Below, co-authors Ruth DeFoster and Natashia Swalve share five key insights from their new book, The Fear Knot: How Science, History, and Culture Shape Our Fears and How to Get Unstuck.
Ruth is a journalism professor and media scholar who teaches at the University of Minnesota, where she is also the Director of the Undergraduate Studies for the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Natashia is a neuroscience professor at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, where she teaches psychology and psychopharmacology.
Whats the big idea?
The Fear Knot explores our misguided human fears, from premature burials to GMOs, while explaining the real dangers out thereand why youre less likely to be afraid of them. With the right tools, we can all be better equipped to untie the fear knots misleading our behavior.
Listen to the audio version of this Book Biteread by Ruth and Natashiabelow, or in the Next Big Idea App.
1. Fears are at least partially hardwired
Not all fears stem from trauma, but most of them are built upon our most primal anxieties. Our bodies are naturally geared to experience fear, and rightfully so. The famous neuroscience patient, known by her initials, S.M., has a biological glitch that makes her unable to feel fear. While this may sound enjoyable, its incredibly dangerous. S.M. constantly finds herself in risky situations, like the time she was held up at knifepoint and responded by laughing at the criminal.
S.M. shows us that sometimes fear is a necessary evil. It helps us avoid deadly scenarios and keeps us alive in a constantly evolving world. But our fears also make us jump to worst-case scenarios, setting us up to believe in conspiracy theories and fall prey to misinformation. Parents worry about their children, so they chide them about playing in the dirt, likely increasing their chances of developing an allergy by avoiding dust and dander. We fear sickness and work hard to treat our ailments. But by doing so, we spark the spread of antibiotic resistance, many times more deadly than the original diseases. We fear the fate of our world, and so we build backyard honeybee hives, creating an army of new competitors for the creatures that are actually vulnerable: wild bumblebees.
Frauds and hucksters thrive on our instinctual fears, selling so-called cures like bleach as a treatment for everything from autism to HIV. But recognizing where those fears originate from can help. It can cause you to pull back from buying the untested treatment or trying out that new parenting technique that, while your neighbor vouches for it, is not backed by any science. While it may feel like your fears are driving your decision, you ultimately have the final say.
2. Fears are cyclical
In much the same way that diseases spread, so do cycles of overblown fears, which sociologist Stanley Cohen referred to as moral panics. Throughout history, moral panics have cycled with surprising regularity, often tied to concerns about childrens safety. The Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century alleged that witches were tormenting and even possessing local children, while the Satanic Panic of the 1980s picked up on similar themespromoting the myth that a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles was operating out of American daycare centers. Even today, the QAnon conspiracy preys on the same fears of innocence lost and threats to American children.
Throughout history, moral panics have cycled with surprising regularity, often tied to concerns about childrens safety.
But whether these moral panics are associated with witchcraft or terrorism, one thing remains the same: we continue to repeat the same mistaken fears. The targets differ by year, but while the villains change with the decade, the tactics used to maneuver us toward those fears remain similar. Thankfully, ways to counter misinformation can be recycled as well.
3. We need shades of gray in a black-and-white world
If youve heard of the drug kratom, youve likely heard one of two tales: Its either a life-saving miracle plant, or its the lethal new opioid killing teenagers. As a drug researcher, I must mentally prepare myself if someone brings this drug up in conversation because I will likely be fighting misinformation from both sides.
Drugs are an easy target for rampant misinformation. The social program called D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) has maligned drugs across multiple generations of children, warning us that all drugs are bad. But on TikTok, we hear that the terpenes in cannabis can cure cancer, and melatonin will help put a stop to all your sleep problems.
The problem with this type of thinking is that the answer is somewhere in between. Kratom can help people quit using other, more dangerous opioids. But kratom also has addictive qualities and, because its unregulated, almost anything can be packaged into the product. Kratom samples frequently test positive for heavy metals and even Salmonella.
Humans tend to use an all or nothing mindset. Your nemesis is pure evil, and your best friend deserves the world. When we fear something, this distortion becomes even more extreme.
Humans tend to use an all or nothing mindset.
As a result, our fears prompt us to swing wildly in the opposite direction of flawed trends. The laissez-faire parenting of the past is seen in the present as neglectfuland so, parents swing toward what is called helicopter parenting, hovering over our childrens every move. But the best parenting is more likely somewhere in between, promoting independence but ending the custom of literally throwing your children into the deep end of the pool.
Its easy to picture a political opponent as trying to destroy the country you love and your choice for the role as a savior. But most of life exists within those more ambiguous shades of gray. The more we paint things solely in black or white, the more we lose the nuance of the everyday.
4. The biggest problems are complex, but crucial
Every summer over the past decade or so, we have continued to see new heat records set. We watch floods ravage cities and hurricanes inundate areas previously considered safe. We avert our eyes, not because we dont fear what our future is going to look like but because we feel helpless in the face of it.
The things we really should fear the most are often the hardest to wrap ones head aroundproblems like climate change, systemic racial and gender inequality, childhood poverty, and domestic terrorism, to name a few.
As individuals, its easy to ignore these problems becausein the first placewe dont think that we can contribute productively to the eventual solution. And itsoften painful to confront the behaviors of our own that contribute to these nightmarish scenarios, from the seemingly humdrum algorithmic echo chambers in which far too many of us now exist to the emotionally and economically expensive decisions we will likely have to make to try to fix them. But these big, systemic problems, many of which have continued to plague society for centuries, are what we now should focus on the most.
