsense stand on continuing its DEI policies, with comparable store sales up 6.8% in its most recent quarter. But as Costco shoppers know, its in-house Kirkland Signature brand, which includes everything from underwear to frozen pizza, has long been the discount club’s not-so-secret weapon. Kirkland marks its 30th anniversary this year, and in what’s shaping up to be a challenging economy for consumers across the board, it’s poised to become more important than ever. Kirkland-branded products (excluding gas) already account for nearly a quarter of Costco sales—some $56 billion in its fiscal year that ended September 1. That makes Kirkland bigger by revenue than Nike ($51 billion last year) or Netflix ($39 billion). Like all private labels, it competes with brand-name consumer products largely on price—an obvious advantage in belt-tightening times. But Kirkland is also the rare private label that’s developed its own powerful, and surprisingly elastic, brand identity. When it was founded in 1983, Costco offered only name-brand goods, but over time the company became concerned with rising prices, sometimes even when underlying commodity prices were going the other way. So it decided to jump on the then-burgeoning trend of creating lower-priced house-brand alternatives. At first, it followed the practice of Sears and other major players of that era who created multiple distinct private brands for different categories. But ultimately this struck management as confusing: Consumers couldn’t be expected to associate dozens of newly invented brand names with Costco. Kirkland Signature—first used on vitamins and shampoo, in 1995—was named after the Seattle suburb where Costco was based at the time. The biggest-selling Kirkland products tend to be staples like toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water. But as the label has developed a quality reputation, Costco has gradually become more and more adventurous about where the brand can go, and there are now an estimated 500-plus Kirkland-branded products, from high-end liquor to aluminum foil to sushi. It’s hard to think of any other single brand successfully competing in such a dizzying array of categories. Meanwhile, the discounter’s core strategy of limiting choices in each category and generally offering far fewer SKUs (stock-keeping units) than most big-box stores ended up making Kirkland even more potent. A few years ago, according to The Wall Street Journal, Costco decided Kirkland would become one of its two diaper offerings—meaning either Huggies or Pampers had to go. Costco and Huggies-maker Kimberly-Clark made a deal to manufacture the Kirkland diapers; Huggies stayed. (Costco later switched to another manufacturer, but Huggies kept its slot.) Speculating about which big brands actually make Kirkland products—are its apparent dupes of a popular pair of Lululemon pants actually made by Lululemon?—is a Costco-fan pastime. Costco generally doesn’t comment (and did not respond to an inquiry from Fast Company), but it’s widely accepted that Starbucks supplies some Kirkland coffee, its batteries are made by Duracell, and Bumble Bee supplies its tuna fish. And plenty of Kirkland’s supply partners are quite open about the relationship: Ocean Spray’s logo is right below Kirkland’s on its cranberry juice bottles. And while Grey Goose has in the past denied supplying its vodka, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery has put its logo on the popular Kirkland Signature Helles-Style Lager it now brews for Costco. Traditional brands continue to outsell private label alternatives by a wide margin, but store-brand sales continue to grow. (Target, Walmart, and others still have multiple private labels, but direct Costco rival Sam’s Club has moved to a similar model built around its Member’s Mark cross-category house brand.) And Costco has reiterated that it believes it can continue to grow private-label sales. While it’s not yet clear what the full fallout of the The President administration’s nascent and ever-changing trade war policies will look like, it’s a safe bet that shoppers are going to become increasingly price-sensitive this year; the Conference Board’s “expectations” index of forward-looking consumer sentiment has plunged, with tariffs a cited concern. That means more interest in lower-cost private labels in general—but maybe especially for a private label with a quality reputation. It may not be as attention-grabbing as a $1.50 hot dog, but Kirkland Signature seems positioned to become more popular than ever. View the full article

Whether it’s political leaders like Donald The President expressing concern about immigration, or individuals forced to leave their homes due to conflict, the movement of people across borders—and where they end up—is a highly debated global issue. It’s also an area plagued by a lack of high-quality data. But a new solution may be on the horizon, offering near-real-time data sourced from Facebook. Researchers from Meta, the parent company of the social media platform, used anonymized data from more than 3 billion Facebook users to track and estimate global migration patterns. Their study, published in Cornell University’s preprint server arXiv, monitors changes in users’ predicted home locations, covering 181 countries with monthly data from January 2019 to December 2022. It identifies genuine moves to another country—defined as living abroad for 12 months or more, according to United Nations standards—by analyzing location signals such as IP addresses, self-reported hometowns, and activity patterns. In 2022, the system estimated that 39.1 million people migrated to a new country, representing about 0.63% of the study’s population. The United States recorded the largest net inflow of migrants—nearly 3.3 million people—while Ukraine saw the greatest outflow, with 2.34 million leaving after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The data revealed the rapid and vast scale of such movements: Migration from Ukraine increased tenfold after the war began, according to Facebook data. Traditional destination countries like the U.S., UAE, and Saudi Arabia led the inflow rankings, while India, Ukraine, and Pakistan topped the outflow list. But Ukraine wasn’t the only example of migration following major events. After Myanmar’s 2021 military coup, the model tracked a fivefold increase in migration to Singapore. Likewise, emigration from Hong Kong to the U.K. surged fifteenfold after the 2020 passage of a controversial national security law critics saw as ushering in a Chinese-style surveillance state. To account for potential biases in the dataset, researchers implemented a correction. “A single worldwide offset, which is calculated based on administrative migration data from New Zealand, is added to control the degree to which the bias of migrants on Facebook varies with GDP/capita,” Guanghua Chi, a research scientist at Meta, writes in an email to Fast Company. “This method allows us to account for the fact that in poorer countries, wealthier individuals are more likely to both use Facebook and also more likely to migrate.” The results closely aligned with established migration datasets, but were produced much more quickly. “We benchmarked our estimates against administrative datasets drawn from statistical offices of different countries and found a very high level of accuracy,” Chi writes. “For example, the correlation between our estimates and those produced by the New Zealand Statistical Office is 0.98.” Chi hopes this level of accuracy will make the data a tool for future policymaking. “We find that our estimates are aligned with administrative figures where they are available,” he writes. “In the [three in four] countries where these estimates are not available, we hope that these estimates can inform evidence-based policies and programs that benefit diverse communities and the governments that support them.” View the full article

