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Two years ago, the last pay phones were disconnected in Rochester, New York. But a group of volunteers has started bringing a handful of phones backand making them free to use. Called the GoodPhone Project, the effort is aimed at people who still dont have reliable access to a mobile phone, including those experiencing homelessness. As pay phones have disappeared, alternatives have been hard to come by. A lot of community centers, and especially the Monroe County libraries, were being inundated with people asking to use their front desk phones, says Eric Kunsman, one of the volunteers behind the project. [Photo: Eric T. Kunsman/GoodPhone] Theres a clear need: The handful of phones that the GoodPhone Project has installed each get hundreds of uses per month. Around 20% of the calls go to social services. (Calls have a 20-minute limit unless theyre made to social service organizations, since that often involves a long wait on hold.) The upcycled phones use voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology and allow users to set up their own voicemail extensions, so its possible to use the number when they apply for a job. Kunsman, a photographer who teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology, spent years photographing pay phones in the area as they were slowly taken away. He soon realized that despite seeming like relics, the phones were still in use. He partnered with colleagues Rebekah Walker, a digital librarian, and researcher Janelle Duda-Banwar to map out the phones locations. The last phones to survive were in the poorest areas. [Photo: Eric T. Kunsman/GoodPhone] When the Frontier phone company removed the last phones, the group decided to do something. They found a Los Angeles-based company that still installs pay phones, called Littlejohn Communications, and converted old phones to add VoIP and make it clear that theyre free to use. Six have been installed so far, all in neighborhoods that had the most need. One of the phones is solar-powered, since its in a location that didnt have access to electricity. The project is relatively inexpensive. An old pay phone costs around $350. (Kunsman tried to acquire Frontiers old phones in Rochester before they were scrapped, but didnt succeed.) The digital device to convert it costs $50, and operations cost around $40 per month. Kunsman has also received some donations of equipment, and says he currently has around 200 old pay phones sitting in front of his photography studio. [Photo: Eric T. Kunsman/GoodPhone] He hopes that the city or county can take over the project as a public service and expand it. Im a photographer, Kunsman says. If Im still doing this in five years, we failed in some way. Previously there were around 1,400 pay phones in Rochester. Roughly 20 years ago, there were 2 million nationally; by 2016, that number had dropped to 100,000. At that point, the Federal Communications Commission stopped tracking the number that were left. Kunsman wants to make a guide for other communities that want to replicate the process. Since December, he says hes heard from groups in seven other cities that recognized a similar need. “If a photographer, a social sciences librarian, and others can do this, it’s actually a lot easier than it seems,” he says. “You just need to have the time.”
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They lie. Repeatedly. Shamelessly. They lie even when the truth would be easier. They lie when the lie can easily be debunked. They lie to dominate, confuse, and assert control. They treat contradiction as an attack and disagreement as betrayal. These are defining traits of narcissistic leadership. Strangely enough, in politics and in organizations alike, we keep rewarding narcissistic leaders by giving them more power. We promote them, fund them, vote for them, excuse them, and normalize their behavior, even when there are unmistakable warning signs that should stop us from doing so. It is obvious that narcissists seek power. The big (and more burning) question is: Why do we keep giving it to them? {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/PhotoLVitaud-169.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/PhotoLVitaud-11.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Laetitia@Work\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Women power the worlds productivity its time we talked more about it. Explore a woman-centered take on work, from hidden discrimination to cultural myths about aging and care. Dont miss the next issue subscribe to Laetitia@Work.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"http:\/\/laetitiaatwork.substack.com","theme":{"bg":"#2b2d30","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#3b3f46","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91472264,"imageMobileId":91472265,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} We choose narcissists when were anxious Narcissism is often confused with confidence, ambition, or charisma. In reality, pathological narcissism is defined by grandiosity, a constant need for admiration, low empathy, intolerance of criticism, and a tendency to instrumentalize others. At high doses, narcissism is deeply corrosive. Highly narcissistic leaders take greater risks, manipulate more freely, break rules more readily, and do not learn from failure. They externalize blame, rewrite history, and prefer loyal sycophants over competent professionals. As organizational psychologist Adam Grant has argued, we are rarely naive about narcissistic leaders. Most