Remote work is going mobile. Starting today, the Florida-based high-speed rail service Brightline is launching a partnership with the shared workspace provider Industrious to turn parts of its stationsand even entire train carsinto coworking spaces.
Industrious coworking spaces are now open in Brightline’s stations in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, as well as a bookable train car for business meetings or private events on the move.
“If people can work from anywhere, then anywhere can be a workplace,” says Jamie Hodari, cofounder and CEO of Industrious. “I think that’s something that’s been underdeveloped.”
[Photo: courtesy Brightline]
Brightline sees the addition of formal workspaces as a way to build on its high-speed connections between cities across Florida, giving riders more ability to use its network for both leisure and business travelsometimes simultaneously.
“It’s a solution for modern professionals where we’re enhancing productivity through mobility,” says Megan Del Prior, Brightline’s vice president of corporate partnerships. “A lot of folks are riding for business. With our long-haul offering going from Miami to Orlando people are traveling during the workday and still need to work within the station spaces as well as on the trains,” she says. The coworking spaces are built in underutilized conference and meeting rooms inside Brightline’s stations, according to Del Prior. The bookable train cars available through the partnership have no special features, but do include Wi-Fi and charging ports like all Brightline train cars.
[Photo: courtesy Brightline]
Hodari says the idea for the partnership grew from Industrious’s previous experience building out workspaces in unconventional locations. In 2018, the company partnered with the outdoor apparel brand L.L. Bean to create a pop-up outdoor coworking space in New York City’s Madison Square Park. “The whole thing sold out within five minutes,” Hodari says. “It was such a sign that people are really curious about trying working and being productive in unfamiliar or new settings.”
[Photo: courtesy Brightline]
According to Hodari, the addition of coworking spaces to train stations is a recognition that people are already doing work in these spaces, either taking calls while waiting for their train or working on projects once their train is in motion. The experience of working like this, though, can be less than ideal. “Oftentimes it can be this really unpleasant, highly unproductive thing,” he says. “And it can be kind of painful for the people around you, where you’re talking loudly and you’re in your earphones and you’re unwittingly a nuisance.”
Having dedicated spaces for meetings or focused work will enable people to make more of their travel time, Hodari says, noting, “You don’t stop being productive or engaging with your colleagues or other people because you’re in movement.
If youve gone shopping for a home appliance sometime in the last 30 years, youve probably noticed a blue Energy Star label on certain water heaters, stoves, light bulbs, and even windows. The program, launched by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1992, helps consumers identify energy-efficient products. But now the Trump administration is planning to shut it down.
President Donald Trump has been attacking energy-efficiency measures since his return to office. In February, he said he would call on the EPA to revert to older efficiency standards for light bulbs, toilets, showers, and more. In his Unleashing American Energy order, Trump promised to safeguard the American peoples freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads.
Experts say the Energy Star standards are meant to help the environment by reducing water and energy consumption; they also lower U.S. households energy bills. And though Trump has framed standards as limiting to consumer choice, the Energy Star program itself is voluntary, and doesnt narrow what manufacturers can produce.
To earn the Energy Star label, products do have to meet certain efficiency standardsbut the program doesnt stop manufacturers from making items that are not considered energy efficient, or Americans from purchasing them. (Energy Star stopped recommending any gas stoves in 2022, for example, but gas stoves are still available in America.) Energy Star also points consumers toward tax credits to bring down the cost of efficient appliances.
Energy Star certifies all sorts of items, from heating and cooling (including heat pumps, ceiling fans, air conditioners, and thermostats) to appliances (like washers and dryers, dehumidifiers, dishwashers, refrigerators, and cooking products), plus water heaters, lighting, windows, and personal electronics like computers and TVs.
By certifying efficient appliances, Energy Star has helped American households and businesses avoid more than $500 billion in energy costs since its founding, per a 2023 report. With an annual budget of around $50 millionless than 1% of the EPAs spending, the Alliance to Save Energy notesEnergy Star saves Americans $40 billion on energy bills each year.
Energy Star has also prevented about 4 billion metric tons of emissions from entering the atmosphereequivalent to taking more than 933 million gas cars off the road for one year.
Trump considered dismantling Energy Star in his first term. His move to eliminate it now comes alongside plans to shutter the EPAs climate change division and climate protection partnership division, sources told CNN.
Historically, Energy Star has had bipartisan support, and more than 1,000 companies, cities, and organizations have signed a letter to the EPA urging continued support for the program. Republican senators have even praised the program, The Washington Post notes, saying it helped customers reduce their energy bills.
Energy efficiency in general has strong public and bipartisan support. A March 2025 survey by Consumer Reports found that 87% of Americans agree that new U.S. home appliances should need to achieve a minimum level of efficiency (that included 94% of Democrats and 82% of Republicans).
Supporters of Energy Star add that axing the program goes against the Trump administrations promises to lower energy costs for Americans, as well as efforts by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to save taxpayer money.
If you wanted to raise families energy bills, getting rid of the Energy Star label would be a pretty good way, Steven Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, said in a statement. This would take away basic information from consumers who want to choose cost-saving products easily. Theres a reason this program has been so popular with consumers and manufacturers alike.
The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, which represents a variety of appliance makers, said the industry is proud of its efficiency achievements, and that Energy Star is an example of a successful private-public partnership. “AHAM supports the continuation of a streamlined Energy Star program, which could be managed through the Department of Energy,” a spokesperson added. (Energy Star is currently a joint program of the EPA and DOE.) “Moving the program to DOE would meet the administrations goals of preserving a full selection of products from which consumers can choose, and also reducing unnecessary regulatory burden.”
Ever wondered what happens when you add random household items to the same bowl every day for 100 days straight?
Well, youre in luck. One TikTok account has made it their mission to find outso you dont have to.
The anonymous account, known simply as Bowl of Danger, adds random stuff to a bowl each day until they get in danger.
@bowlofdanger
The experiment began in January with a dollop of sunscreen. Each day, something new entered the mix: sugar, whipped cream, deodorant, lit firecrackers, batteries, nail polish, vodka, a whole pizza, a Big Mac.