5. We believe what we see
Across the world, rates of reliable types of birth control have plummeted, while more unreliable methods have begun to skyrocket. The horrors of hormonal birth control are shared between inboxes with no fact-checking in sight. Daysy, a fertility tracker app, became a leading example of the new face of contraception, supposedly protecting women from the evils of hormonal birth control while preventing pregnancy. But behind the curtain, the popular app that influencers promoted relentlessly turned out not to be as effective as originally touted, with the science backing it having been retracted from the original journal.
Our fears dont merely guide our daily actions; they also sharply define some of the biggest questions we face across society.
Many social media stories turn out to be misleading or dangerous. Scientists talk about Andrew Wakefields study falsely linking vaccines to autism as a warning because this original source of misinformation has snowballed out of control. But every day, even more falsehoods flood social media, sometimes benign but other times deadly. Doctors plead for people not to rely on the new trend of cough CPR as a method to treat a heart attackand yet, videos make the rounds, shared by millions without thinking of its risk.
Social media algorithms are designed to feed you what you want to see, and we want to see things with which each of us agrees. Over time in an algorithmic silo, our views become more extreme, and we become more at risk of sticking to our siloed positions. All the while, misinformation slides from one person to another, across countries and friend groups, exposing us to more of our own particular views. Recognizing that our algorithms drive these anxietiesshaping who and what were afraid ofis the first step toward taking a hard look at your own consumption and counteracting its persuasion.
Our fears dont merely guide our daily actions; they also sharply define some of the biggest questions we face across society. Its getting harder to know what we should be afraid of, particularly when our news and social media feeds are increasingly full of deep fakes and lurid sensationalism. Our biggest problems can seem all but impossible to solve, especially when were struggling with daily concerns like what type of food to buy or whether our space heater is dangerous. Even though our fears might be based on something primal, always remember that you are still in complete control of your behavior. Being informed, counteracting your own biases, and thinking critically about the world are crucial.
Enjoy our full library of Book Bitesread by the authors!in the Next Big Idea App.
This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
For the first time in history, five generations are sharing the workplace. But grouping different generations under one roof doesnt have to cause friction. Sometimes it means unlikely friendships blossom.
Me & someones dad 8 hours a day, TikTok creator @witchofwallstreet posted last week. In the video, the young financial planner and her older colleague are lip-synching to a remix of Nicki Minajs Beez in the Trap (featuring 2 Chainz) and 4 Non Blondes 1993 hit Whats Up? The video currently has over 13 million views.
This lip-synch trend featuring these songs has been circulating online in recent weeks, but has now been taken up by coworkers to showcase their age-gap workplace friendships.
Me and someones mom at our 9 to 5, another TikTok user posted, lip-synching to the same remix. Age gap friendships are my forte, she added in the caption.
The comments are filled with others sharing fond memories of their unlikely workplace besties.
At my first big girl job, I was 21 and my work bestie was 75, one wrote. Mary was the freaking best.
Some videos overlay the text workplaces are experiencing major age gaps, followed by something like me and someones dad 8 hours a day.
These major age gaps are primarily due to older workers remaining in the workforce longer than ever, either out of choice or economic necessity.
A phenomenon called age similarity preference means that we often gravitate toward people of a similar age, including among our coworkers. However, an AARP survey found that nearly 4 in 10 adults have a friend whos 15 years older or younger, most often meeting through work.
Having friends is important, no matter their age. About half of adults in the U.S. report feeling lonely, and 45% of workers reported feelings of loneliness at work, according to a new study from the accounting and advisory firm KPMG.
Workplace friendships have tons of benefitsboth for the employee and the organization as a whole. Research has found that positive workplace relationships are not only beneficial for teamwork, career development, and building a sense of community, but they also help employees find more meaning in their work.
Age-gap friendships have their own unique benefits, with fewer feelings of competition and pressure. Many have already named “girl dads” as the best bosses.
Naturally, there are many things that boomers, millennials, and Gen Zers dont always see eye to eye onfrom how often to come into the office to the necessity of small talk. Yet, having much older or much younger friends at work can help break down negative stereotypes about different generations by revealing common interests.
Even if that is filming TikToks on your lunch break.
Every encounter with another person is an opportunity to shape that relationship. The first words out of your mouth are key in establishing the goodwill we all crave. Unfortunately, too often our opening lines damage that rapport.
I once had a client who was at a conference and saw a board member she wanted to get to know. She walked up to him and blurted out, You look tired, have you been traveling? He replied, Why yes, Ive just flown in from China. She could see he was miffed by her negative comment. She admitted I dont know why I said that. It was a poor start to a relationship she hoped to develop.
Below is a list of openers to avoid and suggestions for better choices.
GREETINGS TO AVOID
To begin with, steer clear of bland, clichéd questions that ask both too much and too little of the person youre speaking with.
How are you?”
This frequent greeting may be appropriate if youre sitting down for a long conversation with a good friend. There can be times when its a sign of empathy for a friend you know is going through some difficult times.
But for pretty much anyone else, for casual acquaintances, or for colleagues in your office, avoid this greeting.
People today are facing a host of difficulties. According to a recent report, 66% of people in todays workplace are grappling with some kind of job burnout. Meanwhile, 81% are afraid of losing their jobs. Others face issues at home.
Would a colleague want to unpack their life in what is a casual or passing encounter? Not likely. So, the response is usually a nod or a cliché like, Not bad, or Okay. The person answering wont feel good about that cop out.
Whats up? or SUP
These greetings are common. They have the same overtones as, How are you? Only theyre slightly more flippant.
Saying to someone What’s up? puts them in a position of either responding with a meaningless cliché (Not bad) or unpacking their life in what is typically a passing encounter. Few people want to do that.