Hiring professionals who see countless job applications every year begin to notice patterns of red flags that can instantly disqualify a candidate. Here, experts share their thoughts on the most commonly made mistakes. Avoid the White Fonting Trick Surprisingly, many candidates still use the “white fonting” tactic on their résumés. This practice stems from an outdated piece of advice that has spread over time: include extra keywords or copy the entire job description, reduce the font size, and change the color to white. The intention is to make the text invisible to the eye but still detectable by applicant tracking systems. It’s essentially an attempt to game the system. As a recruiter, I’ve encountered this more times than I can count. However, the moment I highlight the text or open the file in dark mode, the trick becomes glaringly apparent. It immediately raises concerns about the candidate’s integrity, making it a clear red flag. Indeed, résumés should be keyword-optimized. However, the correct approach is to naturally incorporate relevant terms from the job description into your bullet points. Demonstrate how you’ve applied those skills through concrete examples and results. The simplest way to avoid this mistake is to refrain from using the trick altogether. Remember that the objective isn’t to outsmart the software. Instead, it’s to present your experience in a clear, relevant, and compelling manner for the people reviewing it. Ana Colak-Fustin, Founder, HR Consultant and Recruiter, ByRecruiters Proofread Thoroughly Another red flag we consistently notice in job applications is grammatical errors and typos. These mistakes immediately signal a lack of attention to detail—a quality we consider essential in any professional role. We recently reviewed a candidate with stellar qualifications who was eliminated early because their résumé contained multiple spelling errors. What makes this particularly unfortunate is how easily these mistakes can be avoided. For example, the candidate had mistyped the name of their previous employer and used inconsistent formatting throughout the document, giving the impression of carelessness despite their impressive background. To sidestep this issue, we recommend a three-step approach. First, always proofread your application thoroughly before submission. While spell-checking tools are helpful, they don’t catch everything and can struggle with things like industry terminology. Second, we recommend candidates have someone else review their application documents. A fresh pair of eyes often spots errors we’ve become blind to after multiple revisions. Third, never rush the application process. Employers can tell when something has been hastily assembled, and it suggests you might bring that same hurried approach to important work tasks. In our experience, candidates who submit polished, error-free applications demonstrate the professionalism and meticulousness that employers value. This attention to detail in your application reflects how you’ll approach your work—something we always look for when identifying top executive talent for our clients. Remember, a résumé is often a first impression, so it’s best to make sure it represents the caliber of work you’re capable of delivering. Julia Yurchak, Talent Sourcing, Acquisition & Management Specialist| Senior Recruitment Consultant, Keller Executive Search Follow All Job Posting Instructions Some application red flags stand out before I even review a candidate’s materials. The most common is failing to follow the instructions in the job posting. If a candidate skips steps, submits their application to the wrong place, or neglects to include requested materials, it signals one of two things: either they didn’t read the posting carefully, or they struggle with following directions. Both are concerning. Even in independent roles, employees must adhere to guidelines and standards, and strong reading comprehension is essential in today’s workplace. When a candidate makes these mistakes early in the process, it suggests they may not be genuinely interested in the role—or that they would face challenges if hired. This issue often arises when candidates rush to submit as many applications as possible in a short time. While applying broadly can be beneficial, a scattershot approach is rarely effective. A better strategy is to focus on a handful of well-matched opportunities and take the time to read and respond to each job posting carefully. By tailoring your résumé and cover letter to the role and ensuring you follow every instruction, you’ll significantly improve your chances of moving forward in the hiring process. Instead of prioritizing quantity, aim for quality by choosing roles that are the best fit and submitting thoughtful, well-prepared applications. Archie Payne, Cofounder & President, CalTek Staffing Replace Buzzwords with Concrete Achievements Another warning sign in job applications is an over-reliance on buzzwords without quantifiable results to back them up. Résumés filled with generic phrases fail to instill confidence in a candidate’s abilities and can even sound like they’re copy-pasted or AI-generated. Even if the listed skills are relevant, vague and overused terms do little to differentiate the applicant or demonstrate their true expertise. When I see a résumé or cover letter overloaded with buzzwords but lacking meaningful content, I question both the candidate’s qualifications and their genuine interest in the role. As a result, I’m unlikely to move them forward in the hiring process. For example, phrases like “results-driven professional” or “hardworking team player” may sound positive, but without supporting evidence, they are meaningless. Instead of stating that you’re results-driven, demonstrate it—provide quantifiable, data-backed achievements from past roles. A statement like “Increased sales by 30% in six months by implementing a new client outreach strategy” is far more impactful than simply calling yourself results-driven. By replacing vague language with concrete accomplishments, candidates can make a stronger impression and significantly improve their chances of moving forward in the hiring process. Matt Erhard, Managing Partner, Summit Search Group Use a Customized Résumé One of the most common mistakes I see is when candidates fail to tailor their résumé to the specific job they’re applying for. When a résumé is too generic and doesn’t highlight the skills and experiences most relevant to the role, it makes it difficult for recruiters to see the candidate as a strong fit. For example, if a candidate is applying for a software engineering position but their résumé primarily focuses on general IT support skills, without any mention of relevant programming languages or technical achievements, it’s a missed opportunity. They need to align their résumé with the job description, highlighting specific skills and accomplishments that demonstrate their expertise in the areas that matter most to the employer. To avoid this mistake, candidates should carefully read the job description and adjust their résumé to match the keywords, required skills, and experiences listed. Instead of sending out a one-size-fits-all résumé, personalize it to each role to show recruiters that you’ve taken the time to understand the position and how your background aligns with the company’s needs. This small effort