United States
Reporter at Fast Company/Inc. Graduate of Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism (CUNY). Previously CNNBusiness. Freelance bylines include NBCNews, Vice, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Slate. Formerly social media and content marketing manager, with copywriting and copy-editing experience.
Fast Company
"I like making music that people say cannot be done, or a collaboration that cannot be done," says DJ Khaled in an interview with Fast Company. "That's what I'm great at, is pulling people together and making magic together." Khaled has made the all-star "posse cut" his signature as a producer.
At the peak of puberty, glum young romantic Justin McLeod made a lifelong decision. "I was totally in love with this girl in seventh grade, and she broke my heart," he says.
The closing moments of American Factory are more ominous than the 100-odd minutes preceding them. If that's possible. In the final shots of Netflix's new labor documentary, which follows the plight of workers at a Chinese-owned glass factory in Dayton, Ohio, a manager proudly presents to the company's CEO his newest employee: a mechanical arm, swiveling and nimbly picking up a sheet of glass.
On a summer weekend at the end of July, around 300 student volunteers from across the country, from Boston to Los Angeles, gathered at a hotel in humid Houston for a training summit. These young activists were expecting to receive a crash course in how to better serve their communities in combating gun violence.
One of Elizabeth Warren's signature 2020 proposals is to break up big tech companies such as Facebook and Google-but this isn't new territory for the senator. In June 2016, she gave a keynote speech addressing the threat of consolidation and concentration of the big tech companies on American ideals.
As he struggled to pass gun safety legislation during his tenure, President Obama repeatedly had to bust the unfounded fear that Democrats were out to lead a jackbooted disarmament of American citizens. "At no point have I ever proposed confiscating guns from responsible gun owners," he told a town hall audience in 2016.
Like any Friday, Las Vegas tonight will be flooded with tourists, Elvis impersonators, and bachelor parties trying to recreate the hijinks of The Hangover. Visitors will be streaming into arenas at the metropolis-like hotels to catch Sin City staples like Cirque du Soleil and David Copperfield.
It took a while to come up with a good name for the GOP's new fundraising vehicle, one that would effectively match the grassroots small-donor energy tapped by the other side in 2018. "Patriot Pass" was the original choice-until Robert Kraft fretted that it sounded too similar to his NFL team.
Whether it was her thoughtful answer on reparations and race in America or simply a "dark psychic force" taking over, Marianne Williamson intrigued viewers enough to secure the position of top-searched candidate on the Detroit debate stage Tuesday night.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's outspoken top aide, Saikat Chakrabarti, is making waves in Washington with his tough talk-but friends and former colleagues from the tech world have fond memories of working with him at Stripe and Mockingbird, the website design company he cofounded.
On Glassdoor, the site where people can rate and review workplaces anonymously, a Google employee begins a list of "pros" with: "Food, food, food." "Food galore," says another reviewer. "Everyone gains the Google 15," jokes yet another. Even a less effusive evaluator notes: "Snacks awesome. Retirement plan not so good."
In case you went 25 years without a spoiler: there was a stampede. Mufasa didn't make it out. Most scenes in the newly released "live-action" Lion King are direct re-creations from the original 1994 animated film-from the heartbreaking death of the king right down to smaller moments, like Scar's terrorizing of a mouse in the opening act.
The decision by California Congressman Eric Swalwell to withdraw from the presidential primary race Monday, an unsurprising move for a candidate consistently polling at less than 1%, also ended up reducing the number of Democratic candidates accepting bitcoin donations by 50% - to just one.
Slack Technologies touts itself as a work productivity tool, and today it listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol WORK and a starting share price of $38.50. Slack execs gathered at the NYSE for the opening bell, soaking up applause and posing for selfies on the company's big day of commencing public trading.
A gun rights case is on the U.S. Supreme Court's docket for this fall, and it'll be the first in almost a decade on the topic of the Second Amendment. More specifically, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v.
You certainly wouldn't be the object of derision if you sauntered into the Starrett-LeHigh exhibition space in Manhattan and thought it was an authentic outlet for some back-to-school shopping. After all, the sign on the door says exactly that. You'll find backpacks, T-shirts, and lunch boxes-but with a disturbing twist.
This is not Nancy Pelosi's first rodeo, but the rodeo certainly looks different this time around. At the Time 100 Summit in New York yesterday, the House speaker said she is feeling more "liberated" during her second stint in the role, in part because she is now leading the most diverse U.S.
In the 1990s, cafés and coffee shops sprung up in Indian cities, and made it easier for young people to meet and date in public spaces. The cultural ideal for middle-class Japanese men in the 1980s was workplace romances with pink-collar workers known as "office ladies."