Hey! or Hay
This is a poor choice because it is overly casual and offers nothing to the recipient. This greeting can feel offensive when directed to a friend, an acquaintance, or anyone who would expect you to offer some feeling of recognition or rapport.
Saying Hey or Hay in fact borders on rudeness. My mother used to say Hay is for horses [not for humans]. Indeed this greeting creates no human connection.
Also avoid greetings that carry negative baggage, and put the recipient on the defensive. Here are examples:
You look tired, You dont look yourself today, or Having a rough day?
These openings unintentionally insult the listener. It puts them on the defensive. If they are tired or down, you are asking them to confirm this negative assessment. If they feel better than you imply, you are demanding they defend themselves. You may think youre showing empathy, but really youre challenging the person youre speaking with.
GREETINGS TO USE
For a group, a friendly greeting is always appropriate.
Hi [name]. Its nice to see you.
When meeting someone, warm words, showing your appreciation of that person, provide an excellent start to a conversation. Using their name is another nice touch. Everyone wants to feel that someone enjoys being with them.
Hi [name], thats a great tie.
Everyone wants to feel that they look good! So, if someone does look good, greet them by commenting favorably on some aspect of their appearance, such as their tie. Or do a variation of it: I love your dress or that color really suits you!”
You can even say I like your style. But beware that you dont comment on how attractive someone is, or that could be viewed as sexist.
Congratulations on your new job.
This is an excellent way to begin . . . as are work compliments of any kind. These would include happy to hear about your promotion . . . you deserve it or nice presentation at last weeks meeting.
I loved reading your book.
Everyone loves complimentsanother great way to go is compliment a recent accomplishment thats outside of work. Suppose youre meeting with someone who gave you a copy of their book. Theyll love hearing that you enjoyed the book. In the same way, say I loved seeing your latest article in Fast Company.
Thank you for sending me those beautiful flowers.
Showing gratitude for someones act of kindness is always a good idea and it provides an excellent opening to any conversation. Other such openings include (to a boss) thank you for joining our team at our recent retreat and (to a colleague) I appreciate the support youve given me in my new role.
This list of greetings should alert you to the need for sensitivity in even the most casual comments. Think ahead and be kind. Everyone will cherish your sensitivity.
With a new season of mass layoffs upon us, it seems corporate America has found a new scapegoat.
When Amazon recently disclosed that upcoming layoffs would impact 14,000 corporate jobs, the tech giant said the cuts would help make Amazon leaner.
This generation of AI is the most transformative technology weve seen since the internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before, HR leader Beth Galetti said in a memo. (Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has since clarified that the layoffs are driven by culture, not AI or the bottom line.)
Other tech companies like Microsoft have trimmed headcount this year to the tune of over 15,000 layoffs, all the while sinking billions of dollars into AI investments. “To deliver on our mission, we need to stay focused on our three business priorities: security, quality, and AI transformation,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told employees after a significant round of layoffs in July. “We are doubling down on the fundamentals while continuing to define new frontiers in AI.”
Corporate behemoths like Target and UPS have made significant cuts to their workforce in recent months while framing AI as a key component of efforts to turn around their business. The layoffs at Target are the first major cuts to its workforce in a decade, eliminating 1,800 corporate roles; UPS, on the other hand, has slashed 48,000 jobs over the course of the year, most of which have targeted drivers and warehouse workers. Incoming Target CEO Michael Fiddelke has shared that one of his key priorities is to “more fully use technology to improve our speed, guest experience and efficiency throughout the business. During an earnings call last month, CEO Carol Tomé noted that UPS would make fewer seasonal hires and cut back on vehicle leases, and that “much of this efficiency is powered by automation.”
The past month has seen an uptick in layoffs across the business world: Over 150,000 jobs were cut in October alone, according to a tally by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmasthe most in October since 2003. Artificial intelligence was one of the most common explanations for layoffs, a close second to the usual excuse of reducing costs. All this has fueled concerns that AI is, in fact, coming for your jobperhaps sooner than you anticipated.
But experts say there is little data to support this narrative, despite what the recent job cuts might suggest.
In this Premium story, readers will learn:
– Why so many companies are blaming AI for their layoffs
– What’s really going on with the labor marketand whether your job is at stake
– How AI may actually impact the way you work
The AI meltdown
Statements from CEOs are about the worst way to evaluate the impact of AI on the labor market, says Martha Gimbel, executive director of the Budget Lab at Yale University.
Gimbel coauthored a recent analysis with the Brookings Institution and the Budget Lab, which found that the rise of generative AI has had little effect on the labor market so far: In the three years since ChatGPT launched to the public, the share of workers in jobs that are most vulnerable to disruption has remained more or less unchanged.
Unemployment figures also support these findings, with little indication that AI is displacing workersat least not yet. In fact, the analysis shows that adoption of AI has been fairly comparable to how previous new technologies, like computers and the internet, permeated the workplace.
I think that’s surprising to the public, and it’s surprising given the tenor of the conversation, says Brookings senior fellow Molly Kinder, who also worked on the report.
But it’s really not surprising when you think of how hard it is to implement this in the workplace. There’s a really big gap between how fast the technology itself is going and the messy, slower pace of workplaces figuring out how to use it beyond a pilot.
There are, of course, legitimate fears about how AI can (and will) upend the way we work. Public opinion polling indicates that few Americansjust around 15%believe the technology will have a positive impact in the coming years, while 64% of the general public expects to see job losses due to AI. But Gimbel posits those concerns may be overshadowing the real dynamics of the labor market and perpetuating a misleading narrative.
I think everyone is so freaked out about AIand they are so itchy that if there is the phrase layoffs and the phrase AI within two miles of each other, everyone has a meltdown, she says.
