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SM Energy and Civitas Resources announce all-stock ‘strategic combination’View the full article

The government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged into a new month. Millions of people could lose food aid benefits, health care subsidies are set to expire and there are few real talks between the parties over how to end it. President Donald The President said in an interview aired on Sunday that he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year for millions of Americans. Echoing congressional Republicans, the president said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” he’ll negotiate only when the government is reopened. The President’s comments signal the shutdown could drag on for some time as federal workers, including air traffic controllers, are set to miss additional paychecks and there’s uncertainty over whether 42 million Americans who receive federal food aid will be able to access the assistance. Senate Democrats have voted 13 times against reopening the government, insisting they need The President and Republicans to negotiate with them first. The president said Democrats “have lost their way” and predicted they’ll capitulate to Republicans. “I think they have to,” The President said. “And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.” He also reiterated his pleas to Republican leaders to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster. Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since The President’s first term, arguing the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate is vital to the institution and has allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they’re in the minority. “Republicans have to get tougher,” The President told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.” With the two parties at a standstill, the shutdown, now in its 33rd day and approaching its sixth week, appears likely to become the longest in history. The previous record was set in 2019, when The President demanded Congress give him money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. A potentially decisive week The President’s push on the filibuster could prove a distraction for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republican senators who’ve opted instead to stay the course as the consequences of the shutdown become more acute. Republicans are hoping at least some Democrats will eventually give them the votes they need as moderates have been in weekslong talks with rank-and-file Republicans about potential compromises that could guarantee votes on health care in exchange for reopening the government. Republicans need five additional Democrats to pass their bill. “We need five with a backbone to say we care more about the lives of the American people than about gaining some political leverage,” Thune said on the Senate floor as the Senate left Washington for the weekend on Thursday. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday there’s a group of people talking about “a path to fix the health care debacle” and a commitment from Republicans not to fire more federal workers. But it’s unclear if those talks could produce a meaningful compromise. Far apart on Obamacare subsidies The President said in the “60 Minutes” interview the Affordable Care Act — often known as Obamacare because it was signed and championed by then-President Barack Obama — is “terrible” and if the Democrats vote to reopen the government, “we will work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now.” Democrats feel differently, arguing the marketplaces set up by the ACA are working as record numbers of Americans have signed up for the coverage. But they want to extend subsidies first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic so premiums won’t go up for millions of people on Jan. 1. “We want to sit down with Thune, with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson, with The President, and negotiate a way to address this horrible health care crisis,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said last week. No appetite for bipartisanship As Democrats have pushed The President and Republicans to negotiate, The President has showed little interest in doing so. He called for an end to the Senate filibuster after a trip to Asia while the government was shut down. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News Channel the president has spoken directly to Thune and Johnson about the filibuster. But a spokesman for Thune said Friday that his position hasn’t changed, and Johnson said on Sunday that Republicans traditionally have resisted calling for an end to the filibuster because it protects them from “the worst impulses of the far-left Democrat Party.” The President said on “60 Minutes” he likes Thune but “I disagree with him on this point.” The president has spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats, posting videos of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Mexican sombrero. The White House website has a satirical “My Space” page for Democrats, a parody based on the social media site that was popular in the early 2000s. “We just love playing politics with people’s livelihoods,” the page reads. Democrats have repeatedly said that they need The President to get serious and weigh in. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said that he hopes the shutdown could end “this week” because The President is back in Washington. Republicans “can’t move on anything without a The President sign off,” Warner said on “Face the Nation” on CBS. Record-breaking shutdown The 35-day shutdown that lasted from December 2018 to January 2019 ended when The President retreated from his demands over a border wall. That came amid intensifying delays at the nation’s airports and multiple missed paydays for hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on ABC’s “This Week” that there have already been delays at several airports “and it’s only going to get worse.” Many of the workers are “confronted with a decision,” he said. “Do I put food on my kids’ table, do I put gas in the car, do I pay my rent or do I go to work and not get paid?” As flight delays around the country increased, New York City’s emergency management department posted on Sunday that Newark Airport was under a ground delay because of “staffing shortages in the control tower” and that they were limiting arrivals to the airport. “The average delay is about 2 hours, and some flights are more than 3 hours late,” the account posted. “FAA planning notes show a possibility of a full ground stop later if staffing shortages or demand increases.” SNAP crisis Also in the crossfire are the 42 million Americans who receive SNAP benefits. The Department of Agriculture planned to withhold $8 billion needed for payments to the food program starting on Saturday until two federal judges ordered the administration to fund it. House Democratic leader Jeffries, D-N.Y., accused The President and Republicans of attempting to “weaponize hunger.” He said that the administration has managed to find ways for funding other priorities during the shutdown, but is slow-walking pushing out SNAP benefits despite the court orders. “But somehow they can’t find money to make sure that Americans don’t go hungry,” Jeffries said in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his own CNN appearance Sunday, said the administration continues to await direction from the courts. “The best way for SNAP benefits to get paid is for Democrats — for five Democrats to cross the aisle and reopen the government,” Bessent said. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report. —Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press View the full article

