It can be difficult to assert yourself during a negotiation. You may feel emotional about the process, especially if you are countering a lower offer than you expected or are nervous about being up against a seasoned negotiator. Or perhaps you’re uncomfortable with the idea of selling yourself to a potential employer or partner.
Whatever the case may be, your approach to negotiations could be working against you. The best way to make sure you don’t botch a negotiation is to prepare for it in advance, writes Lydia Fenet, a leading charity auctioneer and expert in selling and negotiations. That can involve using friends and family to practice how a negotiation may unfold.
“To win a negotiation you need to play out as many different scenarios as possible before you sit down, so you are prepared for any angle,” she adds. When you are preparing for a tricky conversationwhether you’re hammering out a job offer or discussing a potential partnershiphere are a few negotiation tips you should keep in mind:
What not to say
There are a few phrases that Fenet says you should steer clear of during any negotiation, to avoid unintentionally weakening your position. “If you begin a negotiation by asking, ‘Is it okay if I ask for . . . ?’ you have made me the authority, which gives me the upper hand,” she writes. Framing the question this wayor even explicitly asking if the salary figure you have proposed is too highcan indicate a lack of confidence, making it more difficult to negotiate effectively.
It’s also important to set a number ahead of time that you won’t go below, so that you’re willing to walk away if the negotiation does not land where you were hoping. “By thinking this through before the negotiation, you should feel confident you wont give away more than you want or accept less than you should in the heat of negotiation,” Fenet says. Since employers will expect you to drive a hard bargain, you should put a number forward without second-guessing yourself or questioning whether it’s too high.
Don’t keep talking
Sometimes, less is more when you are navigating a negotiation. You might struggle to sit in silence after sharing your salary requirements if, say, an employer does not immediately respond to your proposal. If youre highly agreeable, you like to keep things moving forward, says leadership coach René Rodriguez. You may not trip over little details, and you may agree to a lower price. Someone who isnt as agreeable may stop the negotiation right away and demand a higher pay.
But silence can be a powerful tactic during a negotiationparticularly if you’re the kind of person who tends to overexplain or feels the need to justify your demands. In fact, it’s a strategy that employers may use to gain the upper hand during a negotiation. By holding your ground, however, you can force the person you’re negotiating with to speak first.
How to follow up
What you do after a successful negotiation is also a key part of getting the outcome you want. After all, as Fenet writes, a negotiation is “not done until the contract is signed.” It’s crucial to close the loop so you make sure that what you discussed is finalized.
That said, there are times when you know a negotiation is unlikely to pan out. Maybe there isn’t room in the budget or the partnership just isn’t a good match. Even so, it can be worthwhile to create rapport with the person across the table. “Remember, life is long,” Fenet writes. “People change jobs, and budgets come and go; but if people walk out of a negotiation feeling like they made a connection, they will still be your first call.”
Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter.
Speaking to investors last week, Lennar co-CEO Jon Jaffe said that the spring 2025 selling season for Americas second-largest homebuilder is off to a slower-than-normal start.
We do not see the seasonal pickup typically associated with the beginning of the spring selling season,” Jaffe said. “So we continue to lean into our machine focusing on converting leads and appointments and adjusting incentives as needed to maintain sales pace. These adjustments came in the form of mortgage rate buydowns, price reductions, and closing cost assistance.
Last quarter, Lennar spent the equivalent of 13% of home sales on buyer incentivesup from 1.5% in Q2 2022 at the height of the pandemic housing boom. A 13% incentive on a $400,000 home translates to $52,000 worth of incentives.
This weaker housing demand environment is causing unsold inventory to tick up. Indeed, since the pandemic housing boom fizzled out, the number of unsold completed new single-family homes in the U.S. has been rising:
February 2018: 63,000
February 2019: 75,000
February 2020: 77,000
February 2021: 39,000
February 2022: 31,000
February 2023: 70,000
February 2024: 88,000
February 2025: 119,000
The February figure (119,000 unsold completed new homes) published this week is the highest level since July 2009 (126,000).
Lets take a closer look at the data to better understand what this could mean.
To put the number of unsold completed new single-family homes into historic context, we created a new index: ResiClubs Finished Homes Supply Index.
The index is one simple calculation: The number of unsold completed new single-family homes in the U.S. divided by the annualized rate of U.S. single-family housing starts in the U.S.
A higher index score indicates a softer national new construction market with greater supply slack, while a lower index score signifies a tighter new construction market with less supply slack.
If you look at unsold completed single-family new builds as a share of single-family housing starts (see chart below), it still shows we’ve gained slack; however, it puts us closer to pre-pandemic 2019 levels than the 2008 housing bust.
While the U.S. Census Bureau doesn’t give us a greater market-by-market breakdown on these unsold new builds, we have a good idea where they are based on total active inventory homes for sale (including existing homes) that spiked above pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Most of those areas are in the Sun Belt around the Gulf.
Some builders are facing pricing pressureespecially in key Florida and Texas markets, where resale supply is also well above pre-COVID norms, Dillan Krieg, an analyst at John Burns Research and Consulting, recently wrote on LinkedIn.
!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r
A powerful law firms acquiescence to President Donald Trump has sent shockwaves through the legal community, prompted prominent lawyers and former associates to deride the firm, and astounded even its harshest critics.
