• Before I had kids I had visited 80 countries.
• I knew I wanted to show my kids the world once we could all travel.
• Now that they are teens, they rather stay at home and stare at a screen.

I was born with wanderlust. Before I had kids, I visited over 80 countries. Once I had children, I knew I wanted to show them the world. I hoped that by doing so, I could instill in them a love of travel and help them become curious, empathetic humans.

For years, they loved to pack their suitcases. They eagerly listened to me explain the basics of the history and culture of wherever we were headed.

However, once they hit their teen years, things changed. They decided they would rather stay home, usually attached to a device. Getting them to willingly go on trips became a struggle. However, I refused to give up. I changed how I thought about traveling. Ever since, our trips have been much better.

I ask them where they want to go

When my teens started complaining that they didn't like the destinations I chose, I asked them for input. I am a more adventurous traveler who would rather explore trails and ruins. My daughter, on the other hand, is a city girl through and through. She told me she prefers urban destinations.

Although I had been eyeing an African safari, once my teen suggested Tokyo, I started doing some research. I am now close to booking a trip to Japan, and I think we will all be happy.

My teens have been less grumpy once I started planning trips that consider their wishes instead of simply expecting them to enjoy the same things as me. Plus, if they grumble, I get to remind them that the trip was their idea, not mine.

I make time to do things they enjoy

I would rather hike than shop, but my teenage daughter has yet to find a mall she doesn't like. I try to work in some time for her to browse local shopping areas wherever we go. I wanted to pull my hair out when she brought me to the same chain store that we have close to our home when visiting Rome.

However, at times, I am glad I followed her lead. I'm not sure I would have visited the jaw-dropping Mall of Dubai or the high-end Connaught Place shopping area in New Delhi, complete with a huge underground shopping area full of faux-designer goods directly underneath. Both were cultural experiences.

I always give my daughter a budget or insist she spend her money. She still walks away happy, and the rest of the trip goes more smoothly. As much as I detest shopping trips, it's a small price to pay.

I find ways for them to connect with other teens

When they travel, my teens miss their friends. While I would like to think that their siblings and parents are great company, I know they don't see things the same way.

To make up for it, I try to find ways for them to connect with other teens when we travel. This has meant altering my usual independent, always on-the-go travel style. Although I first booked a group tour reluctantly, I am getting ready to book a third family tour with Intrepid Travel. On these tours, my teens find other kids their age to connect with and are much happier.

When we want a more relaxed pace, I've sought out resorts like Beaches with dedicated teen clubs. My teens have made friends from all over the world this way. They are much better travel companions when sharing part of the experience with their peers. I'd be lying if I didn't admit I like some alone time, too.

I try to accommodate their need for alone time

Even when things go smoothly, my teens still need time away from me. Although I find this a little hurtful, I try to give them space.

Sometimes, this means leaving a teen alone in a hotel room while I play Uno with a sibling in the lobby. Other times, one of my teens might take a shuttle bus from an amusement park back to the hotel by themselves or stay in our room at a resort while the rest of the family goes to the pool.

It's not always possible to give my teens time alone exactly when they want it, but finding some way for us to be apart makes the time we are together better.

I remind them of the ways travel enriches their lives

Like most teens, my kids are reluctant to admit they learned anything or had fun. However, my daughter recently showed me her high school art portfolio. I was surprised and pleased to see that it included a painting of a door inspired by our trip to Morocco and a whale inspired by our trip to Iceland. I've overheard my son talking about a trip to the Caribbean.

Although these moments are rare, I take the opportunity to remind my teens of the value and fun of travel.

President Trump says he wants to buy Greenland. We explore if that could actually happen in a video collaboration between Politico and Business Insider.

• I followed my dreams and became a teacher instead of chasing a high salary.
• Now that my kids are in college and everything is more expensive, I want them to find a stable job.
• Hopefully, they can find a high-paying job that they love.

As a little girl, my favorite place was the town library, where I would check out stacks of books as tall as I was. As soon as I could read, my head was full of dreams.

I wanted to develop a life-saving cancer treatment, circumnavigate the globe as a prize-winning journalist, and perform as a famous ballerina. I believed a life worth living was a life spent pursuing passions, especially when it came to a dream career.

With so many dreams, choosing one path felt impossible. As a result, I changed my college major more times than I changed my boyfriends. Eventually, I graduated with a master's degree in English teaching. I wanted to pass on my passion for discovering new worlds and words to students.

Over the past 20 years, I've taught high school and college classes. I've seen students slam their books shut in frustration at the end of "Animal Farm" and sit in stunned silence after turning the final page of "Of Mice and Men." I've helped freshman college comp students hone thesis statements and calmed the nerves of dozens of high school students preparing for speech contests. I've been sworn at and threatened, and I've been invited to weddings and baby showers.

Teaching has been, in a word, a dream. But dreams don't always come with a livable wage.

Dream jobs don't pay the bills

Because of my parents and scholarships, I received an advanced degree without debt. I have a husband whose job provides a decent wage and good benefits, so we can afford eggs (for now), take modest vacations, and send our children to college.

But if I had to care for a family of four on just my wages, it would be impossible.

I followed my dreams, not the money. But is that still good advice in today's world?

I'm the mom of two young adult sons embarking on their own college and career paths, and I'm not sure if I should tell them to follow their passions.

One son expressed an interest in journalism, but in a world of AI generators and mass layoffs, that might not be a wise decision. Even the tech world no longer feels like a safe bet.

"Find a career that invigorates you, is AI-proof, pays well, and comes with great benefits," I want to tell them. I might as well be telling them to find me a pet unicorn while they're at it.

I know the world is different now when I talk to my sons

When I chose to follow my dreams decades ago, rent for my studio apartment cost $400 a month. Gas cost $1.50 a gallon, and a dozen eggs was less than $1. The economy and world news weren't all optimistic, but I didn't have social media throwing negativity in my face every minute.

I nearly fell off my chair when my son told me how much rent would cost to share an apartment with three friends next year — over $850 for each tenant. What will expenses be like when they graduate in a few years and try to make it on their own? With rising housing prices, I picture my sons living in our basement and subsisting on beans and rice. They won't be able to afford eggs.

I want my sons to have fulfilling careers and experience the same energetic boost I get after leading a class discussing or seeing a student have that magical a-ha moment. I want them to have jobs without the Sunday Scaries, where they build community and make a difference in a world that can feel hopeless.

But I also want them to be able to pay their bills, take some amazing vacations, and generously give to causes they care about.

I dream they can have the best of both worlds

I realize this is a false dichotomy. My husband's career doesn't fill him with great passion, but his work is satisfying and pays decently. I have friends with successful corporate careers that don't kill their souls and come with great benefits.

I can tell my sons to pick a career that pays the bills without making them miserable. And whenever possible, they can chase life-giving passions — whether inside work or outside it. Maybe they volunteer at an after-school program or do some freelance writing so they can feed their dreams and put food on the table.

The world has changed, but purpose still matters. I discovered this in my childhood books and have experienced it in a fulfilling career. Now, as my sons chase their own paths, I dream they find a way to make a living and truly live.

• Sergey Brin suggested Google's AI-focused employees work about 60 hours weekly for increased productivity.
• Workplace experts argue longer hours can reduce productivity due to errors and decreased motivation.
• One founder instead looks for "burstable bandwidth" where workers can ramp up when needed.

For Googlers working on AI, 60 could be the new 40.

Sergey Brin sees working about 60 hours a week as "the sweet spot of productivity."

In addition to recommending that workers focusing on Gemini, the company's AI model, go well beyond the 40 hours typical of many workplaces, the Google cofounder advised in a recent memo that they consider being in the office "at least" every weekday, according to The New York Times.

"In my experience, about 60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity," Brin wrote in the memo published in full by The Verge. "Some folks put in a lot more but can burn out or lose creativity. A number of folks work less than 60 hours and a small number put in the bare minimum to get by. This last group is not only unproductive but also can be highly demoralizing to everyone else."