Most people don’t realize how overstimulated they are until they finally step away from the noise. As an executive at a hospitality brand that helps guests reconnect with nature, I see it all the time: Guests arrive tense and distracted, constantly checking their phones. But after just a day or two offline in nature, something shifts. You can see it in their posture, their breath, their pace. They didn’t realize how much they needed to disconnect until they did. It’s not just about screens, though screen time is a big part of it. It’s the entire rhythm of modern life—always on, always reacting. That’s why more people are rethinking what luxury really means. Luxury used to be defined by what you had: the highest thread count, the most high-end amenities, the most exclusive experience. Today, it’s increasingly becoming defined by what you don’t have: no packed schedules, no overflowing inbox, no constant stream of pings and notifications. A RETURN TO NATURE What people are seeking now is balance. Stillness. Simplicity. Families are carving out screen-free time together, in part because they’re worried about what nonstop digital input is doing to their kids. Professionals are looking for ways to reset and get grounded. Even a couple of nights in nature can help regulate your sleep, lower stress, and remind you how good it feels to actually be present. Spending time outdoors plays a unique role in that reset. It’s not just about quiet—it’s a different kind of sensory input: fewer alerts, more birdsong. Less stimulation, more space to think. Whether guests are staying steps from a national park or unwinding after a guided hike with a local naturalist, I’ve seen how nature-centered experiences can create the kind of mental clarity that more traditional hotel settings rarely offer. And there’s science to support it: Studies consistently show that exposure to green space reduces stress and anxiety. Surrounded by trees, sleeping under the stars, people’s nervous systems respond in ways that simply can’t be replicated by a hotel gym or meditation app. THE POWER OF A TECH-FREE WEEKEND A tech-free weekend in the woods used to be considered a rare indulgence or even an impossibility for professionals who couldn’t imagine fully disconnecting. Now, it’s something more and more people are actively prioritizing. Restoration has shifted from a fringe benefit of leisure time to the primary goal. And that’s reshaping not only how we design experiences, but also what we consider valuable in the first place. I’ve had conversations with guests who arrive tightly wound from work, skeptical about unplugging—but after even one night under the stars, they describe a kind of clarity they say they haven’t felt in years. They tell me it’s the first time in months they’ve felt rested or truly present. And this change isn’t just something I’ve noticed anecdotally—it’s backed by data. A recent trend report from Expedia found that travelers are increasingly seeking out destinations that allow them to relax and disconnect.. The Global Wellness Institute projects that wellness tourism will more than double by 2027, becoming a $1.4 trillion industry. Booking.com even named “disconnection travel” one of the defining trends for 2025. It’s not hard to see why. Americans now spend more than seven hours a day in front of screens, and parents are more concerned than ever about their kids’ tech use. Even short breaks can make a difference: Stanford researchers have found that just 90 minutes in nature can significantly reduce stress-related brain activity. This isn’t a fringe movement—it’s a fundamental change in how people want to spend their time, their money, and their attention. Whether it’s a weekend outdoors, a wellness-focused retreat, or just space to be fully present, people are investing in experiences that offer real restoration instead of just another weekend escape. As this continues, it will redefine how businesses think about design, hospitality, and what it really means to serve people well. FINAL THOUGHTS For those of us in hospitality, this shift is already showing up in how we design experiences. It’s not about piling on more amenities—it’s about removing friction. People don’t want to spend hours planning or shopping for outdoor gear just to get a moment of peace. They want simplicity, accessibility, and spaces that make it easy to disconnect. That’s why hospitality brands that make nature more accessible are gaining traction. This shift in mindset is evident in other industries, too. Workplaces are rethinking their environments to give people more mental space. Wellness brands are emphasizing recovery, not hustle. Even tech companies are experimenting with features that encourage people to log off. The throughline is clear: We’ve reached a collective breaking point with burnout. The hospitality brands that will thrive in the coming years are the ones that create space—for balance, for clarity, for quiet reflection in nature. In a world that encourages us to be always “on,” choosing to unplug may be the biggest luxury of all. Bryan Terzi is the chief commercial officer of AutoCamp Hospitality Group. View the full article

Sale marks first time Izzy Englander has parted with equity in firm’s 36-year historyView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you have a lot to do every day, it might be hard to figure out how to prioritize it all. You can try to decide what’s urgent and what isn’t, build a detailed schedule, and use tech to stay focused, but sometimes it’s hard to even know where to start. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you should consider getting familiar with Forster’s Commitment Inventory to sort it all out—especially if you’re a person who likes visual aids to conceptualize your day. What is the commitment inventory?The commitment inventory was thought up by British productivity expert Mark Forster, author of Get Everything Done: And Still Have Time to Play. Essentially, this method acknowledges that your time is finite, so you need to allocate your minutes and energy carefully, determining in advance how much time you can devote to any given task. In that way, it's similar to time blocking and time boxing, which call on you to determine in advance how you'll spend every minute of your day, then input it all into your calendar. It’s helpful for when you don’t feel like your daily responsibilities contribute enough to your bigger priorities, when you struggle to turn down new projects or asks, or when you feel like you’re stretched too thin to do meaningful work on any of your tasks. Keeping sight of your larger goals, and how smaller daily tasks play into them, is a crucial part of any productivity plan because it helps you stay motivated. How to make a commitment inventoryFirst, think of how much time you have in your day to actually do your work. It might be a standard eight or 10 hours, for instance, depending on what you’re doing, but you need to have a solid number in mind. Next, make an exhaustive list of everything you need to do for the day, from minor tasks like answering emails to bigger ones like working on a group-based project. Do this in an Excel spreadsheet for best results, because you’re also going to need to figure out how much time each is going to take. If emails are going to take you half an hour, write 30 minutes in the column next to that task, for example. When you’re done, add up how many minutes all of those duties will take if you spend the amount of time on them that you indicated you have to. If they take longer than the time you have for the day to devote, you need to retool. Don't give yourself too much time, though—remember Parkinson's Law: Your work will expand to fill all the time you give yourself, making you waste time. So hack a few minutes off each of your totals. You can’t spend more than 100% of your time—it’s obviously not possible—so next, prune tasks you don’t absolutely need to do and lessen the time you have to spend on ones that are less important. Once you’ve moved around the time you can give to each task, use the spreadsheet data to make a pie chart. That visual aid is going to show you what to prioritize for the day and what order to do it all in—i.e. biggest slice to smallest—so you can be sure you’re giving enough of your time and energy to the most important tasks. From there, you can break the tasks down into smaller ones, but you should work in the order that your pie chart lays out. View the full article