can make a big difference in how your application is received. Mary Southern, Founder at Resume Assassin, Resume Assassin Avoid Instability Perhaps the number-one red flag we look for is the lack of stability within organizations. Candidates can avoid this by taking the time to research the companies they are joining and making the best choices when switching jobs, rather than simply following easy money. If candidates do not have strong longevity in their work history, I would advise them to structure their résumé to showcase the experiences and successes they have had and minimize the appearance of frequent job changes. Another problem that has been emerging recently is candidates using AI or ChatGPT to write their résumés without proofreading them on their own. Please, please, read your own résumé before you submit it and do not rely solely on technology to write it for you. Ashleigh Bechtel, President, Bex Partners Show Your Motivation for the Role A candidate who cannot clearly articulate why they want the role or what draws them to the company is sending up another red flag. This often shows up in interviews, but it begins in the application itself. A lack of clarity around motivation suggests the candidate is casting a wide net without much thought, which raises concerns about long-term fit and engagement. I recall a hiring manager sharing an example about a candidate with a strong technical background who applied for a leadership role at a mission-driven health tech company. When asked why they were interested, their response focused entirely on compensation and title—not once mentioning the product, the team, or the impact of the work. It was a missed opportunity to connect with the company’s purpose and values. This kind of response immediately makes decision-makers question alignment. Skills may get you in the door, but motivation—real, specific interest in the role and the company—is what sustains success and growth in the long run. Candidates who take the time to research, reflect, and connect their goals to the organization’s mission are the ones who stand out. Not because they know the “right answer,” but because they’ve done the work to find a meaningful fit. Anna Radulovski, Founder & CEO, WomenTech Network Demonstrate Career Progression I have recruiting experience in 10 countries, and what I want to say is that one major red flag I consistently notice is inconsistent career progression—when a candidate’s experience jumps across unrelated fields without a clear connection. I have seen various examples: a career path that moves from photographer to Test Engineer, while also including marketing courses and an extra interest in medicine, raises questions about the candidate’s professional focus and long-term goals. My personal advice to candidates is to ensure that your career path has a logical flow. If you have career shifts, explain how this experience adds value to your current expertise. Liliia Yankovska, Global recruiter, ALLSTARSIT Be Truthful About Your Employment History One way this issue comes up is through discrepancies between an applicant’s application and their social media presence. I recently worked with a client who had a candidate who claimed on their CV that they had held three jobs over the last six years. However, a search of their “Posts” timeline on LinkedIn revealed two additional short-term roles. Upon further investigation, these turned out to be failed probation periods and unsuccessful positions that had not been disclosed. The hirer considered this omission to be misleading, as it gave an inaccurate representation of the candidate’s employment history. Such discrepancies are significant danger signs for employers. Always be truthful on job applications, even if it makes you look bad. When companies discover the truth, they will not look kindly upon it. Matt Collingwood, Founder and Managing Director, VIQU IT Recruitment Explain CV Gaps While career breaks are common and often justifiable, failing to provide a clear explanation can raise concerns about reliability or commitment. For example, a six-month gap without context might lead recruiters to question whether the candidate left a role under difficult circumstances or struggled to secure new employment. To avoid this mistake, candidates should proactively address any gaps in their cover letter or during the interview, highlighting constructive reasons such as personal development, caregiving responsibilities, or pursuing further education. Being transparent and framing the gap positively can help reassure recruiters and demonstrate self-awareness and professionalism. Sam Bradshaw, Head of People, Astute People Balance “I” and “We” Statements When a candidate uses too many “I” statements and not enough “we” in their résumé or interview, it raises a red flag about their ability to work in a team. Most jobs require collaboration, and if someone only talks about what they did without mentioning teamwork, it can make them seem self-centered or difficult to work with. Recruiters want to see that you can contribute to a team, not just that you want to take all the credit. For example, I once interviewed a candidate for a product management role who kept saying, “I built this feature,” “I launched this product,” and “I made this decision.” But when I asked about their team, they struggled to explain how they worked with engineers, designers, or marketers. This made me question whether they were really a team player or just exaggerating their contributions. A better way to frame achievements is to balance “I” and “we.” Instead of saying, “I built a new dashboard,” say, “I collaborated with engineers to design and launch a new dashboard that improved user engagement.” This still highlights your role but also shows teamwork. Recruiters love candidates who acknowledge their team’s efforts while still showcasing their own impact. Kevin Liu, VP of Products, Octoparse View the full article

Social media group hit by one of the biggest financial penalties ever issued by Ireland’s data protection watchdogView the full article

Few things are as quintessential Mexico as spotting a large, lab-coat-wearing mustachioed mascot dancing in the streets. This character—dubbed Dr. Simi—is one of Mexico’s most recognizable figures. Its life-size version can be found on social media riding a bike, dancing to regional music, breaking Guinness world records, and, on occasion, fighting other mascots like Duolingo’s Duo. Customized Dr. Simi plushies have made their way onstage with the world’s most celebrated artists, including Dua Lipa, Harry Styles, and Adele, and even into the hands of the late Pope Francis. AdeleX The playful, and sometimes mischievous, mascot is the face of Farmacias Similares, a chain of pharmacies that offers affordable generic medication to vulnerable communities. Representing more than 9,000 stores across Mexico, Chile, and Colombia, Dr. Simi has become the de facto mascot for much of Central and South America. And now, as Farmacias Similares expands into the United States, the company is hoping its popularity can translate to a new audience. “When you go to a pharmacy, you are sick, or you are not feeling well,” says Víctor González Herrera, CEO of Grupo por un País Mejor, the pharmacy’s parent company. “Dr. Simi changes your mood, and that’s something that nobody else does.” Víctor González Herrera Dr. Simi goes international Farmacias Similares was founded in 1997 by González Herrera’s father, Víctor González Torres, at a time when generic medication was not available to the public. The pharmacies also included an adjunct doctor’s office—a novelty at the time—where independent