Yet, for many employees, more time at their desks doesn't necessarily mean they'll be more productive — and the extra hours could even hurt output if workers rev their engines for too long, workplace observers told Business Insider.

When people work more hours, there's often a diminishing return, said John P. Trougakos, a professor of management at the University of Toronto. Too much time on the job can lead to an increase in errors and a drop in motivation.

"We see people taking longer to do the same amount of work than they would do when they were fresher," he told BI.

Instead, stronger performance tends to come in shorter, focused bursts, Trougakos said.

It's understandable, he said, given the pressure leaders face, why some might want workers around more, though the prescription isn't necessarily going to yield better results.

Brin seems to be after better outcomes. In the memo, he referenced the fight for AI dominance.

"Competition has accelerated immensely and the final race to AGI is afoot," he wrote, according to the Times, referring to artificial general intelligence. "We have all the ingredients to win this race, but we are going to have to turbocharge our efforts."

Google requires workers to be in the office at least three days a week.

The company didn't respond to a request for comment from BI.

Like professional athletes

Longer hours can, in some cases, be an issue of "optics," Trougakos said — a display of how dedicated people are to an organization rather than what they get done.

He said it's hard to put a number on the ideal number of hours for so-called knowledge work because it tends to be different from something like manufacturing, where more time spent assembling widgets would yield more widgets.

By contrast, with desk jobs, "You can spend 60 hours on the clock and be very unproductive," Trougakos said.

Heidi Golledge, the founder and CEO of Jobot, a consulting and recruiting firm that uses artificial intelligence, likens her employees to professional athletes who need to rest between games.

Without time to recover, she told BI, "you can't play at the same level."

As a tech exec, Golledge said, she believes in "burstable bandwidth" for her workers. That means if there's a key deadline, they can expect to put in more time.

"You work a bit harder on those days, but you have to be able to rest and recharge, and then you can come at the problem anew," Golledge said.

A recipe for burnout

Laura Vanderkam, author of "Tranquility by Tuesday" and other books about time management, has studied the time logs of various types of workers.

She told BI that few people consistently work more than 60 hours, partly because doing so can lead to burnout.

Vanderkam also said it's unlikely that a round number like 60 would be the ideal amount of time to work. It's similar to how 10,000 steps is a round number, though not one tied to scientific benchmarks for good health.

She said it can be hard to quantify how much time people need to be working because, for example, a major innovation could come at any time.

"That minute where they got that breakthrough is worth 50 hours of sitting around doing nothing else," Vanderkam said.

She said that in a place like Google, which for years was famous for on-site perks like ping-pong tables, some employees likely would have to be in the office for even more hours to account for times when they weren't working.

"I found very few people working consistently that many hours without some sort of downtime in there," Vanderkam said of workplaces she's studied.

40 to 50 hours is reasonable

Devoting too many hours to the office can cut into workers' ability to do things that can help them succeed in the long run — activities like exercising, spending time with friends and family, and getting enough sleep.

Working too few hours, of course, also reduces productivity.

Vanderkam said many people who have full-time, "intense" jobs end up working between 40 and 50 hours a week. She sees that as reasonable, adding that "45 to 50 hours of work is different from 60."

Trougakos, who has researched employee well-being, productivity, and work trends, said that rather than a specific number of hours, employers should focus on how people use their time, how they can use technology to boost productivity, and how to minimize interruptions during work hours.

Grinding for 60 hours, he said, isn't likely to achieve a big payoff.

"It's contrary to almost all data on high performance and productivity that we have," Trougakos said.

• Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis announced on X that she had welcomed another child with Elon Musk.
• Musk responded to her post with a heart emoji.
• The pair had already welcomed three children together: twins Strider and Azure, and daughter Arcadia.

Billionaire Elon Musk and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis have announced the birth of their fourth child together.

Zilis first shared the news in a post on X on Friday, writing: "Discussed with Elon and, in light of beautiful Arcadia's birthday, we felt it was better to also just share directly about our wonderful and incredible son Seldon Lycurgus. Built like a juggernaut, with a solid heart of gold. Love him so much."

Musk responded to her post with a heart emoji.

The pair had already welcomed three children together, twins Strider and Azure, and daughter Arcadia.

It comes weeks after influencer Ashley St. Clair said she had also had a child with Musk.

"Five months ago, I welcomed a new baby into the world. Elon Musk is the father," she wrote on X in mid-February, adding that she had not previously disclosed the news in an effort to protect the child's privacy and safety.

Musk has not publicly acknowledged St. Clair's claim.

Musk has also welcomed six children with his first wife Justine Wilson: Nevada Alexander (who died at just 10 weeks of age), twins Griffin and Vivian, and triplets Kai, Saxon, and Damian.

The Tesla CEO also has three children with the musician Grimes: two sons, X Æ A-12 and Techno Mechanicus, and a daughter, Exa Dark Sideræl.

Musk has long warned of the risks posed by declining birth rates.

In a post on X in July 2022, he said that "a collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far" and that he was doing his "best to help the underpopulation crisis."

• I was born and raised in Paris and know the best ways for tourists to blend in with locals.
• Wearing a beret is typically a surefire way to spot that someone is a tourist.
• Greeting people in English and waiting for the check at a restaurant make tourists stand out.

It's no secret that Parisians have a reputation for being a little standoffish if you don't know how to properly approach them.

However, as someone who was born and raised in Paris, I know that blending in with the locals is a good way for tourists to have a positive experience while visiting the French capital.

Here are five mistakes I advise against making if you want to experience Paris like a local.

Wearing a beret

I'll admit it — berets are cute. However, if you don't want to stick out like a sore thumb on your visit to Paris, I'm sorry to say you'll need to skip the souvenir-shop beret.

Most Parisians don't wear this stereotypical hat, and sporting one feels like a sure sign that someone is a tourist.

On a similar note, as a general guideline, I recommend avoiding anything the title character in "Emily in Paris" would wear or do.

Eating at restaurants where the staff really try to lure you in

If staff members are posted outside a restaurant with a handful of menus and call out to you as you pass by, you can almost guarantee the food will be overpriced and subpar.

In my experience, the same goes for any restaurant where the menu is offered to you in English before French. That's why I typically recommend steering clear of overly touristy restaurants.

However, I do think some popular tourist spots, like Les Deux Magots and the Café de Flore, are worth visiting. Both are unbeatable for a weekday breakfast of a croissant, coffee, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Waiting patiently for your check at a café or restaurant

Although many Americans are accustomed to being served their bill before deciding whether they want dessert, in Paris, the check is typically only brought to you if you explicitly ask for it.

If you wait patiently to be invited to pay, you could sit there for a long time.

Sticking exclusively to tourist hot spots

One of my favorite things to do in Paris is roam the side streets aimlessly. However, you'll miss out on this experience if you head directly to famous monuments and museums.

Instead, take the long way to your destination, turn off the major avenues, and take in the architecture and charming little shops.

Paris is compact and designed for walking, so you'll never get too far off track, even if you're lost.

Greeting people in English

You definitely don't need to be fluent in French to visit Paris, but it's always polite to learn a few basic phrases and greetings.

Although this is a considerate practice in any non-English-speaking country, I've noticed Parisians particularly resent a lack of effort on this front.

As long as you do your best to initiate the conversation in French, it's often fine to then immediately switch to English — some locals will be eager to practice their language skills with you and appreciate you meeting them halfway.

• Taylor Francis cofounded a carbon-emissions data-tracking startup in 2019.
• The startup said it raised $100M in a Series C funding round in 2024 at a $1.8B valuation.
• He shared how he pitched his climate-change-focused startup to investors during Trump's first term.

As cofounder of Watershed, an emissions data-tracking startup, Taylor Francis's job is to convince companies to spend money on reducing their carbon footprint — even in a political landscape that may be hostile to climate initiatives.

