Your ‘freedom number’ might be smaller than you think
You dream of quitting a toxic job, pivoting to a new career, or starting your own business. But there’s a financial reality to such a move: can you afford to earn less? In 2021, I quit a…
Grazia British
I focus on highlighting the latest in news and politics. With a passion for bringing fresh perspectives to the forefront, I aim to share stories that inspire progress, critical thinking, and informed discussions on today's most pressing issues.
How the Golden State Valkyries became the WNBA’s breakout expansion team
The week of the WNBA All-Star Game, Jess Smith, president of the Golden State Valkyries, shares how the team has quickly built a brand identity in its first year in the league—breaking…
The peat ban is coming. Will your favorite dram disappear with it?
The climate crisis upends life in countless ways large and small, including potentially ending one beloved 1,000-year-old tradition. Peated whiskies, flavored with decaying organic matter…
Netflix slipped something new into your favorite show
For the first time, a hit Netflix show used something unusual to craft a final scene: AI. On its quarterly earnings call, the company’s co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, highlighted the use of…
Astronomer CEO’s viral Coldplay moment reminds us: We’re all being watched all the time
Convenience stores often have signs that read, “Smile, you’re on camera,” to discourage all who enter from engaging in transgressive behavior. Perhaps those signs should go everywhere now.…
‘Who did this guy become?’ This creator quit his job and lost his TikTok audience
If you’ve built an audience around documenting your 9-to-5 online, what happens after you hand in your notice? That’s the conundrum facing Connor Hubbard, aka “hubs.life,” a creator who…
That bargain e-bike you bought online? It might burn your house down
If you bought an e-bike on Amazon for a price that seemed too good to be true, there’s a fair chance you might’ve been right. A federal consumer watchdog just issued a recall for about…
How IBM and Moderna’s partnership could lead to an explosion in drug development
IBM: International Business Machines . . . or “Incredible Breakthroughs in Medicine”? IBM may need to tweak its moniker in light of recent news, because its latest work in quantum…
Amex Q2 results prove it’s still the heavyweight of high-end cards
With its complex web of travel perks, airport lounges, and points, the premium credit card scene is more competitive than ever. But if the competition is heating up, luxury card stalwart…
Trader Joe’s new store openings: Full updated list of new locations coming soon across 17 states
If you’re a fan of Trader Joe’s, there is some good news: The company says it will open 30 new locations across America soon. Here’s what you need to know about the beloved (but…
What if transportation were treated like a phone plan?
Transportation can be affordable or even “free” (to the user) if we rethink the assumptions baked into our infrastructure and business models. The prevailing belief in the US is that…
A new change to TSA airport security lines could cut wait times by a lot—for these types of travelers
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday that two groups of travelers will now be able to get through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoints…
More commercials are playing before movies: Are theater chains testing your patience or saving the box office?
The business model for movie theaters has been under threat since at least the 1980s with the widespread adoption of the VHS. DVDs, streaming, and the COVID-19 pandemic have only…
Meta-owned WhatsApp could be banned in Russia. Here’s why
WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market, a lawmaker who regulates the IT sector said on Friday, warning that the messaging app owned by Meta Platforms is very likely to be put…
Trump’s $9 billion in cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid passes in the House
The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their…
A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data
The bottom line, says William Agnew, a postdoctoral fellow in AI ethics at Carnegie Mellon University and one of the coauthors, is that “anything you put online can and probably has been…
The Download: how to run an LLM, and a history of “three-parent babies”
In the early days of large language models, there was a high barrier to entry: it used to be impossible to run anything useful on your own computer without investing in pricey GPUs. But…
Your dog could save us from America’s most annoying invasive species
Spotted lanternflies have been making headlines since they were first sighted in the U.S. over a decade ago. The colorful, invasive bugs are a double whammy for fruit trees and other key…
“Eddington” Is a Lethally Self-Satisfied COVID Satire
“Eddington” is a slog, but a slog with ambitions—and its director and screenwriter, Ari Aster, is savvy enough to cultivate an air of mystery about what those ambitions are. His earlier…
A brief history of “three-parent babies”
This week we heard that eight babies have been born in the UK following an experimental form of IVF that involves DNA from three people. The approach was used to prevent women with genetic…
The 6 attachments sabotaging your work
Americans are not happy these days. Some of this angst is caused by the state of the world. Americans feel lonely, angry, cynical, and polarized. How are we supposed to do our best work…
‘She missed being outside on the pavement’: Cat owners are buying concrete slabs for their pets, thanks to TikTok
The new must-have pet accessory? A concrete slab. On #CatTok, videos are racking up views as cat owners bring slabs into their homes, set them down, and watch their beloved pets sniff,…
Underserved students interested in STEM are often overlooked
The STEM talent shortage in the U.S. isn’t caused by lack of student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. It is caused by us overlooking and under-supporting the…