Cant imagine how bad that reeks, someone wrote in the comments. I just unlocked a new facial expression, added a second. Another warned, No cuz I genuinely think were making a pandemic (check out day 25 at your own risk).
For every person who scrolls past in horror, plenty are invested. Some of the most viral Bowl of Danger videos have racked up millions of views, with fans suggesting new items to add. As for Day 100? The video was taken down, but according to the comments, it involved a firecracker and an explosion.
Since Bowl of Danger went viral, a number of copycat accounts have emerged. Theres The Danger Bowl, naturally, and Bowl of Livingan organic version of the original series. Mold is just a simple form of life, the creator says. I want to create something morelike a new species.
If you prefer your bowl of rot with an educational edge, theres also Bowl of Science. While other bowls waste food or resources, we mix a bowl with things that only physically or chemically react, the creator said in one video, taking a swipe at the competition. Where you actually can learn from. A theory is also circulating that the different anonymous accounts may be run by the same person under different aliases.
Warning: If youre considering making your own bowl at home, remember that mixing random stuff can have harmful, even deadly, side effects. (Ever heard of mustard gas?)
But if you missed the first round, good news: Season 2 of Bowl of Danger just started.
In 2008, the American dream of homeownership morphed into a nightmare that tanked the global economy.
The culprit? A toxic mix of bad mortgages and casino mentality.
Today, another financial time bomb is tickingand this one is fueled by rising seas, wildfires, and a lethal dose of denial.
Climate change is quietly corroding the foundations of the U.S. housing market. From Floridas hurricane-battered coasts to Californias fire-razed suburbs, a crisis is brewing that could make the subprime mortgage collapse look like a warm-up act.
The crisis will be triggered by home insurance. To get a mortgage, you need homeowners insurance. But in climate-vulnerable Sunbelt states like California and Florida, insurers are either fleeing or increasing premiums to eye-watering heights.
In some areas, home insurance costs have doubled or tripled in just three years. In others, policies are vanishing altogether.
Meanwhile, in a stunning irony, the top 16 U.S. insurance companies hold more than $500 billion in fossil fuel investmentscollecting premiums with one hand while funding the climate disasters that force them to pay out with the other.
Homeowners on the hook
Current homeowners and retirees are sitting ducks. Florida, Arizona, and Texas lure seniors with sun and tax breaks, but fixed incomes cant absorb climate chaos. In Arizona, home insurance premiums have surged by 62% since 2019 driven by wildfire risks. Texas has seen rates climb by 40% since 2015, as hurricanes and other climate-driven disasters batter the state.
Imagine a retiree watching their insurance premium spike from $7,500 to $17,000 overnight. Florida retirees spend 34% of their average income on home insurance. (Nationally, retirees pay 8% of their income toward home insurance.)
Their options are grim: Drain savings, sell, default, or, for those who own their homes outright, go bare, skipping insurance entirelya risky bet that leaves them one disaster from devastation.
Multiply that by millions of people, and you get a fire sale of homes, crashing property values, and ghost towns of stranded assets. A 2023 study found that U.S. properties exposed to flood risk are overvalued by $121 billion to $237 billion.
Local governments will feel the squeeze like never before. Florida funds schools, roads, and police forces via property taxes. Paradise, California, which was ravaged by wildfire in 2018, wiped out 90% of its property tax base and almost all its local revenue.
What happens to a city when its tax base collapses?
Detroit offers a cautionary tale here.
The Motor Citys population plunged from a peak of about 1.8 million in the 1950s to barely 700,000 by 2010 as jobs vanished and residents fled. Detroit spiraled into the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Streetlights literally went dark; entire neighborhoods were abandoned.
Unlike Detroits industrial decline, a future trigger would be natural calamitybut the end result (a city unable to pay its bills) could look eerily similar. Could Miami or New Orleans face a similar fate?
Subprime mortgages are back
And lets not forget the banks: Theyre sitting on trillions in mortgages tied to homes that could soon be uninsurable, unlivable, or underwater (literally). The 2008 subprime crash taught us that if homeowners default en masse, the contagion can spread through mortgage-backed securities and derivativesexcept this time, it’s not bad borrowers but uninhabitable land driving a similar chain reaction.
In the 2000s, lenders treated subprime mortgages like an all-you-can-eat buffet, convinced home prices would only rise. Today, lenders cling to the fantasy that climate risk is manageable or priced in.
Spoiler: Its not.
Research from McKinsey reveals that even as insurance companies acknowledge climate risks, they haven’t meaningfully integrated these same risks into their investment strategies or mortgage underwriting practices. This cognitive dissonance mirrors the 2008 crisis, when rating agencies slapped AAA ratings on what were essentially junk securities.
As storms intensify and wildfire seasons lengthen, mortgage defaults will surge. And guess whos holding the bag? Taxpayers, via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Just like in 2008, savvy mortgage originators are quietly dumping risky mortgages onto government-backed entities, making you, the taxpayer, the ultimate insurer of Americas climate delusion.
Sprawling suburbs in floodplains, McMansions in fire corridors, and regulatory blind spots have created a Ponzi scheme of climate risk.
Heres the kicker: Theres little chance climate risk will be containedto borrow Ben Bernankes famously off-the-mark reassurance about subprime. The financial contagion will spread rapidly across markets because climate-vulnerable mortgages, like subprime loans before them, have been bundled, securitized, and distributed throughout the global financial system.
How to mitigate the disaster
So, whats the fallout when this bubble bursts?
Retirees forced out, cities bankrupted, banks bailed outits 2008 with a side of rising oceans.
The lesson from subprime was simple: Denying reality doesnt erase risk; it just guarantees a harder crash.
The looming crisis isnt a mystery, and neither are the solutions. We can take steps right now to defuse this climate housing bubble before it pops.
First off, policymakers can require far greater transparency about climate risks. Homebuyers have the right to know if that bargain beachfront cottage is likely to floodyet shockingly, states like Florida (with some of the highest overvaluation) do not require sellers to disclose flood risk to buyers. Mandatory disclosure laws for flood, fire, and heat risks would inject some reality into pricing and steer some people out of harms way.