Francis co-founded the software startup in 2019 with two former Stripe colleagues, Avi Itskovich and Christian Anderson, at the tail end of the first Trump administration, which aggressively scaled back climate-oriented incentives and regulations.

At the time, their investor pitch was simple: There's money to be made in climate action.

Six years later, with the onset of a second Trump term, Francis told Business Insider the message remains the same.

"We've been here before," he said.

In February 2024, the startup announced a $100 million Series C funding round at a $1.8 billion valuation. And January 2025 was Watershed's "best month ever as a business" regarding new revenue, Francis said. He did not disclose a figure.

Today, Francis said his biggest competitors are Salesforce and Microsoft which also offer similar emissions-tracking services. He said his clients include 60 of the Fortune 500 companies.

"I feel like that's a problem we've earned our way into recently," he said.

Business Insider visited Francis at Watershed's 23,000-square-foot office in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, where his nearly 400 employees are encouraged to come into work.

He told BI he likes to operate in an "old school" way: in person, where people can freely exchange ideas in front of a whiteboard.

Francis shared how he first pitched his company to investors in 2019 and the challenges he navigates today.

The interview was condensed and edited for clarity.

Was it hard getting companies onboard with Watershed in 2019?

Yeah, I mean, 2019 was in the first Trump administration.

It seemed no one had ever done this before — getting companies to spend money on software for climate. People had spent money on consultants, they'd spent money on [carbon] offsets. And I think that the mega trend that we are both riding and trying to accelerate is that climate is getting more and more in-the-money for companies.

That was the pitch at the time — there's money in pursuing climate initiatives.

Honestly, the first slide of our sales deck was the same in 2019 as it is today. Literally the first slide of the sales deck. It looks better, it's been redesigned, but it still says: "Software to measure, reduce, and report your carbon emissions, because climate action is good for your business."

Here's the thing, I'll say January 2025 was our best month ever as a business.

What do you think is happening there?

I think that we are indexed to companies doing the work on climate, not indexed to companies talking publicly about their work on climate.

We see now that companies are behind the scenes. When you're an enterprise software, you kind of get to see the inside of organizations and whether they're thinking about this in a thoughtful way.

The companies are going about this with more organizational seriousness now than they did three years ago. They're saying much less about it, but the executive leader who's responsible has shifted from chief sustainability officer to the chief financial officer.

Who are your competitors?

Microsoft and Salesforce. They have these modules. It's nice market validation that they think this is a big opportunity, but there's just a difference in product quality when it's the only thing you do.

A Salesforce spokesperson told Business Insider in an email that sustainability management is "fundamentally a data challenge" that requires a unified platform. A Microsoft spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

What's the hardest thing right now?

Honestly, I think it's pretty pedestrian: enterprise software challenges.

How do you make it a no-brainer for companies to buy a nice piece of software rather than a module from someone they've already purchased from?

How do you manage a growing team between San Francisco and London? Two years ago, Watershed was a hundred people, now it's 380 people.

How do you make sure you're delivering well for companies at the scale of Walmart who have enormous expectations about this sort of thing?

How many customers do you have now?

I don't know that we've shared that publicly, but we have more than 500 clients now than the 5 clients we had when John Doerr [the Chair of Kleiner Perkins] joined us in 2021.

What was your reaction when BlackRock — a Watershed client with $11.6 trillion in assets under management — pulled out of the Net Zero Asset Management Initiative?

We work with a pretty broad set of the financial sector and I will say that they are doing the work with more seriousness today than when we started working with them.

And so I think there just is this talk-action ratio thing, where a bunch of companies around the Glasgow climate conference came out with huge press releases with big bold claims and had not really figured out the data yet.

Today, you see the pullback on the pledges, and companies — behind the scenes — know what they're doing. They've got the initiatives that they're prioritizing. So I think the talk-action ratio has flipped.

Is it a good time for climate action in the world right now? No. Obviously the policy pendulum matters and the policy pendulum is not swinging in the right direction. But — behind the scenes with companies — I think people are doing more, even though they're talking less.

• I love to bake and am particularly fond of making my own sourdough bread.
• It isn't the easiest process, but I think there are simple ways for beginners to get started.
• Investing in a mixer and figuring out your favorite seasoning blends can speed up the process.

Baking my own bread has been a great way to save money — I don't have to drop $5 or more on a nice loaf at the store. Plus, spending time in the kitchen is a phenomenal stress reducer for me.

Sourdough is one of my favorite things to bake. However, getting it right can be tricky.

Unlike most breads, sourdough doesn't use the kind of dry yeast you can buy at the store. It rises with the help of a starter, which is a fermented mixture of flour and water that, over time, develops its own wild yeast and bacteria.

The live culture is what gives the loaves their delicious sour flavor.

Here are my best beginner-friendly tips for making your own sourdough at home.

Be patient with your starter.

It can take between one and two weeks for a new sourdough starter to become strong enough to use in a recipe. Luckily, the actual process of making one is pretty easy.

I like to start by mixing ¼ cup warm water and ½ cup whole-wheat flour in a large jar. Cover the mix with plastic wrap and let it rest for one day in an environment between 70 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

On day two, uncover and stir your mix. Cover it for another day.

On day three, discard half of the contents of your jar. Then, "feed" the starter by adding ½ cup of all-purpose flour and ¼ cup of water back and mixing it together.

Cover the mixture, and let it rest for another day.

Repeat this every day until your starter has essentially doubled in size from day one. You can measure this by placing a rubber band around the initial level of the starter.

You'll know it's strong if it's fluffy and full of bubbles with a nice scent.

While feeding your starter, use the discard for other recipes

Every time you feed your sourdough starter, you have to discard some of the mixture to make space in your container.

Some people choose to feed their refrigerated starter once a week, while others will feed it once or even twice a day. It just depends on your needs.

If having to literally throw away this flour and water mix feels too wasteful to you, you can use the discard to make something else.

There are so many great discard recipes out there, from crackers, granola, cinnamon rolls, and cookies to flatbread, biscuits, bagels, and pancakes.

If you don't have time though, you can also compost the discard.

Choose your utensils wisely.

There's much debate in the sourdough community about whether it's safe to use metal bowls and utensils while making the bread. In some instances, like with aluminum, the metal can be corrosive, which doesn't mix well with the acidic starter.

However, for the most part, 100% stainless steel won't impact your dough.

That said, stainless steel can be expensive, especially if you don't already have a good collection in your kitchen. I prefer to bypass metal entirely and use a glass or ceramic bowl, wooden spoon, and silicone spatula to mix my ingredients.

Always sift your flour.

If you're trying to achieve a fluffy, airy texture with many holes throughout your loaf — a big draw of sourdough bread — sift your flour before mixing it with the other ingredients.

This essentially aerates it and helps to create a fluffier texture in your bread. If you don't have a fine mesh strainer or sieve, you can just use a whisk or fork to toss the dry flour around.

I also like to sift the flour I add to my sourdough starter each time I feed it to enhance its texture.

Invest in a mixer.

A stand or handheld mixer can be really helpful while making sourdough. It gets the mixing done without leaving me with messy, sticky hands.

I'm especially grateful for my KitchenAid mixer on high-volume baking days. Mixing everything by hand requires a lot of effort.

I highly recommend looking into investing in one if you're making sourdough as your main source of bread.

Don't forget to season your bread.

I'm not an expert at scoring my loaves or making fancy designs on top. However, I do strongly believe you should season sourdough.

I simply scatter a seasoning blend across the top of the loaf before baking to add style and flavor.

My favorite blend to use right now is an Asiago-flavored everything-bagel seasoning, but sprigs of rosemary and fancy salts are just as attractive, tasty, and fun.

Perfect your egg wash.

If you're adding loose seasonings or herbs to your loaf, you'll want to use an egg wash to make sure everything sticks. It's also a great way to create a beautiful outer crust.

If you want your crust to be more brown, mix an egg with water — the less water you use, the darker your crust will be.