Amid the shifting tides of global manufacturing, small businesses may find themselves at a crossroads. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with geopolitical tensions and rising inflation, have transformed traditional supply chains into landscapes of uncertainty. However, this upheaval presents an opportunity for small business owners to rethink their production strategies and embrace a more local, agile model of manufacturing. Recent insights from HP highlight this seismic shift in the industry. “How do we move from a global model to something more responsive, resilient, and local?” This critical question looms over manufacturers across various sectors, from footwear to industrial machinery. The answer? A blend of local production and advanced technologies like additive manufacturing. Gone is the era dominated by offshoring manufacturing to cut costs. As labor costs rise globally and consumer expectations heighten, manufacturers must adapt quickly to market changes. While additive manufacturing—commonly referred to as 3D printing—has often been pigeonholed as unsuitable for mid- and high-volume production, it has emerged as a game-changer for low-volume, high-complexity parts. HP likens this technology to a powerful enabler that can enhance agility and expedite development cycles. Notably, HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology stands out for its speed, quality, and consistency. It integrates seamlessly with various design tools and offers a support ecosystem that extends beyond mere equipment sales. HP aims to help businesses navigate the complexities of modern production, from material science to digital workflows. One of the most significant hurdles small businesses face is the misconception that additive manufacturing is prohibitively expensive. HP’s strategy encourages businesses to shift their focus from individual part costs to the broader value of supply chain dynamics. For example, what is the financial impact of launching a product eight to twelve weeks sooner? What costs arise from excess inventory? How beneficial is the ability to meet custom demands in days, rather than months? According to HP, the real return on investment lies in these considerations. Real-world applications exemplify this shift toward agility. Ocado, a company in the logistics sector, reimagined their 600 Series warehouse robots using HP’s technology, resulting in a fivefold weight reduction for the robots, faster movement, and a staggering 40% reduction in installation times. Meanwhile, Blue-White Industries transitioned from relying on outsourced injection molding to harnessing in-house 3D printing. This approach has enabled rapid product development and significant savings in tooling costs, allowing them to operate a compact 3D print lab that requires only one operator to manage three machines. AGCO, a manufacturer facing supply chain volatility, also embraced HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology. What began with creating prototypes for $120,000 culminated in the ability to produce those same items for only $3,200, showcasing the considerable cost savings and flexibility additive manufacturing can provide. These success stories demonstrate that the mindset around additive manufacturing must evolve. The industry needs to prioritize agility and responsiveness over simple cost analysis. Too often, decision-making lingers on part pricing instead of embracing broader questions like time-to-market and inventory risk. “Agility isn’t a trend, it’s a competitive mandate,” emphasizes HP. With the industry buzzing about AI and automation, many leaders remain uncertain about how these technologies translate into tangible benefits. Meanwhile, additive manufacturing is already delivering measurable outcomes—accelerating development cycles, smartening inventory, and producing in a more sustainable fashion. For small businesses looking to future-proof their operations, the path lies in prioritizing adaptability and strategic local production. By marrying traditional practices with innovative technologies, business owners have the opportunity to build resilient supply chains that better withstand disruptions. The call to action from HP is clear: it’s time for small businesses to transition from a reactive stance to a proactive approach that emphasizes resilience. The future of manufacturing lies not only in advanced technologies but also in a shift toward agility, materialization of ideas, and robust local strategies. For additional insights and details on how to leverage these advancements, HP offers further information on its additive manufacturing solutions at HP Industrial 3D Printers and Solutions. This transition may not be easy, but small business owners have the chance to redefine their operational strategies—building what’s next, strategically and collaboratively. Image via Envanto This article, "Manufacturers Embrace Local Production to Overcome Supply Chain Strains" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Amid the shifting tides of global manufacturing, small businesses may find themselves at a crossroads. The disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with geopolitical tensions and rising inflation, have transformed traditional supply chains into landscapes of uncertainty. However, this upheaval presents an opportunity for small business owners to rethink their production strategies and embrace a more local, agile model of manufacturing. Recent insights from HP highlight this seismic shift in the industry. “How do we move from a global model to something more responsive, resilient, and local?” This critical question looms over manufacturers across various sectors, from footwear to industrial machinery. The answer? A blend of local production and advanced technologies like additive manufacturing. Gone is the era dominated by offshoring manufacturing to cut costs. As labor costs rise globally and consumer expectations heighten, manufacturers must adapt quickly to market changes. While additive manufacturing—commonly referred to as 3D printing—has often been pigeonholed as unsuitable for mid- and high-volume production, it has emerged as a game-changer for low-volume, high-complexity parts. HP likens this technology to a powerful enabler that can enhance agility and expedite development cycles. Notably, HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology stands out for its speed, quality, and consistency. It integrates seamlessly with various design tools and offers a support ecosystem that extends beyond mere equipment sales. HP aims to help businesses navigate the complexities of modern production, from material science to digital workflows. One of the most significant hurdles small businesses face is the misconception that additive manufacturing is prohibitively expensive. HP’s strategy encourages businesses to shift their focus from individual part costs to the broader value of supply chain dynamics. For example, what is the financial impact of launching a product eight to twelve weeks sooner? What costs arise from excess inventory? How beneficial is the ability to meet custom demands in days, rather than months? According to HP, the real return on investment lies in these considerations. Real-world applications exemplify this shift toward agility. Ocado, a company in the logistics sector, reimagined their 600 Series warehouse robots using HP’s technology, resulting in a fivefold weight reduction for the robots, faster movement, and a staggering 40% reduction in installation times. Meanwhile, Blue-White Industries transitioned from relying on outsourced injection molding to harnessing in-house 3D printing. This approach has enabled rapid product development and significant savings in tooling costs, allowing them to operate a compact 3D print lab that requires only one operator to manage three machines. AGCO, a manufacturer facing supply chain volatility, also embraced HP’s Multi Jet Fusion technology. What began with creating prototypes for $120,000 culminated in the ability to produce those same items for only $3,200, showcasing the considerable cost savings and flexibility additive manufacturing can provide. These success stories demonstrate that the mindset around additive manufacturing must evolve. The industry needs to prioritize agility and responsiveness over simple cost analysis. Too often, decision-making lingers on part pricing instead of embracing broader questions like time-to-market and inventory risk. “Agility isn’t a trend, it’s a competitive mandate,” emphasizes HP. With the industry buzzing about AI and automation, many leaders remain uncertain about how these technologies translate into tangible benefits. Meanwhile, additive manufacturing is already delivering measurable outcomes—accelerating development cycles, smartening inventory, and producing in a more sustainable fashion. For small businesses looking to future-proof their operations, the path lies in prioritizing adaptability and strategic local production. By marrying traditional practices with innovative technologies, business owners have the opportunity to build resilient supply chains that better withstand disruptions. The call to action from HP is clear: it’s time for small businesses to transition from a reactive stance to a proactive approach that emphasizes resilience. The future of manufacturing lies not only in advanced technologies but also in a shift toward agility, materialization of ideas, and robust local strategies. For additional insights and details on how to leverage these advancements, HP offers further information on its additive manufacturing solutions at HP Industrial 3D Printers and Solutions. This transition may not be easy, but small business owners have the chance to redefine their operational strategies—building what’s next, strategically and collaboratively. Image via Envanto This article, "Manufacturers Embrace Local Production to Overcome Supply Chain Strains" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Create a sustainable founder-led content model that balances authenticity, efficiency, and long-term brand impact. The post Don’t Let Your Founder Burn Out: 4 Systems To Operationalize Thought Leadership appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Google’s AI Overviews are for research, not buying. A new BrightEdge analysis of thousands of ecommerce keywords (Sept. 1-Oct. 15) found that AI results appear for research and evaluation, while bottom-funnel queries still belong to traditional search. Why we care. Google’s AI Overviews appear to shape discovery, while traditional search continues to drive sales. So ecommerce brands can set themselves up for success by being visible, helping users learn, and guiding them to buy during these key moments. By the numbers. AI Overview coverage spiked to 26% in September before retreating to 9% in October. 30% of keywords were retained after the pullback. There was an 82% year-over-year keyword churn (only 18% overlap from 2024). 56.8% overall reduction in AI Overview coverage, which is 10× more than last year Category impact. BrightEdge analyzed the percentage of keywords within a category that continued to show AI Overviews after Google’s September pullback. These categories had high retention (i.e., stability): Grocery & Food: 56% TV & Home Theater: 43% Small Appliances: 37% These categories had low retention: Furniture: 3% Home Décor: 7% Apparel: 23% What they’re saying. According to BrightEdge: “For marketers, November is the discovery window – when AI Overviews surface educational and comparison content. By December, those queries disappear, and transactional pages take over.” “November is the research phase. Get your evaluation and comparison content ready now, because once December hits, those purchase decisions may already be made.” View the full article