I get why this is so stressful to people. But the cart is not just before the horse. The haystack is eight miles in front of the horse.
The (more complex, more boring) truth
So what should we make of claims that AI is catalyzing a seismic shift across the workforce?
For starters, Big Tech is no stranger to mass layoffs. Even when the tech industry does make major cuts, however, they account for just a fraction of layoffs across the labor market, according to experts. Gimbel points out that the U.S. has about 1.7 million layoffs and discharges each month, per data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There is a lot of attention that goes to layoffs in Silicon Valley for a range of reasons, she says, but we should not kid ourselves about how big these layoffs are in the context of the broader U.S. economy.
Tech companies are also prone to overhiring and then culling the ranks when the economy takes a turn, as has been the case across the industry since the pandemic. For some of those companiesincluding Microsoft and Amazonlayoffs are also the result of a desire to eliminate middle managers, who certainly cant be supplanted with AI at the moment, Kinder says.
There’s no question in my mind that Amazon will look for labor-saving possibilities, she explains, but it’s not obvious to me that AI right now is good enough to replace middle management. (Amazon told Fast Company the layoffs were a continuation of the companys efforts to reduce bureaucracy and that the vast majority of cuts were not connected to AI.) In fact, Kinder believes companies and business leaders are doing themselves a disservice by suggesting AI is driving layoffs or that emplyees’ jobs might be at risk if they don’t get up to speed on the technology. “There’s a very strong business case for why you shouldn’t just scare the pants off of your employees,” she says. “The way that companies are choosing to lead on this is really anti-worker, in my view.”
Given the hype around generative AI, Kinder argues that many employers are scrambling to keep up and want to look like theyre innovating. It makes companies look good to their shareholders, to suggest we are deploying AI so well [that] we are now cutting our labor costs, she says.
CEOs are looking over their shoulder saying, Oh, my gosh. How is it that my competitors have figured out how to cut a bunch of their staff? I haven’t figured out those efficiency gains yet.
Meanwhile, leading tech companies are personally invested in widespread AI adoption. These are companies who are in the business of selling these services, Kinder adds. It’s entirely possible that AI really is part of the story, but I think we need to have a dose of skepticism about some of the motivations they have for being so loud and proud.
Real disruption
Thats not to say AI has had no impact, or that it is not already reshaping certain jobs.
Klarna was among the first companies to openly talk about how embracing AI had enabled hundreds of job cuts; in May, CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski disclosed that Klarna had reduced its headcount by 40%, in part due to AI. (Its worth noting that Klarna had slowed hiring overall and was gearing up for an IPOand in the months since, Siemiatkowski admitted that “in a world of AI, nothing will be as valuable as humans” and reportedly reshuffled employees to fill customer service roles.) Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff claimed the company was able to cut 4,000 customer service roles because of its AI-powered chatbots, and that Salesforce relies on AI for up to 50% of its work. Tripadvisor is laying off 20% of its staff as part of a restructuring that will lean more heavily on AI. And just last month, YouTube started offering voluntary buyouts amid a restructuring that will enable the company to devote more resources to AI innovation.
There are also signs that entry-level jobs may be under siege amid rapid advances in AI, particularly in industries like tech and finance where there is a high rate of adoption. A recent paper from Stanford Universitys Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence found that early-career workers in jobs that are most vulnerable to AI disruptionsoftware engineering and customer service, for examplehave seen a 13% decline in employment since late 2022. (Employment rates for other entry level jobs, however, remain unchanged or continue to grow.)
Its also difficult to quantify how AI is changing the nature of jobs, Gimbel says, even if those jobs are not being eliminated outright. AI could replace or heavily augment HR roles and other back office functions, and its already clear that the technology is transforming fields like software engineering.
But many economists and other experts believe its unlikely that AI is the driving force behind the mass layoffs that are currently underway, particularly at big tech companiessomething that Jassy himself acknowledged this week.
The real explanation is, perhaps, less interesting.
A real rush to ascribe everything to AI
Target, for example, has faced consumer boycotts and backlash this year over its retreat from DEI. But its financial woes predate those issues. Many companies, including UPS, have been hit hard by tariffs. (Target and UPS did not respond to requests for comment.)
Under the Trump administration, the business world has to contend with larger macroeconomic forces, between the tariffs and policy uncertainty. There’s a real rush to ascribe everything to AI, Gimbel says. If you asked me what was the biggest headwind facing the labor market right now, I would not list AI. My number-one issue for the labor market would be immigration.
In the current climate, it may not be politically expedient for CEOs to call attention to the real challenges that are driving layoffs and turmoil across their workforce. AI might be a more convenient excuse for layoffs, and one that may bear out as companies figure out what to do with it.
But there is not yet enough clarity on how AI can be most effectively harnessed by businesses, despite what leadersparticularly those in Silicon Valleymight say about the technologys potential to revolutionize work.
I want to be clear: It is not the case that there are no uses for the technology, Gimbel says. It is not the case that there are no companies who have figured out how to monetize it. It is not the case that no worker has lost their job to generative AI in the U.S.
I’m saying when you look at the current macro economy, there is not a sign that it’s really having any kind of major impact right now. That is partly because people are just not thinking about what it takes for companies to incorporate new technology: It takes time.
Its not the coolest phrase in the world to utter, but here goes: I love Windows.
Maybe you do too. Maybe you dont, but youre forced to use it for work. Whatever the case, for all its positives, Microsoft Windows also bundles in a handful of tools that are either bafflingly archaic or simply underpowered for the demands of the modern user.
The good news? The best things in life are often free, and it’s never been easier to swap out some of Windows default bloat for great free replacements. Here are five that are worth the download.