of the time, we recognize them quickly. They boast. They monopolize attention. They perform outrage. They lie openly and repeatedly. We see itand we still choose them. One of the main reasons is that chaos makes us crave certainty. In moments of crisiseconomic instability, war, technological disruption, climate anxietywe mistake loud confidence for competence. Nuance feels weak. Complexity feels unbearable. Fear narrows our tolerance for ambiguity. It makes us vulnerable to leaders who promise control, simplicity, and absolute answersno matter how fictional those answers may be. Seen through this lens, Donald Trump is not really an anomaly. He is a symptom. His constant lying, grandiosity, and contempt for institutions are extreme, but the underlying dynamic is familiar. The same behaviorson a smaller scaleare rewarded every day in companies, startups, media organizations, and public institutions around the world. 7 Things We Must Change If We Want Fewer Narcissistic Leaders If narcissistic leaders keep rising, it is because our systems keep selecting and protecting them. Changing outcomes requires changing the rules of the game. Here are seven shifts that matter. 1. Stop confusing visibility with value Narcissistic leaders thrive on attention. They dominate meetings, interrupt others, and flood the space with what appears to be certainty. In too many environments, visibility is mistaken for contribution. To counter this, organizations must actively redesign how influence is expressedby limiting airtime and prioritizing written input, for example. Value should be measured by clarity created, not noise produced. Treating visibility as value creates a moral hazard: Those least constrained by doubt gain disproportionate influence. 2. Make lying costly Narcissists lie because it works. Lies are tolerated, minimized, or reframed as communication style. This tolerance is fatal. False statements must be corrected publicly and promptly. Repeated dishonesty should carry clear reputational and career consequences. Treating truth as optional corrodes institutions fast. The longer a lie goes unchallenged, the more it signals that reality is negotiableand that power, not truth, sets the terms. 3. Evaluate leaders on collective outcomes Narcissistic leaders often look impressive on individual metrics while quietly hollowing out their teams. Measuring leadership without accounting for turnover, burnout, disengagement, and loss of trust is profoundly wrong. Collective intelligence, psychological safety, and learning capacity must be treated as core performance indicatorsnot soft, secondary concerns. If results are achieved at the expense of trust, retention, and learning, they represent short-term extraction rather than sustainable performance. 4. Stop rewarding the will to power Aggressively wanting power is not proof of leadership potential. In fact, narcissistic personalities are statistically more likely to self-nominate, campaign for authority, and pursue promotion relentlessly. Systems that equate ambition with suitability all but guarantee poor outcomes. Leadership selection should deliberately include capable individuals who do not seek power for its own sakeand should treat excessive self-promotion as a risk signal. 5. Institutionalize dissent Narcissistic leaders fear contradiction and punish it, directly or indirectly. That is why dissent cannot rely on individual bravery alone. Organizations must structurally protect disagreement through formal devils advocate roles, strong whistleblower protections, and explicit rewards for surfacing bad news early. A leader who cannot tolerate dissent is fundamentally dangerous. Disagreement should be seen as a contribution to intelligence. 6. Redefine charisma Charisma is too often equated with dominance, theatrical confidence, and verbal force. But sustainable leadership can look different: calm authority, restraint, curiosity, and the ability to change ones mind in light of new evidence. As long as we glamorize the worst kind of strong personalities, narcissistic leaders will continue to thrive. Our dominant definition of charisma is also deeply gendered. Traits coded as charismaticassertiveness, verbal dominance, emotional detachment, physical presencemap closely onto traditionally masculine norms, while behaviors more often associated with women (like listening) are systematically undervalued. 7. Address the root cause: Fear Narcissistic leaders rise fastest in anxious systems. When people feel unsafeeconomically, socially, psychologicallythey outsource certainty to those who project it most loudly. Reducing precarity, increasing fairness, and building real psychological safety are not just mral imperatives. They are structural defenses against narcissistic leadership. Narcissistic leaders do not seize power alone. They are enabledby our fears, our metrics, our myths about leadership, and our reluctance to confront uncomfortable truths. If we want different leaders, we must become different selectors. The problem is not that narcissists exist. Its that we keep mistaking them for leaders. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/PhotoLVitaud-169.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/01\/PhotoLVitaud-11.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Laetitia@Work\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Women power the worlds productivity its time we talked more about it. Explore a woman-centered take on work, from hidden discrimination to cultural myths about aging and care. 