doctors could use their facilities free of charge to provide consultations for a maximum price of $3. In March, Farmacias Similares opened its U.S. headquarters in Austin. The company plans to sell its non-pharmaceutical lines (think vitamins, supplements, and beauty supplies) through online retail stores like Amazon under the name Dr. Simi US. It’s also starting a free telemedicine initiative targeting vulnerable Latin communities in the U.S. The company is currently in negotiations with CVS for physical retail opportunities, and plans to open stores selling their product lines and merchandise in cities with high Latin populations, including New York City, Austin, and Los Angeles. Dr. Simi is part of this international expansion. Entering the U.S. market was always on the company’s radar. “It was a dream of my dad to go to the United States,” González Herrera says. Two previous attempts fell through, but thanks to Dr. Simi’s virality, it seems the third time’s the charm. “It’s exactly the right time to go to the States because of the Dr. Simi phenomenon all over the world, and people know him, and the company became so big and so popular in general, and we have way more awareness of the brand everywhere,” he says. “Oh my God, is that a Simi?” When Farmacias Similares first opened, its founder launched an illustration competition for artists to design the mascot, becoming an emblem of the pharmacy. The result: an oversize smiling doctor inspired by Mexican comedian Joaquín Pardavé, whose welcoming and silly attitude represented that of the Mexican people. Farmacias Similares looked for alternative ways to serve its community, disrupting a traditional pharmacy model that offered only medicine. For instance, in the early 2000s, when the price of tortillas skyrocketed due to inflation, the company bought kilos of tortillas from producers at the increased price and then sold them in-store at below-market prices. Greeting customers at the door was Dr. Simi, cementing the mascot and its company’s acts of kindness into the living memory of the community. Dr. Simi’s popularity grew organically. It started at a 2021 music festival in Mexico City during Norwegian singer Aurora’s concert. A fan threw a plushie version of the mascot onstage that had been customized to look like the artist. This custom quickly became the norm for Mexican audiences. Adele has a collection of hundreds of Simi dolls, and was spotted during her Las Vegas residency running toward a fan saying “Oh my God, is that a Simi? Give me that Simi.” Harry Styles held up two Simi dolls dressed like him as he danced during his Mexico concert. The plushies are manufactured in Puebla, an east-central state in Mexico, in a factory that employs individuals with disabilities. According to Bloomberg, the company sells an average of 100,000 plushies per month and donates the proceeds to charity. “We had to seize the moment,” says Diego Bravo, the company’s director of commercial strategy, whose office is full of Dr. Simi plushies, including one sitting in a Buddha pose. Teams ranging from marketing to production gathered to share ideas for capitalizing on the moment while keeping it alive beyond the trend cycle. Farmacias Similares deployed “Fabricas de Alegria,” small stands at music festivals for concertgoers to customize their plushies, Build-a-Bear style. This activation was also present at the company’s stand during SXSW. Additionally, the pharmacy has partnered with Mexican brands and Disney to offer plushies dressed like a Star Wars Jedi, El Chapulín Colorado, and El Chavo del Ocho. Creating a lovemark is more than virality Transforming a corporate mascot into a recognizable and beloved icon takes time. “Creating a lovemark is not something that happens overnight,” Bravo says. “It is a series of actions a brand makes to generate a connection between the community and the brand.” Once the mascot went viral, Farmacias Similares deployed various publicity stunts, all aiming to bring visibility to the brand and its social service endeavors. When driving near Ecatepec, a mountainous neighborhood in Mexico City, the face of Dr. Simi is plastered on the horizon, with the houses painted different colors like a mosaic to make up the mascot’s face. Named Colonia Simi, the project received mass media attention, but it went beyond just painting houses. The project remodeled a community center, established solar panels for renewable energy, and planted trees across the neighborhood. The company also created a new storefront called Similandia, an interactive experiential space where merchandise is sold and free arcades and VR experiences teach consumers about Dr. Simi’s philanthropic projects, like Simiplaneta, an environmental protection initiative. A Similandia store is expected to open in Los Angeles later this year. In 2024 the company launched its first flagship event, Simifest, a music festival in Mexico City where artists Anderson .Paak, the Free Nationals, and others performed alongside a giant astronaut Dr. Simi statue onstage. Interactive engagement included a mascot dance competition. Since expanding from just a pharmacy, ideas for projects come from all over the company, including the CEO himself, Bravo says. The company’s philanthropic endeavors have not only cemented its spot in the social fabric of Mexico and the Latin community but also earned parent company Grupo por un País a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. “What sets us apart in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, or now in the U.S., is that we create experiences and a connection with our audience,” Bravo says. González Herrera adds: “It’s very easy for Dr. Simi to attract attention, and when people go investigate through social media . . . they’re going to realize how powerful the brand is. That’s the secret.” View the full article

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 everyone ages 18 to 80. “It really is such a unique opportunity to get to engage with such a wide variety of a fan base,” she says. “It’s our responsibility to stay relevant and always be recruiting that next generation of fans.” Gen Z consumes content differently than other generations, Ramage says, so she’s focused her marketing team on churning out social media content that can be both entertaining and educational about the sport. She hopes those teens and young adults can start going to the Churchill Downs infield at around ages 18 to 20, to “begin their journey” of loving the Derby. To attract those Gen Z fans to pay more than $100 to enter the event, the Derby is partnering with influencers. Influencer Alix Earle partnered with the Kentucky Derby last year and will do so again this year—making Derby-themed TikToks and handing out an award for the best groomed horse. Other popular online personalities and brands, including Livvy Dunne, Griffin Johnson, and Barstool Sports, have all been tapped to partner with the Derby in attempts to pique Gen Z’s interest. And because many members of Gen Z are under the legal drinking age (and nonalcoholic beverages are a bit of a buzzy trend), the Derby is now offering its first official mocktail, aptly named “The Pony.” This drink is a sweet, ginger beer-based concoction that incorporates blackberries, mint, and lemon. According to Churchill Downs’s internal data, around 400,000 fans attend each year—the size of six Super Bowl audiences. Millions more view at home. Last year the event saw 16.7 million TV viewers and was the top broadcasted telecast in the month of May, according to Nielsen. Outside of racing, the Derby is also a hub for culture, fashion, food, and lifestyle, Ramage says. Interest