Next, we need to end perverse incentives that encourage building and rebuilding in disaster zones. For decades, the federal governmentvia cheap flood insurance, disaster aid, and infrastructure spendinghas socialized climate risk, effectively footing the bill for risky development with taxpayer money. The National Flood Insurance Program, for example, historically charged below-market rates and racked up $20 billion in debt, requiring repeated bailouts. Its now moving toward risk-based pricing, which is painful for homeowners but absolutely necessary to signal where its safe (and not safe) to build.
Similarly, officials could tighten zoning and building codes in high-risk areas, or even prohibit new construction in the most exposed floodplains and fire zones. (As one former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency bluntly suggested: Stop writing government-backed insurance for brand-new houses in flood zones).
In parallel, banks and regulators must get serious about integrating climate risk into lending decisions. That could mean requiring robust insurance coverage (beyond the minimal standards) on mortgaged homes, adjusting loan-to-value ratios or loan terms in ultra-risky areas, and incorporating climate data into underwriting models when valuing mortgage portfolios. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in particular, should lead by not purchasing loans on obviously doomed properties. Why extend a 30-year mortgage on a house that may be underwater (literally) in 20?
On the community level, we need to shore up climate resilience to protect home values: stronger levees and hardened grids, yes, but also difficult conversations about strategic retreat. In some places, the safest plan is to help people move now, rather than rebuild for the fifth time after a disaster. Policymakers can create funds for voluntary buyouts and relocations to get vulnerable families into safer housinga managed retreat thats humane and ahead of the curve.
None of this is easy or cheap. But the alternativemaintaining our current courseis far more costly. The 2008 crash taught us that unheeded risk in housing markets can bring the entire economy to its knees. We have an opportunity today to prevent a replay, this time driven by climate rather than credit. It will require political courage, sober risk management from lenders, and, yes, higher costs up front in some cases. But proactively pricing in climate risk (and mitigating it where possible) is like preventive medicine. It might sting now, but it will save us from far greater pain down the road. The housing collapse of 08 wiped out $7 trillion in homeowner equity and ravaged communities; a climate-induced collapse could be even worse if we do nothing.
Will policymakers and lenders act before Miami becomes Atlantis and Phoenix a blast furnace?
Or will they keep chanting the same mantrahome prices only go upuntil the levees break, literally and financially?
Times up. The waters rising. And this time, theres no bailout big enough.
When Katie Hammel arrived at her companys offsite in Cabo San Lucas, she expected the usual formula: long meetings, awkward icebreakers, and a packed agenda that left little room to breathe. What she experienced instead was something differenta thoughtfully curated, empowering, and inclusive retreat.
There was a little wrap-up at the end of each day, says Hammel, director of content at travel rewards booking platform Point.me. At first I thought it was going to be kind of corny, and I actually ended up really loving it. Hearing what surprised people, what they learnedit just really crystallized the day.
Hammel, whos attended nine retreats while working at four different companies, has witnessed firsthand how offsites have evolved. Early retreats were like, Lets rent a cabin and figure it out. Now, theyre much more intentional. Its something you need to invest time and money and real deep thought into planning so that you can make the most of that time.
As remote and hybrid work have become more permanent, companies are rethinking the role of retreats. What used to be a perk is now a necessity: a way to reinforce culture, rebuild trust, and create connection in the absence of daily in-office interactions. But simply gathering people in a room (or on a beach) isnt enough. Todays distributed teams require something more thoughtful, more inclusive, and more strategic.
Designing With, Not For
One of the biggest mistakes companies make when planning offsites is assuming that physical presence alone will foster connection. But as Stephanie Felix, a DEI leader and social impact strategist who has organized offsites across companies, explains. If the format isnt inclusive or meaningful, built with shared purpose in mind, it can actually deepen disconnection.
Retreats often reflect outdated traditionsactivities designed in a pre-remote era that may no longer serve diverse, distributed teams. Planning, says Felix, needs to begin with intentionality, not logistics. Gathering isnt inherently inclusive, she says. It has to be designed that way.
For Milton Rivera, global VP of the Experience Studio at Amex Global Business Travel, this starts with co-creation. Putting an emphasis on gathering employee or attendee input early in the planning process has greatly helped events to be much more relevant and engaging, he says. His team collects not only schedules and availability, but also pain points, accessibility needs, and emotional goalshelping clients map how attendees want to feel at each stage of an event. (Riveras team not only handles clients looking for team event planning help, but also manages his own remote team, with their own offsites, as well.)
Its also a matter of resourcing: outsourcing logistics, hiring professionals, and avoiding the common pitfall of assigning retreat planning to someone who already has a full-time job.
At The Corcoran Group, this kind of collaborative planning is already embedded in its retreat culture. Our events are carefully curated by our events team and shaped by insights from leaders across all departments, says Pamela Liebman, president and CEO at the real estate firm. We intentionally create space for conversations at all levels and encourage cross-functional participation.
This includes having casual on-site gatherings where convos across teams can happen, as well as senior leadership-led open events that can get people talking, like exercise walks with the company president or morning meditations led by a team member. Basically, creating space for organic moments of interaction, says Liebman. That intentionality transforms offsites from top-down presentations to genuinely shared experiences.
Understanding the WhyAnd Going Smaller If Needed
Instead of asking Should we host an offsite? more teams are now asking Why are we hosting one? says Julie Noda, GM of Groups at Fora Travel. Retreats are becoming more intentional, inclusive, and purpose-driven, she says. Whether theyre focused on alignment, celebrating top performers, or helping employees recharge, the why behind a retreat shapes everythingfrom destination choice to daily schedule.
Rather than hosting one massive, annual event, more companies are turning to smaller, regional gatherings throughout the year. Smaller, intimate retreats are increasingly common for remote teams, fostering better collaboration and deeper conversations, Noda adds. Teams are leaning into informal formats like fireside chats, rather than over-structured sessions.