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For designers of the built environment, it’s necessary to take a long view. Years or even decades can go into the design and construction of a single project, and the best built projects can stand for centuries. But the business of designing buildings is also subject to the upheavals and uncertainty of any given moment, including this very tumultuous one. Looking ahead to the (relatively) short-term future of the next year, Fast Company asked architects from some of the top firms working in the U.S. and around the world to predict the biggest forces shaping the industry this year, and the potential bright spots they might see. Here’s the question we put to a panel of designers and leaders in architecture: What challenges do you see architects tasked with solving in 2026, and what are potential new opportunity areas? Collaboration is key Affordable housing and supporting community resources are in crisisprojects that deliver proximity to public transportation, social infrastructure, and offer cultural resources such as restaurants and entertainment will be in high demand. Understanding the role a building plays within a broader community is a vital part of the design process that is often lacking. Collaboration needs to extend beyond cities and design teams to integrate community needs. This year will bring many of the same challenges we have already seen: more pressure to deliver projects faster while maintaining the quality of the work, understanding what a high-performance building actually means, and streamlining public agency approvals. The latter is an area where AI would be a valuable tool to support innovation and efficiency. There is also a growing opportunity for greater partnership and collaboration with academia and architectural practice. It is important that there is heightened collaboration between the two, particularly because the skill sets of architects are expanding [to include] different job descriptions and needs.Nick Leahy, co-CEO and executive director, Perkins Eastman Resilience is a given 2026 is the year when designing for resilience becomes a given. Innovation will be as much about systems as function, form, and aesthetics. We will think more about embodied carbon, and derive ways to deliver low-carbon buildings without cost premiums. Clients will no longer accept “green is more expensive.” Opportunities: Reuse and reinventionthe second life of a building or district. Conversion of outmoded office buildings to residential and hotels where practical and possible, particularly with older, charming office stock in places where people want to live. Meanwhile, new office buildings will be A++ “luxury,” designed with new forms of amenities centered on wellness and socialization. In the suburbs, malls can become places where mixed-used districts arise, transformed into incubator or civic spaces, designed around health and wellness. Parking lots can be filled with characterful streets and special 24/7 precincts. Workforce housing will also be a big opportunity that fills the gap between luxury and market rate, while data and energy projects will be relevant and exciting for architects not for their novelty but rather for the spatial intelligence and thoughtful planning required in their successful realization.Trent Tesch, principal, KPF Sustainable design is harder than ever One of the most significant challenges facing the U.S. building market in 2026 will be maintaining momentum for sustainable and regenerative design solutions amid economic and policy headwinds. The U.S. construction market has always been driven by a first-cost first mentality, while sustainable design has held its promise of return on investment in the long life cycle of buildings. The hurdle has always been there, but now the bar is even higher with changes to the Energy Star program, the cutting of federal grants for clean energy, reductions to climate resilience programs, and more. So, architects and designers must move beyond purely ROI and well-being conversations to demonstrate how sustainability mitigates risk, ensures compliance, and drives long-term financial resilience.David Polzin, executive director of design, CannonDesign Economic headwinds At PAU we are continuing to incorporate artificial intelligence in aspects of our workflow, but only to augmentnever to replaceour teams talent and judgment. In 2026, architects will probably continue to face economic headwinds. The strong pace of firm consolidation through mergers and acquisitions continues, leaving the question of whether someday it will largely be a discipline split between boutique practices and behemoth corporations.Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder, PAU More than just buildings In 2026 climate volatility, housing inequity, infrastructural breakdown, and economic uncertainty will no longer be background conditions but active forces shaping every decision an architect makes. We will be asked to do more than deliver buildings; we will be expected to repair trust in systemspolitical and economicthat have too often failed communities and the environment. We must navigate these higher expectations, delivering projects with tangible social, environmental, and economic benefits while grappling with tighter timelines and fewer resources. The central challenge will be remaining responsible to both environmental and civic ideals within delivery models that are not designed to reward either.Claire Weisz, founding principal, WXY architecture + urban design Better decisions, earlier Architects are working in a moment where pressure is coming