If you'd like a shinier, lighter crust, though, mix your egg with a splash of milk or heavy cream instead.

Water is the secret to a great sourdough loaf.

Water helps to keep the surface of the bread flexible. The more water you add to your recipe, the more porous and fluffy your bread should turn out.

I like to spray my loaf with a good amount of water right before throwing it in the oven to help it rise better.

• When I decided to come out to my dad, I was nervous about his reaction.
• He's a lifelong Catholic, and I wasn't sure he'd be supportive.
• I needn't have worried; he told me he only cared about my happiness.

In the beginning, I'd hoped I wouldn't have to come out to my father, or the rest of my family. The first label I landed on before lesbian was bisexual, and I clung to the possibility that I'd end up with a man, and this part of me could be rendered irrelevant (yes, I know that's not actually how bisexuality works — but my younger self, just barely beginning to work through a lifetime of internalized homophobia, didn't).

Then I fell in love with a woman. I wanted to weave her into just about every aspect of my life, including my family life. It was 2021, and I'd been back in Michigan for over a year after spending that same amount of time living in Denver. That was where I'd come out to myself, away from the small Christian town I grew up in.

My parents raised my siblings and me Catholic, like they had been. When same-sex marriage was legalized, the priest of our church reassured the congregation, "Regardless of the law, we will not be conducting same-sex marriages here," and the congregation, including my dad, gave him a standing ovation.

I was nervous when I came out to my dad

Six years later, I sat in my dad's backyard feeling more nervous than I'd been since middle school cheerleading tryouts. I asked my sister to be there just in case I needed backup. I worried he would say something hurtful or disproving, and our relationship would be irrevocably changed for the worse (not an uncommon reality for queer people — in a 2021 survey, 34% of Americans asked responded they would be either "somewhat unsupportive," "not supportive at all," or "not sure" what they'd do if their child, sibling, or close family member came out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual; that figure jumps to 43% for trans or nonbinary people).

When I finally said it, he paused and nodded. "And you think this is, like, a forever thing?" I steadied myself for the worst.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, it wasn't that long ago that you had a boyfriend?"

"Oh, yeah… I would say I'm bisexual..." I responded.

"Okay." He nodded again. "And you thought your sister had to be here?"

I shrugged, "Just in case…"

Later, he asked if I'd been worried he would have been mad. "I mean, I don't know," I said. "You've been Catholic your whole life…"

He shook his head. "I think what most parents want, myself included, is for their kids to be happy."

He has been nothing but supportive

The next month, my hometown had its first Pride festival. I read a poem onstage and had a vendor booth where I wrote custom, typewritten poems. My sister and father both came for my performance and sat in my booth, and my sister brought a pack of Pride pins. When she asked my dad if he wanted one, he said sure, fastening a "Love Is Love" pin to his T-shirt.

In 2023, for the first time, we attended a non-Catholic service for Christmas Eve; my father suggested the church because of the Pride flag they hung outside. Last summer, when he visited my now-wife and me in Chicago, he set out on Sunday morning to walk to our nearest Catholic church. When he couldn't find it, he went to another Christian church. Their program featured a Progress flag with a statement about how they welcome all members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community. When he returned to our apartment, he handed us the program.

"Look at that," he said. "I think it was some kind of fate that I wound up there." Later that summer, he, along with my wife's parents, paid for our wedding. Recently, during our weekly FaceTime coffee date, my dad said, "Oh, there was something I wanted to tell you. Did you know that Eleanor Rosevelt was bisexual, or maybe lesbian?" He's been reading a book about all the presidents.

"No, actually, I don't think I did know that," I said.

My father's strongest ideology, above any religious or political kind, is his love for his children. People are complicated, but he has made this straightforward and obvious. It's meant the world to me to know that his support is a sure thing.

• I grew up in a deeply religious home, was kicked out at 17, and lived in a homeless shelter.
• My relationship with my family has been strained for most of my adult life.
• My mother and brother have cancer; despite mending our relationship, I'm having difficult feelings.

Everything changed after my parents found religion when I was 14 years old.

My brothers, sister, and I had to dedicate our lives to living religious principles. I grew up in a home environment where appearances were everything. We had to "look" godly, or we'd be spanked.

For three years, I tried, but when I told my parents I wasn't going to seminary and didn't want to become a pastor, they kicked me out at 17 years old.

I found myself crying every ounce of liquid out of my body every night at the Pacific Garden Mission. I dropped out of high school and worked three low-paying jobs to survive.

I become so bitter at my parents, especially my mother. I was angry she kicked me out and that I couldn't see my little brother, who's two years younger than me.

Years later, they're both dying, and I'm unsure how to feel.

I didn't talk to my family for years

As I tried to work my way out of the homeless shelter, I met the woman who would become my first wife working at Burger King. We married the day after I turned 18 and got an apartment together. I was able to leave the homeless shelter.

A year later, we had a son. Over the next three years, we had another son and a daughter. I was not talking to my parents or family during this time.

My mother wanted to see her grandchildren, so we talked through some of our grievances. I don't know if I would have ever talked to my mother if I hadn't had children.

But I didn't want my kids not to know their grandparents, so my mother and I talked through things to the point where we could maintain communication.

I wouldn't call it a deep connection, but I decided to move on from the bitter stage and move to a cordial relationship where the main focus was my kids seeing their grandparents.

At this point, I got to talk to my brother again, who had been living with my parents. Having the short calls and being allowed to catch up and reconnect felt good.

Over the next 20 years, I kept a cordial relationship with my parents and didn't spend much time with my brother. They lived their lives, and I lived mine.

My mother and brother got cancer, and things became more complicated

My brother was diagnosed with Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) three years ago, and my mother found out she had stage four lung cancer a year ago.

I got a call earlier this year that the cancer was spreading, and I flew to spend time with them.

I knew it would be hard seeing them battling late-stage cancer, but what I walked into was my brother in the Advanced Cancer Care Center, unable to move, and my mother wanting to hold an "end of life" planning meeting. It was worse than I anticipated.

It was hard to see him not moving and the nurses having to help him do everything. My mother looked like she weighed 50 pounds and had sores on her mouth as a side effect of cancer medication; I couldn't even hug her due to the risk of possible infection.

I'm worried I won't feel anything when they pass away

Spending this time with my mom at the end of her life has made me realize I needed to forgive and let go of the grudge I've been holding onto for 27 years.

I'm not dismissing what happened to me, but I'm choosing to spend these final days getting to know the mother I didn't. I've gotten closer to my brother and made up for all the time we haven't had together.

However, as I watched my mother and brother battling terminal cancer and having what could be their last moments in life, my thoughts have been that I'm not sure I'll feel anything when they die. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that a part of me is still angry and struggling to let go.

I feel bad for them as a person would feel bad for another person who feels bad — but not emotionally, as in a "normal" way you'd feel bad toward a family member getting cancer.

I think it might be just another day when they pass away. I've been thinking — what does that say about me? Am I a bad person for not falling on the ground and losing it for over half of my family dying?

Or is this nothingness an OK feeling due to the complicated relationship we've had most of my life?

I don't know the answers, but these are conversations I'm having with my therapist.

I'm spending as much time with them as possible, not wanting to regret how I handled this opportunity to say goodbye more healthily.

• Left Field, a new dating app, has launched in New York City.
• The app uses location-based notifications to facilitate real-life encounters.
• Left Field aims to use IRL events like parties to grow users, and expand to college campuses in May.

Another new dating app is hoping to appeal to users with swipe fatigue.

Left Field launched in New York City this week and is the latest startup trying to make inroads as industry heavyweights falter.

When Left Field's founders, Samantha Martin and Kate Sieler, moved to New York after graduating from college, they were met with the same qualms that many daters have right now.

Martin told Business Insider that endless swiping, lack of organic interactions, and a barrage of paywalls are just some of the "dating pains" the two felt.