Trade File Explorer for Files
The native File Explorer has received a facelift and tabs, sure, but it still feels sluggish and lacks modern organizational features, and navigating between multiple locations is still clunky. Its a glorified folder viewer.
Say hello to Files. This is the file manager Windows should have right now. It’s gorgeous, embracing the sleek Fluent Design of Windows 11 and, more importantly, it features a dual-pane view for dragging files between locations like a pro.
It also supports file tagging, so you can stop relying on rigid folder hierarchies and start organizing your documents with custom, color-coded tags. And the chefs kiss: integration with popular cloud drive services.
Trade Windows Search for Everything
You hit the search bar, type in the name of a file you know is there, and then watch the little dots dance. Windows Search indexing is notoriously slow and resource-heavy.
Instead, try Everything by Voidtools. Instead of indexing file contents, this utility indexes only the file and folder names on your drives. The result is pure speed.
You start typing, and the results appear instantly. If you know the name of the file you want, Everything will find it before youve finished the first syllable.
Trade the Snipping Tool for ShareX
The built-in Snipping Tool gets the job done if the job is “take a picture and save it.” But what if you need to capture a scrolling window, annotate with arrows, and instantly upload the image to a shareable link?
Thats where ShareX shines. This open-source utility turns a simple screenshot into a complete workflow. After you capture your region (with advanced options like scrolling capture), ShareX can automatically upload it to dozens of online services, shorten the link, and copy that link to your clipboard.
It eliminates the manual steps of saving, opening the browser, and uploading. It’s a massive productivity multiplier.
Trade Notepad for Notepad++
Notepad is a fossil: a blank canvas that knows how to hold text and nothing else. Its great for pure simplicity, but utterly useless for anything that requires even a basic level of efficiency, like viewing source code or editing config files.
Notepad++ isnt just a better text editor; its a standard utility for developers and power users.
It offers tabbed document viewing, syntax highlighting for dozens of languages, and incredibly powerful search-and-replace functionality. It manages large files beautifully and supports the kinds of macros and plug-ins that make working with text-based data infinitely smoother.
Trade Sound Recorder for Audacity
Windows current Sound Recorder is strictly for capturing audio: a basic, single-track utility with zero editing capability. If you want to trim the beginning, remove background noise, or layer tracks, youre out of luck.
The godfather of free, open-source audio editing, Audacity is a full-fledged,multitrack digital audio workstation (DAW) that costs zero dollars.
You can record, edit, mix, and convert audio with a vast library of free effects and tools. Whether youre cutting an interview clip, cleaning up a podcast recording, or digitizing an old cassette, Audacity offers pro-level features that blow the built-in Windows recorder out of the water.
American agriculture is facing a crisis. The average U.S. farmer is nearly 60, and according to American Farmland Trust research, we are losing farmland at a rate of more than 2,000 acres per day. Yet, consumer demand for organic and regenerative food continues to climb, creating an urgent need. This is not just an agricultural issue. It is an economic and cultural challenge with profound implications for our food security, our environment, and our communities.
If we step back, the problem reveals an opportunity: Farming must be reimagined as a viable, purposeful career for people who may never have considered it before. Tomorrows farmers may not grow up on farms at all. They may be transitioning professionals, entrepreneurs, or military veterans looking for ways to serve their country at home.
AGRICULTURE AND FARMING AS A MODERN CALLING
For too long, farming has been portrayed as a profession in decline. However, regenerative and organic agriculture offer a different, innovative vision. They represent an economy of renewal through restoring soil, rebuilding ecosystems, and creating healthier food systems.
For individuals searching for meaning in their work, farming provides something rare in todays economy: the ability to see the tangible impact of labor. Planting a seed, nurturing it into food, and feeding a community is deeply rewarding. Unlike many modern jobs, farming ties daily effort to a long-term purpose.
A NEW MISSION
One group for whom this opportunity has been especially powerful is U.S. military veterans. Each November, we pause as a nation to honor their service and sacrifice. But what happens after the parades and tributes fade? For too many, the transition from service to civilian life brings challengesfinding meaningful work, reconnecting with a sense of purpose, and healing from the wounds of battle.
At Rodale Institute, we believe regenerative organic agriculture can be part of the solution. In 2016, we launched the Veteran Farmer Training Program to provide a full-time, hands-in-the-soil experience for service members transitioning into agriculture. On our 400-acre certified organic research farm in Pennsylvania, veterans learn about soil health, crop rotation, livestock management, equipment operation, and business planning. Just as importantly, they rediscover community and mission.
The connection between military service and farming runs deep. Historically, returning soldiers often found grounding and renewal in working the land. Farming offers more than a paycheck. It provides structure, purpose, and a tangible way to continue serving others by feeding communities.
For example, Josh, a U.S. Army veteran, served multiple tours overseas and struggled with depression after leaving the military. Through the Institutes farmer training program, he not only learned to grow food organically, but he also found a new calling. Today, he runs a small vegetable farm that supplies fresh produce to local food banks and markets.
As another example, Erika, a former Marine Corps logistics officer, came to the Institute with no prior farming experience but a passion for sustainability. After completing training, she joined a regenerative farm and now mentors other veterans looking to enter the field.
These stories highlight something bigger than a career shift. Farming becomes a way to support veterans in reconnecting with themselves, their communities, and the land.
A BUSINESS CASE FOR FARMING CAREERS
The need for new farmers is not limited to veterans. Teachers, engineers, and corporate professionals have also found purpose in regenerative organic agriculture. But to broaden the pipeline, we must lower barriers: access to land, training, financing, and markets.