in any of these pillars can lead into interest in the whole event, she adds. To keep the century-old event fresh, Ramage says the marketing team has combined old traditions with new brand and influencer partnerships. The Derby stays loyal to traditions that have spanned generations and long defined the event. The winner of the Derby is awarded a garland of over 400 red roses—a tradition that has lasted since its inception in the 1890s. The mint julep, a bourbon-based cocktail complete with sprigs of fresh mint, has remained the Derby’s official drink since the 1930s; Churchill Downs typically serves more than 120,000 of those drinks during Derby week. But the Derby is constantly evolving its event and brand, Ramage says. One of its newest traditions is having a celebrity announce “Riders up!” before the race to signal that jockeys should mount their horses. Ramage says that this tradition is their version of the Super Bowl coin toss. Traditionally, an event officiator would make that call; but since 2012, a celebrity has taken that honor. Last year, Martha Stewart made the call. This year it will be Simone Biles, whose appeal “transcends demographics,” according to Ramage. “You can turn on the TV to see your favorite celebrity, but then we want you to get curious and interested in attending the event as well,” Ramage says. View the full article

It’s no secret that internships offer a higher chance of landing a full-time job. However, they can be hard to nail down. Landing a full-time graduate job has become increasingly competitive, especially in an era where AI is prevalent. Researchers such as Sarah Bana talk about how companies will use AI to perform tasks like research and information gathering, basic content creation, and administrative tasks that were usually given to entry-level employees. In one study, 69% of hiring managers believed AI could do the work of a recent college graduate. This begs the question: How can you land an internship or a job as a young person just starting in the workplace? And the short answer to this is to build solutions, rather than just apply. Step one: Identify your values, interests, and goals for impact The starting point is the hardest step. It’ll take time and patience, and most importantly, a commitment to a path forward. Rather than being open to any internship opportunities, you’ll probably need to hone in on one. This gives you the time to fully explore it and apply your skills to stand out from the crowd. For instance, if you have a degree in communications, you may want to dig a bit deeper into your values and explore which sector would inspire you. Are you interested health, engineering, education, infrastructure, and environment? Do your research and find one or two companies that inspire you and would be your dream job. This step requires significant commitment. Barry Schwartz, in his influential research on “The Paradox of Choice” found that people fall into two categories: “maximizers” and “satisficers.” Maximizers exhaustively search for the best possible option, and “satisficers” set standards, meet them, and are content. His studies revealed that college students who were maximizers reported significantly lower satisfaction and higher levels of regret than those who were satisficers when it came to selecting sources. By adopting a satisficer mindset, you’ll conserve your cognitive resources for deeper, more meaningful work. You won’t waste them on the psychologically taxing process of constant comparison. Step two: Get to know the company, and help them improve Next, it’s time to study the company and what they do. You’ll want to use the product (if you can), talk to various employees, and study the competitors. You’ll also want talk to the competitors’ employees, and try to figure out what you could improve and how. GenAI tools will be extremely helpful in this process as you sift through the details. Every company has projects and automation solution needs that they don’t have the bandwidth to create. An outsider’s perspective can be invaluable to an organization. Don’t be afraid of building a technical solution, and build a working prototype. If you’re able to get feedback from real users, do that before you present that solution to the company. Ideally, you want to get in front of the person who is leading that effort or someone with decision-making power. Yes, the time commitment to do this will not be trivial. However, your efforts will be focused and highly directional. You won’t be spending hundreds of hours sending a generic application to open positions. You might, however, spend the same amount of time on this project. What you will demonstrate is a few key characteristics, such as initiative, ability to innovate and build, and complex problem-solving skills. If you can build a working prototype and present it clearly to the project or team lead, you’re much more likely to land a job. Yes, even one that the company isn’t actively hiring for. AI skill sets are incredibly valuable in an AI-driven workplace. And what if you don’t get hired? You’ll still end up with a portfolio of work that will strengthen your résumé in a way that applying to hundreds of jobs does not. AI is changing the nature of work, how we hire, and how we grow in our careers. The traditional path from entry-level to gradual advancement is slowly becoming obsolete as companies use AI to automate the first-rung tasks. But you can be in control. Just as YouTube washed away the gatekeeping control universities had on knowledge, AI tools now offer you a chance to buck the hiring process. You won’t need to waste hundreds of hours and mental energy submitting to traditional application channels and hiring algorithms. Instead, you can use these powerful tools to research companies deeply, identify their actual problems, and build working solutions that demonstrate your value. And you can do all this before a recruiter sets up an interview. You show what you are truly capable of, which is something that no generic application form would capture. And in the end, this gives you the power to design your own entry point to your dream organization. View the full article

When cities throw out single-family zoning rules—like Minneapolis did in 2018, or Cambridge, Massachusetts, voted to do this year—the first new multifamily construction projects on a block often come from developers, not homeowners converting existing dwellings. And no matter how desperately a city needs new housing units, change often happens slowly. In part, that’s because even if someone is interested in adding apartments to their own house for extra income, they might not know where to start. But in Toronto, which ditched single-family zoning in 2023, a tool kit makes it easier for “citizen developers” to understand their options and how much construction might cost. “What we have tried to do is develop some tools to help enable homeowners to be able to rapidly assess what options might be viable or interesting to them on a lot,” says Samantha Eby, one of the founders of ReHousing, the nonprofit that designed the tool. On the ReHousing website, you can choose one of the city’s 13 common housing types, from a prewar row house to a suburban-style single-family home, and the typical lot shape for each house. Then you can see multiple ways to transform it. A postwar bungalow, for example, could be split into two main-floor apartments, or it could add a basement apartment or convert the garage. More complicated options include building a backyard cottage, or an addition on the side that helps bring more light into the basement and makes it possible to divide the space into two