Nothing gold can stay. President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday that White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be leaving the administration at the end of the month. The departure appears amicable from the language of the tweet, in which Trump describes Sanders as "wonderful," and a "special person with wonderful talents, who has done an incredible job."
Salmon farmers in Northern Ireland could only stand aghast one autumn morning as they watched their entire stock-100,000 plump Atlantic salmon-wipe out within hours. The Irish Sea water glowed red that day in 2007 with what the farmers described as "billions" of jellyfish, engulfing a space of 10 square meters, 35 feet deep.
Frantic over fried chicken, the Texas House of Representatives voted this week to "save" fast-food establishment Chick-fil-A two months after San Antonio City Council elected to ban the branch in its city's airport over the company's stances on LGBTQ rights. Eating at Chick fil-A has evolved into a sticky predicament for many fowl fans.
Saturday Night Live and Portlandia veteran Fred Armisen is also a member of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business community, for his work promoting Latino comedians and writers. On the 10th anniversary of the 100 Most Creative People in Business list, we caught up with Armisen and learned what he thinks is most vital to succeeding in a creative field today.
It's a mean feat to keep the creative juices flowing. Even the most successful people still have to work at it. "As a writer, it's basically job one," says Vince Gilligan, the creator, director, and head writer of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.
One of the most reputable costume designers in Hollywood, Ane Crabtree plays a defining role in creating the immersive TV worlds we dive into night after night. Her work has helped evoke the 1950s repression of Masters of Sex, the New Jersey suburbia of The Sopranos (she worked on the pilot), and the sci-fi future-and frontier past-of Westworld.
Print and Multimedia
Second episode in a new politics explainer series that I helped develop. I reported the story, wrote the script and presented on screen.
On the radio show Martketplace, I talk to Kai Ryssdal about my Fast Company story on Google's snack curation.
Print story in the Winter 2019-2020 Issue
Print story in the Nov. 2019 Issue
First episode in a new politics video explainer series that I helped develop. I reported the story, wrote the script and presented on screen.
Print story in the Winter 2019-2020 Issue
My interview for print with Carey Smith, the former CEO of Big Ass Fans, about his views on private equity.
I talk about my sit-down interview with presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
I talk about the New York Toy Fair and the shaky state of the toy industry following the fall of Toys "R" Us. (From 16.55)
Inc.
For some businesses, the biggest night of the year is a star-studded affair, dripping with champagne and fried quail eggs.
While Andrew Yang thinks the word "entrepreneur" is hokey, he's hoping the American people will elect him president based on his resume as one. Best known as the founder of Venture for America, a New York City based non-profit that helps place recent grads at companies in economically depressed cities across the country, Yang is one of 23 Democratic candidates currently in the running to be the next U.S.
Procter and Gamble paid for three local businesses to run Super Bowl spots. The results so far? Not exactly life-changing yet, but these entrepreneurs' phones are ringing off the hook.
When David Strang joined the Supper Club, a London-based networking group comprising some 450 founders, he relished the idea of being able to air his frustrations and fears, as well as trade ideas and best practices with fellow entrepreneurs. These days, all anyone can talk about is Brexit.
Flowers and candy are nice but forgettable. Try these unusual ways to your valentine's heart.
Big Ass Fans founder Carey Smith explains what it takes to effectively incentivize and engage your young charges.
CNNBusiness
Thailand has been a stronghold for automobile manufacturing for decades. It nicknamed itself "the Detroit of Asia," and the moniker stuck, with good reason. It's currently the 12th most industrious auto manufacturer in the world, and the largest in Southeast Asia. Japanese makers like Toyota and Mitsubishi have had operations in Thailand since the 1960s.
The Aperol Spritz, a simple cocktail composed of Aperol, prosecco and club soda over ice is having a moment. Gruppo Campari, which produces Aperol, reported double-digit growth in US Aperol sales in the first quarter of 2018. The sparkling drink with a low alcohol content seems tailor made for the social media generation.
While few dispute its effectiveness in restoring endangered animal populations, some industries, including mining, logging and farming, say the law stymies business. Nowthe Trump administration is moving to revamp it. One change would allow the government to consider economic factors, not just science, in deciding which species are protected.
Schools across the country are reassessing security measures in response to recent shootings. School security has become a growth market, with districts investing in video surveillance and entry control systems, and some considering newer gadgets that claim to fill security gaps.
The World Cup is coming to North America in 2026 and the 23 cities competing to host games are optimistic that the tourism and exposure will boost their economies. But others are sitting out, warning that past tournaments have done more harm than good.