Every quarter, we host varying degrees of offsitessocial, educational, collaborative, says Rivera. We also host a larger annual event per region. But a critical element in all of this is to determine the expected outcomes of the event, the personas of the attendees, and the objectives.
Liebman echoes that clarity of purpose. The goal has always been to connect and celebrate our brand, and while that hasnt changed, the how has, she says. In a more remote/hybrid environment, retreats have become even more important to reinforce our shared purpose.
Riveras team uses a process called experience mapping to help both their internal teams and their clients understand what impact the retreat should have and what value it should deliver. The result? More tailored experiences that serve their specific goalswhether its aligning on strategy, deepening peer-to-peer bonds, or co-creating solutions.
This level of intentionality has led many organizations to think smallertrimming attendance, focusing on meaningful moments, and allowing flexibility for personal circumstances, like caregiving or travel burdens. At Corcoran, we announce conference dates well in advance, and begin the first days events midday to support those balancing caregiving responsibilities or long-distance travel, Liebman says.
Removing Financial Barriers
As companies push for inclusivity, many are rethinking the financial side of offsites. While most employers now cover core expenses, how they do so matters more than everparticularly for newer employees, junior staff, or those without access to personal credit.
Yes, we cover all major expenses, says Jaclyn Fu, CEO of the bra company Pepper, who oversees a remote-first team. We want the experience to be something the team can look forward to and wholeheartedly enjoy, without having to stress.
Rivera adds that even well-intentioned policies can have unintended consequences. Policies that ask people to use personal funds upfront for business travel create a potential barrier, he says. They may not have access to a credit card or might not have the funds, which creates an unintentional barrier to attending the offsite and enjoying the benefits.
Felix underscores that financial equity is often overlookedespecially when it comes to internal dynamics like dinners or group outings once at the retreat. When I was a manager, company policy dictated that I cover junior team members expenses on a personal card, she says. Its a problematic assumption that any individual manager, a relatively junior role, is always in the financial position to cover those costs. Team dinners can run hundreds of dollars. We need to be sure company policy is equitable.
Making the Exceptions the Default
The best retreat experiences today prioritize proactive inclusion. Instead of making accommodations for individuals, smart organizers now build accessibility and choice into the default experience.
Oneof the things I really appreciate about my current company is that they take requestslike dietary restrictions or not drinking alcoholand make them standard, says Hammel. So instead of just having one mocktail, every drink has an equivalent mocktail. Its not like, Heres something for them. Its just, Heres something for everyone.
That same thinking applies to food, schedules, and even accommodation arrangements. True inclusivity is invisible. Its not about creating separate options, but about making everyone feel seen without having to ask.
At Corcorans events, inclusion extends to cultural and regional representation, too. Our network spans diverse markets, so we aim to reflect that in our programming, Liebman explains. At our conference in Scottsdale, for example, we opened with a performance by Mariachi Rubor, Arizonas international all-female mariachi band.
True inclusion, she says, is about spotlighting local voices and tailoring content to highlight what makes a region [and our employees] special.
Rethinking the Corporate Retreat Location
Choosing the right destination has always mattered. But beyond cost and climate, companies are now also weighing sustainability, accessibility, and cultural relevance.
Weve seen eco-friendly and socially responsible destinations becoming increasingly more popular, says Noda. This might include locally sourced food, carbon offsetting, service projects, or immersive cultural experiences.
We try to choose cities where we have a strong team presenceNYC, Denver, and Austin, for example, adds Fu. We look for spaces that feel both energizing and accessible: a mix of creative inspiration, practical travel logistics, and comfort.
Rivera also notes that diverse teams require venues that accommodate different travel needs, from sensory-friendly environments to direct flights. His company has developed a Global Venue Sourcing team for exactly this reason.
Building in Down Time and Preventing Burnout
One challenge with offsites is the temptation to over-program. For remote workers who rarely see each other, time feels precious. But not every moment needs to be filled.
Theres so much pressure to make the most of every moment, says Hammel. I think companies pack it in a little too much. Even just 45 minutes to decompress before a social event would be so valuable.
Designing for all personality typesespecially introvertsmeans allowing space to recharge. Quiet time isnt a waste; its a necessary part of creating connection that lasts beyond the event.
Noda sees this understanding of accommodating different types of individuals at the planning level. The most progressive organizations are offering flexible engagement optionshigh-energy and low-energy activities, quiet spaces, hybrid participation tools, and agendas that leave space to breathe, she says. Inclusivity isnt just about food or access. Its how people engage.
Including Those Who Stay Behind
Not everyone can (or wants to) attend an offsite. Health issues, family obligations, and financial constraints still keep some employees home. That doesnt mean they should be excluded from the experience.
In her most recent retreat, Hammels team did their best to include remote attendees, despite logistical challenges. Everything was outdoors, so we didnt have a lot of AV, she says. But we took photos of our exercises and wrote up little reports to share in Slack.
Felix notes that in-person environments can also carry a different emotional toll, especially for employees from marginalized backgrounds. Theres compelling data showing that microaggressions increase in in-person environments, particularly for Black women and other women of color, she says. Remote work gave many people a reprieve. Theres more control, and often more accountability [when communicating remotely]. Therefore, making sure environments not only have structure in comms but also opportunities for feedback is so important.
In planning retreats, companies need to think beyond who can attend, and design with inclusion in mind for those who stay back, too.
The New Retreat: Less Perk, More Purpose
Retreats used to be framed as perksfun escapes from routine. But as the nature of work changes, theyve become something far more meaningful: rare chances to build trust, reinforce shared purpose, and cultivate belonging across distance.
Inclusion is about emotional safety, psychological comfort, and cultural sensitivity, not just physical presence, says Felix.
Todays most successful retreats are grounded in intention. Retreats have become essential for building trust, empathy, and friendship. Its not just about alignment on strategy. Its about feeling like youre part of something meaningful, even when you work from different zip codes, says Fu.
Wake up, go to class, grab a panini, then go to work. The day in the life of students James Haupt, Caroline Pirtle, and George Small seemed nothing out of the ordinary, except going to work meant entering restricted buildings in the Vatican, and reporting on what was happening at the papacy, just a few minutes away from the Holy See.