SMART goals are typically associated with work done by a team, but you can implement this productivity-boosting strategy for yourself in all kinds of ways on an individual level, too. Some people use them to study, for instance, and you can use them for personal projects at work, around the house, or whatever else. At their core, SMART goals are designed to help you stay on task and focused on your outcome. What are SMART goals?At their core, SMART goals are designed to help you stay on task and focused on your outcome. If you’re not familiar with SMART goals, let’s break down the acronym: Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound It was conceptualized by George T. Doran in 1981, who took to the Management Review to criticize what he saw as many companies’ poor goal-setting. He suggested goals should be specific to those five characteristics—though in his original version, the “A” stood for “assignable,” not “attainable,” so it does make sense we associate this with corporate teams (so workers could have more direction). He was all about having clearly defined objectives so every person in a workplace was on the same page, but SMART goals can be helpful for you, too, even if you’re working alone, because they help you identify exactly what your goals need in order to be met. How do you implement SMART goals in your life?SMART goals work best when you lay them out clearly. You should be writing SMART goal statements, making sure your statement contains all five of the criteria. For example, if you’re a freelance photographer working on a big wedding, you could write, “My goal is to have all the wedding photos edited and sent to the clients by next Friday. I will do this by setting aside time at 10 a.m. every day of the week to edit them in batches." You can also add something like, "Accomplishing this goal will keep me ahead of schedule, ensure I am paid on time, and earn me a positive customer review.” I often find that tying some stakes to the goal and making sure I keep them in mind helps me stay focused. This example goal is specific because it’s related to one well-defined outcome; it's measurable because you’re committing to setting aside time to take it on; it's achievable because you gave yourself enough time to get it done; it's relevant because it’s related to a photoshoot you just completed; and it's time-bound because the schedule and deadlines are clearly laid out. You can also use other productivity techniques to complement those five elements. For instance, with the SMART goal above, you should use time boxing and time blocking to clearly set aside that 10 a.m. work time in your calendar. Productivity guru Brian Tracy says you should think of your SMART goals like a personal mission statement, using them to outline precisely what you need to do, how you’ll do it, and when you’ll have it done. The beauty of using these parameters to set goals is that anything that falls outside of the five guidelines can be disregarded so you can focus on the most important elements. Write them in your planner or on your phone, so you can always see them, and refer to them in all their straightforward simplicity when you need a reminder of what your priorities should be. View the full article

Grokipedia, an AI-generated online encyclopedia launched a week ago with over 800,000 AI-generated pages, and both Google and Bing have already indexed hundreds, if not thousands, of those AI-generated pages.View the full article

A few weeks ago, Google launched a new ad layout with the large "Sponsored results" label that groups numerous ads under that one label, and then sticks a "Hide sponsored results" button after you have already seen the ads. Well, it is leading to accidental ad clicks based on what I am reading and hearing across the industry.View the full article

Google's John Mueller posted a PSA yesterday, reminding SEOs and developers to verify the host name of cloud providers they are using to host images, videos, and other content. Specifically, you should use a DNS CNAME to the bucket, then verify with DNS with Search Console.View the full article

Search Engine Land is expanding its contributor roster in 2026 – and we’re looking for seasoned experts in SEO, PPC, AI, and analytics to join us. Why we care. Search Engine Land is not just our publication – it’s yours. For 20 years, Search Engine Land has been the go-to source for search marketing insights, reaching more than 1 million professionals every month. We’re growing again and want to amplify a trusted and diverse set of voices across the industry – whether you’ve been doing it for 5 years or you’re old enough to remember the Google Florida update. The details. We’re seeking contributors with 5+ years of hands-on experience in their field who can share actionable insights and thought leadership on the latest in: SEO Generative AI (GEO, AI SEO, etc.) Paid media (paid search, paid social, display, video) Data and analytics This is a volunteer contributor opportunity. But the perks are real. You can: Establish your topical authority as a subject matter expert in a specific niche. Boost your professional visibility. Grow your network and reputation. Add prestige to your LinkedIn profile or resume. Elevate your career to the next level. How to apply. Interested? Fill out this form to be considered. If selected, our team will contact you directly via email. View the full article

Commerce department approval paves way for huge new investment in AI and cloud infrastructure in Middle EastView the full article

Surveillance footage showed alleged abuse of Palestinian inmate at notorious Israeli prisonView the full article

Raptive, an advertising-sales company representing thousands of websites (content publishers), filed a 93-page complaint against Google in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The suit says "Google has carried out a sophisticated, anticompetitive, and deceptive scheme for well over a decade" by "manipulating auctions for ad space across the Internet."View the full article

Reddit announced earnings late last week and it boggles me how people love this stock. I am not a financial expert of analysis but Reddit has been saying for some time that 50% of its traffic comes from Google Search. Reddit also said on this Q3 earnings call that its search traffic is flat and that AI is not a traffic driver, at least not yet.View the full article

The continent’s political future could be defined by a never-ending struggle between the centre and the radical rightView the full article

Takeover will combine ownership of brands including Kleenex and Band-AidView the full article

