Author: Editor

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kyle Troup. It has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… Growing up, my parents used to pay me if I could beat them at bowling. I got $5 if I beat my mom, and $20 if I beat my dad, Guppy. He was a professional bowler with the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), and my brother and I often went to PBA events with him.Around the time I was 13 or so, I started beating my dad so often that he dropped my pay down to $10 per victory,…

This interview is based on a conversation with Jim Lexa, 63, a letter carrier from West Seneca, New York. It has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… I never started out in journalism because of the money. I could have earned higher wages by staying in my job straight out of college, working in the kitchen of a diner chain.Instead, I was bitten by the writing bug as a high schooler, when I was hired by a local town newspaper in Lily Lake, Illinois, to cover all high school sports, particularly football.Those were the years I learned…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Natalie Alatriste, a 35-year-old native Floridian who grew up in Miami-Dade County. In 2025, she moved to Arlington, Virginia. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… Growing up in Miami in the ’90s, I remember it as a vibrant place. My family is Hispanic, and I’m of Cuban and Mexican descent. I grew up surrounded by so much culture — Cuban, Mexican, Haitian, Venezuelan, and Colombian — because that has always been part of Miami.I also think Miami was a lot quieter when I was growing…

Jay didn’t set out to become the internet’s watchdog of entitled influencers. Loading audio narration… The creator behind the Daadi Snacks account, who asked to be identified by his first name to protect his corporate day job, started posting on TikTok in 2024 to promote his family’s snack business. The company makes popcorn inspired by his grandma’s recipe that includes Indian spices.One day, he came across a pair of influencers who were disappointed that a high-end South Indian restaurant didn’t have Chicken Tikka Masala on its menu.”They made this comment that I thought was funny, in a way, out of…

Rethinking résuméIt’s wild to me to think the résumé might actually be dead. Loading audio narration… About a decade ago, I taught a business communications course to MBA students. One aspect of it was résumé writing. I’d share tips for crafting a standout résumé, then have students workshop each other’s drafts in small groups, pushing for sharper, more distinctive, and memorable copy.Today, these skills are increasingly obsolete. AI can just do it for you.My colleague Amanda Hoover has chronicled two major shifts in the workplace that are reshaping how people get jobs. First, she declared the death of the résumé.…

The fate of the federal student-loan portfolio is moving to the Treasury Department. That could raise some challenges for borrowers. Loading audio narration… The Department of Education announced in March that it would be transferring millions of student-loan borrowers’ accounts to the Treasury, starting with the accounts of defaulted borrowers. The administration made clear the move is part of its broader goal of dismantling the Department of Education.This isn’t the Treasury’s first foray into federal student-loan management. In 2015, the Obama administration wanted to understand why defaulted borrowers struggled to repay, and how federal agencies could help them. So it…

It’s getting harder to resist the temptation to pull up a chatbot and switch off your brain for simple tasks, like replying to emails. Loading audio narration… But that convenience comes with a downside: If you stop engaging in tasks that require critical thinking, creativity, and judgment, those mental muscles can weaken over time.As AI becomes increasingly embedded in everyday work, some researchers have found that a heavy reliance on AI is quietly deskilling workers.It’s a concern for average employees, too. Nearly half of 2,950 workers surveyed by Workday last year worried AI agents would lead to a decline in…

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jason Zhang, a 25-year-old former Google employee based in Seattle. It’s been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… When Google hired me as a software engineer at 22 years old, it felt like a huge accomplishment. It wasn’t just a milestone for me, but for my family.Both my parents are immigrants, and they did everything they could to provide for me. My job at Google meant I was making more money, so I could give back to them and start building a better future for us all — then…

When the US and Israel launched the war with Iran and sent the oil market into a frenzy, I figured it would be fair to assume gas prices wouldn’t be coming down anytime soon. Loading audio narration… I’ve since become sufficiently convinced of this that I decided to completely shake up the cards in my wallet in recent weeks.According to AAA, the US average gas price is now around $4.15 per gallon, up more than $0.60 from last month and up nearly $1 from a year ago. That’s no small change.Gas prices tend to be somewhat lower where I live…

Tinder’s West Hollywood headquarters was covered in balloons.I toured the office on a Friday, a day when most Tinder employees don’t work in person. It was also the day after the company’s product conference, Tinder Sparks. The balloon arches and leftover juice bottles celebrated the occasion.The office is new to some staff, but it’s a homecoming for the company. Tinder was built here at the West Sunset Boulevard location. It then moved across the street, but is now returning to its roots.Here’s a peek inside the Tinder headquarters, filled with snacks, Lego bricks, and beer on tap. Recline against a…