This is where business leaders should pay attention. A resilient food system underpins every sector of our economy. Without healthy soil and secure domestic food production, long-term prosperity is at risk. Veterans, alongside others making the transition into farming, bring leadership, resilience, and discipline, exactly the qualities needed to transform our food system.
Supporting new farmers can take many forms: sourcing from regenerative organic farms, investing in training programs, or shaping supply chains that prioritize soil health. Each action strengthens not just agriculture, but the foundation of our economy.
A CALL TO ACTION
Ive had the privilege of meeting many people, who like me, left behind one life to answer the call of the land. Each of us carries different reasons, but the same longing: to heal, to grow, to give. What started as my personal leap of faith is now a shared movement, with roots spreading far beyond what we first imagined.
We are returning to the farm like never before. We are waking up to how disconnected we are from our food system. We are leaving our jobs and careers to reorient our lives around food, whether thats growing it, distributing it, or working in advocacy, financing, or education.
This Veterans Month, lets go beyond gratitude and invest in opportunity. Support a veteran-owned farm. Invest in the transition of organic farmland. Partner with organizations preparing the next generation of farmers.
The crisis in agriculture is real, but so is the opportunity. Farming can be a modern calling, a path to renewal for both the land and the people who work it. When we acknowledge farming as a career of dignity and innovation, everyone benefits: our veterans, our food system, and our shared future.
Jeff Tkach is CEO of Rodale Institute.
When the head of schedule planning at American Airlines, Jay Gargas, stepped off the plane in Dallas-Fort Worth after an 18-hour journey from Istanbul last Wednesday, he faced chaos.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was telling the country that, come Friday, Nov. 7, flights would be cut 10% at 40 key airports in order to ease pressure on an air-traffic control system that, 30-plus days into the longest-ever federal government shutdown, was under crippling stress.
The first mood was chaos, says Gargas. What they knew: Robert Isom, the CEO of American, would meet with Duffy at 5:30 p.m. “What we needed to do was create a definition of what the requirements were going to be. We needed to know what exactly was going to be required in order to put the puzzle together.
By 8 p.m. that evening, Gargas and his team, fueled by countless cups of coffee and pizza delivery, knew where and by how much they needed to cut Americans schedule of around 6,100 daily flights in about 36 hours. They went to work making those reductions happen and, by around 11:30 p.m. that night, had a schedule in hand for Americans operations center to implement on Friday.
All that work was done methodically to ensure American can return to its full schedule quickly whenever the government shutdown ends. Flights flown by its regional affiliates those on smaller planes under the American Eagle banner and ones to non-hub domestic destinations were pruned to minimize disruptions to both customers and crew.
For example, on Friday, American cancelled one of its 11 daily flights between Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio but kept its 12 daily flights between its hubs in Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago, Cirium schedule data shows. Hub-to-hub is the lifeline to the airline in order to move crew and more people around, says Gargas.According to Cirium, in the two months before the shutdown (August and September), American Airlines was, on average, cancelling about 1% of flights a day or about 75 flights. In October, the carrier averaged just 0.6% of flights cancelled, or about 37 flights a day.
Executives at other major U.S. airlines who were not authorized to speak publicly also described the time around Duffys announcement as chaotic and similar to the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the flight cuts five years ago were in response to border closures and the decision by most would-be travelers to stay home, these were the result of critical air traffic controllers working unpaid through the government shutdown.
A picture of disarray
The disarray is understandable. Major airline executives were only notified about 30 minutes before Duffys announcement of the cuts, reported The Air Current, an aviation trade publication. And airports, even those among the 40 where flights were being cut, were left in the dark. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority has not received official notification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding a decrease in flight activity in response to the federal government shutdown, Orlando International Airport posted on X at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Orlando was among the 40 affected airports when the FAA released its official order around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The other airports include everything from major hubs like Atlanta and Denver, popular but constrained fields in New York and Washington, D.C., and even far flung airports in Anchorage and Honolulu.
The FAAs order outlined a phased implementation. Flights would be cut by 4% from Friday; 6% from Tuesday, Nov. 11; 8% from Thursday, Nov. 13; and finally 10% from Friday, Nov. 14.
And, on Sunday, the National Business Aviation Association trade group said that the FAA would restrict private planes at 12 of the countrys busiest airports beginning Monday, Nov. 10.
No corner of the country was left untouched by the reductions as they rippled out from major hubs to places like Bakersfield, Calif., and Corpus Christi, Texas.
Airlines cancelled 4,978 flights from Friday-through-Sunday, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. This includes disruptions for weather, aircraft maintenance and air traffic control staffing. Another 1,623 flights in the U.S., or 6.3% of the total, were cancelled on Monday by midday, Cirium data shows.
(Still) prepared for the worst
Neither American nor any other U.S. airline is taking a chance on when the shutdown will end, even with a funding deal making its way through the Senate.
The carrier has loaded cancellations in its schedule through Wednesday, Nov. 12, and is prepared to add cancellations for Thursday, Nov. 13, given the uncertainties around when and if Congress could pass the bill. There was concrete progress last night on a deal, but there are many steps ahead, and the next several days will continue to be challenging, says David Seymour, chief operations officer at American, in a letter to staff on Monday warning of continued flight disruptions.
When the government does reopen and the FAA rescinds the flight reductions, Gargas says American can return to something near a normal schedule as soon as the next day. The exception: Some cancellations are related to run-of-the-mill weather there was a snowstorm in Chicago over the weekend, for example or aircraft maintenance that could ripple through its schedule for several days.
Delta Air Lines and United Airlines took a similarly methodical approach to cancelling regional and non-hub flights to minimize disruptions. The three airlines also continued to fly their full international schedules.