In response to an executive order from the White House targeting Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, the firms chair, Brad Karp, cut a deal with Trump to provide $40 million in free legal support and conduct an audit of the firms DEI employment and hiring protocols. Following the deal, Trump reversed his order, which would have stripped Paul Weiss of its security clearance, terminated its federal contracts, and limited its attorneys access to federal buildings. A day after announcing the agreement with Paul Weiss, the White House directed federal law enforcement to punish other lawyers who challenge Trumps initiatives in court.
Until last week, Paul Weiss was best known for its pro bono work for liberal causes, fundraising for Democrats, and standing up to Trump during his first term. Trumps order essentially took revenge on the firm for bringing a pro bono lawsuit against January 6 Capitol rioters and for its ties to Mark Pomerantz, the attorney who pursued criminal charges against Trump in the Manhattan District Attorneys office.
But the prestigious global firmwhich represents ExxonMobil against lawsuits claiming the oil giant deceived the public about the dangers of burning fossil fuelsalso has a history of defending corporate giants accused of harming the public.
As David Moore at Sludge reported, Paul Weiss has worked to defend a range of corporate clients from liability. The firm led legal defense for the Sackler family against lawsuits for their role in the nations opioid crisis. It fought the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of tobacco giant Phillip Morris when it was sued for covering up and undermining the link between smoking and cancer. Its recent work has included successfully defending Amazon executives against antitrust claims and shielding JP Morgan Chase and its directors from allegations involving Jeffrey Epsteins criminal activity.
Today, Paul Weiss serves as Exxons lead representation in climate deception cases brought against the oil giant by state and local governments. The company is often represented in court by Kannon Shanmugam, a top litigator at the firm who led preparations for a legal challenge against Trump in case Paul Weiss couldnt make a deal with the president, The New York Times reported.
The firm had a choice to fight backinstead, they’ve chosen to give in, which suggests that they think their profits are better served by being in Trump’s pocket than by appearing objective, said Haley Czarnek, national director of programs and operations at Law Students for Climate Accountability, a group that advocates for the legal industry to reckon with its role in the climate crisis.
In its latest climate scorecard, Czarneks group calculated that Paul Weisswhich scored an F grade for its work involving climate changetopped all other Vault 100 firms in the number of cases in which it represented fossil fuel companies between 2019 and 2023.
Still, Czarnek said she was shocked by the deal Paul Weiss made with Trump. To completely and totally capitulate to the whims of a political figure and to turn themselves into another arm of the administration is obscene, she said.
Law Students for Climate Accountability was founded as a result of law student protests at Harvard, Yale, NYU, and the University of Michigan in 2020 urging Paul Weiss to drop Exxon as a client. The group wants to send the message that firms cannot be neutral when it comes to the climate, because fossil fuel corporations have big money to throw around and the communities harmed by the climate crisis do not, said Czarnek. (Oil interests donated more than $75 million to Trumps presidential campaign.)
At the time those protests began, the firm had just defeated a lawsuit brought by the New York attorney general accusing Exxon of misleading investors about the risks of climate change to its business. While arguing to dismiss that case, Paul Weiss attorneys cited a meeting memo that federal prosecutors say was illegally obtained in a hacking-for-hire scheme targeted at supporters of the lawsuits, which has since been linked back to Exxon by a middleman who pleaded guilty to participating in the hacking.
The firm also defended Exxon against a lawsuit brought by Indonesian villagers who said soldiers the company hired to guard its natural gas facility committed murder and torture. The case was settled in 2023, after a former Paul Weiss attorney representing Exxon was admonished by a judge for litigation misconduct that later cost her a job at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Paul Weiss helped offset that controversial work with its large pro bono practice, touting its unwavering commitment to providing pro bono legal assistance to the most vulnerable members of our society and in support of the public interest. Now part of that practice will be dedicated to issues championed by Trumpthough the firms chairman, Karp, promised its staff that the president would not be dictating which of those issues the firm chose.
It makes really transparent what pro bono has always been aboutwhich is doing good work for the firm, not for the public, said Czarnek, who said that firms will typically only take on pro bono work that doesnt conflict with the interests of their corporate clients. The pro bono arm of any firm is a PR operation that exists to bolster the reputation of the firm, she said.
Another law firm for major fossil fuel companies, Gibson Dunn, has used pro bono work in a similar way. During the first Trump administration, Gibson Dunn partner Ted Boutrous, who regularly argues on behalf ofChevron, offered free representation to those targeted by the president in violation of the First Amendmentand the firm represented CNN journalist Jim Acostawho had his press pass to the White House revokedamong others.
Gibson Dunn represents Chevron against climate deception lawsuits, and just won a nearly $670 million verdict for Energy Transfer in its lawsuit against Greenpeace for assisting protests against the Dakota Access Pipelineone of several cases the firm has pursued that legal experts say are intended to chill the free speech of its clients opponents.
The scales may continue to tip against communities and advocates also targeted by the Trump administration, who say theyve been unable to obtain legal representation as law firms fearing retribution yield to Trumps threats. But Exxon, at least, will still have its lawyers.
This piece was originally published on ExxonKnews, a project with the Center for Climate Integrity.
Law school applications typically spike in times of financial and labor market distress, but a significant recent surge may be more driven by other factors.