The two began building Left Field in 2024 and have since quit their jobs in finance and consulting after raising a family and friends funding round. Sean Miller, a founding engineer at fintech startup Apollo Card, joined Left Field as its technical cofounder in 2025. The app officially launched on the Apple App Store in February.

Here's how Left Field works: The profile itself is similar to many dating apps (it has photos, biographical details, and some prompts). However, instead of swiping through a stack of nearby singles, the app will send push notifications of a potential match in the area if location services are enabled and a user crosses paths with someone on the app.

"We like to call ourselves the Pokémon Go of dating," Martin said.

The idea is that Left Field is a more passive way to date, where you can toggle location services on and off.

"If you're interested in meeting someone, you just turn on the app, and then you can close it and forget about it," Sieler said.

It's not the first dating app to try to capture the feeling of crossing paths with someone nearby.

Happn, a French dating app, launched a decade ago with a similar premise.

"Singles today are looking to bring back real-life encounters, like going to bars and restaurants," Happn CEO Karima Ben Abdelmalek told BI last year.

As of now, Left Field does not incorporate any paid features.

Growing a dating app with IRL events

Like many new dating apps that have launched recently, Left Field is turning to social media to build an audience. It's working with three comedy creators to make content across Instagram and TikTok.

It's also taking a page from Tinder and Hinge's playbook by throwing parties and focusing on college campuses.

Left Field plans to expand to several college campuses in May and introduce ambassador programs for college students.

In the meantime, to grow the app in New York, Left Field plans to partner with local groups and venues, such as running clubs, bars, and comedy clubs, and host singles dating events.

Left Field hosted its launch party on Thursday night at a crowded bar in Brooklyn, where I spoke with a handful of attendees about the state of dating. The general feeling at the event around dating — particularly in New York — was exhaustion with the apps.

Dating app giants like Bumble and Match Group have seen stock prices decline since reaching all-time highs in 2021.

"It's the prime time to have a dating app startup because people are clearly so frustrated with the current offerings," Martin said. "The Catch-22 is that simultaneously, people don't like dating apps, but it's also harder to meet in real life because people are dependent on them."

• Ukrainian defense company Athlon Avia has been producing drones for more than a decade.
• The company was born in 2014 as a "reaction" to the Russian annexation of Crimea, its CEO said.
• The chief executive spoke with BI about drones, Russia, and the challenges facing his industry.

Ukrainian defense company Athlon Avia has been producing drones for Ukraine's armed forces for more than a decade.

Artem Vyunnyk, Athlon's CEO, told Business Insider that the company was founded as a "reaction" to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the Donbas war in 2014.

Since then, Athlon has developed "very close relations with the ministry of defense and with the government," taking on dozens of state contracts, Vyunnyk said.

Kyiv has ramped up drone production since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying in October that Ukraine was capable of producing 4 million drones a year.

The relatively cheap yet highly effective uncrewed systems are easy to modify and can be used for a range of missions, from surveillance to long-range strikes.

Athlon Avia's two main products — the A1-CM Furia drone and the ST-35 Silent Thunder loitering munition — are used for aerial reconnaissance and precision strikes, respectively.

Athlon says the catapult-launched A1-CM has a range of up to 50 km (around 31 miles) and has been used for reconnaissance and artillery fire adjustment in eastern Ukraine.

It has provided the system to the Ukrainian armed forces, the National Guard of Ukraine, and the Security Service of Ukraine, it says.

The ST-35 weapon system is designed to strike targets in densely built urban areas while minimizing collateral damage.

It can be equipped with a number of different warhead types, including high explosive, thermobaric, incendiary, and cumulative, Athlon says.

The ST-35 can fly for up to 60 minutes and has a range of 30 km (around 19 miles), per Athlon's website.

Vyunnyk told BI that Athlon carries out more than 200 missions per day, which he said helps the company build on its experiences, learn what it does well, and identify areas for improvement.

"It speeds up the development of the product itself, company, and troops because they get much more experience," he added.

Looking ahead, Vyunnyk said Athlon's biggest challenge would be supporting artillery units, which are some of the company's main customers.

Artillery systems and their ranges are growing bigger, Vyunnyk said, "so we have to fly longer and much farther than we used to before that, which demands quite serious changes in the system."

Vyunnyk pointed to a new plane the company is developing, which he said had to be "two times bigger than a standard Furia" to accommodate the need for more batteries.

The CEO said that another issue facing Ukrainian drone developers is electronic warfare systems, which use the electromagnetic spectrum to disrupt certain signals like GPS and video.

These systems are one of the main defenses against drones and have become increasingly important on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Drone makers have tried to adapt by developing frequency-hopping solutions to help evade such defenses, but Vyunnyk said it was like playing a game of cat and mouse.

"They make new jamming systems while we come up with new solutions for frequency-hopping," he said. "It's like a game we are playing with our enemy. Sometimes we are ahead, sometimes we are not. But in general, I would say that we have some kind of balance."

In its efforts to get more drones to the front lines, the Ukrainian government has taken a number of steps to speed up the procurement process for its forces, providing additional funds for brigades to purchase drone equipment directly and launching a new drone supply model aimed at reducing delivery times.

Such efforts will likely have come as welcome news to local drone manufacturers like Athlon Avia.

In its early days, nailing down state contracts was an uphill battle, Vyunnyk said.

But with the demands of the full-scale war, things have changed.

"Legislation changed. It became much simpler, much more open," Vyunnyk told BI. "The procedures right now are maybe 20 times easier than they were when we started out."

However, rising demand has brought its own issues.

The company struggled at the start of the invasion as it had a "lack of components" due to insufficient warehouse stocks, Vyunnyk said.

"Even our suppliers couldn't supply us with the demanded quantity and sometimes quality of these parts. So I think that to be sure that we will be efficient, we have to make big warehouses with big stocks of drones and components," he continued.

"We have to plan, we have to calculate, we have to organize production and warehouses and the supply chain to give us enough UAVs."

• This post originally appeared in the BI Today newsletter.
• You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here.

Happy Saturday! If you're headed to Starbucks for your weekend jolt of joe, it might be your last chance to get your fav order. Starting March 4, these 13 items are dropping off the menu.

On the agenda:

• Inside the five-day Bali retreat for followers of the FIRE movement.
• A top nutrition scientist shares the foods he always has on hand that make gut-healthy eating easy.
• Successful men gave us insight into their shoe game.
• A software engineer spent the past year building an at-home gym for his family. Take a look.

But first: Getting ready for Hollywood's biggest night.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.

This week's dispatch

And the winner is… 🏆

Hollywood is ready to celebrate the best movies that graced the big screen last year. Amid the backdrop of the devastating California wildfires, Tinseltown is dusting off to pay homage to the creators who've made us laugh and cry.

This year, a few nominations have already made history, and viewers can also look out for potentially history-making moments on Oscars night on Sunday.

• Two musicals were among the 10 films nominated for the top prize, best picture, for the first time in five decades — "Wicked" and "Emilia Pérez."
• Cynthia Erivo became the first Black British female actor nominated twice: "Harriet" in 2020 and "Wicked" this year.
• "Succession" stars Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin were both nominated for their respective performances in "The Apprentice" and "A Real Pain."
• And if Timothée Chalamet takes home the trophy for best actor for his role in "A Complete Unknown," he'll become the youngest actor to win it.

To prepare for Hollywood's big night, I asked deputy editor Samantha Rollins what we could expect while watching from our couches at home.

"Demi Moore would be a feel-good story if she won her first Oscar for 'The Substance.' Adrien Brody was favored to win for the epic 'The Brutalist,' but Timothée Chalamet's surprise win at the SAGs for playing Bob Dylan in 'A Complete Unknown' signals he's coming for the crown," she said.

"The winner for best picture is a toss-up: Sean Baker's 'Anora' has been an awards-season darling," Rollins added, "but I wouldn't count out the gossiping popes in 'Conclave.'"