Striving to turn the Mediterranean nation into "Blockchain Island," the government is opening its doors to blockchain and other so-called distributed ledger technologies. These technologies allow transactions to quickly be carried out between people without interference or control by third parties. Blockchain promises to improve security and reduces transaction costs.
But when her husband, a UPS driver, was admitted with symptoms incurred during a shift drivinga brown delivery truck with no air conditioning, she decided to do something. Klenk created a petition on change.org in July urging UPS to provide air conditioning in its trucks. It's been signed more than 210,000 times.
Apple made up nearly half that total, according to a report from investment research company TrimTabs. Last month, Apple pledged to purchase $100 billion worth of its own stock. It didn't provide a time frame for when it would complete the purchases. Micron Technology ($10 billion) and Qualcomm ($8.8 billion) rounded out the top three in TrimTabs' report.
ExxonMobil found oil off Guyana's coast in 2015, and believes the reserves are big. Conservative estimates project to about 4 billion barrels. Some experts think there's more to be found in the country's 6.6 million-acre Starbroek Block. But how Guyana prepares for the windfall from a newly discovered fossil fuel repository will have big ramifications for its future.
"Secondary ticketing" is a big business. Globally, it's estimated to bring in $8 billion a year, according to multiple news reports. That's over a quarter of the $30 billion primary ticketing market. But laws regulating online scalping remain somewhat vague.
An estimated 9 million tons of lithium sits untapped in the South American country. Tech companies need it for their devices, and chances are you're reading this story on a laptop or smartphone that's powered by a lithium-ion battery. So why is Chile, not Bolivia, dominating the South American lithium market?
Freelance
ORLANDO-Ten miles from Disneyworld, the lobby of the Omni Orlando Resort was packed with restless kids sporting Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears, their exhausted parents in tow, drying off from splash-arounds in the outdoor pool and lazy river, or heading back inside after a round on the nine-hole pitch and putt.
When Gayatri Kaimal, a seventh-grader from Tucson, Arizona, competes in the National Geographic Bee finals this weekend, she'll be one of the only four girls on stage. Fifty-four geography-loving fourth-to-eighth-graders have earned a spot in the televised, rapid-fire contest - winners of local competitions from each U.S.
Ralph Demicco, the then-owner of New Hampshire's largest gun store, Riley's Sport Shop, received a phone call one day in spring 2009. The caller informed him that three people had bought guns from his shop and fatally shot themselves. All the cases were unrelated.
In a 1997 episode of called "The Comeback," George Costanza is merrily stuffing himself with free shrimp at a meeting. His coworker mocks him: "Hey, George, the ocean called. They're running out of shrimp." George stands humiliated as laughter fills the room, his mind searching frantically for the perfect riposte.
An unscientific survey shows the most-viewed TV comedy shows tend keep the humor to a measured pace. Please consider disabling it for our site, or supporting our work in one of these ways Subscribe Now > Animated shows like Family Guy and South Park rely heavily on satirical jokes.
When I first moved to New York, there was little to do for a fresh newcomer in the clammy evenings except crank up the AC in my temporary Harlem high-rise and binge on old episodes of "Parts Unknown" on Netflix. And that became a nightly routine.
It can be distressing to find, deep in the recesses of your bank statement, that long-forgotten $7.99 monthly charge for your Hulu subscription. Only to dig deeper and discover you've wasted $50 on the unused streaming service since you gave up on The Handmaid's Tale six months ago.
Walk on Water," the opening track of Revival, released over a month ago, teased a more conscious side of Eminem, who seemed fully aware of every complaint in the fan book, and of the fact that a 45-year-old in a young man's game is unlikely to please everyone.
While they share concern for the police brutality that occurred during a referendum vote on Oct. 1, Catalan-born New Yorkers remain divided over the political movement for their state's independence from Spain. At one particular protest against the brutality, Catalan natives gathered in a small section of Washington Square Park last Saturday, wearing striped yellow and red attire and draped in the region's "senyera" flags.
On a recent day in the Morris Park neighborhood, a few residents were effusive in their praise of one particular candidate running for their district's City Council: Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj. Morris Park forms part of District 13. It's currently represented by Councilmember James Vacca, a Democrat, whose term expires this year.
December is a tricky month, cash-wise. Forking out the big bucks for aunty Gloria's Britney Spears perfume and uncle Graham's thermal underwear means little is left in the wallet for going out. Get your priorities straight, people - Poundland socks will do just fine.
Hire Space spoke to Julian Saipe, Managing Director at the long-established and respected catering company, Zafferano. He was also a prominent panellist at our EventLab teaser event. Here, we pick his very best insights from both wide-ranging interviews, in which he discusses how the events industry has changed over time, the positive and negative impacts of tech, and how aspects other than food can actually be more important to a caterer.