El Niño is officially here—and it could be one of the strongest in our National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s historic record. With our oceans already warming from the burning of fossil fuels and human-caused climate change, El Niño adds even more heat. That means the climate pattern has the potential to amplify weather extremes like droughts, floods, and more damaging forest fires. It could also disrupt fishers and lead to crop loss in certain regions of the world. [Image: NOAA] Though some have dubbed this year’s climate pattern a “Super El Niño,” NOAA meteorologists don’t use that term. Instead, they…
Author: Staff Writer
Having led the fashion sustainability conversation longer than most, and amid the growing number of public failures and shifting consumer sentiment, I think we need to stop treating sustainable fashion as a standalone category that will fix fashion’s sustainability problems. Not only is that putting the spotlight in the wrong place, but “sustainable brands” typically don’t scale, which reinforces the narrative that sustainability isn’t viable or a force for economic prosperity. I was one of the first to lead mission-driven brands, dating back to Product (RED) at Gap Inc. I’ve created two brands from scratch: For Days and Maiyet. I’m…
In Wednesday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks made history with the greatest comeback in the history of the league’s title round. While the Knicks made headlines for their record-breaking gameplay, one famous fan made headlines for her latest fashion statement: Taylor Swift, whose courtside style is blowing up on social media. Swift was a surprise attendee at Madison Square Garden, alongside friends and frequent collaborators Este and Alana Haim. The three wore custom matching shirts, each sporting a Knicks-based pun: The Haim sisters wore tees printed with “Knickelback” and “Knickole Kidman,” while Swift paid…
First, a few companies asked (very nicely) for their employees to come in one day a week. Work from home folks, like me, thought to themselves: Well, okay. One day a week is cool. I can get out of my pajamas and see my work-folk. The next thing you know, there was a two-day a week policy. You know, just for a few meetings. Take a break from the Zooms. Get a coffee in the morning. Take a meeting after work. Then, things got weird. We couldn’t just be on the Zooms, we had to make sure our cameras were turned on. …
While millions of soccer fans cheer or groan over World Cup matches spanning North America, health officials will be on high alert for germs.A heat wave may be the most obvious health threat. But infectious diseases can spread in a crowd, and experts are set to scrutinize wastewater, hospital visits, even social media for any signs that an outbreak might be brewing.Measles, one of the most contagious diseases, is among the top concerns, sparking a warning this week from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO. With a nearly six-week stretch of packed stadiums, bars and tourist sites in 16 cities,…
A major STEM-focused university in the unlikely location of Bentonville, Arkansas, is starting to take shape. Announced in 2025, the university is the brainchild of brothers Tom and Steuart Walton, grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton and heirs to the massive wealth the company has created. A new design by one of the world’s most famous architects could help the project take shape, and accelerate the large-scale transformation happening across Bentonville. Initial renderings have just been released for the STEM university and a related master plan by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), and they show a three-building campus spanning two…
Tourists may soon be able to fast-track their U.S. visas—if they’re willing to pay an extra $750. Beginning July 1, a pilot program will offer travelers the option to skip ahead of other applicants when applying for a B-1 or B-2 nonimmigrant visa. The new paid track will allow applicants to secure an interview appointment, a requirement for visa approval, within 10 business days. Normally, interview appointments are handed out on a first-availability basis, which can range from weeks to months out. While the $750 payment will secure an appointment quickly, it does not change the requirements for eligibility and…
After the usual round of strategy conversations, my client sat down to write his strategy document. It had been percolating in his head for days. Then, when he sat down, nothing happened. Strategy and strategic thinking are of the utmost importance as the bedrock and guidance for organizations, but creating them requires your brain to work well. Understanding how the brain supports performance is useful not only for strategy work but also across many leadership tasks. Although the brain contains around 80 billion neurons with countless connections, two systems matter most here: the analytic network and the limbic system. 2…
It’s time for kick-off. After years of anticipation for what has been billed the biggest World Cup ever, the 2026 tournament hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico is here. Not only is this year’s competition the biggest in terms of teams playing (48, up from 32), it’s expected to draw five billion viewers over its month-long run. And that’s why advertisers are spending upwards of $10.5 billion globally to get their brands in front of all those eyeballs. Of course, maybe they should’ve just sponsored Freddy the viral Germany fan traveling the country and discovering all of America’s specific…
In times past, when we wanted to know which team would win the World Cup, we had to turn to seers with crystal balls, use divination via tea leaves, or hope for Paul the Octopus to tell us what would happen. But modern data science can provide a better alternative. As part of a team of statisticians, I helped train a machine learning algorithm to predict the most likely course of the tournament. Probabilistic forecasts and loaded dice The algorithm we built proceeds in two steps. In the first, sophisticated statistical models and expert insight from bookmakers and transfer markets…