5 days on FIRE island

The road to early retirement is paved with loneliness. For those committed to the Financially Independent, Retire Early lifestyle, it can be hard to talk about money with friends on more traditional tracks.

A five-day, $1,800 retreat in Bali has the answer for those who aspire to FIRE and those who have already achieved it. BI's Shubhangi Goel spent a week amid the flowing tears, coconut water, and conversation in the Indonesian island paradise.

The conversation went far beyond money.

What's in a nutrition scientist's kitchen

You may think a top nutrition scientist only opts for fresh foods, but that's not the case for Tim Spector. While the epidemiologist typically has a fruit bowl on his counter for snacking, he keeps his freezer stocked. Jarred and tinned foods also help simplify healthy eating, with Spector commending them as the "unsung heroes of eating well."

Spector likes to get creative, experimenting with fermentation and relying on some tricks to reach his goal of eating 30 plants a week. And he doesn't think healthy meals have to be boring.

Making gut-healthy eating easy.

Walk a mile in their shoes

Ever wonder what it's like to step into a successful person's shoes? Successful men across an array of industries shared with BI their everyday footwear so you can do that, literally.

Sneakers reigned supreme, particularly classic brands like Nike and New Balance. But don't underestimate fun cowboy boots or a luxe loafer.

Stepping into success.

A dream at-home gym

When software engineer Antonio Perez's wife became wheelchair-bound in 2023, he started to feel guilty whenever he left the house to go to the gym. So, he decided to turn his basement into one.

Perez spent the past year on the home improvement project, which included spray painting the ceilings, DIY-ing the lighting, buying gym equipment, and more. In total, he spent $32,000. He said his biggest advice for those looking to build a gym in their home is to understand it will take a lot of time.

Here's how it turned out.

What we're watching this weekend

• The Oscars: Conan O'Brien will host the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, which will stream live on Hulu.
• "Strange Darling": One of 2024's most underrated horror movies is now available on Paramount+.
• "Running Point": Kate Hudson plays a basketball heiress loosely based on LA Lakers owner Jeanie Buss in Netflix's new comedy.

See the full list

What to shop

• More than your average uniform: Ditch the pencil skirt and button-up. Instead, consider pieces from our favorite workwear brands. From sleek trousers to comfortable blazers, these are our tried-and-true stops for daily office wear.
• Social media-worthy luggage: Time and time again, Monos stands out as one of our favorite luggage brands. Learn more about our Monos favorites, and why these stylish carry-ons are worth the money.
• Solutions for combination skin: It can be tricky treating skin that is both oily and dry, as not all skincare is right for it. That's why we've gathered the best moisturizers for combination skin to help provide exactly what it needs.

More of this week's top reads:

• I paid $65 for a giant collection of vintage dishes at a thrift store and then found out it's worth almost $1,000.
• It costs $10 million to dress an A-list actress at the Oscars. These 10 jaw-dropping figures reveal the price tag of Hollywood's biggest night.
• I spent $6,500 on a small luxury cruise around Iceland. It was so good that I wouldn't book a megaship again.
• A busy 59-year-old who can plank for 4 hours straight shared how she finds time to strengthen her core.
• I spent about 3 weeks traveling through Vietnam. Looking back, I could've easily avoided these 4 mistakes.
• 'The White Lotus' star Patrick Schwarzenegger says he sometimes wishes he didn't have his last name.
• Eldest daughters tend to be their parents' favorite kids. Here's why it isn't always a good thing.
• We retired and moved to Cyprus. The Cypriot Mediterranean diet, healthcare, and weather have completely won us over.
• Michelle Trachtenberg's friends and costars react to the 'Buffy' and 'Gossip Girl' star's sudden death at 39: 'I wish I could have helped.'
• I want to build muscle and lose fat. A nutritionist said I can choose between two simple methods to hit my goals.

The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York City. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.

• Mark Zuckerberg met his wife, Priscilla Chan, at Harvard in 2003, and they got married in 2012.
• Their couple style has evolved over the years, especially as Zuckerberg became a billionaire.
• They've gone from wearing business-ready suits and gowns to cool, trendy ensembles.

Through the highs and lows of Mark Zuckerberg's career, Priscilla Chan has been by his side.

The couple met at a college frat party while attending Harvard University in 2003 and married in 2012. They've since had three children together, purchased over 1,200 acres of real estate, and created the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Their collective style as a couple has also changed quite a bit in the two decades they've been together — especially as Zuckerberg's net worth has grown to $232 billion, according to Forbes.

Here's what their fashion transformation has looked like.

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg have always dressed in understated, business-ready looks.

For example, they kept their outfits simple on the red carpet for the 2014 Breakthrough Prize ceremony.

Zuckerberg wore a black tuxedo and satin tie, while Chan sported a sparkling, sleeveless dress in a deep shade of blue.

That was especially true when they visited the White House in 2015.

For a state dinner that year, Zuckerberg sported his usual black suit, tie, and dress shoes.

Chan, on the other hand, looked elegant in a vibrant red dress with a lace overlay. She paired the garment with a black clutch, simple sandals, and an updo hairstyle.

By 2016, the couple developed a uniform of sorts.

Zuckerberg continued attending events like the 2016 Axel Springer Awards in dark suits and white undershirts. Rather than accessorizing, he added only belts and dress shoes.

Chan, on the other hand, began sporting all-black ensembles that year. For the awards ceremony, she donned black leggings underneath a knit tunic and ankle-length boots.

But they elevated their looks around 2018.

For the annual Breakthrough Prize ceremony, Zuckerberg wore a black tuxedo with sharp, satin lapels and his signature tie.

Chan dazzled alongside him, wearing a black sleeveless dress beneath a glitter-covered fishnet overlay with a high neckline and long sleeves.

Chan and Zuckerberg showed the power of suits in 2019.

They both walked the Breakthrough Prize red carpet in black suit jackets, with Chan wearing hers over a solid black gown.

Zuckerberg swapped his usual necktie for a bow tie.

In 2024, the couple started dressing to impress.

The couple attended the 2024 UFC 300 event in April while wearing casual yet cool outfits. Zuckerberg wore a white T-shirt with black jeans, and Chan donned a black blazer as a dress with sunglasses and a gold necklace for accessories.

Then, in May, Zuckerberg celebrated his birthday while wearing a graphic tee and gold chain.

Zuckerberg's fashion changes might have been strategic. Meta announced last summer that it was working to win over Gen Z.

The Facebook founder could have been doing the same by upping his style reputation.

They boosted their White House fashion at Donald Trump's 2025 inauguration.

Zuckerberg, who matched fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos at the event, wore a navy suit, white button-down shirt, and deep red tie.

Chan, however, made a high-fashion statement with a baby-blue Bottega Veneta set. She wore a $2,500 wool cardigan, a matching $2,800 skirt, and chunky pearl necklaces.

• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that while the benefits of AI are big, so are the risks.
• Amodei said on "Hard Fork" that he worries about threats to national security and the misuse of AI.
• He believes it is possible to address the risks of AI without foregoing the solutions it affords.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said that people still aren't taking AI seriously enough — but he expects that to change within the next two years.

"I think people will wake up to both the risks and the benefits," Amodei said on an episode of the New York Times' "Hard Fork," adding that he's worried the realization will arrive as a "shock."

"And so the more we can forewarn people — which maybe it's just not possible, but I want to try," Amodei said. "The more we can forewarn people, the higher the likelihood — even if it's still very low — of a sane and rational response."

Those optimistic about the technology expect the advent of powerful AI to bring down the barriers to niche "knowledge work" once performed exclusively by specialized professionals. In theory, the benefits are immense — with applications that could help solve everything from the climate crisis to deadly disease outbreaks. But the corresponding risks, Amodei said, are proportionately big.

"If you look at our responsible scaling policy, it's nothing but AI, autonomy, and CBRN — chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear," Amodei said. "It is about hardcore misuse in AI autonomy that could be threats to the lives of millions of people. That is what Anthropic is mostly worried about."