When Elon Musk launched Grokipedia, his AI-generated encyclopedia intended to rival Wikipedia, it was not just another experiment in artificial intelligence. It was a case study in everything that can go wrong when technological power, ideological bias, and unaccountable automation converge in the same hands. Grokipedia copies vast sections of Wikipedia almost verbatim, while rewriting and “reinterpreting” others to reflect Musk’s personal worldview. It could genuinely be conceived as the antithesis of everything that makes Wikipedia good, useful, and human. Grokipedia’s edits aggressively editorialize topics ranging from climate change, to immigration, to (of course) the billionaire’s own companies and bio. The result is less an encyclopedia than an algorithmic mirror of one man’s ideology. A digital monument to self-confidence so unbounded that it might make a Bond villain blush. From collaboration to colonization Wikipedia remains one of humanity’s most extraordinary collective achievements: a global, volunteer-driven repository of knowledge, constantly refined through debate and consensus. Its imperfections are human, visible, and correctable. You can see who edited what, when, and why. Grokipedia is its antithesis. It replaces deliberation with automation, transparency with opacity, and pluralism with personality. Its “editors” are algorithms trained under Musk’s direction, generating rewritten entries that emphasize his favorite narratives and downplay those he disputes. It is a masterclass in how not to make an encyclopedia, a warning against confusing speed with wisdom. In Grokipedia, Musk has done what AI enables too easily: colonize collective knowledge. He has taken a shared human effort, open, transparent, and collaborative, and automated it into something centralized, curated, and unaccountable. And he has done so doing the absolute minimum that the Wikipedia copyleft license requires, in extremely small print, in a place where nobody can see it. The black box meets the bullhorn This is not Musk’s first experiment with truth engineering. His social network, X, routinely modifies visibility and prioritization algorithms to favor narratives that align with his worldview. Now Grokipedia extends that project into the realm of structured knowledge. It uses the language of authority, such as entries, citations, summaries, to give bias the texture of objectivity. This is precisely the danger I warned about in an earlier Fast Company article: the black-box problem. When AI systems are opaque and centralized, we can no longer tell whether an output reflects evidence or intention. With Grokipedia, Musk has fused the two: a black box with a bullhorn. It is not that the platform is wrong on every fact. It is that we cannot know which facts have been filtered, reweighted, or rewritten, or according to what criteria. Or worse, we can have the intuition that the whole thing starts with a set of commands that completely editorialize everything. The line between knowledge and narrative dissolves. The ideological automation problem The Grokipedia project exposes a deeper issue with the current trajectory of AI: the industrialization of ideology. Most people worry about AI misinformation as an emergent property: something that happens accidentally when models hallucinate or remix unreliable data. Grokipedia reminds us that misinformation can also be intentional. It can be programmed, curated, and systematized by design. Grokipedia is positioned as “a factual, bias-free alternative to Wikipedia.” That framing is itself a rhetorical sleight of hand: to present personal bias as neutrality, and neutrality as bias. It is the oldest trick in propaganda, only now automated at planetary scale. This is the dark side of generative AI’s efficiency. The same tools that can summarize scientific papers or translate ancient texts can also rewrite history, adjust emphasis, and polish ideology into something that sounds balanced. The danger is not that Grokipedia lies, but that it lies fluently. Musk, the Bond villain of knowledge There’s a reason Musk’s projects evoke comparisons to fiction: the persona he has cultivated, the disruptor, the visionary, the self-styled truth-teller, has now evolved into something closer to Bond villain megalomania. In the films, the villain always seeks to control the world’s energy, communication, or information. Musk now dabbles in all three. He builds rockets, satellites, social networks, and AI models. Each new venture expands his control over a layer of global infrastructure. Grokipedia is just the latest addition: the narrative layer. If you control the story, you control how people interpret reality. What AI should never be Grokipedia is a perfect negative example of what AI should never become: a machine for amplifying one person’s convictions under the pretense of collective truth. It is tempting to dismiss the project as eccentric or unserious. But that would be a mistake. Grokipedia crystallizes a pattern already spreading across the AI landscape: many emerging AI systems, whether from OpenAI, Meta, or Anthropic, are proprietary, opaque, and centrally managed. The difference is that Musk has made his biases explicit, while others keep theirs hidden behind corporate PR. By appropriating a public commons like Wikipedia, Grokipedia shows what happens when AI governance and ethics are absent: intellectual resources built for everyone can be re-colonized by anyone powerful enough to scrape, repackage, and automate them. The Wikipedia contrast Wikipedia’s success comes from something AI still lacks: accountability through transparency. Anyone can view the edit history of a page, argue about it, and restore balance through consensus. It is messy, but it is democratic. AI systems, by contrast, are autocratic. They encode choices made by their creators, yet present their answers as universal truth. Grokipedia takes this opacity to its logical conclusion: a single, unchallengeable version of knowledge generated by an unaccountable machine. It’s a sobering reminder that the problem with AI is not that it’s too creative or too powerful, but that it’s too easy to use power without oversight. Lessons for the AI era Grokipedia should force a reckoning within the AI community and beyond. The lesson is not that AI must be banned from knowledge production, but that it must be governed like knowledge, not like software. That means: Transparency about data sources and editorial processes. Pluralism — allowing multiple voices and perspectives rather than central control. Accountability, where outputs can be audited, disputed, and corrected. And above all, humility: the recognition that no single person, however brilliant, has the right to define what counts as truth. AI has the potential to amplify human understanding. But when it becomes a tool of ideological projection, it erodes the very idea of knowledge. The moral of the story In the end, Grokipedia will not replace Wikipedia: it will stand as a cautionary artifact of the early AI age, the moment when one individual mistook computational capacity for moral authority. Elon Musk has built many remarkable things. But with Grokipedia, he has crossed into the realm of dystopian parody: the digital embodiment of the Bond villain who, having conquered space and social media, now seeks to rewrite the encyclopedia itself. The true danger of AI is not the black box. It’s the person who owns the box and decides what the rest of us are allowed to read inside it. View the full article