According to the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC)which, among other things, administers the law school admissions test (LSAT)application volume for the 2025 school year is up 20.5% compared to last year.
When we ask test takers and applicants Why are you applying to law school?, the primary reason is to make a difference, says LSACs interim president and CEO Susan Krinsky. As a result, she attributes the latest increase to the world around us, explaining there have been a few very interesting Supreme Court cases, and then we’ve got the political environment.
Krinsky adds that election years often see somewhat higher law school applicant numbers, but such a significant jump is usually only typical in times of severe economic distress, like the 2008 financial crisis or the early pandemic.
We will often see at least a small bump in U.S. presidential election years, but not like this one. This one is unique, she says, adding that while financial motivations are likely still a significant motivator they now appear to be secondary.
The increase in law school applications also follows a similar spike in business school applications this year, which experts also believe was more divorced from underlying economic conditions than is typical.
Like law school hopefuls, many business school applicants said they wanted the degree to make a greater impact, as well as to achieve greater work-life balance, and to guard themselves against the unpredictable effects of artificial intelligence.
Competition is heating up
Not only is the number of law school applicants up this year, but LSAC data suggests each is also applying to more programs, suggesting significant competition for limited spots.
The number of people applying is up about 20%. The [number of] applications they’re submitting, however, is up more like 23%, Krinsky says. I don’t think law schools are going to enlarge the size of their classes, given that its very important to law schools that their students get jobs at the other end, and its hard to predict what the market will look like three years from now.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the 166 year-old University of Michigan Law School recently reached a new application volume record, while Creighton University School of Law reported a 25% increase. A spokesperson from Columbia Law School also confirmed to Fast Company that their law school, too, has seen an increase in application volume for its incoming cohort.
Having done this for a long time, most of these increases and decreases are plus or minus 5%when its a big moment, its maybe 10%, says Georgetown Law School dean of admissions Andy Cornblatt. For it to be up 20% nationally, and 25% at Georgetown, is highly unusual.
Prior to the fall of 2021 Cornblatt says no U.S. law school had surpassed about 12,600 applicants in a single academic year. During the pandemic, applications for Georgetowns 650-person law school hit a new record of 14,000 applications, and Cornblatt says this year is on pace to match or surpass that figure.
In recessions, applications go up every time. Thats not this, he says. If you go back over time, these presidential election yearsparticularly recentlygenerate an enormous amount of interest in law and politics and policy and the courts; all of those things become front and center.
Cornblatt adds that some economic uncertainty, looser policies around entrance exam requirements, and the heightened visibility of legal decisions in the social media age are all contributing factors, but none alone would explain such a significant surge.
I tell students the playing field used to be boardroomsthat’s your grandparents generation, he says. The playing field now is the courtroom, and that’s where this new surge of applicants wants to be, because that’s where the action is.
What an historically competitive year means for applicants
The significant and widely unexpected increase in interest has forced law schools like Georgetown to take a somewhat different approach to their admissions process this year, Cornblatt says, with significant implications for applicants.
People who last year would have been admitted are now probably sitting on a waitlist, and people who would have been wait-listed were probably denied, he explains. The good news is I am being very conservative with the number of people I’ve admitted, and as a result, I think we will be much more active on the waiting list than we have been in the past.
In other words, being wait-listed in this highly competitive year should be taken as a more encouraging sign than in a typical year.
Applicants competing for those limited spots are also encouraged to apply at more schools than they might otherwise, a trend already emerging in the LSAC data.
Part of it is having a really high LSAT scoremore competitive than the average of the school, says Claudia Nelson, the director of operations and client relations at higher education admissions consulting firm Admit Advantage. If you want to be seen as a competitive applicant you need to also have really excellent materialspersonal statements, diversity statements, other addendumand apply early.
The start of a four-year trend?
Though applicants are probably too late to start their application for the 2025 school year, Nelson advises those seeking admissions in future years to get started as soon as essay questions are made public, typically in mid-to-late-summer.
After all, if application volume is indeed being driven by political turmoil, Nelson says law school admissions are likely to remain highly competitive in the years ahead.
We’ve seen a lot of applicants report that they want to go into civil rights and human rightsand I want to say that [the repeal of] Roe v. Wade was probably a big wake-up call for peopleso its about more than just whats happening in the [labor and financial] markets, she says. If all else stays consistent, well probably see an increase throughout this [presidential] administration.
Have you ever wanted to sign up for an online service but you didnt want to provide your real email address as part of the process?
Theres a good chance your email address has your actual name in it. Or perhaps you want to avoid the risk of getting spammed. What if youd rather just sign up privately and have a quick no more emails please button?
Thats precisely where a reliable email forwarding service can save the day. It empowers you to create a special disguised email address and then use it when signing up with a new app, services, or website.
Youll still get any emails sent to the anonymous email address in your normal email inboxbut the service you sign up with wont ever see your real address, and you can turn off the incoming emails whenever you like.
Most such services require a payment, and they aren’t all trustworthy. But Ive got a great exception to recommend.
Unearth all sorts of fantastic tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. A useful new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday!
Protect your privacy with anonymous email addresses
The best email-masking service for casual, everyday purposes is SimpleLogin. Its owned by Protona reputable company with a history of trust around the privacy-focused ProtonMail and ProtonVPN services.
