Language-learning app Duolingo just released its second annual Language Report, and two things are clear: Netflix and TikTok really have an international grip on the culture, and people are deep in their feelings about family. Among several highlights from the survey, 70% said that a TV show could motivate them to learn a language. The most commonly referenced shows were Money Heist (Spanish), 37%; Squid Game (Korean), 28%; Emily in Paris (French), 20%; Dark (German), 16%; and Lupin (French), 16
Over the past year and a half, I’ve spent an enormous amount of time pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area on my Gazelle e-bike. The 3,800 miles I’ve covered have been great fun and good exercise. But I didn’t think of them as an alternative to driving. Cars–in case you hadn’t heard–excel at hauling multiple people and their possessions. My Gazelle, on the other hand, carries me and a pannier bag that can accommodate roughly one small grocery bag&#x
Ten years ago this month, we witnessed what may very well go down as one of the most significant events in modern American history: In downtown New York’s Zuccotti Park, police officers stormed a small, makeshift compound, evicting a small throng of occupants and putting an end to what became known as the Occupy Wall Street movement. Or did they? Though Occupy’s physical presence, which I crossed through daily on my walk to work, was short-lived, it continues to loom large in the p
Less than two weeks ago, we saw something historic happen: ConstitutionDAO led the largest crowdfund for a physical object to date, raising $47 million worth of Ether in just a few days. Their goal? To purchase one of eleven rare copies of the U.S. Constitution, a true attempt of ownership by the people, for the people. Even though ConstitutionDAO ultimately lost the bid, what we have left is more than a conversation. Now, we find ourselves in the middle of a movement, with a growing number of i
Do you want to eat (1) poorly (2) moderately or (3) well? A long, long time ago in Minneapolis, this question loomed over a small group of eighth-graders. Appearing on a teletype machine—basically a primitive computer keyboard connected to a printer—at Jordan Junior High School, the strange question broke open the world of The Oregon Trail. Decades later, the title remains perhaps the most influential educational video game ever created, one that endures today as its influence is s
Twitter’s new CEO Parag Agrawal didn’t waste any time making his mark on the company. Just four days after Jack Dorsey announced his surprise departure over Twitter, his successor announced a reorganization that will have chief design officer Dantley Davis and head of engineering Michael Montano leaving by the end of the month. The reorganization is consolidating Twitter into three new divisions—consumer, revenue, and core tech—which will be led by Kayvon Beykpo
After years of work by Apple and Google to ensure that no app on your phone can turn on its cameras without you knowing it, the company behind the chipsets in most Android smartphones now wants to keep the front camera on all the time. Qualcomm announced this “always-on camera” feature as a component of the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, a mobile chip platform that will ship in some smartphones by the end of the year, at its Snapdragon Tech Summit in Waimea, Hawaii. And executives with th
The Federal Trade Commission is suing to block the graphics chip maker Nvidia from acquiring the mobile chip design powerhouse Arm from its current owner, Softbank. The proposed merger, and the FTC’s case to block it, represent a number of firsts for the tech industry and its regulators. The $40 billion merger, which was announced in September, is being called the largest in chip industry history. If approved, it would send seismic waves through that industry and position Nvidia as an ess
When Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, he thought it had a less than 10% chance of succeeding as a business. “I just accepted that I would probably just lose everything,” he said in 2016, “but that maybe we would make some progress if we could just move the ball forward. Even if we died, maybe some other company could pick up the baton.” SpaceX’s advancements indeed have given birth to a growing space economy and revived the manufacturing base south of Los Ange
A version of this article originally appeared on Principal.com. What do a 30-year-old accounting clerk from Oregon and a 37-year-old school consultant from Minnesota have in common? They’re both on track to retire early, possibly by 55. When Erynn Ross moved back home to Oregon after graduating from college, he knew he’d save money by living with his mom. What he didn’t expect was that she would tell him he could pay her rent—or pay into an index fund. “T