As part of Villanova Universitys 22-year-old Vatican and Rome Internship Program, which over the years has helped boost the Pope’s social media presence, the three students were on exchange for nearly five months. Small and Pirtle, both computing sciences majors, were stationed at the Vatican Museum and the Vatican Media Office respectively, assisting on the creation of VR tours. Haupt, a communication major, worked at Rome Reports, a local newsroom covering the papacy in English and Spanish.
What was supposed to be just an opportunity for immersion in Italian culture, and privileged access to one of the worlds most visited institutions, quickly changed into a different sort of educational opportunity. These three students soon found themselves at the epicenter of a historical event: the papal transition.
Pope Franciss passing
Pirtle, while helping to create the VR tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, had enjoyed privileged access to restricted areas in the Vatican, including the Altar of the Confessio, escorted by Basilica security. Still, she found the news of the pontiffs death just like everyone else.
On Easter Monday, Pirtle had to sleep in, exhausted from attending Easter mass the day before.
Caroline Pirtle working on the virtual reality tour [Photo: Caroline Pirtle]
At noon, she was awoken by a text from her friend, notifying her that Pope Francis had passed away. She was shocked.
I literally saw him the day before, and he drove right past me, Pirtle says. After almost two months working in the Vatican, this was the first time she had seen Pope Francis in person. Going from seeing him the day before and being right next to him, to him dying the next morning was a crazy feeling.
Small and Haupt had a similar experience. Working at a newsroom, Haupt had been covering the Popes illness, I knew his prescribed rest was two months, Haput says, and he was on a medicine program. Yet he, too, learned of the news when he woke up on Monday, from TikTok. In disbelief, he checked Rome Reports Instagram, and then woke up Small, who was his apartment mate.
As the news sunk in, the interns went to work.
Working through it
Back at home youd look at your phone once, and then kind of forget about it. Here, you go outside and right there is Vatican City, and that’s where Pope Francis died, maybe a couple 100 feet from where we’re staying, Small says.
Pirtle continued taking photos and setting up annotations for the interactive virtual reality project. Small went back to coding for the Vatican Museums VR.
Trying to actually access the office was a lot crazier, because everything was blocked off, and they just had so many more police, so many more guards, and just so many more people, Pirtle says. But inside the building, nothing really felt too different.
Haupts job, at the newsroom of Rome Reports, was the most affected.
Haupt had been translating the publications stories from Spanish to English, doing audio recordings for the outlets broadcast stories, and looking for American angles on stories related to the Pope, Catholicism, and the Vatican. (Vice president JD Vances visit to the Vatican was an easy one, he says.) He had written stories about Pope Franciss relationship with Father Federico Lombardi, the former director of the Holy See press office, and the coordinator behind the 35,000 flowers that covered the Vatican during Easter Sunday.
James Haupt with Rome Reports Oct. 2024 Emmy for their documentary Benedict XVI: In Honor of the Truth [Photo: Charlotte Twetten/Rome Reports]
But upon the Popes death, Haupt realized he was part of something bigger. There were, like, 400 journalists that came within a day to the Vatican, he says. It was so packed, people were in and out, so much was going on . . . Seeing all those journalists in the Vatican immediately made me realize how significant this was.”
An unexpected end to studying abroad
In the weeks before the end of their internships, the three students joined the crowds flocking to bid farewell to Pope Francis before the burial. Small and Haupt bypassed the long lines by visiting the open casket at 1:40 a.m. on a school night, while Pirtle got lucky with a 25-minute wait on a Thursday at 5 p.m.
They also bid farewell to the various projects theyd helped build. Working on something that could provide a lot more accessibility to people who might not have the chance to come to Rome has been special to me, Pirtle says.
For Haupt, the experience “gave me the skill of adjusting to the environment. My coworkers would tell me how they would have to be ready to come into the office at any moment no matter the day or time,” he says, and “hearing about how they had to switch gears on their days off and holidays made me realize how important it to be alert as a journalist.”
For all three Villanova students, the end of their Vatican internship coincided almost exactly with the beginning of the long awaited papal election process. They are looking forward to following news about the Conclave.
I’m planning on at least grabbing a coffee in St. Peter’s Square and just seeing, Pirtle says. Maybe I’ll get lucky and see some smoke.
The Army Corps of Engineers, citing a recent national energy emergency order by President Trump, has expedited a permit review for a new miles-long section of an oil and gas pipeline that would bore deep into protected wetlands bordering Canada and the United States.
The pipeline request from Enbridge Energy, a Canadian company, would cut beneath the Straits of Mackinacthe connecting waterway between Lakes Michigan and Huronto install a tunnel 12 times as wide as above-ground existing pipelines. Tribal groups that had been cooperating with the Corps environmental impact statement for the project pulled out when they learned of the emergency review. The Corps announced April 15 that the project, known as Line 5, fits under Trumps January order.
The project is part of a 645-mile pipeline between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, that transports about 22 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids daily, according to the company website.
[Photo: Cole Burston/Bloomberg/Getty Images]
The Corps decision to expedite consideration came days before a sweeping change by the U.S. Department of Interior to hasten energy reviews. The federal agency said beginning April 23 that energy-related projects and, specifically, environmental impact reviews of such projects will move with unprecedented speed and with truncated public comment. Energy, under Trumps order, refers to fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, along with geothermal, nuclear and hydropower.
The Corps operates within the Defense Department, not the Interior Department. While the Interior policies do not apply to Line 5, they are likely to accelerate fossil fuel projects in the coming months. New emergency procedures from both departments in response to Trumps executive order are really ploughing new ground, said Dave Scott, a senior attorney at the Environment Law & Policy Center, a legal advocacy group.
There is a massive and real risk that the public wont be able to engage meaningfully with decisions that government agencies like the Corps are making that have significant impacts on the environment, Scott said.