units. Another design shows how the property owner could tear down the home and build a triplex with similar proportions to the original structure. The designs include some ideas that building owners likely wouldn’t have considered. A two-story, semidetached house in downtown Toronto, for example, could potentially add extra space by building a third story on top of the roof. A three-story 19th-century row house with a tiny attic could build a third-story addition on the back to create a spacious top-floor apartment. The project began as a collaboration between the University of Toronto, an urban design group at the university called Tuf Lab, and the firm LGA Architectural Partners, and then spun off into a new nonprofit. “We had an interest in how you introduce density into mature neighborhoods, because no one was really talking about it,” says Janna Levitt, a partner at the architecture firm and one of the founders of ReHousing. “We were really interested in methodologies of adaptive reuse and renovation, not just new buildings.” (LGA has worked on several projects of this type; Levitt and her partner, architect Michael Piper, designed their own multifamily building to live in themselves.) The team studied typical housing types and lot layouts. They also worked with a structural engineer as they considered what alterations would be possible and could fit well into existing neighborhoods. In the first stage of the project, a few years ago, they advised the city as it changed zoning rules. The city now directs homeowners who are considering projects to the ReHousing site. The tool doesn’t provide a final plan—homeowners still need to hire architects and engineers. “Our goal is really to make them more informed clients, so they know what kind of questions to ask,” says Eby. Before someone hires consultants, they can also better understand what’s possible. The nonprofit hasn’t tracked how many homeowners have used the tool to make changes, though the kit may have helped boost the overall growth of additions in the city. “We know that there’s been a pretty significant uptake on projects that are being built in the city of Toronto,” Eby says. This summer, ReHousing will roll out new features for the tool. The nonprofit analyzed every residential property in the city, so homeowners will soon be able to type in an address and get specific feedback. As someone explores the different design choices, they can also get high-level cost estimates. If this type of adaptation happens widely, it could make a meaningful dent in the city’s housing shortage. According to ReHousing, if 30% of single-family homes in Toronto added one unit to their property, around 120,000 new units would be created. Now the nonprofit is in talks with other Canadian cities about expanding the tool to new locations. View the full article

In American culture, importance and attention are often misaligned. This disconnect is one of the greatest challenges we in the STEM world face. Too often, society’s most essential stories are drowned out by the drama of the moment—pushed aside by the next headline or fleeting scroll. Today’s media environment is a relentless battle for attention, which is why, when a cultural moment aligns with science, we must seize it. Elevate it. Share it. Right now, we have just such a moment: the discovery of a new exoplanet reminiscent of Luke Skywalker’s home world, the upcoming launch of Andor Season 2, and the arrival of May 4th—also known as National Star Wars Day (a decades-old pun: “May the Fourth be with you”). It’s a rare convergence of science fiction, astronomy, and pop culture. And it’s also an incredible opportunity—to spark imaginations, inspire curiosity, and mobilize the millions who believe in the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Because here’s the truth: STEM needs new hooks. We cannot afford to be elitist or ignore the signals that culture is sending. Without making STEM accessible and engaging, we risk losing our competitive edge as a nation. Understanding how media and storytelling work is no longer optional—it’s a national imperative. The Coolness of the Coincidence Let’s start with the exoplanet discovery. Astronomers recently identified a planet orbiting a pair of young brown dwarf stars at an unusual 90-degree tilt—a real-world echo of Tatooine, Luke Skywalker’s fictional home with its iconic twin suns. As the site Phys.org put it: This is a “real-life twist” on a scene etched into the minds of Star Wars fans. Once again, life imitates art. Aspirational science fiction becomes inspirational science fact. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. The discovery coincides with the highly anticipated Andor Season 2 and culminates on May 4, Star Wars Day. What’s remarkable is that Star Wars Day didn’t start as a corporate promotion from Lucasfilm or Disney. It began organically, as a grassroots celebration that eventually gained support from the franchise itself. If fans can build a movement around Star Wars Day, imagine what we could do with National STEM Week. A bill is currently pending in Congress, and I’m working hard to help it pass. When Culture and the Classroom Work Together We all know the impact a great teacher can have. Scientists like Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Stephen Hawking, and Neil deGrasse Tyson were shaped by mentors who inspired their journeys. But the STEM education crisis is too deep to rely on classrooms alone. Can a nation thrive when only 38% of fourth graders and 22% of 12th graders are proficient in science? We need to activate every source of inspiration we can—and science fiction has a proven track record. Science Fiction: The Hidden Engine of Innovation The stories we love often shape the futures we build. For more than a century, science fiction has fueled real-world breakthroughs. Robert Goddard, father of modern rocketry, was inspired by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon. Leó Szilárd, who conceived the nuclear chain reaction, was influenced by H.G. Wells’s The World Set Free. Martin Cooper, the inventor of the first portable cellphone, credited Star Trek’s communicator as the spark that lit his imagination. And today, countless female scientists—highlighted by the Society of Women Engineers—cite Star Wars as a defining inspiration. Mobilizing the Public: A 360-degree Strategy In our fractured media landscape, no single message can create change alone. That’s why the movement for STEM must be multifaceted—spanning education policy, nonprofit engagement, corporate investment, and yes, pop culture moments like this one. Science fiction and fantasy account for up to 15% of adult fiction sales—about 120 million books. These fans already understand that today’s wild ideas often become tomorrow’s realities. They are an untapped STEM army. If we can rally this community—get sci-fi lovers to pressure leaders at every level to invest in STEM—we could empower a new generation of brilliant minds. Not only to discover the next exoplanets, but to find ways to reach them. View the full article