Why are some jobs better than others? Well, it largely depends on people’s preferences. In other words, one person’s dream job may be another person’s nightmare. And yet, there are also clearly some universal or at least generalizable parameters that make most people accept the idea that some jobs are objectively better than others — or at least seen by most as generally preferable. Pay and purpose For example, jobs that pay well, offer stability, and provide opportunities for growth are almost universally considered better. A tenured professorship, a senior engineering role at a reputable company, or a stable medical position all combine financial security with long-term prospects and prestige. In contrast, poorly paid, insecure, or dead-end roles (like gig work with no benefits or exploitative manual labor with long brutal shifts and an alienating experience) are widely viewed as worse, even if a few individuals might value their flexibility or simplicity. Then there’s autonomy. Jobs that grant people a degree of control over how and when they work (e.g., creative professionals, entrepreneurs, and researchers) tend to score higher on satisfaction than those defined by micromanagement or rigid supervision. Autonomy is a proxy for trust and respect, and it correlates strongly with both engagement and mental health. Few people dream of jobs where every move is monitored, and most aspire to roles where they can think, decide, and act freely. Unsurprisingly, purpose matters, too. Occupations that contribute to something meaningful (whether saving lives, advancing knowledge, or building something lasting) are viewed as more fulfilling than those that feel transactional or pointless. A teacher inspiring students, a scientist developing a vaccine, or an architect designing a community space are all examples of work that confers a sense of legacy. By contrast, even lucrative jobs can feel hollow when they lack purpose or moral value. This may explain the low correlation between pay and job satisfaction, which highlights the fact that we tend to overestimate the importance of compensation when making career choices. In that sense, the “best” jobs aren’t just about rewards, but about how they make people feel about themselves and their place in the world. What the science says A good way to acknowledge these nuances, and yet still predict whether a person is likely to access better jobs, is to examine why some individuals have more choices than others. That is, in any job or labor market, available job or career opportunities may have different degrees of appeal or attractiveness; but from a job-seekers perspective, the more employable you are, the more likely to are to find and maintain a desirable job – whether we look at subjective or objective dimensions of desirability. With this in mind, here are some critical learnings about the science of employability that explain why certain people are better able to access in-demand jobs: (1) Their personality Research has consistently shown that employability is largely a function of personality. Traits such as conscientiousness, emotional stability, curiosity, and sociability predict not only who gets hired, but also who thrives once employed. Personality shapes reputation (the way others see us) and reputation determines whether we are trusted, promoted, and retained. For instance, people who are reliable, calm under pressure, and open to learning tend to be more employable than those who are erratic, avoid feedback, or difficult to work with. Moreover, personality also predicts job satisfaction: even in objectively good jobs, neurotic or disagreeable people are less likely to feel content, whereas optimistic and adaptable individuals find meaning in a wider range of roles, and are resilient if not satisfied even with jobs that make most people miserable. In short, who you are determines both the jobs you can get and how you feel about them once you do. (2) Their social class While most advanced economies like to think of themselves as meritocracies, the data on social mobility suggest otherwise. In the United States, only about half of children born to parents in the bottom income quintile will ever move up the ladder, and just 7% will reach the top quintile. In the UK, the “class pay gap” between working-class and professional backgrounds persists even among graduates. Privilege still buys access to education, networks, internships, and employers willing to take a chance. Sociologists call this social capital; in plain terms, it means your parents’ contacts and credentials still matter more than your own potential. The world may be trending toward meritocracy, but it hasn’t quite arrived there yet. (3) Where you are born Location remains one of the most powerful predictors of career outcomes. The “Where-to-Be-Born Index” ranks countries by the opportunities they afford their citizens, and being born in Switzerland, Denmark, or Singapore gives you exponentially better odds of landing a good job than being born in Haiti, South Sudan, or Bhutan. Access to education, infrastructure, technology, and basic security all shape employability. The same talent, if born in a country with weak institutions or unstable governance, is far less likely to achieve its potential. In that sense, geography is more likely than talent to mean destiny, at least until global mobility or remote work meaningfully narrow the gap. (4) Their values, interests, and preferences Even within similar contexts, people differ in what they want from work. Psychologists like Shalom Schwartz and Robert Hogan have shown that our motivational values (e.g., achievement, power, altruism, security, stimulation, and so forth) determine what “fit” looks like for us. Someone who values adventure and creativity will flourish in start-ups or design roles, while a person who craves structure and predictability may prefer government or finance. Misalignment between values and job environment (say, a highly independent person in a bureaucratic culture) leads to burnout or disengagement. The better your job matches your values, the more likely you are to perceive it as a good one. Adapt, evolve, and improve In the end, “better jobs” are not just better paid or better designed; they’re better matched to the people who hold them. Some of this is luck: being born in the right family, in the right country, with the right temperament, will simply afford you a higher range and choice of matches, so you are bound to find more options. But much of it also depends on deliberate self-awareness, namely understanding what kind of environments bring out the best in you, and aligning your career moves accordingly. From a societal perspective, the goal should be to expand access to good jobs by improving education, reducing inequality, and helping people develop the skills and traits that make them employable. That means focusing less on pedigree and more on potential, less on connections and more on competence. Ultimately, the world of work will never be perfectly fair, but it can be fairer. And while none of us can control where we start, we can control how we grow. The most employable people are not just those who fit the system, but those who learn to adapt, evolve, and turn whatever job they have into something better. View the full article

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. Glenn Fogel joined dot-com darling Priceline in early 2000, a year after the “name your price” travel site’s blockbuster initial public offering (IPO). “I joined one week before the Nasdaq peaked,” Fogel recalls. Within a year of his arrival, the stock had cratered to $6 a share. By March 2002, the Nasdaq, a proxy for the burgeoning e-commerce and tech infrastructure companies that went public, plunged 77% from its March 2020 highs. Quips Fogel: “At the time, my mother was wondering whether I still had a job.” Today, Fogel is CEO and president of Booking Holdings—parent of Priceline, KAYAK, Booking.com, OpenTable, and other brands. His experience navigating the dotcom bubble (more on that in a moment) affords a compelling perch from which to observe the current generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) boom. He sees parallels in the gold-rush mentality of both booms: “There’s lots of investments, lots of new companies,” he says. “Many of them will not make it. Many investors will lose money.” Corporate investment in AI reached $252.3 billion, and private investment in gen AI reached $33.9 billion in 2024, according to data compiled by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered artificial intelligence. The key difference between the dotcom bubble and now? “I would say in terms of the possibility for human society, I think the possible transformations from gen AI are so much greater than what was possible from the [startups of] the nineties,” he says. Fogel points to breakthroughs like Google’s AlphaFold model, which decoded protein folding and could accelerate drug discovery. “Every area really of our society can be greatly improved by using gen AI,” he says. “That’s the thing that’s so exciting.” Happy travelers In travel, the stakes may not be as high, but the impact on daily life could be profound. “Maybe we’re not going to save a lot of lives the way that the healthcare industry is going to be able to do, but maybe we’ll make the experience much happier,” he says. Indeed, the company is already deploying AI to reduce customer-service wait times, using gen AI chatbots that can solve problems instantly. When a human agent does handle a call, the bots generate conversation summaries and next steps—work that previously consumed significant amounts of agent time. Embracing emerging technology has been key to Booking Holdings’s longevity. When predecessor company Priceline Group bought Booking.com in 2005, it acquired Booking’s prowess in leveraging Google’s paid search and platforms that enabled the business to rapidly test messaging to optimize conversion rates. The company subsequently bought travel search engine KAYAK in 2013 and restaurant reservation platform OpenTable in 2014. Priceline Group changed its name to Booking Holdings in 2018. The long view Travel itself is currently experiencing a boom. Despite economic uncertainty, U.S. consumers, especially those at the high-end of the market, are prioritizing travel, with airlines and hotels indicating strong demand for premium products. Indeed, at the end of October, Booking Holdings reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and said it continues to see “steady travel demand trends” in the current quarter. Having led Booking Holdings through the dotcom boom and bust—as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a near complete shutdown of travel—Fogel acknowledges that nothing goes up forever. “I don’t know when those bad times are going to come, but they’re going to come sometimes,” he says. Still, he takes the long view: “I do know, in the long run, travel is always going to increase. It is human nature . . . people wanting to travel.” This time it’s different? Do you agree that the societal benefits of gen AI companies and technologies dwarf the contributions of the dotcoms? If so, what breakthroughs excite you most? Send your examples to me at stephaniemehta@mansueto.com. I’d love to share your scenarios in a future newsletter. Read more: bubble theories Why the AI-fueled stock market isn’t a bubble waiting to pop There isn’t an AI bubble. There are three Are we in an AI bubble? View the full article