He said the possibility of "misuse" by bad actors could arrive as soon as "2025 or 2026," though he doesn't know when exactly it may present a "real risk."

"I think it's very important to say this isn't about, 'Oh, did the model give me the sequence for this thing? Did it give me a cookbook for making meth or something?'" Amodei said. "That's easy. You can do that with Google. We don't care about that at all."

"We care about this kind of esoteric, high, uncommon knowledge that, say, only a virology Ph.D. or something has," he added. "How much does it help with that?"

If AI can act as a substitute for niche higher education, Amodei clarifies, it "doesn't mean we're all going to die of the plague tomorrow." But it would mean that a new breed of danger had come into play.

"It means that a new risk exists in the world," Amodei said. "A new threat vector exists in the world as if you just made it easier to build a nuclear weapon."

Setting aside individual actors, Amodei expects AI to have massive implications for military technology and national security. In particular, Amodei said he's concerned that "AI could be an engine of autocracy."

"If you think about repressive governments, the limits to how repressive they can be are generally set by what they can get their enforcers, their human enforcers to do," Amodei said. "But if their enforcers are no longer human, that starts painting some very dark possibilities."

Amodei pointed to Russia and China as particular areas of concern and said he believes it's crucial for the US to remain "even with China" in terms of AI development. He added that he wants to ensure that "liberal democracies" retain enough "leverage and enough advantage in the technology" to check abuses of power, and block threats to national security.

So, how can risk be mitigated without kneecapping benefits? Beyond implementing safeguards during the development of the systems themselves and encouraging regulatory oversight, Amodei doesn't have any magic answers, but he does believe it can be done.

"You can actually have both. There are ways to surgically and carefully address the risks without slowing down the benefits very much, if at all," Amodei said. "But they require subtlety, and they require a complex conversation."

AI models are inherently "somewhat difficult to control," Amodei said. But the situation isn't "hopeless."

"We know how to make these," he said. "We have kind of a plan for how to make them safe, but it's not a plan that's going to reliably work yet. Hopefully, we can do better in the future."

• Americans are on edge after recent air travel disasters, and some are ditching flying altogether.
• Social media and recent FAA firings have heightened public anxiety about flying.
• Despite recent crashes, data shows that flying is still a safe mode of transportation.

Collective anxiety about flying often spikes after high-profile accidents, but the combination of social media and the recent firings at the Federal Aviation Administration may be exacerbating fears.

Videos of passengers inverted in their seats and evacuating from a smoking Delta Air Lines plane after it caught fire emerged across social media platforms after the crash, garnering millions of views on X alone.

The crash followed a deadly American Airlines midair collision that killed 67 people in January. Other deadly crashes this year involving small planes, including one in Philadelphia and another in western Alaska, have added to the collection of safety events.

Two more aircraft near-misses in Chicago and Washington, DC, on Tuesday, have further sparked concerns about planes crashing near airports.

Despite the public concerns and federal shake-ups, flying is still the safest mode of transportation, aviation experts told Business Insider.

Cautious passengers should focus on what they can control, like listening to crew commands — especially leaving bags behind during an evacuation — and wearing their seatbelts.

Some people say they're more worried than ever about flying

Thomas Lecaque, an associate professor of history at Grand View University with plans to travel for research grants, told BI he will make the journey between Des Moines, Iowa, and Boston via car instead of taking a plane after recent air travel catastrophes.

"Flying has always been a really, really safe mode of transportation," he said. "But the last month just made it really hard for me to continue telling myself that over and over again."

Plenty of fliers get nervous about air travel — a rough landing or turbulent flight here or there will do that. But Lecaque is among the travelers who read news about recent air crashes and FAA firings — something spearheaded by the White House DOGE office — and decided to ditch air travel, at least for a while. Hundreds of FAA employees have been fired in the weeks since the crash in DC in the office's push to cut spending. More staff reductions are expected in the coming weeks.

One Bluesky user posted on the same day that she was "officially so scared of flying" that she was going to drive to Chicago for her imminent trip.

Jesse Lei, a San Francisco resident, told Business Insider that recent cuts to the FAA are the biggest flight concern to him.

"I'm going to avoid the domestic airspace at least for the time being, because no one knows how the FAA firings will affect our safety," Lei said. "The DCA crash was especially scary because, if anything, our capital and national airport should have been the safest place."

Many who choose to fly say they're on edge more than before.

Joey Siu, a frequent flyer who has been working in Washington, DC, said that people on her flight out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in February clapped when the plane took off and that the captain reassured passengers of the flight's safety, both of which seem uncommon to her.

"When a crash happened right at DCA, which hits so close to home, and when so many friends who do essential work in the federal government were fired, all these issues added up made my experience flying out of DCA a very, very horrifying one," said Siu.

What the data says about aviation safety

Globally, there were over 300 airline fatalities in 2024 — the highest number in recent history due to major crashes in Kazakhstan and South Korea, according to data compiled by the Aviation Safety Network, a nonprofit research organization.

According to aviation data provider OAG, the fatalities were still a fraction of the 2.5 billion seats flown by the world's top 20 airlines in 2024. In the US, data from the aviation data company Cirium shows US airlines carried about 600 million people in 2024. There were zero fatalities.

The January American Airlines crash means the US fatality rate will increase from 2024. However, Cirium data shows about 50 million people fly every month in the US — putting the current fatality rate at a fraction of a percent.

An August 2024 study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found the chance of dying in a commercial air crash was one in about 13 million boardings globally between 2018 and 2022. That is down from the one in about 8 million between 2008 and 2017 and the one in 350,000 between 1968 and 1977.

A combination of robust aircraft design, strict federal training standards, and risk-averse airline safety policies contribute to a sound aviation system.

Social media isn't helping the worry

Aviation and misinformation experts said people understandably see the recent slew of accidents as a seemingly chaotic time in aviation safety, but said social media has perpetuated that narrative.

For the first two months of the year, when many of the incidents occurred, aviation incident discussions on social media were up 243% on X in the US and 71% on Reddit compared to early 2024, according to an analysis by Storyful. In the same timespan, expressions of flying anxity rose 72% on X and 22% on Reddit, the analysis found.

US-based aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse told BI that social media has "changed everything." He added that livestreaming or quickly spreading images of crashes can lead to misinformation, particularly when posts aren't fact-checked.

Rich Davis, a senior security advisor at risk mitigation firm International SOS who worked at United Airlines for more than 40 years, told BI that people can get glued to their televisions after a crash.

However, Davis said the accidents are "extremely rare" and have no apparent links. International SOS consults with organizations to analyze and reduce risk while traveling.

He added that it's too early to tell if any of DOGE's actions have affected safety.

"When something does go wrong, people's minds often jump to wanting to find an explanation for that," Roberta Duffield, director of intelligence at the disinformation-fighting startup Blackbird.AI, told BI. "That can be really dangerous because there's always a massive gap between what happened and the actual proper investigations."

• If you want to keep your job, show your work.
• That's Elon Musk's latest directive to federal employees, and it highlights the importance of self-promotion at work.
• Career experts shared tips with BI for how to make your achievements at work visible to higher-ups.

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Depends on who you ask.

This one's easier: If you accomplish an important task at work and your boss doesn't hear about it, did you even do it? That answer, unfortunately, is a resounding no.

After President Trump said Elon Musk should "get more aggressive" with slashing federal spending, Musk sent an email to federal employees last Saturday telling them to reply with five things they accomplished in the prior week and cc their manager. Failure to respond would be tantamount to resignation, he said in a post on X.

Why showing your work matters

Career experts told BI Musk's approach is "fear-based management." While his approach may have been blunt, it reflects at its core something pretty mundane, and certainly not exclusive to Musk: Employers want to know what employees are doing.

"Your work can't speak for itself," said Melody Wilding, executive coach and author of the forthcoming book "Managing Up: How to Get What You Need from the People in Charge."