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In the future, your roof could generate power not only from the sun but also from falling rain. In a recent study, scientists demonstrated a new way to capture renewable energy from rainwater. “There is a large amount of energy in rain,” says Siowling Soh, an engineering professor at the National University of Singapore and author of the study, which was published in ACS Central Science. “This large amount of energy is wasted every day. There is currently no commercial technology that tries to harvest it.” When water flows down a pipe, it can pick up and move tiny electric charges from the pipe’s surface. That creates a small electric current. It’s similar to the way rubbing a balloon on your hair creates static electricity. In the past, when researchers tried to take advantage of this phenomenon to harness power from flowing water, they couldn’t generate enough energy for it to be useful. But the new study found that if water falls in a particular way—with pockets of air in between “plugs” of falling water, inside a certain size of tube—it could produce far more electricity. The method makes it possible for around 10% of the available energy from the rain to be converted into usable electrical energy. In the study, small sample tubes powered 12 LED light bulbs. A large system could produce a meaningful chunk of energy for a house. “As long as we are willing to scale up the system in three-dimensional space—e.g., the lateral dimensions in addition to height—we will be able to obtain substantial amounts of energy,” Soh says. (In addition to generating power from rain, the same approach could also potentially be used to generate power from streams, while avoiding some of the environmental challenges of the large dams used in hydropower today.) The research is still at an early stage, with no designs yet that show how the system might look on a house. But it could take various forms, says Soh, with a tube or multiple tubes bundled together on a roof, which then send power inside a house. The size could vary depending on the amount of power needed. “One of the most attractive features of this technology, we think, is that it is highly customizable for different situations,” he says. In a rainy climate, like Singapore, the system could complement solar panels, providing more power when the sun isn’t shining. View the full article

Chili’s Grill & Bar turned 50 this year. But as a new generation of diners is learning, it’s still got it. Thanks to a series of well-timed marketing efforts—and at least one viral hit appetizer—diners are flocking to the restaurants, which just posted a same-store sales increase of more than 30 percent in its last fiscal quarter. Traffic is up more than 20 percent. Kevin Hochman, CEO of Chili’s parent Brinker International, credits some of this success to operational adjustments: better kitchen technology, better cook training, and a recent dishwasher-listening tour in which the often invisible, but absolutely vital, employees who clean the chain’s dishes were asked what they needed to make their jobs easier. “Marketing is driving guests in,” Hochman told analysts and investors on Tuesday’s earnings call. “Operations is bringing guests back.” Chili’s had some misses on the road to modernization. Hochman assumed the top role at Brinker in 2022. Shortly after, he fired a fleet of rolling robotic servers deployed in 60 locations to help human staff deliver food and bus tables. Less than a year later, Chili’s closed its online-only delivery brand It’s Just Wings, which tapped into the fleeting ghost kitchen craze during the pandemic. Turns out diners are responding to comfort and nostalgia—not modern bells and whistles—at the decades-old brand. Here’s more of what’s working, according to Hochman. The food Six months ago, the Chili’s Triple Dipper appetizer went viral on TikTok, boosting sales of the pick-three combo. The appetizer now makes up 12% of sales. Chili’s also introduced a new burger to compete with fast-food brands that have been forced to raise prices over time, and has spent time coaching its cooks on how to make properly smashed, seasoned, and consistent burgers. Later this year, the chain plans to introduce a revamped version of its once-popular ribs, which now make up only 3% of sales. Hochman also teased a new queso in order to “reinvent” Chili’s nachos. The drinks Margaritas landed on the menu at Chili’s more than 30 years ago. This year, Chili’s made a 15-minute Lifetime “movie” titled I’ll Be Home for National Margarita Day, which aired in February. The short film combined two reliable sources of comfort—a cheesy Lifetime movie and a night out at Chili’s—according to Chili’s chief marketing officer George Felix. But mostly, Hochman said during Tuesday’s call, the move was meant to drive sales and awareness of the cocktail that has been a Chili’s staple since 1994. (Its newest margarita campaign features 1990s “it girl” Tiffani Thiessen promoting a ’90s-themed, limited-time Radical Rita that changes colors when it’s stirred.) The vibes In April, Chili’s opened its Scranton Branch, a new location outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania, the famous home of The Office, the decades-old hit comedy that’s reemerged as a streaming favorite. It’s decked out with décor from a 2005 Chili’s-themed episode, including a special booth made for social media sharing. And it features a nostalgic menu item, the Awesome Blossom, a deep-fried onion that was dropped from the menu in 2008. Fans are reacting to the one-off location: Hochman said the store’s opening generated over 9 billion media impressions. View the full article

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Brownies with no chocolate, and cold brew with no coffee beans: With the return of U.S. tariffs still uncertain, reformulated snacks might soon be on the horizon. Whether it’s a global pandemic, looming trade wars, or actual wars, supply chain disruptions and continuity struggles are becoming increasingly common. In response, consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies are turning to Chilean food-tech startup NotCo to help reformulate fan favorites and build resilience to supply chain disruptions. Based in Santiago, Chile, with a U.S.-based hub in San Francisco, NotCo adopted AI early, launching a proprietary AI-powered product development platform called Giuseppe a decade ago. The engine was trained using curated data on everything from industrial food production processes and the molecular composition of over 8,000 ingredients to product reviews and social media insights. The result is an end-to-end service that guides product development from concept generation to exact formulation. NotCo first used its product development platform to create its own line of CPG offerings, including plant-based alternatives like NotMayo and NotMilk. In 2022, the company reached a $1.5 billion valuation, driven by the strength of its AI services. “We are a CPG company as well, so all of our algorithms were created for exactly the same problems that these big companies have,” NotCo CEO Matias Muchnick says. “The thing is, we are 10 years ahead of them.” Now operating as a B2B platform, NotCo has partnered with major brands like Kraft and Shake Shack to develop plant-based versions of existing products. For Kraft Heinz JV, Giuseppe helped create cheddar cheese and mac and cheese alternatives that preserved the original flavor while cutting costs. For Shake Shack, NotCo formulated a plant-based version of the chain’s custard ice cream, maintaining both taste and texture. For both of these projects, the traditional development timeline would have taken 12 to 18 months, but with the AI tool, development time was cut to less than six months. A collaboration between humans and technology “AI is not to replace the product developer, it is to accelerate their learnings and to augment the product developer,” says NotCo Vice President of R&D Alisia Heath. R&D teams input specific constraints—such as budget, production requirements, restricted ingredients, desired taste, and texture—into the platform, which helps avoid trial-and-error paths unlikely to meet the product’s needs. “AI allows