Google’s AI Overviews continue to disrupt search as we know it. For advertisers, the landscape is shifting fast, with AI-generated answers now appearing on more queries and across more industries. Early Adthena data shows Paid Search click-through rates could decline by 8–12 percentage points (roughly a 20–40% relative drop) as AI-generated answers take up more space on the SERP. To understand the real impact of Google’s AI Overviews, Adthena’s data science team analyzed over 21 million indexes across two four-week periods (April – May and August – September) spanning five key industries: Retail, Travel, Finance, Healthcare, and Automotive. Our goal was to uncover: How often AI Overviews appear across industries and search types Which types of queries are most likely to trigger them How AI Overviews visibility has changed over time, both by industry and by query length What are AI Overviews and why they matter AI Overviews are Google’s generative responses to search queries. They appear prominently on the SERP, often at the very top, summarizing answers using a blend of AI-generated content and web citations. These responses differ from traditional features like featured snippets or knowledge panels: Featured snippets pull directly from a single source. Knowledge panel answers rely on structured data and the knowledge graph. AI Overviews synthesize multiple sources. Their position on the page makes them powerful, but also disruptive. Ads and organic listings are often pushed below the fold, forcing advertisers to rethink how they maintain brand visibility. AI Overviews are moving down the funnel In our first study, AI Overviews mostly appeared on longer, informational search queries. This time, we’re seeing that pattern break. Across industries, AI Overviews are now triggering on shorter, high-volume keywords – the kind that drive paid conversions. AI Overviews are no longer a purely top-of-funnel feature. They’re increasingly appearing on commercial queries, where ad spend and ROI are most concentrated. This compression of the funnel is a significant shift: it means AI Overviews are starting to occupy the same space as PPC ads, reshaping where and how visibility can be won. Industry deep dive: How AI Overviews are reshaping each vertical The chart below shows the percentage of search indexes with AI Overviews across different query lengths, from single-word searches to 10-word queries for each industry. This visualization highlights a similar pattern to the first study – a clear, consistent trend across all verticals: the longer the search query, the higher the likelihood of triggering an AI Overviews. However, what’s changed this time is the scale and intensity of that effect. While longer searches still dominate AI Overviews triggers, we’re now seeing meaningful growth in shorter, high-volume queries, particularly in Finance and Retail. Across industries, the degree of disruption varies significantly: some sectors are seeing steady, incremental shifts, while others like Healthcare and Finance are experiencing a rapid reshaping of their search landscape. The next visualization deepens this story by showing the percentage of search indexes with AI Overviews across query lengths for each industry. Finance and Retail lead the way: Finance AI Overviews visibility climbs from 11% on single-word searches to almost 79% on longer queries, while Retail peaks at 84% on 9-10 word searches, showing how generative results now dominate comparison and product discovery queries. Healthcare remains high across the board: Even short medical queries (1-3 words) trigger AI Overviews frequently, highlighting this category’s saturation in generative results. Automotive and Travel show slower growth: AI Overviews appear less often here, but both industries follow the same upward curve, with Travel in particular showing early signs of disruption in longer, planning-related queries. Comparing two time periods: How AI Overviews visibility is evolving By comparing data ranges, we can see just how dramatically AI Overviews have expanded in a short time. The chart below shows the change in AI Overviews visibility across industries, revealing both the pace of growth and the widening reach of generative search. Finance saw the fastest increase, up 9.9%, as AI Overviews rapidly expanded across informational and top-funnel queries. Healthcare followed closely at 8.3%, maintaining the highest overall presence despite signs of saturation. Travel rose 5.8%, with AI Overviews now appearing on planning and booking searches that were once dominated by Hotel and Flight Ads. Retail and Automotive grew modestly at around 2%, signaling early but steady adoption in product and comparison-based searches. In just four months, AI Overviews have grown across every vertical, reshaping both informational and commercial SERPs. The fastest growth is happening where users research, compare, or plan, the same spaces where paid ads have traditionally performed best. Brand-level Insights: Who’s gaining and losing ground To understand which brands are most affected, we compared AI Overviews visibility across leading domains in each vertical. Adthena’s analysis covers a diverse mix of global enterprise domains across five key industries. The table below highlights the depth of the dataset, illustrating the index and search term coverage. This dataset provides the foundation for our brand-level analysis, revealing how AI Overviews visibility differs by domain, industry, and search behavior. The results show clear winners and early warning signs for others: Finance: Aggregators and major banks are leading the surge. client6.com (+13.7%), client7.com (+12.9%), and client5.com (+10.7%) have seen the sharpest increases, reflecting the dominance of comparison and informational content. Healthcare: Brands like client10.com (+13.9%) and client13.com (+10.3%) are gaining traction as AI Overviews continue to surface on top-funnel medical queries. Travel: client22.com (+13.0%) and client23.com (+5.6%) are early movers, as AI Overviews increasingly appear on booking and planning-related searches. Retail and Automotive: More modest gains, led by client18.com (+3.5%) and client2.com (+5.9%), show gradual expansion into product and vehicle research queries. The brands gaining the most visibility in AI Overviews are those providing broad, information-rich content, often educational or comparison-focused. These pages are now feeding Google’s generative results, shifting visibility away from pure paid placements. Change in AI Overviews visibility by query length The heatmap below compares how AI Overviews’ visibility has shifted across query lengths, from one-word searches to 10-word queries. This view highlights how Google’s AI is evolving differently across industries and query complexities. Finance: Expanding across the full query spectrum Finance shows balanced growth across all query lengths (+10-15%), reflecting Google’s deeper grasp of commercial intent and overlap with traditional PPC and comparison spaces. Healthcare: Pullback on complex medical queries Despite being the most saturated category, Healthcare saw declines in longer queries (-21%), suggesting that Google might limit AI exposure on sensitive topics, focusing visibility on simpler, safer searches. Retail: Long queries continue to lead Retail AI Overviews gains (+6-11%) are driven by longer, product-level searches like [best cordless vacuum cleaner under £200], reinforcing AI Overviews’ strength in shopping-intent queries. Travel: Broad, consistent expansion Travel rose steadily (+4-8%), especially in mid-length, planning-style searches such as [best time to visit Barcelona in spring], showing AI Overviews replacing or complementing paid listings. Automotive: Slow, steady movement Automotive saw modest growth (+3-6%) across short and mid-length queries but a -25% drop in long searches, revealing volatility in AI handling of specific comparisons. AI Overviews are refining intent recognition across industries, expanding influence in research and commercial searches, while showing caution in sensitive areas like Healthcare, reshaping the balance between paid and organic visibility. Shedding light with Adthena’s AI Overviews Dashboard With Adthena’s AI Overviews Dashboard, advertisers can finally monitor where and how AI Overviews appear, measure their impact on performance, and uncover new opportunities to stay ahead of disruption. The dashboard goes beyond surface-level tracking; it exposes the intent patterns driving AI Overviews appearances, turning complex data into actionable strategy. Each advertiser gets a completely tailored view of their competitive landscape. You can select specific search terms or categories and even see how AI Overviews impact the terms your competitors bid on. Unlike tools that capture AI Overviews data only periodically, Adthena’s platform continuously indexes search results multiple times per day. This delivers the most accurate, timely visibility into AI Overviews frequency, crucial intelligence for brands that depend on Google Ads as a core revenue channel, especially as paid ads begin surfacing directly within AI Overviews themselves. The hidden opportunities AI Overviews don’t appear everywhere, and where they do, their impact isn’t uniform. In categories where AI Overviews penetration is still low, advertisers can double down on capturing SERP real estate. Where AI Overviews are prominent, advertisers can bid more aggressively to secure more visibility, expand reach to capture more revenue, and adjust ad copy strategy. The SERP has changed: Are you ready? AI Overviews are redefining how brands compete across paid and organic search. Visibility is becoming harder to secure, competition is intensifying, and the ability to adapt quickly is now essential for success. With Adthena’s AI Overviews Dashboard, you can see how your visibility is shifting across the evolving SERP, and learn how to safeguard your paid search performance in the age of AI. Book a demo to learn more. View the full article