With a free SimpleLogin account, you can create up to 10 disguised email aliases for free. You can then use them wherever you want online to shield your real email address.
You can get started in about 30 seconds:
Go to the SimpleLogin website and sign up for an account. Just provide your real email address (here, at least, lest you be unable to receive any of your fake-address forwarding messages)then choose a password and click a link sent to your real email account to confirm.
Click Random Alias on the SimpleLogin dashboard to create your first new random email alias. (There are other options, tooand a nice little tutorial.)
Provide that email alias to any website while creating an account instead of your actual, real address.
~simplelogin.pngSimpleLogin makes it easy to create and copy privacy-minded masked addresses.~
Thats it! You can manage email addresses on the SimpleLogin sitefor example, you can click a switch and stop receiving new emails sent to the alias. Its very helpful for avoiding spam.
SimpleLogin is available on the web as well as through an Android app and iPhone app, if you’d rather.
The service is free for up to 10 aliases. For $36 per year, you can get unlimited aliases and more features, including the premium version of the Proton Pass password manager.
SimpleLogins privacy policy looks great. The service says it never keeps your emails, and it does not log your IP address.
Treat yourself to even more tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletterone new off-the-beaten-path gem in your inbox every Wednesday and an instant introduction to an exceptional audio tool to start!
A few years ago, DEI pledges and conversations about allyship were everywhere. But with the second Trump administration, many companies have either explicitly cut these programs or let them fade away quietly.
Yet, the issues that made DEI initiatives necessary in the first place have not vanished and minority groups continue to face discrimination in the workplace and beyond. How can individualsboth managers and employeescontinue to be allies at a time when it isnt at the forefront of the conversation?
One potential source of inspiration is Lady Gaga, who has been a consistently staunch advocate and ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, shes been using her platform to speak out on behalf of trans people as their rights and lives are under attack.
Lady Gagas Grammy Speech and Interview with Zane Lowe
This February, the 67th Grammy Awards aired shortly after President Trump issued an executive order declaring the U.S. only recognizes two sexes (despite overwhelming scientific evidence).
So when Lady Gaga won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Bruno Mars, she took her moment on stage to validate the trans community: I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible, Gaga said. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love.
In March, Lady Gaga sat down with DJ Zane Lowe to chat about her upcoming album, Mayhem. During the interview, she reflected on her Grammy speech and affirmed that the attack on trans people is ongoing.
What trans people are being faced with in this world is completely unfair, wrong, and theres this violence thats taking place on a daily basis in their lives, Gaga said. I think that we all need to support trans people and each other to know that they deserve to be supported and loved and protected and lifted up.
Lady Gagas Legacy of LGBTQ+ Advocacy
Gagas recent remarks are not the first time shed advocated for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2009, when Gaga first rose to prominence, she immediately became subject to rumors that she was assigned male at birth. Rather than denying the claim, Gaga instead told Anderson Cooper that maybe the rumors were true and Would it be so terrible?a response that was highly impactful to trans fans at the time.
Gaga also spoke out against Dont Ask, Dont Tell, bringing four LGBT soldiers who had been discharged to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and headlining a rally calling for the act to be repealed.
In 2024, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney received online abuse for an International Womens Day post; Lady Gaga responded on her own Instagram, calling out not just those attacking Mulvaney, but also the medias framing of their actions as backlash rather than hatred or violence.
Lessons in Advocacy and Allyship from Lady Gaga
There isnt one definition or way to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ (or any) community. However, a survey of LGBTQ+ individuals about how they define allyship identified a few common themes, and Lady Gaga lives out many of them.
Advocacy and allyship require action.
Accepting, validating, and respecting the identities of LGBTQ+ people is foundational to being a strong ally, but its not enough on its own. A good ally takes action through public statements, advocacy, and education over the long term.
From the beginning of her career, Lady Gaga has taken action on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community, whether it’s validating trans people at a time when they feel attacked and alone in 2025 or speaking at the National Equality March on Washington in 2009.
A good ally respects all lived experiences and never stops listening and learning.
In her interview with Lowe, Gaga talked about how, as an ally, its essential to continue learning and understanding the stories of others: What every community that is oppressed goes through is different. It’s all unique experience, and then there’s individual people and everyone’s individual experience is different.
Gaga called learning peoples stories a great gift that has taught her a lot about oppression and what she can do to help.
An ally uses their privilege to help others.
Gaga regularly recognizes her privilege as a cis woman and as a person with a platform, and uses these advantages to help challenge systemic injustices and advocate for others.
In 2011, following a fans death by suicide, Lady Gaga met with President Obama to urge him to do more to protect children against bullying. In 2012, she and her mother founded the Born This Way Foundation to connect young people to mental health resources and destigmatize mental health.
Most people dont get a chance to tell a roomful of musicians and television viewers all over the world whatever they want, so when all eyes were on Lady Gaga at this year’s Grammys, she used her moment to speak out for trans people.
Lady Gaga shows that true allyship is not performative but an ongoing, active commitment to justice.
Did everyone get the Microsoft 365 rate-hike notice? The personal plan is going from $70 a year to $100 a year.
According to the email, my financial commitment is getting me secure cloud storage, advanced security for your data and devices, and cutting-edge AI-powered features, among other goodies.