The Interior Department announced last week it was pursuing what it called an alternative National Environmental Policy Act, to allow for sharply compressed timelines for projects that strengthen domestic energy supply. Projects that require an environmental assessment, which the department said now takes a year to complete, will be reviewed within 14 days. Projects in need of an environmental impact statement, which the department said can result in two years of study, will be reviewed in roughly 28 days, according to its announcement.
Scott also noted a second executive order, Unleashing American Energy, further erodes environmental protections for new projects. It directs the Council on Environmental Quality to consider rescinding National Environmental Policy Act regulations, which are the rules that require federal agencies to consider environmental impact when issuing permits.
Environmental groups have questioned the need and the rationale behind the pipeline change.
We know that there is no national energy emergency, said Julie Goodwin, senior attorney at Earthjustice, the countrys biggest public interest environmental firm. The U.S. produces more crude oil than any other country, ever, and has for the past six years. The emergency process is really a gift to the fossil fuel industry, Goodwin said.
At issue is Enbridges replacement of two 20-inch diameter pipelines now buried close to shore and resting or supported on the lakebed. Instead, it wants to dig a 3.6-mile-long tunnel, with a 21-foot diameter, into the Straits lakebed.
[Image: Paul Horn/Inside Climate News]
The Corps is still developing an environmental impact statement for the Straits project, which it acknowledges will permanently impact 1.52 acres of wetlands, including 1.01 acres within the Corps responsibility under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The statement is expected in June.
The Detroit District has not yet determined the length of the public comment period for its Line 5 Tunnel, the Corps said in an email. The standard comment period is 60 days, but the Corps new policy for emergency reviews is 15 days.
The Interior Department announcement last week may indicate a new public comment timeline in store for energy-related projects. In some cases, public comment at Interior would depend largely on the decision of department officils. Proposals found to have no significant impact during an internal department assessment will have a report issued on a public website, the announcement said, and no public comment is required.
For projects likely to have significant environmental impact, a department official can determine the duration of the written comment period based on the nature of the action and the urgency of the emergency response, and the Department anticipates that most comment periods will be approximately 10 days, Interiors announcement said.
Regarding the pipeline project before the Corps, seven local tribes described the shortened environmental impact statement (EIS) process as unacceptable.
A letter was sent in March to the Corps and signed by representatives from the Bay Mills Indian Community, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi.
Tribal Nations are no longer willing to expend their time and resources as Cooperating Agencies just so their participation may be used by the Corps to lend credibility to a flawed EIS process and document, the letter said. The Corps has disregarded its commitments to cooperating agencies and its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act by fully aligning itself with the applicant [Enbridge] at every step.
The emergency review process is really rewriting and bypassing critical and important laws for an unneeded pipeline, said Beth Wallace, director of climate and energy at the National Wildlife Federation, the nonprofit conservation education and advocacy group.
Enbridge has said the existing pipes, which date back to 1953, need replacement to prevent a possible oil spill. Burying the new pipeline section as much as 100 feet below the lakebed would eliminate the chance of a pipeline incident in the Straits, according to the project website.
Line 5 is critical energy infrastructure, Enbridge said in an email to Inside Climate News. The tunnel project is designed to make a safe pipeline safer while also ensuring the continued safe, secure, and affordable delivery of essential energy to the Great Lakes region. On its website, the company called its supply to Michigan vital and said that Line 5 supplies 65% of propane demand in the Upper Peninsula, and 55% of Michigans statewide propane needs.
Tribal groups, citizens, and environmentalists have called for decommissioning the pipeline out of concern for risks to freshwater sources and local ecosystems. The Great Lakes are the largest freshwater system on the planet, providing clean drinking water to more than 40 million people in the U.S. and Canada.
Enbridges own pipelines have capacity to pick up product and move it to the same exact refineries and facilities, said Wallace of the National Wildlife Federation. Investing further in fossil fuel infrastructure also runs counter to Michigans plan to reach 100 percent carbon neutrality by 2050, she added.
An economic analysis by PLG Consulting, a Chicago-based logistics firm, examined how shutting down Line 5 could impact energy markets. Surging output has made North America energy independent and there is no risk of supply shortages, the PLG report from October 2023 found. There are a multitude of alternative supply sources from both domestic and international sources that could fill in for Line 5. Even today, no refinery relies entirely on Line 5 for its crude oil supply, the PLG report said.
Enbridge is still waiting on several federal and state permits before it can begin construction. The state of Michigan issued environmental permits for the tunnel project in 2021 but those will expire next year. Enbridge re-applied earlier this year to renew the permits.
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved the tunnel project in 2023 although Enbridge still needs the permitting decision from the Army Corps.
The activist group Oil and Water Dont Mix is also urging citizens to demand that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer deny the pipeline permit to protect the Great Lakes. The state of Michigan has the opportunity to shut down Line 5, Earthjustices Goodwin said. And thats what should happen.
By Carrie Klein, Inside Climate News
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News. It is republished with permission. Sign up for its newsletter here.
What happens when someone comes close to death and then returns to everyday life, including work? For some, the experience can be transformative.
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are deeply personal experiences that some people report after a close brush with death. These experiences can include sensations such as floating above ones body, reviewing moments from ones life, encountering spiritual beings and feeling a profound sense of unity and love.
Although NDEs have been studied since the 1970s, we know relatively little about how they affect people after the event. Research suggests people who have near-death experiences may feel increased empathy, spiritual growth, a sense of purpose, and even change how they approach their jobs.
Our recent study explored how near-death experiences impact peoples return to work. We interviewed 14 working adults who had a near-death experience as a result of medical crises such as a heart attack or accidents such as a car crash. What we found challenges conventional ideas about success, motivation, and workplace culture.
Doing meaningful work
One of the most common changes expressed by the participants in our study was a desire to do work that felt meaningful and aligned with their newfound purpose in life.
After their near-death experience, many wanted to spend time doing work that mattered to them and made a positive difference.
I was not interested in doing nonsense. . . . I just was not gonna waste my time on nonsense, one participant told us. Her perspective shifted dramatically after her heart began beating abnormally for 20 minutes and she lost consciousness.
