Fast Company Digest

Due to geopolitical and Federal rate uncertainty, gold is becoming a popular investment option lately. And those looking to stock up have turned to a new place to buy: Costco. The discount club’s share price jumped 46% over the past year and is estimated to sell $100 to $200 million in gold bars every month. Rob Walker, who writes ‘Fast Company’s’ weekly Branded column, breaks down how Costco beca...

The total solar eclipse was the biggest story this week for millions in the U.S. But scientist Frederic Bertley says that the eclipse frenzy illustrates how America is an entertainment culture, always looking for the next dopamine hit. Instead, he says we should take this collective moment of interest in science to address the inequalities in STEM education. Also, Google’s productivity expert, Lau...

On Monday, April 8, millions in North America will be able to witness a full solar eclipse. Writer Frederic Bertley explains the science behind this natural wonder—so rare, the next full solar eclipse won’t occur until 2046. And for those interested in boosting employee engagement, we’ll be discussing this guide for emotionally intelligent leaders; it offers ways for helping your team feel valued,...

A team of engineers at NASA is developing a silvery sheet of fabric that uses the pressure of sunlight to move through space without using a single drop of fuel. It’s a scientific project that could enable unrestricted space travel. Meanwhile, in more Earthly news, Zoom’s head of product walked us through a massive makeover of the video conferencing service—the first since the beginning of the pan...

First, most large online platforms have given up on news. Meta, aka Facebook, has removed its tools for news publishers. Google is experimenting with removing the news tab from search results, and Elon Musk, the owner of X (aka Twitter) rails against the media. Writer Ryan Broderick explores the possibility of LinkedIn, with its one billion worldwide users filling the online news distribution void...

As Congress attempts to ban TikTok in the United States, the app is fighting back—attempting to mobilize its 170 million American users to call Congress and oppose the bill. But it’s not the first tech platform to leverage its army of users against proposed legislation. Here’s what TikTok likely learned from Uber and AirBnB’s similar legal battles. Next, brainstorming meetings: We’ve all been in o...

As Reddit prepares to go public this month, its executives want to stay on the good side of some important stakeholders: the communities that organized on Reddit itself during the meme-stock phenomenon of 2021. Also, with 85% of Americans worried they’ll lose their jobs, leaders are considering the best ways to deal with layoffs. When is transparency a good idea, and what is the best way to go abo...

What do job interviews look like when conducted by AI bots? Also, writer Talib Visram interviews the dean of the CUNY Journalism School about why, even amid mass media layoffs, applications are up more than 45%.

This week, writer Rob Walker discusses Waymo, which had been considered the most trusted company in the autonomous-vehicle race until a misguided trip into a Lunar New Year celebration in San Francisco ended in flames (literally!). Next, remember Facebook in the run-up to the 2016 election? At that time, the company sponsored debates and aggressively courted political advertisers. But this year, t...

This week: 911 emergency services have reached a critical staffing crisis in recent years with one in four jobs vacant. Writer Adam Bluestein explores how remote work for 911 dispatchers can combine workplace flexibility and critical, real-time response rates. Also, personal finance writer Emily Guy Birken breaks down an essential question for tax season: Should you hire an accountant to make sure...

This week, writer Ryan McCarthy looks into the recent media layoffs. His bleak conclusion after speaking with economists, experts, and journalists themselves? The industry might be suffering from a complete market breakdown. And next, with the unique challenges faced by caregivers and working mothers more apparent than ever, employees need more flexibility and compassion at work. Here are four sug...

This week, writer Sam Becker explains the "great wealth transfer," as some baby boomers pass their assets to Gen X and millennials. The generational transition comprises some $84 trillion in wealth. And Haystack plans to expand their AI-generated weather reports to 100 locations over the next two weeks, and every U.S. city in the next few months. The service uses text-to-speech and an image genera...

This week, confirmation that it's not just your imagination—Google search results are getting worse. A team of German researchers googled over 7,000 search terms once a week for a year, and concluded that the site is losing the war against spam. And a new analysis of the cost of a global transition to clean energy says that reality may be much cheaper than predictions, because most estimates don't...

This week, Oxfam International’s annual inequality report carries some bleak news: As the world’s poorest continue to get poorer, we can expect to have the world’s first trillionaire by 2034. The report offers suggestions for curbing growing global inequality. Also, with the rise of large language model (LLM) generative AI tools, the role of prompt engineer is set to be one of the most in-demand n...

This week, it looks like the long "crypto winter" has come to an end, with Bitcoin up over 160% since the start of last year. Author Jeff Wilser interviews experts about what investors can learn from the last bear market. And parts of the U.S. finally saw snow this past week after a record 700-day snow drought in the northeast. Senior writer Adele Peters explains what the long term trends mean for...

Boll & Branch is one of several retailers now offering high-touch experiences in an effort to lure customers, like coming to your home to make the bed after you buy its luxury sheets. And Amishi Jha, a professor of psychology and author of ‘Peak Mind,’ explains the building blocks of a mindset shift that allows you to reclaim your time.

This week, David Rock of the Neuroleadership Institute outlines five leadership trends for 2024 to address the pushback against DEI initiatives, tension over return to office, and low employee engagement. And senior writer Adele Peters shares 10 examples of new solutions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, from jet fuel made from CO2 to a cargo ship powered by food waste.

This week, contributor Ursula Mead details workplace trends for 2024 in recruitment, pay, remote work, well-being, and more. And fast fashion company Shein has grown at lightning speed with over $22 billion in revenue last year, and announced their IPO days before the COP28 conference—where critics called for regulation to limit the fashion industry's environmental impact.

This week, a new trend in productivity called "monk mode" – a more mindful approach to work aimed at breaking free from the digital noise. And we examine how the pandemic changed the way Americans drink, from the rise of the canned cocktail to the death of the downtown happy hour.

This week, with new plans from the Environmental Protection Agency to require water systems across the country to replace lead service lines to over 9 million Americans, editor Kristin Toussaint writes about how to detect lead contamination in your drinking water. And with more live events, schools, and other places creating no-cell phone zones, a company called Yondr that makes locking cell phone...

Much attention has been given to the idea of a 4-day workweek, but editor Kathleen Davis argues that trimming two hours off of each workday instead is the better option. And as more companies continue to experience data breaches, writer Rob Pegoraro explores the importance of minimizing the data you retain to limit the potential damage from a breach. 

This week, amid the flurry of news and changes at OpenAI, senior writer Ainsley Harris explains how skirmishes over AI safety have exploded into all-out war. And Black Friday shopping . . . for months? Writer Chris Morris explores how the “biggest shopping day of the year,” morphed into endless, meaningless promotions.

This week, writer Sarah Bregel explains a promising new development for peanut allergy sufferers: a clinical trial of a new toothpaste that could prevent severe reactions with a special ingredient. And while many companies have adopted hybrid policies that have employees work in the office during the middle of the week, contributor Vineet Jain argues that Mondays are the best day to work in the of...

This week, contributor Chris Mailander explains the three types of CEOs most at risk of poor decision-making and the three common scenarios where they are most likely to get things wrong. And Skims founder Kim Kardashian discusses her company’s new partnership with the NBA and WNBA, and of course, that controversial nipple bra.

This week: What happened to the recession? Forecasters have been predicting doom and gloom for more than a year, but the economy has grown by 4.9% in the past three months. Also, it’s been a year since Elon Musk bought Twitter, renamed X, for $44 billion dollars. And what a year—full of mass layoffs, strict rollbacks of content policies, and a new pay-for-play verification system. So what’s the so...