But the real reason I subscribe? Microsoft Word. We’ve all used it and many of us rely on it. But many people even arent using all the bells and whistles that come with Word and the larger Microsoft 365 package.
So as Microsoft hits us with a price hike to go along with all the other price hikes consumers have been facing in the past year, now might be the perfect time to explore some excellentand completely freealternatives.
Google Docs
[Photo: Google]
You probably already have a Google account, which means you already have access to Google Docs. That’s likely the most frictionless switch from Word.
And just because Google Docs is free and easy doesnt mean its a slouch. Its cloud-based, has excellent collaboration features, plus real-time editing, voice typing, auto-saving, and seamless integration with other Google services.
If youre looking for collaboration, sharing documents with multiple people, and quick document creation that wont feel vastly different from Word, this is it.
LibreOffice Writer
[Photo: LibreOffice]
If you prefer a desktop application, need advanced formatting options, and want a powerful, feature-filled Word replacement, check out LibreOffice Writer. Its part of the LibreOffice suite, an open-source alternative to Microsoft Office, so if youre also looking to replace the desktop versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and the like, youre covered.
Though LibreOffice Writer can feel a bit outdated compared to some modern options and theres an initial learning curve for those used to Word’s interface, this is a tried-and-true alternative for grizzled word-processing pros.
WPS Office Writer
[Photo: WPS]
If youre looking for a Word-like experience without the price tag and don’t mind occasional ads, give WPS Office Writer a look.
Its got a similar interface to Microsoft Word, good compatibility with Microsoft Word formats, and nice extras such as free templates, cloud saves, and mobile apps.
And though it contains ads in the free version, theres an affordable $36 per year premium subscription that removes ads and throws in some extra features you may or may not use.
Give the free version a fair shake first, though: The ads arent super intrusive and the feature list is plenty full for what you get.
Dr. Becky Kennedy, a New York City-based clinical psychologist who coaches parents through difficult moments with their kids, has created a booming business centered on the notion that kids are, essentially, good people. The idea sounds simple, but to Kennedy, it’s profoundthe key to unlocking healthy parent-child relationships. And that insight, which Kennedy has developed into the Good Inside method, has turned “Dr. Becky” from prominent psychologist into a celebrity-status parenting guru.
[Image: Dr. Becky]
Early in her career, Kennedy embraced what she calls a behavior-first, reward-and-punishment” approach to parenting. But she came to understand that the method, which emphasizes discipline and consequences, doesn’t help children develop the skills they need to handle complicated emotional situations. So, Kennedy came up with an entirely new framework.
The basic idea of Good Inside is that children act out when they feel misunderstood or their needs aren’t being metthat their bad behavior doesn’t reflect their inherent character. And parents who approach them through this perspective are better able to set boundaries and develop healthy relationships with their children.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Kennedy joined Instagram to dispense advice to parents struggling with their suddenly trapped-at-home children. Dr. Becky soon became a social media sensation: She currently has more than 3 million Instagram followers and a growing presence on TikTok. In the meantime, she’s spun her Good Inside brand into a bestselling book, a podcast, and a subscription-based app, which launched last year and uses generative AI trained on Kennedy’s writing and videos to give parents personalized, specific advice to deal with situations in real time. The Good Inside app, which costs $276 a year, now counts more than 50,000 members.
Fast Company spoke to Kennedy about her approach to empowering parents, using generative AI and social media to spread her message, and growing the Good Inside brand.
What made you join Instagram in 2020?
I started to see that we create issues in childhood and then we try to solve them in adulthood. When I noticed this, I couldn’t unthink it. I’m always focused on efficiency. I think what led me to Instagram was the thought that more people need to know this. More people need access to the type of education that you get in every other job.
Parenting is the hardest job in the world, and we are sold this bullshit narrative that we should have a maternal instinct and that it should come naturally. The only thing that comes naturally in parenting is how you were parented. Technology is now being used to solve a lot of the world’s struggles and make certain things easier. Where’s the education and the technology for parents?
I want parents to say, I feel like I have the best parenting coach in the world in my pocket. I shouldn’t spiral after I yell at my kid. It shouldn’t be a mystery what to say when my kid comes home after getting in trouble at school.
[Image: Dr. Becky]
Is that why you developed the Good Inside app?
We grew completely organically on Instagram. Parents have basically told us along the way what they want, and we’re just serving it up for them. They want education. They want access to experts and access to each other so they know theyre not alone.
With that kind of insight we’re like, okay, we are going to create this ongoing experience. The app has a subscription model because if you’re a parent with kids, they are often living in your home for 18 years. We just want to be with people on their journey. We have more than 50,000 members in over 108 countries, even though we’re still just English-speaking.
We heard from parents during [the pandemic] that they wanted longer content. But now they are on the go and need advice for very specific situations, so it needs to be personalized. So when someone only has five minutes, they can feel productive.
This is really a digital product, just like Duolingo. We want parents to have a way to learn the language of parenting. Parents can type in a specific situation, and get practical advice on what they can do tailored to them using generative AI. They can also delve deeper and learn more if they want to.
What is the overarching theory behind Good Inside, and how did you come to it?