Others described similar shifts. Many participants changed their careers by focusing on different work priorities, switching jobs or even starting their own companies. One participant described quitting a high-earning job after being headhunted. She started her own business, which allowed her to use her own NDE to support individuals through the end-of-life process.
As one participant put it:
I like to say that when I woke up in that hospital bed, I had a knowing that the character I was playing was no longer working for me and I had to change characters, and changing that character meant changing that job.
Rethinking motivation
Another significant shift reported by participants was a reprioritization of their values, which, in turn, shifted their attitudes towards work and their careers.
After experiencing a near-death experience, many lost interest in external measures of success such as salary, fancy titles, and prestige. Across the studys participants, all reported no longer being motivated by extrinsic factors, such as money or receiving recognition for work.
Instead, they focused on internal alignment and authenticity. Rather than being driven by external rewards, participants were motivated by personal growth and making a positive difference.
In some workplaces, employee motivation is driven by extrinsic incentives such as bonuses, promotions or external recognition. However, after their NDEs, participants reported being driven by their own internal benchmarks or purpose.
As one of our interviewees said:
The motivation that was there came from this very strange, deep place that I wanted to all of a sudden make a huge impact, you know, in every part of my life. . . . Its hard to come out of this experience and not feel theres a reason why youre here, and you hate to say it, but you feel you have this special gift now. And its like why and how am I going to apply this? So, with work, I approach it that way as well.
Relational transformations
We also found that near-death experiences transformed how people interacted with and related to others at work. This is consistent with previous research that shows distinct personality and attitude changes reported by survivors of NDEs. Specifically, NDEs shift individual outlooks on life and can serve as catalysts for transformation, influencing how people relate to others.
Before their near-death experience, many participants viewed workplace relationships as task-oriented and transactional. But afterward, those same relationships became more meaningful to them.
Colleagues, clients and customers were no longer viewed as just business contacts. Instead, several participants spoke of their service and sales interactions as small acts of relationship-building rather than simply being economic exchanges.
One participant said:
My relationships across the board are deeper, are more connected with people, 100%. . . . I was a decent salesman before but this is, like, bringing spirituality into a quote-unquote sales position, which blows my mind.
Lessons for the rest of us
What does this mean for those of us who havent had a near-death experience?
The participants in our study said their near-death experiences reoriented them to what really matters in life. The after-effects challenge traditional organizational values that celebrate hyper-productivity at the expense of meaning and high-quality relationships. As previous studies suggest, workers engaged in meaningful work eventually manifest greater productivity and accomplishment as opposed to burnout as a result of overwork.
As interest in workplace well-being continues to riseparticularly in the wake of COVID-19 and the great resignationNDE survivors may be ahead of the curve.
The after-effects of a near-death experience align with what workers tend to want from their jobs. Workers generally want to satisfy three fundamental needs: economic security, meaningful work and high-quality relationships. Our results suggest that NDE after-effects result in reductions in the importance of satisfying the drive for economic security and elevate the significance of meaningful work and authentic relationships.
The stories of near-death experience survivors offer a kind of blueprint for reimagining how we work. For employees, that might mean re-evaluating what success looks like or exploring roles that align more closely with personal values. For employers, it might involve fostering workplace cultures that prioritize connection, purpose and well-being.
One participant offers a lasting reminder for all of us seeking more meaning in our life and jobs: Its about relationships, not achivements.
Akierah Binns is a PhD management candidate at the University of Guelph.
Jamie Gruman is a professor of organizational behaviour at the University of Guelph.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.
Recently, I shared the tools that power my mornings. Now let’s explore what I rely on from lunch to bedtime. Below youll see sites, apps, and gadgets that carry me from noon to night. From a niche workshop platform to my quirky ‘invisible’ clock, these are the tech companions that help me wrap up a fruitful day.
2 p.m.: Lunch and thinking break
I often abandon screens for my midday pause. Other times I use apps like these:
Healthy Minds: Short audio pieces help guide me through mindfulness practices. I like the 5-10 minute active lessons that work well for a walking meditation. The app is free and well designed. If Im feeling anxious, I sometimes use the Headspace meditation app, which I also use for focus music when working.
Libby: is my beloved source of free library audiobooks. I listen when Im walking to lunch or commuting.
Resy and OpenTable: Handy for quick lunch reservations.
Too Good To Go: Its fun to try heavily discounted local restaurant food, though the quality varies. I used MealPal for a while for local lunch deals when I wasnt as often bringing lunch from home.
The Infatuation: Helpful lists of tasty new local restaurants.
1 to 3 p.m.: Preparing to teach
After lunch, I develop teaching plans, prepare to lead workshops, or work on other school-related projects for my job as Director of Teaching and Learning at the CUNY Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.
Craft: My go-to for creating visually engaging digital handouts. Its easy to use and works wonderfully on mobile or desktop. [Why Craft is so useful.]
Text Blaze: When Im typing a lot, keyboard shortcuts help. I use snippets for signatures, AI prompts, addresses, and commonly typed phrases. Raycast also works well for these shortcuts.
Tangible notes: I like writing notes away from my laptop periodically to get my eyes off the screen and to change my brain mode. I alternate between:
I use a Rocketbook reusable notebook for lists and reminders.
A $20 VersaTiles memo board is great for jotting passing thoughts.
A giant whiteboard helps me draw connections.
My reMarkable Paper Pro tablet hosts notes I will return to repeatedly.
Arc Browser: I create custom spaces for specific classes or projects, with bookmarks and account settings tailored to that context.
Kahoot, Padlet, and Slido: I rely on this trio of teaching tools to power activities that promote active learning in classes or workshopsrather than passive listening. Here are more of my favorite apps for teaching.
Protecting my afternoon focus
Raycast Focus Mode: Blocks email and distractions during short, focused, deep work sprints.
Time Out: I set this app to remind me to give my eyes a screen break every 15 minutes. It pulses over the screen to nudge me to look out the window.
Paper book: I sometimes take a short midafternoon reading break to relax, breathe, recharge my brain, and detach from my screen. Heres the book stack Im dipping into this month, reflecting a mix of my interests.