from all sides; climate risks are intensifying, housing affordability remains unresolved, and the industry is still constrained by limited labor and capacity. At the same time, clients increasingly expect early, data-backed answers that show how a design will meet sustainability goals and deliver on long-term building performance outcomes. The challenge is no longer just designing well but navigating increasing complexity and trade-offs without slowing projects down. This is driving the need to remove fragmentation of information across teams and project phases. The defining challenge that architects and designers will need to solve for in 2026 is making confident, defensible decisions early, when they have the biggest impact on [how] a projects environmental, cost, schedule, and performance outcomes are determined.Amy Bunszel, EVP of architecture, engineering, and construction solutions, Autodesk
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Is drinking coffee good for your health? The answer appears to be yes. Quite a lot of research shows that coffee drinkers stay mentally sharper and may live longer than those who dont. Thats welcome news to many entrepreneurs and business leaders who depend on coffee to stay alert and productive. More recent research adds a twist to the welcome news that coffee is good for you. To get coffees life-extending benefits, make sure to drink it in the morning. Dont keep on guzzling the stuff all day long. Thats the finding of a massive study from Tulane University in New Orleans. Researchers examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which had 40,725 U.S. adult participants and ran from 1999 to 2018. They wanted to know whether the timing of coffee consumption affected its health benefits. So they divided the cohort into three groups. Thirty-six percent were morning-type coffee drinkers. They did most of their coffee drinking between 4 a.m. and noon, and barely drank any coffee after that. Fourteen percent were all-day-type coffee drinkers who drank coffee throughout the day. And 48 percent were defined as non-coffee drinkers. The researchers did statistical analysis to determine the mortality rates for each of these groups after about 10 years. Morning coffee drinkers live longer Because the NHANES study collected very detailed information on its subjects, the Tulane research team was able to adjust for a wide range of other lifestyle and health factors that could affect longevity. These included everything from body-mass index, to healthy or unhealthy eating habits, to cholesterol levels, and even whether people had trouble sleeping. After accounting for all of these other factors, the researchers consistently found that the morning coffee drinkers had lower mortality than those who drank coffee all day, or not at all. Taking a closer look, they found that morning coffee drinking particularly seemed to lower the risk from cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death for study participants, and is the leading cause of death for Americans overall. Why should time of day matter so much to getting the benefits of coffee consumption? The researchers found two possible explanations. First, consuming coffee in the afternoon or evening may disrupt circadian rhythms, they wrote. An earlier study had found that heavy coffee drinking in the afternoon or evening interferes with melatonin production at nighttime. Some evidence suggests that low levels of melatonin are associated with higher oxidative stress levels, blood pressure levels, and [cardiovascular disease] risk. Research has repeatedly shown that not getting enough high-quality sleep is bad for both your health and cognitive function, and even for your leadership abilities. So it seems highly plausible that if drinking coffee later in the day affects the quality or quantity of your sleep, those ill effects could outweigh any benefits you get from coffee drinking. Coffee is anti-inflammatory The second possible explanation is that coffees benefits mostly come from its anti-inflammatory properties. Again, this would make sense because many of the worst human ailments, including cardiovascular disease and cancer, are associated with inflammation. The researchers note that inflammation within the body seems to have its own circadian rhythm. Its highest in the morning and lowest around 5 p.m. According to this theory, morning coffee drinking brings the most benefits because it attacks inflammation when its at its worst. Whatever the explanation, the takeaway is clear. If you love coffee, then great! Drink all you want. But if you want to enjoy coffees health benefits, drink it from when you wake up until noon. After that, consider switching to water, sparkling water, or tea. Minda Zetlin This article originally appeared on Fast Company‘s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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Whenever my wife and I go to watch a movie together, lately we tend to pick a new theater close to where we live that’s called 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku. There are reclining seats, you get free popcorn in a chill lounge when you arrive, and the supposedly best-in-Japan sound system was tuned by the late music legend Ryuichi Sakamoto. Whats not to like? But when we went to see 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple this past weekend, we realized it was only showing in the auditorium dedicated to ScreenX, a fairly new format that has been picking up some steam of late. Id heard of it before but I hadnt ever seen it for myself, so I was happy to check it out in the spirit of technological open-mindedness. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Multicore\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It\u0027s written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. To learn more visit \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/\u0022\u003Emulticore.blog\u003C\/a\u003E","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"SIGN UP","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.multicore.blog\/","theme":{"bg":"#f5f5f5","text":"#000000","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#000000","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91454027,"imageMobileId":91454030,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Three screens in one The X in ScreenX appears to stand for expanded or extended, because ultimately, what you get is three screens in one. Youre mostly just watching a regular 2D movie screen in front of you, but the footage spills onto the sides of the theater for a 270-degree view. ScreenX was developed by South Korean theater chain CJ CGV, a subsidiary of one of the countrys largest conglomerates. CJ was also behind the 4DX format that competes with other 4D systems like D-Box and MX4D, with various theater chains adopting one or the other. While ScreenX has been niche in most of the Western world to date, leading American chain AMC struck a deal with CJ last year to add 25 ScreenX auditoriums and 40 4DX screens across the U.S and Europe. Domestic competitor Cinemark also increased its ScreenX footprint, with plans to add 18 auditoriums in the U.S. over 2025 and 2026. Thats to say that you might well come across it soon without knowing what youre in for, just as I did. And I really wasnt sure what to expect when going into this showing of The Bone Temple. The combination of Nia DaCosta as director and Sean Bobbitt as cinematographer didnt make me think this would be a movie that was sloppy about its frame composition. And yet clearly, it couldnt actually have been filmed at such an ultra-wide aspect ratio. Where was the footage on the sides even coming from? A little distracting The first thing I noticed about the ScreenX footage is that its actually quite easy to ignore. We had good, centrally located seats, but the screens on the left and right walls were significantly dimmer than the central screen. Thats probably for the best, because it allows you to focus on the actual movie while the extended area serves as added ambience. On the other hand, Id estimate that there was only about an hour of actual ScreenX footage, or roughly half of the movie. Generally, it tended to be used for outdoor scenes, while the side panels were switched off for interior scenes or tighter shots. This back-and-forth could be a little distracting; the side panels faded in and out gradually, but the lights on the projectors themselves flicked on and off with every transition. Overall, though, I thought the ScreenX scenes were quite effective in The Bone Temple. At times when characters were running away from infected humans, for example, you got a better sense of how they were being stalked through the forest, with the shaky camera movements placed into context by the wider perspective. CJ says that it works with directors to help create ScreenX footage in post-production, making use of unused second-unit shots, alternate angles, and CGI extensions. Its hard to tell exactly what youre looking at when you concentrate on the extended footage, not least because it tends to be quite blurryas youd expect from any lens pushed to that extreme. But I didnt see anything particularly jarring or low-quality. Even though I was looking at each screen from a different angle, the transitions were seamless. A picky viewer I am quite picky about the theaters I watch movies infor example, last year I made a point of going to Tokyos only true 1.43:1 IMAX theater to see Sinners and One Battle After Another. I would not describe ScreenX as a transformative moviegoing experience on that level. But I think it could have its place. For movies like The Bone Temple, which is unlikely to be filmed with formats like IMAX in mind but could still benefit from a more immersive presentation due to its intense action, I could see ScreenX being a solid option. Unlike 3D or 4D, there isnt really much compromise or distractionyou can just watch the main screen as usual and absorb the extra footage without actually paying attention. At the same time, its hard to imagine a movie in which ScreenX would ever be the definitive way to watch it. No director is truly framing their movie with ScreenX in mind; whats in the regular composition is always going to be the actual movie. No one will be watching the ScreenX footage once it leaves theaters. As such, Id describe ScreenX as a gimmick, but not a particularly destructive one. I dont feel like it had a negative impact on my appreciation of The Bone Templewhich I thought was fantastic, by the wayand I think its fine for theaters to make use of fun formats like this that cant be replicated at home. Just know that youre not missing out on all that much if you decide to wait for this movie to come to streaming. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/12\/multicore-mobile.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESubscribe to Multicore\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E","dek":"Multicore is about technology hardware and design. It\u0027s written from Tokyo by Sam Byford. 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