This all came together in my private practice. I’d work with adults, and I felt like there was one thing that was true about everyone, regardless of what they came to talk about. It’s that the patterns and the circuitry that were put in our bodies to protect us and help us adapt early on in life start to work against us in adulthood. A lot of our early childhood adaptations ironically become symptoms in adulthood. [People wonder], Why don’t I trust people? I’m so hypervigilant. I don’t think I was born that way. So what did I learn early on that made me untrusting?
I used to tell adults that the circuits that were put in place to protect us are hard to unwind because our body thinks it’s helping us. So I’d work with adults in helping them understand why they do things they do. That’s the first step, because we can’t intervene before we understand.
How does this theory apply to parenting?
I’d see parents of a four-year-old, they’d be like, My kid is hitting, and I don’t know what to do. I’d say to them what I was taught, which was to tell their kid, “We’re going to do a timeout.” Then take away their dessert and give them a sticker every time they don’t hit their friend.
But then I pictured doing this with the adults I’d see in my practice: Them saying, I yelled at someone at work, and me being like, Give me your phone, and by the way, you didn’t hit someone yesterday, so here’s a sticker. In that scenario, they’d reply, Why would taking away my phone help me stay calm? I think you just made me feel worse. Nobody would come back to my office.
No good CEOs make employees better by punishing them. But weÙve been doing this to kids for generations. We think, I’m punishing my kid and I tell myself that’s being in charge. But punishing is a sign of desperation, not authority. Good Inside is an approach for someone who can say, “I need to own my parental authority.
What do you advise parents to do in this scenario instead?
First, I have to set a true boundary. I would go to my kid and say, I’m not going to let you hit. When I did that, I’d actually hold their wrist or get in between them and the other kid. This is the opposite of what a lot of us do as parents. Many parents might say, Okay, stop hitting, or we do something weird and say, I’m going to count to three. It doesn’t make any sense. I would never say, I’m going to count to three and I hope you don’t run into oncoming traffic. I would just not let my kid run into oncoming traffic. That is what I call setting a boundary and embodying your authority.
After I set a boundary, I’d say something to stay connected to my kid and see the good inside them. Something like, “Hey, you’re allowed to be mad. Your sister’s playing with your favorite truck. But let’s figure out another way you can communicate that.
[Image: Dr. Becky]
What does this method teach kids?
Big picture: Nobody learns skills for better behavior by going to their room. I don’t know a four-year-old who’s like, Oh, let me search on the internet what to do the next time I’m mad so I don’t hit. A four-year-old is feeling ashamed. They feel like a bad kid. Ironically, their feelings are going to be harder to manage and they’re more likely to hit tomorrow. Good Inside separates who you are from what you donot to let you off the hook, but to provide a foundation to build skills and to improve behavior.
What if parents say, I have a four-year-old, theyre not going to understand that?
They will understand. They’ll understand that you set a boundary to stop them from acting out. They finally feel like they have an adult in the room keeping them safe. And they’ll understand that you’re looking at them. They’re a good person having a hard time, not a bad kid doing bad things. That difference is massive.
People often use the word “boundary” to express something that others should react to. But in your definition, it sounds like a boundary is something that requires nothing of the other person.
Often we say we’re setting a boundary when in fact we’re just making a request. Parents say, I set a boundary, and my kid’s not respecting it. Whenever I hear that, I think someone has an incorrect definition of a boundary.
My definition of a boundary, whether you’re a parent or not, is something you tell someone you will do. It requires the other person to do nothing. A boundary might look like you saying to your kid, Hey, I’m going to walk over to you, and if things aren’t calm by the time I get there, I’m picking you up and I’m carrying you to your room. Because my No. 1 job is to keep you safe, and hitting isn’t safe and you’re clearly not capable of making good decisions right now.
When a parent says, I’m going to literally hold you to stop hitting your friend, other parents on the playground might watch that and think, what the hell are they doing? What’s the best way to respond in that scenario?
I think you’re asking a bigger question: How much of my time do I spend in other people’s brains thinking about what they think about me? And how much of my time do I spend in my own brain gazing in and thinking about what I want and need? What’s really sadand this is what happens to a lot of women because were trained to gaze out before we gaze inis we don’t even really know what we want to do anymore.
One of the biggest things we do at Good Inside is empower parents to be the sturdiest, most healed version of themselves, which is the most important thing they can do to help their kids.
[Image: Dr. Becky]
So how do parents use the app? For instance, what if I had a kid, and they spilled a glass or water and screamed about it for an hour. How would the app help me?
Let’s do it right now. I’m typing the scenario into the app. Want me to read to you what it said? That sounds really intense. Kids often have big reactions to small accidents because they feel overwhelmed, and don’t know how to manage that. Your kid probably felt a mix of surprise, frustration, and maybe even fear of the mess, which led to that hour-long scream fest. In moments like this, start by just acknowledging what’s happening, acknowledge the surprise, not just the feeling, wow, that was a surprise. Then they’ll probably start to calm down and you can guide them through cleaning up together. This not only helps them learn to manage the situation, it also reinforces that mistakes happen and it’s okay to feel upset. Remember, you’re really helping your kid learn how to navigate big feelings. Then we have the next step for you if you want it. We have a primer to kids who are overly emotional. It’s a little bit longer, but it’ll take you one level deeper if that’s what you’re looking for.