3 to 5 p.m.: Meetings
I try to schedule meetings for late afternoon. When theyre fruitful, its great to conclude the day with collaboration.
Granola: My favorite new app for transcribing and summarizing meetings. Its three best features:
1. Since it records locally on my laptop, theres no awkward bot joining the Zoom.
2. I can incorporate my own notes during the meeting, which get blended into the AI-powered summary.
3. Granola can draft helpful follow-up emails or Slack messages, or I can query it afterward about a meeting topic.
Butter: My favorite tool for leading live online workshops, including live demos for Wonder Tools paid subscribers. Its thoughtfully designed for facilitators and teachers. It lets me easily incorporate interactive elements, from polls to collaborative brainstorming. If a meeting has to be hosted on Zoom or another platform, I can use Butter Scenes for interaction.
Camera tools: Camo lets me modify my camera to zoom in, adjust lighting, or add an overlay during video calls. Prezi Video and Mmhmm enable lower-thirds, annotations, and overlay visuals I occasionally use for presentations.
Sony UX570 voice recorder is my reliable $80 hardware backup for recording audio. I like that it doesn’t require an open laptop or running phone. I often transcribe the audio files with MacWhisper.
6 p.m.: After work
Evening and nghttime tools help with relaxation, family time, and better sleep:
Snipd: This smart podcast app lets me triple-tap my AirPods to save highlights to Readwise, which syncs to my digital notebook. (Recent favorite: Shell Game by Evan Ratliff. Season 1 is terrific, about AI voice clones.)
Nex: I love playing the sports and workout games on this family video game system. Theyre all active games played with your body, not your thumbs, and theres no violence. I play solo or with my wife and daughters. Its like a next-generation Nintendo Wii, which we also still playespecially tennis, skiing, and the Wii Fit balance games. We also enjoy these family tabletop games.
11 p.m.: Bedtime
Glocusent rechargeable reading light: This little $13 light clips onto any book or magazine for nighttime reading. One battery charge lasts for months.
Yogasleep Dohm white noise machine: This $50 gadget masks random night sounds in noisy New York City, making it easier to sleep.
Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones: I bought my WH-1000XM3 pair seven years ago, and still rely on them for listening to music before bed and focus sounds while working. Im planning to buy a new XM6 model when theyre released this summer.
Peakeep invisible alarm clock: I turn off the display on this $12 bedside clock so its hidden at night. I can tap the top to see the time if I need to. I mainly use it for its gentle morning alarm, so I can keep my tempting phone out of my bedroom.
This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.
The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more.
At the Exceptional Women Alliance, we enable high-level women to mentor each other to achieve personal and professional happiness through sisterhood. As the nonprofit organizations founder, chair, and CEO, I am honored to interview and share insights from thought leaders who are part of our peer-to-peer mentoring program.
This month, Im pleased to introduce Roslyn Schneider, MD, a physician, and driver of person centeredness in healthcare, medical education, and the biopharmaceutical industry. She has practiced medicine as a pulmonologist, launched blockbuster medicines while at biopharmaceutical companies, and worked with companies and coalitions to embed patient and community involvement across the medical product development and commercialization lifecycle. Here is some of what we talked about.
Q: What inspired you to focus on human-centered design in healthcare, research, and medical product development?
Roslyn Schneider, MD: My personal and family encounters with our healthcare system, clinical practice during the height of the AIDS epidemic, and seeing the value of partnerships with patients as lived experience experts, have been my greatest influences.
As a child I was misdiagnosed, in large part, because physicians dismissed concerns from my parents who were immigrants with little formal education, but who knew there was something wrong.
As an adult, I practiced and taught at a New York City hospital in the 1980s and 90s when we had limited treatments for HIV infection. People who were in the prime of their lives were dying, battling a poorly understood, devastating illness, and the community challenged the pace of medication development and access. I saw the power of their advocacy and activism with businesses, health authorities, and researchers, at the intersection with medical practice and science. That power resulted in transformation of a uniformly fatal illness, to a chronic illness in much of the world today, and it forever changed how medical products are developed, approved, and accessed.
These experiences were front and center for me, as my teams have partnered with patients and patient organizations in an intentional, iterative manner, from the early stages of development and at key points in its lifecycle, for as long as a particular product is available.
Q: What’s the role of physician and community engagement in precision medicine?
Schneider: During my four decades since graduating medical school, medicine has become increasingly precise. Deliberately engaging with patients who are lived experience experts, will help us ensure that these treatments are not only precise, but personal. Precision therapies, whether in clinical trials or commercially available, are specifically aimed toward genetic or other targets. We must be careful not to fall so in love with the science, that we dont consider how participation in the clinical research or use of these products may or may not fit with peoples health goals and life goals. Maintaining community relationships, active listening to understand care gaps and preferences, co-creation, and prioritizing outcomes that matter most to patients are critical as we develop all types of medicines and medical technologies.
Q: You’ve been a leader in and a consultant for small, medium, and large-sized global companies. Where is the industry compared to its patient-centric goals, and what might we expect in the next decade?
Schneider: Its tempting to be satisfied with how much more patient engagement there is in medical product development now compared with earlier days, but we are not yet where we need to be. In periods of resource constraints and economic pressures, companies might, shortsightedly, consider reducing their engagement with patients as partners to achieve savings. Theres a regression of thinking that this is somehow non-essential to successful outcomes for patients and for businesses. That happens despite the financial models of the value of patient engagement, and many real-life examples of shortened business timelines, reduction of costly, avoidable amendments to clinical research protocols, and more favorable product labeling, and more effective patient support programs.
Data from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development are consistent with what I hear from professionals and patients in relevant working groups I participate in. Data show that most companies today are piloting or sometimes implementing patient-centered elements in clinical development, yet the minority are doing so routinely.
Patients are waiting is an outdated slogan. I have confidence that lived experience experts and professionals across the globe will continue to find innovative ways to embed patient engagement into standard processes and utilize metrics that will resonate with stakeholders and decision makers at the grassroots level, the executive suite, and in the boardroom.
Larraine Segil is founder, chair, and CEO ofThe Exceptional Women Alliance.