you to minimize, to put a lot of inputs, a lot of restrictions at the very beginning of a formulation process, so as you don’t get any surprises,” Muchnick tells Fast Company. Giuseppe then generates five formulations for developers to test in a sensory analysis. Feedback from those tests is used to fine-tune the ingredient ratios and produce another set of five improved formulations. “You change one thing, you change every other thing. So it’s not just by replacing one thing, you’re going to get it right. Everything else will change,” Muchnick says. “Our technology allows you to understand how the rest of the formulation will change when you change one variable, and that allows you to actually get way more efficient and avoid going into a trial.” Beyond efficiency, Giuseppe’s greatest strength may be its ability to understand flavor at the molecular level, allowing for unconventional ingredient combinations that replicate traditional flavors. For example, the dairy flavor in NotMilk is recreated using a blend of cabbage and pineapple. By removing human bias about how something should taste, the AI explores how it could taste. “You’re able to look at the molecular structure of the target ingredient or the target product, and look at ingredients that might have a similar composition as a recommendation to try and use, and an exploration space for the tool to generate experiments,” Head says. A relief for external pressures NotCo’s rapid and cost-effective R&D capabilities are now being applied to address broader challenges such as supply constraints and shifting regulations. The company is working on confidential reformulation projects addressing “supply continuity issues,” and is in “initial discussions with clients regarding tariffs,” according to Head. NotCo is currently collaborating with seven of the world’s twenty largest CPG brands, though it declined to name them. But looming tariffs are not the only constraint faced by CPG companies, as policies regarding sustainability and food safety continue to evolve. “There’s a lot of external pressures going on, whether it is tariffs, whether it is state sustainability, whether it’s profitability, there’s a lot of pressures out there,” Muchnick says. “What we can do differently is go outside that traditional landscape and solve those challenges.” View the full article

In a perfect world, workplaces would be environments of mutual respect, open communication, and fair treatment. Unfortunately, that’s not always the reality. Whether you’re dealing with a micromanaging boss, a dismissive colleague, or a workplace culture that undervalues your contributions, knowing how to assert yourself is essential to avoiding burnout and developing as a professional. Standing up for yourself doesn’t mean becoming combative or aggressive. Instead, it’s about cultivating confidence, setting boundaries, and advocating for your worth. Here’s how to grow a backbone at work while maintaining professionalism and integrity. Recognize your value This can be easier said than done, but before you can stand up for yourself, you need to believe that you deserve to. Many people struggle with internalized narratives of self-doubt, which can make them hesitate to speak up. Take stock of your accomplishments, skills, and contributions to the organization. If you consistently meet or exceed expectations, remind yourself that your input and boundaries are just as valid as anyone else’s. Strengthen your communication skills Assertive communication is key to standing up for yourself. This means expressing your thoughts, needs, and concerns clearly and confidently without aggression or apology. Here are some techniques: Use “I” statements: Instead of saying, “You never listen to me,” say, “I feel unheard when my ideas are interrupted.” Be direct and concise: Avoid excessive justification. A simple, “I’m unable to take on this additional task right now,” is often enough. Maintain a calm tone: Emotional responses can undermine your message. Practice neutral and steady delivery. Leverage body language: Maintain eye contact, use open gestures, and stand tall to project confidence. Say no with confidence Saying no signals that you value your time, energy, and priorities—and it helps others learn to respect them, too. Without the ability to say no, you risk overcommitting, burning out, and diluting the quality of your work. More importantly, saying no doesn’t mean being difficult; it means being clear about what aligns with your goals and values. Practicing it thoughtfully builds confidence, earns respect, and creates space for the work that truly matters. Set and maintain boundaries Boundaries protect your time, energy, and mental health. If you consistently allow yourself to be overworked or disrespected, others will continue pushing your limits. Examples of setting workplace boundaries include: Workload: “I’m happy to help, but I’ll need to deprioritize another task. Which should take precedence?” Work hours: “I do not check emails after 6 p.m., but I’ll address this first thing in the morning.” Respectful interaction: “I’d appreciate it if we could keep our conversations professional.” Holding firm on your boundaries may initially cause discomfort, but consistency will reinforce them over time. Address issues directly and professionally When you encounter unfair treatment, don’t ignore it and hope it will resolve itself. Instead, approach the issue strategically: Talk one-on-one: If a colleague oversteps, have a private conversation before escalating the matter. Be solution-focused: Instead of just pointing out a problem, suggest a constructive resolution. Keep records: Document incidents of mistreatment or unreasonable expectations in case you need evidence for HR or leadership. Know when to escalate: If direct communication fails, involve a manager or HR with a clear, factual account of the issue. Build a support network Having allies in the workplace can make standing up for yourself less intimidating. Seek mentorship from experienced colleagues, build relationships with coworkers who share your values, and leverage professional networks outside of your company. Develop a resilient mindset Standing up for yourself means accepting that not everyone will like your assertiveness. Some people may resist your boundaries, but that doesn’t mean you should back down. Strengthening resilience will help you navigate workplace challenges without internalizing negativity. Strategies include: Reframing rejection: If an idea is dismissed, use feedback to refine it rather than feeling personally attacked. Practicing self-care: Prioritize mental and physical well-being to maintain confidence and energy. Reminding yourself of the bigger picture: Workplace conflicts are temporary; your long-term career growth matters more. Know when to walk away If your boss and coworkers consistently disrespect your boundaries, dismiss your concerns, or create a toxic environment, consider whether staying is worth the emotional toll. Sometimes, standing up for yourself means recognizing when it’s time to move on to a healthier professional setting. Standing up for yourself at work is a skill that takes time and practice. The key is to balance assertiveness with professionalism, ensuring that you advocate for your needs without alienating colleagues or leadership. By recognizing your value, communicating effectively, and setting clear boundaries, you can cultivate confidence and ensure that you are treated with the respect you deserve. So, grow that backbone—not to be rigid or aggressive, but to stand tall in your worth and carve out the fulfilling career you deserve. View the full article