How did you develop AI tools that can deliver these kinds of responses?
It took a year. I worked with an amazing clinical team of people who are trained in the Good Inside approach and our amazing machine-learning engineers. In terms of the content itself, I have a produced a lot, so it’s trained on that.
The app costs almost $25 a month. How did you think about that pricing strategy?
We think about things as expensive or cheap relative to what we’re comparing it to. If people compare our app to free reels on Instagram, they’d think it’s expensive. We have a lot of members who say, This is transforming my life at $25 a month. I pay way more than that in copays for my in-network therapist. My copays add up to over a hundred dollars a month.” So, this actually feels ncredibly reasonable. Nobody values their own mental health or their kids’ mental health as low on their list, and yet sometimes I think when we look at where we invest money, there’s a lot of other things we place above that. When you compare the price point to anything else that involves mental wellness, I think the value you get far exceeds the value you’re investing.
Is it ever too late for someone to change their parenting style?
Everything in our app, in our membership, in our company is based on the belief that it is not too late. We underestimate how much our bodies accept repair. We are all looking for the compassion and understanding that we never got.
I think when parents say, Is it too late? They’re kind of saying, “Have I lost the ability to stay calm, to feel good about myself, to feel confident that I can handle hard challenges with uncertainty?” I want to give that person a hug. I know it sounds cheesy, but I want them to feel the strength of my conviction in saying, “No.”
Will the journey be easy? Will everything change tomorrow? No way. But as long as it takes for our circuitry to build, it doesn’t take that same amount of time for it to unwind. We need a guide, we need some powerful ideas. We definitely need some practical, actionable strategies and many experiments. I think that’s what I’m most proud of. At Good Inside, we change a parent even more than their parenting.
Disney might tout its rides and character IP when it looks to lure people to its theme parks around the world, but once visitors get there, the draw is an escape from reality. Fans call it the Disney Bubble: The day-to-day world melts away and you’re immersed in an environment that is carefully crafted (and controlled) by Disney.
The Disney Bubble is designed to let vacationers to take one step away from the real world for the length of their stay. Distractions are minimized. You dont even need to pull out your wallet. Paying for things like a souvenir or a snack can be done with just the tap of your phone or Magic Band.
The Bubble is why many guests prefer to stay within the Disney ecosystem for the entirety of their trip, shopping, eating and sleeping at Disney-operated stores rather than less-expensive options just a few miles away. Disney’s customer service is an essential part of creating that Bubble, say executives. Interactions with staff, which Disney calls cast members can make visitors feel appreciated, whether its the Disney bus driver or a costumed character in the park.
Our cast are the heart of the magic at Walt Disney World, says Jason Kirk, senior vice president of operations, who oversees all four Disney theme parks in Orlando. Of course, guests love the fireworks. Of course, they love Space Mountain. But those moments with the cast are the things that create lifetime memories.
The Bubble starts with ensuring guests have a seamless experience throughout their stay, says Allison Armor, vice president of resorts operations at Walt Disney World. In other words, the check-in process at the hotel cant be separate from the park experience. The same level of service and helpfulness needs to be pervasive. The cleaning staff at hotels provide hallway hospitality, which covers everything from a smile and a greeting to guests to helping them solve any problem or fulfilling a request. And the parks transportation workers, from bus drivers to boat captains, interact with guests, offering park tips and collectible trading cards. (Bus drivers, in fact, receive the highest ratings of any cast members, Kirk says.)
[Photo: Gary Hershorn/Getty Images]
[Guests] walk away with a feeling of immersion from beginning to end, says Armor. It has to be cohesive and an elevated interaction. Every cast member at every moment has to own that vacation experience for the guest.
Creating pixie dust moments
One of the most important ways Disney creates its Bubble is by giving every employee the decision-making power to enhance a guests stay, even if its just in a small way. This can range from the pixie dust moments (where a food service worker announces that a Dole Whip or churro is on Mickey and free to guests or a ride operator asks if you had fun and, if so, offers to let you ride again without a wait in line) to attending to any challenges guests encounter. If the cast member cant solve the problem, theyre trained to elevate it to someone who can. Customer service is one of the most-frequently cited perks of the parks.
Part of creating the Bubble is ensuring that guest experiences while theyre at the parks are as smooth as possible. To ensure this, Disney leaders study guest feedback to streamline and upgrade systems that customers interact with.
For example, after the parks reopened from the pandemic closure, Chelsea Filley, vice president of customer experience and commercial strategy, and her division launched a customer experience team, to understand and correct things that were making the Disney planning process complex for potential visitors.
That led to a variety of changes, from how dining availability was displayed to the renaming of the Genie+ reservation system, which had been criticized as overly complex.
Subsequent work by the companys team of analytical engineers resulted in further refinement of that skip-the-line reservation system. Lightning Lane selection, for example, was recently changed from the day of a persons park visit to prior to their arrival, letting them plan their trips in advance.
That was based on [guest] feedback and it has played out so well, says Kirk. It has taken the stress out of the day for our guests, but also our guest are getting more out of Lighting Lane. Theyre able to experience more attractions.
The Disney Bubble has become a big thing to maintainand will get even bigger with upcoming park expansions. Walt Disney World, in Orlando, spans nearly 30,000 acres, houses 25 hotels, offers more than 115 attractions, over 40 forms of entertainment (including parades, fireworks and live performances) and more than 50 character experiences.