And, despite the initial confusion, the messaging to airline staff was one of order.
Thanks to many similar challenges weve faced before with weather and other disruptions, our crew scheduling team has become quite expert at processing these volumes of cancellations efficiently to minimize disruption to our flight crews, wrote United executives Marc Champion, vice-president of flight operations, and Rob Thomas, vice-president of flight operations planning and development, to the airlines pilots in a letter on Nov. 6 viewed by Fast Company.
Pilots at three major airlines described the notifications from their employers as similar to what they receive during irregular operations like a snowstorm.
The 737 MAX grounding and COVID really helped these kinds of chaos situations, says Gargas. You learn quickly on what the art of the possible is.”
Billionaire Warren Buffett warned shareholders Monday that many companies will fare better than his Berkshire Hathaway in the decades ahead because of its massive size, though others might say the company’s prospects will dim because Father Time is catching up with the 95-year-old icon who plans to step down as CEO in January.
Buffett reflected on life and his health in a new letter to shareholders where he announced $1.3 billion in new charitable gifts to the four family foundations run by his children thatalong with the Gates Foundationhave been helping steadily give away his fortune since 2006.
Berkshire is known for consistently outperforming the stock market during the past 60 years under Buffettwhich helped earn him legions of fansalthough that has become harder to do in recent years because of the huge size of the conglomerate. Berkshire owns Geico insurance, BNSF railroad, several large utilities, and a diverse assortment of manufacturing and retail businesses, including such well-known brands as Dairy Queen, See’s Candy, and Helzberg Diamonds. But Buffett also reassured shareholders that he remains confident in his successor.
Buffett promised to keep in touch with shareholders through Thanksgiving letters in the future, but he confirmed that next year, Greg Abel will take over Buffett’s famous yearly letter and answer all the questions at the annual meeting after he becomes CEO in January. Buffett will remain chairman.
Buffett said that through dumb luck, I drew a ridiculously long straw at birth by being born in Omaha, Nebraska, where he met many lifelong friendsincluding several who helped shape Berkshire’s fortuneand both his wives after attending public schools. He said he has been fortunate to have his life saved three times by doctors who lived nearby while managing to avoid the kind of calamities that often cut life short.
Buffett recounted spending several weeks in the hospital after having his appendix out as a child, where he turned to fingerprinting all the nuns who were taking care of him just in case they turned to a life of crime later. Buffett previously battled prostate cancer in 2012, but that wasn’t considered life-threatening.
Those who reach old age need a huge dose of good luck, daily escaping banana peels, natural disasters, drunk or distracted drivers, lightning strikes, you name it, he wrote.
But now, after decades of benefiting from the fickle nature of Lady Luck, Buffett said, “Father Time, to the contrary, now finds me more interesting as I age. And he is undefeated; for him, everyone ends up on his score card as wins.
Buffett said he is moving slowly and now has increasing difficulty reading, but he continues to go into the office five days a week to hunt for useful business ideas or deals that could benefit Berkshire.
Berkshire shareholders should have faith in Abel because Buffett said he has consistently met the high expectations he has for him. He understands many of our businesses and personnel far better than I now do, and he is a very fast learner about matters many CEOs dont even consider. I cant think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government you name it that I would select over Greg to handle your savings and mine, Buffett wrote.
Berkshires fortress-like balance sheet, highlighted by the $382 billion cash it holds, ensures the company is unlikely to encounter a devastating disaster, and Buffett said the board remains conscientious of shareholders interests, but still the company will have trouble outperforming.
In aggregate, Berkshires businesses have moderately better-than-average prospects, led by a few non-correlated and sizable gems. However, a decade or two from now, there will be many companies that have done better than Berkshire; our size takes its toll, Buffett said.
Josh Funk, AP business writer
Hormone-based drugs used to treat hot flashes and other menopause symptoms will no longer carry a bold warning label about stroke, heart attack, dementia, and other serious risks, the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday.
U.S. health officials said they will remove the boxed warning from more than 20 pills, patches, and creams containing hormones like estrogen and progestin, which are approved to ease disruptive symptoms like night sweats.
The change has been supported by some doctorsincluding FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who has called the current label outdated and unnecessary. But some doctors worried that the process, which led to the decision, was flawed.
Health officials explained the move by pointing to studies suggesting hormone therapy has few risks when started before age 60 and within 10 years of menopause symptoms.
Were challenging outdated thinking and recommitting to evidence-based medicine that empowers rather than restricts, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in introducing the update.
The 22-year-old FDA warning advised doctors that hormone therapy increases the risk of blood clots, heart problems, and other health issues, citing data from an influential study published more than 20 years ago.
Many doctorsand pharmaceutical companieshave called for removing or revising the label, which they say discourages prescriptions and scares off women who could benefit.
Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the warnings have created a lot of hesitancy among patients.
I can spend 30 minutes counseling someone about hormone-replacement therapytell them everythingbut when they fill the prescription and see that warning, they just get scared, Fleischman said.
Other experts have opposed making changes to the label without a careful, transparent process. They say the FDA should have convened its independent advisers to publicly consider any revisions.
Debate over the health benefits of hormone therapy continues
Medical guidelines generally recommend the drugs for a limited duration in younger women going through menopause who dont have complicating risks, such as breast cancer. FDAs updated prescribing information mostly matches that approach.
But Makary and some other doctors have suggested that hormone therapys benefits can go far beyond managing uncomfortable mid-life symptoms. Before becoming FDA commissioner, Makary dedicated a chapter of his most recent book to extolling the overall benefits of hormone therapy and criticizing doctors unwilling to prescribe it.
On Monday, he reiterated that viewpoint, citing figures suggesting hormone-therapy reduces heart disease, Alzheimers, and other age-related conditions.