Below, Gene Ludwig shares five key insights from his new book, The Mismeasurement of America: How Outdated Government Statistics Mask the Economic Struggle of Everyday Americans. Gene is the former Comptroller of the Currency and founder of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP), a nonprofit dedicated to uncovering the truths that official statistics too often obscure. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Politico, The Financial Times, and TIME. What’s the big idea? Americans keep hearing that the economy is strong. Unemployment is low. Wages are rising. Growth is steady. But for millions of families, those headlines feel like a cruel joke. The cost of rent, groceries, and healthcare keep climbing while steady, well-paid work remains out of reach. The disconnect isn’t just perception—it’s baked into the way we measure economic success. Listen to the audio version of this Book Bite—read by Gene himself—below, or in the Next Big Idea App. 1. We are at an economic tipping point Throughout history, when governments fail to fully appreciate the realities faced by their people, it leads to crisis. The United States may be on the brink of such economic and societal unrest. The unrest that led to the French Revolution and the economic imbalances preceding the Great Depression are both cases in point. In the late eighteenth century, the oppressive economic situation facing the French people went unacknowledged by the royal family for decades. The French ruling class considered the truth about the nation’s fiscal crisis to be nefarious—a threat to their power. Marie Antoinette, when told the peasants had no bread, replied, “Let them eat cake!” Whether or not the remark is literal or legend, it captures the ruling class’s indifference. Soon after, the Revolution erupted, bringing turmoil and suffering to French citizens of every rank and station. The same narrative arc applied a century and a half later when the Great Depression loomed. In both instances, economic data that could have set off alarm bells was available—more accurate figures that would have revealed the risks emerging—and this perspective might have prompted action that could have softened the blow, if not avoided the crises altogether. But the data was either confusing, confounded with other contrary data, or affirmatively hidden. The effects were catastrophic. 2. A quarter of Americans are functionally unemployed The unemployment statistics our government releases monthly are misleading. If someone is looking for full-time employment but finds nothing except a single hour of work in a week, they are considered “employed” in the eyes of the government. For purposes of official government statistics, this one-hour employee is in the same category as someone secure in a full-time job. This logic extends to wages. Someone who works full- or part-time for a salary that falls below the poverty line (around $25,000 a year for a three-person household) is classified the same way as someone earning $1 million every month. “The United States may be on the brink of such economic and societal unrest.” LISEP’s research team and I consider anyone in the previous two situations to be functionally unemployed. The government’s most recent unemployment rate is 4.3 percent, but our research finds that 24.7 percent of American workers are functionally unemployed. 3. Pay statistics ignore part-time and unemployed job seekers The government reports on “median wages” every quarter. The idea behind their metric is simple and straightforward: If you line up all full-time employees in order of their weekly earnings, the person directly in the middle earns the median wage. But this statistic only considers the wages of people who are currently employed full-time, overlooking millions of part-time workers and unemployed job seekers. So, the moment a low-wage factory worker receives a pink slip, her salary is deleted from the sample altogether. The moment a farm worker’s seasonal employment ends, his salary is similarly deleted. What this means is the official earnings measure shows an overstated wage that doesn’t reflect the reality for many low- and middle-income Americans. It can even appear to improve during economic downturns because low-wage workers are disproportionately affected by layoffs. When the economy went into near freefall during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, government-reported median earnings rose seven percent. During that same period, the percentage of functionally unemployed Americans rose from 25.7 percent to 32.8 percent. 4. Yes, your groceries are more expensive When people talk about inflation, they’re usually referring to changes in the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. The CPI tracks the prices of some 80,000 goods and services, from apples to apartments, baby formula to boats, and much more. The idea is that it gives us a single figure to measure the changing cost of a basket of all consumer products. “CPI obscures the true cost of living for working-class Americans.” This basket is so wide-ranging that it doesn’t reflect how “ordinary” consumers experience cost-of-living changes, as most Americans are not buying 80,000 things. If the costs of second homes tripled while everything else in the basket stayed flat, the average American household wouldn’t feel a thing—the price hike would get averaged in, but it wouldn’t impact their life. But the opposite is true. Over the past two decades, the price of jewelry has risen by about 39 percent, while essential goods like bread are up by 112 percent and ground beef by 155 percent. When these items are measured alongside each other in the CPI, the relative stability of luxury items masks the inflation faced by Americans of more modest means. From 2001 to 2023, the CPI points to a 72 percent rise in living costs, yet our analysis of essential expenses—housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and other basics—shows those costs climbed 97 percent. CPI obscures the true cost of living for working-class Americans. 5. We need better statistics The headline statistics we currently employ to understand America’s economy are profoundly misleading and, unfortunately, drive policy. The CPI is pivotal in determining Social Security Benefits, as well as who qualifies for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Head Start, and Pell Grants. At least twelve states and Washington, D.C., used the CPI to determine minimum wage. Our failure to produce statistics that accurately reflect the nation’s economic reality makes it much harder to shape highly effective policy responses—and harder to identify the tipping point of economic and social unrest. Simply put, when you aim at the wrong target, you miss. “Human nature favors expeditious, rosy analysis rather than the rigor required to glean accuracy.” Flaws in widely accepted economic statistics impede important decision-making. In many cases, those who accept economic misrepresentations do so for benign reasons: The data is too difficult to collect with sufficient regularity or precision, or the samples aren’t sufficiently comprehensive. Human nature favors expeditious, rosy analysis rather than the rigor required to glean accuracy, particularly when accurate numbers may be gloomy. At LISEP, we’ve developed alternatives to these imperfect statistics. Our True Rate of Unemployment metric includes the functionally unemployed, and our True Weekly Earnings measure includes the entire workforce. Our True Living Cost index narrows the basket of indexed consumer goods to those truly essential to the average American, while our Minimal Quality of Life index measures what it costs to not just get by but to actually have an opportunity to climb the economic ladder. Finally, our Shared Economic Prosperity measure tracks how the country’s economic growth translates into opportunity for all. For decades, policymakers and leaders have judged success or failure by distorted standards, and ordinary Americans have paid the price. Unless we change the headline statistics to reflect the reality Americans actually feel, we will keep steering down the wrong paths. Enjoy our full library of Book Bites—read by the authors!—in the Next Big Idea App. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission. 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