By creating the Bubble, execs say they hope to make that choice not only less intimidating, but more welcoming.
Our breadth is our superpower, says Filley. The Bubble is what makes the magic, but you want that magic to feel like I am making the most of my time here.
Continuing its adherence to the tech industrys motto of move fast and break things, the current administration has recently put the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) on the chopping block. This 46-year-old institution (yes, it really is younger than the original Star Wars) oversees federal education policy, ensures equal access to education, and administers the federal student loan program.
As a recovering high school English teacher, I would argue that all of the DoEs responsibilities are vital to our nation and shouldnt be part of the Taxes Chainsaw Massacre. And Im glad our executive branch cannot dismantle the Department of Education without Congressional approval. But that doesnt change the fact that the Secretary of Education has slashed the DoE workforce, and the president has floated the idea of moving student loan responsibilities to a different department, like the Small Business Administration (SBA).
So, where does the proposed dismantling of the Department of Education leave federal student loan borrowers? Borrowers are subject to the legal loan contracts they signed with the DoE. This means the potential chaos could cause some localized chaos in the vicinity of your bank account.
To help borrowers understand what to expect and how to protect themselves while the dust settles around the DoE, I spoke to student loan experts Kat Tretina and Mark Kantrowitz. Heres what you need to know.
The SBA probably wont take over your student loans
Although the president has been treating all government agencies as if they can be changed on a whim, it isn’t that simple. If you remember your more obscure Schoolhouse Rock songs, youll recall that we have a three-ring government and no one part can be more powerful than any other is.
In this situation, “changing the location of the current federal student loan program, creating a new program, or even resurrecting an old guaranteed loan program, would require an act of Congress, Kantrowitz says.
Thats because the Higher Education Act of 1965 mandates that all federal student aid programs are located and managed by Federal Student Aid (FSA), Kantrowitz says. It’s right there in the statute. They can’t really interpret the law as the secretary of Education can delegate the authority to the Small Business Administration.
If the current administration decides to try it anyway, they would have to flout the law and face lawsuits to dismantle the DoE and move your student loans to another agency. This may be cold comfort, considering how little lawsuits seem to phase the president. But Kantrowitz offers some logistical comfort, as well: “Keep in mind that the SBA is cutting something like 43% of its staff, he says. So, how are they gonna do all this new federal loan stuff with fewer staff? Let alone what they currently do? It’s a recipe for chaos.
You may struggle to get personalized answers about your loans
Even though your loans are likely to stay right where they are, you may still experience some turbulence during repayment. Specifically, the DoE layoffs means the department has lost years of institutional knowledge as well as the necessary labor force to maintain the FSA website and provide call center support.
These mass firings may affect borrowers sooner rather than later. Tretina, who has been reporting on student loans for nine years, stated on March 12, 2025, that all of my contacts with the Department of Education were laid off, and getting a hold of anyone for information about the latest changes is near impossible.
Kantrowitz does offer a recommendation for how current borrowers can get the answers they need in the wake of this DoE reduction in force: Make friends with your student loan servicer.
Federal student loans are serviced by contractor organizations that manage loan repayment. While the DoE owns your federal student loan, a separate loan servicer is the organization you deal with directly when making payments, requesting forbearance or deferment, or changing your repayment plan. Loan servicers have to keep up-to-date with DoE changes and can typically answer questions about your specific loan situation.
But there are other calls you can make if youre confused about your loans and cant reach the DoE. Your college financial aid administrator is a good source of information, Kantrowitz says. Even if youve already graduated and you are repaying your loans, they can still provide you with useful information. This is also true for any borrowers who are repaying loans but didnt finish their degree.
Get organized to keep the chaos at bay
Any changes to federal student loans will only affect new borrowers. Current borrowers can count on their loan agreements remaining the same as they were when they signed them. But very few of us can recite the specifics of the loan agreements they signed in collegewhich is why you should protect yourself by hunting down those documents and keeping them handy.
To be clear, it is exceedingly unlikely that the U.S. government will start playing a shell game with your current federal student loan. Locating, downloading, and printing out your loan agreement is a way to protect yourself from misinformation or misunderstandings about your loan.
Heres how: If you have your documents available, they can provide you with a starting point for understanding how a proposed change might affect you. If you dont have your loan agreement and an understanding of your borrower rights and responsibilities, its a lot easier to panic if you hear a rumor that the WWE is now in charge of the DoE.
That said, Tretina also recommends keeping hard copies of your payments, just in case. If you have student loans, download all of your statements, particularly records of past payments, she says. Having these records will ensure you get credit for all of your payments, even if the overworked remaining DoE employees make an oopsie or experience an IT glitch.
Be the order you want to see in the world
Its easy to feel overwhelmed by the chaotic news cycle, especially when it starts affecting things that were already overwhelming, lke student loans. In addition to breathing into a paper bag, you can help calm your concerns by remembering that moving your student loans to another agency would require an Act of Congress.
While the recent staff cuts at the DoE may make it difficult to get personalized answers about your loans, you can always reach out to your loan servicer or your alma maters financial aid office for assistance. And downloading and printing copies of your loan agreement and statements will help protect you from both misinformation and potential mistakes.