With few exceptions, there may be no other medication in the modern era that can improve the health outcomes of women at a population level more than hormone replacement therapy,” Makary told reporters.
The veracity of those benefits remains the subject of ongoing research and debate including among the experts whose work led to the original warning.
Dr. JoAnn Manson of Harvard Medical School said the evidence for overall health benefits is not as conclusive or definitive as what Makary described. Still, removing the warning is a good step because it could lead to physicians and patients making more personalized decisions, she said.
The black box is really one size fits all. It scares everyone away, Manson said. Without the black box warning, there may be more focus on the actual findings, how they differ by age and underlying health factors.
Hormone therapy was once the norm for American women
In the 1990s, more than 1 in 4 U.S. women took estrogen alone or in combination with progestin on the assumption thatin addition to treating menopauseit would reduce rates of heart disease, dementia, and other issues.
But a landmark study of more than 26,000 women challenged that idea, linking two different types of hormone pills to higher rates of stroke, blood clots, breast cancer and other serious risks. After the initial findings were published in 2002, prescriptions plummeted among women of all age groups, including younger menopausal women.
Since then, all estrogen drugs have carried the FDAs boxed warningthe most serious type.
That study was misrepresented and created a fear machine that lingers to this day, Makary said.
Continuing analysis has shown a more nuanced picture of the risks.
A new analysis of the 2002 data published in September found that women in their 50s taking estrogen-based drugs faced no increased risk of heart problems, whereas women in their 70s did. The data was unclear for women in their 60s, and the authors advised caution.
Additionally, many newer forms of the drugs have been introduced since the early 2000s, including vaginal creams and tablets that deliver lower hormone doses than pills, patches, and other drugs that circulate throughout the bloodstream.
The original language contained in the boxed warning will still be available to prescribers, but it will appear lower down on the label. The drugs will retain a boxed warning that women who have not had a hysterectomy should receive a combination of estrogen-progestin due to risks of cancer in the lining of the uterus.
FDA sidestepped its usual public process in reviewing warning
Rather than convening one of FDA’s standing advisory committees on womens health or drug safety, Makary earlier this year invited a dozen doctors and researchers who overwhelmingly supported the health benefits of hormone-replacement drugs.
Many of the panelists at the July meeting consult for drugmakers or prescribe the medications in their private practices. Two of the experts also spoke at Monday’s FDA news conference.
Asked Monday why the FDA didn’t convene a formal advisory panel on the issue, Makary said such meetings are bureaucratic, long, often conflicted and very expensive.
Diana Zuckerman of the nonprofit National Center for Health Research, which analyzes medical research, accused Makary of undermining the FDAs credibility by announcing the change rather than having scientists scrutinize the research at an FDA scientific meeting.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Matthew Perrone, AP health writer
The Senate was drawing closer to a vote on legislation to end the shutdown on Monday after a small group of Senate Democrats broke a 40-day stalemate late Sunday evening and voted with Republicans to move forward with reopening the government.
It is unclear when the Senate will hold final votes on the bill, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hopes passage will take hours, not days.”
The American people have suffered for long enough. Lets not pointlessly drag this bill out, he said as the Senate opened on Monday morning.
The legislation would still need to clear the House before the government could reopen. Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington right now,” given travel delays, but he said he would issue an official notice for the House’s return once the Senate passes the legislation.
We have to do this as quickly as possible,” Johnson said at a news conference. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding.
After weeks of negotiations, the moderate Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government without a guaranteed extension of healthcare subsidies, angering many in their caucus who have demanded that Republicans negotiate with them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire January 1. Thune (R-SD) promised a mid-December vote on the subsidies, but there was no guarantee of success.
The final vote was 60-40. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against moving ahead with the package, along with all but eight of his Democratic colleagues.
We will not give up the fight, Schumer said, adding that Democrats have now sounded the alarm on healthcare.
Still, an end to the shutdown could still be days away if any senators object and drag out the process. Thune was still working out concerns within his Republican conference about individual provisions in the underlying spending bills.
One of those Republicans, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, had threatened to object to a provision championed by his home state colleague, former GOP leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, to prevent the sale of some hemp-based products. Paul said he was seeking an amendment to strip the language before a final vote.
President Donald Trump has not said whether he will sign the package, but told reporters at the White House Sunday evening that it looks like were getting close to the shutdown ending.
5 Democrats switch votes
A group of three former governorsNew Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, and Independent Sen. Angus King of Mainebroke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January.
The legislation includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on October 1. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.
In addition to Shaheen, King, and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.
The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them, as 10 to 12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the end, only five switched their votesthe exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto, and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since October 1.
The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of the governmentfood aid, veterans programs, and the legislative branch, among other things.
Democrats call the vote a mistake
Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not in good faith support it after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours on Sunday.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said giving up the fight was a horrific mistake. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) agreed, saying that voters who overwhelmingly supported Democrats in last week’s elections were urging them to “hold firm.
House Democrats swiftly criticized the Senate.
Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesnt reduce healthcare costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.
Others gave Schumer a nod of support. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries had criticized Schumer in March after his vote to keep the government open. But he praised the Senate Democratic leader on Monday and expressed support for his leadership throughout the shutdown.
The American people know we are on the right side of this fight, Jeffries said Monday, pointing to Tuesday’s election results.
Healthcare debate ahead
Its unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the healthcare subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.
On Monday, Johnson said House Republicans have always been open to voting to reform what he called the unaffordable care act, but again did not say if they would vote on the subsidies.
Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.
Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their yearslong criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.
By Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press
Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Michelle Price, Stephen Groves, and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