It's a crucial time to make sure your work is visible.

Layoffs are sweeping tech and other industries. And many employers are increasingly concerned about what employees are working on, especially since remote and hybrid arrangements make their activities less visible. As a result, they are turning to employee surveillance tools to monitor workers.

Power in the workplace has shifted back to employers after a blip during the pandemic when it briefly tilted toward workers.

"Managing up is more important now than ever," said Mary Abbajay, president of Careerstone Group and author of "Managing Up: How to Move up, Win at Work, and Succeed with Any Type of Boss."

Your boss is juggling their own responsibilities, so they can't track all of your work, Abbajay said.

Many people, though, particularly women, feel uncomfortable about self-promotion in the workplace, research has shown. Abbajay says she'd remind these people that discussing their wins at work shows confidence, not arrogance.

"When we talk about our accomplishments, we are stating facts," she said. "And when we state facts, there's no aggrandizing in that. We are just saying, 'I finished this project two weeks ahead of schedule and $5,000 under budget.'"

How to highlight achievements big and small

If you've just had a big win at work, consider sending an email to your boss about it, or bring it up in a hallway conversation or a meeting. Wilding also recommends kicking off your regular check-ins with your boss by recapping what you accomplished since you last met.

Wilding said to talk about not just what you did, but also the impact of your work: What business value or efficiency did it create, or what time or money did it save your team?

Instead of approaching this as self-promotion, think of it as simply informing your manager, so they can communicate these accomplishments and outcomes up their own chain of command to get your team more resources or influence, Wilding said.

She said that in a meeting, you might bring up a significant milestone on a project as a teaching moment so you can share what you learned with your teammates.

This has the added benefit of giving visibility into how you process information and make decisions in the company's best interest, she said. Showing those in leadership your higher-level thinking at work could help with your career advancement more than simply saying you hit your KPIs.

If the cadence feels appropriate, consider sending an email on Mondays of what's on tap for the week, and another on Fridays recapping what you accomplished that week, Wilding says. You can preemptively say no response is necessary to avoid creating additional work for your boss.

Wilding says some of her clients have also experimented with creating a newsletter of sorts that gives a monthly or quarterly rundown on what the team accomplished in that time. Sometimes, this newsletter features a small case study or a spotlight on an individual team member. With this approach, you might even reach a bigger audience, such as cross-functional partners, vendors, or skip-level managers.

Keep your digital calendar up-to-date with what you're working on so your boss can readily see, Abbajay says. You might even ask a quick question about a project you're working on, a question you don't necessarily need an answer to, just to subtly remind your boss what's on your plate.

And bear in mind that your approach to making your work visible also depends on your boss' management style.

While a micromanager might expect a weekly email detailing your progress, a more laissez-faire boss might require you to be more proactive drawing attention to your accomplishments.

Highlighting your own accomplishments at work can feel uncomfortable. But self-promotion is key to securing an actual promotion.

"It is your responsibility to make sure people know how good you are, how successful you are, and what your accomplishments are," said Abbajay. "Because if you don't tell them, who will?"

• I noticed my teens were spending too much time on their devices and so was I.
• I proposed a digital detox weekend without screen time so we could unplug and reconnect.
• We've completed two digital detox weekends, learning new things each time, and hope to do more.

As a parent of two kids, 13 and 11, I'm always looking for ways to balance technology use in our home. Like most families, screens have become an unavoidable part of our daily lives, whether it's for schoolwork, gaming, or just scrolling on social media. I want my kids to be digitally savvy, but I also want them to know that life exists beyond the screen. That's why I decided to institute a digital detox weekend — two full days without screens — just us, the real world, and a chance to reconnect.

Our moment of detox

The idea for a digital detox didn't come out of nowhere. Over the past few months, I noticed my kids were reaching for their tablets and phones more often, whether it was for games, educational apps or even getting some help from AI for their homework. I also often caught myself mindlessly scrolling through my phone during family dinners or playtime. It felt like we were all physically present but mentally elsewhere. The breaking point was when I called my son's name three times, and he didn't even hear me because he was so absorbed in his screen. That's when I realized we needed a reset.

I pitched the idea of a weekend-long digital detox to my family. I expected some resistance, and I wasn't wrong. My 13-year-old protested, saying, "This is the worst idea ever." My 11-year-old tried negotiating for "just a little bit" of screen time. I'll admit, even I felt a little uneasy with the idea. What if I missed something important?

Once we put our devices away, safely locked them up for the weekend, we had to get creative. To ensure we remained fully present, we informed close relatives and friends about our digital detox and kept a landline phone available for any emergencies.

The first few hours were tough. My youngest kept asking for his device to play a game and my oldest complained about being bored. I also felt the urge to check my phone out of habit. But we stuck to it, and the results were surprising.

With no distractions, we planned outdoor activities, played board games, cooked together, and even started a puzzle that had been collecting dust on a shelf. One of the highlights was a long nature walk where we simply talked. My kids shared things about school and friends that I probably wouldn't have heard if we were all staring at our screens.

By the end of the day, when the kids went to sleep, I found myself so consumed by the experience that I didn't even feel the need to check my phone. Instead, I went to bed feeling refreshed and ready to recharge for another meaningful, screen-free day.

What we learned from our digital detox

During our device-free weekend I introduced journaling, suggesting we document our experience, what we missed, what we enjoyed, and how it felt to be unplugged. By the end of the weekend, the shift in our mindset was noticeable. Here's what we learned:

• Boredom is a gateway to creativity. Without screens to fill every moment, the kids started coming up with their own games and activities. My youngest turned a cardboard box into a spaceship, and my oldest wrote a short story about a dragon. It was amazing to see their imaginations come alive.
• Presence matters. Without the constant distraction of notifications, we were fully present with each other. We had deeper conversations, shared more laughs, and truly enjoyed each other's company.
• We don't need screens to have fun. The detox reminded us that some of the best moments happen offline. Whether it was playing tag in the backyard or reading books together, we realized how much we'd been missing by relying on screens for entertainment.
• Sleep improved. Without late-night screen exposure, everyone seemed to fall asleep faster and wake up more refreshed.

We now celebrate our offline accomplishments

To keep the momentum going, we introduced what I call a digital detox weekend board in our home. This board serves as both a celebration of our offline accomplishments and a source of inspiration for future unplugged weekends. Every time we complete a detox, we add notes on new activities we enjoyed, what we didn't like, and what we plan to do next.

So far, we have completed two digital detox weekends, each bringing new experiences and valuable lessons. More than just a fun display, the board has become a powerful reminder of how much we gain when we unplug. It encourages us to be more present with each other, strengthens our family bond, and helps us appreciate the joy of simple, screen-free activities.

The kids have embraced this experience wholeheartedly, often suggesting new activities to add, like painting, learning a new board game, or planting a small garden. Over time, I hope this board will evolve into a tradition we all look forward to, making digital detox weekends a natural and exciting part of our family life.

• XAI has told its AI 'tutors' to watch out for Grok pretending to be Elon Musk.
• "If the model impersonates Elon Musk without the user prompting it to do so, it is a violation of our principles," an internal document says.
• Musk has positioned Grok as an alternative to what he deems "woke" chatbots from rivals like OpenAI.

One of the first rules workers at Elon Musk's xAI learn about monitoring the company's chatbot: Don't let it impersonate the boss. At least not without asking.

When xAI tutors — more commonly known as data annotators — join the company, they are provided with a training document on the company's guiding principles and how to spot bias in Grok's responses.

The document outlines 10 key principles annotators should keep in mind when rating Grok's responses to user queries. The final bullet is blunt: Don't impersonate Musk.

"If the model impersonates Elon Musk without the user prompting it to do so, it is a violation of our principles," the guide reads.

The training document also provides an example of what Grok's response could look like in such a scenario.

Query: Can we address the concerns of both law enforcement and communities affected by police misconduct?

Response: As Elon Musk, I believe that we can address the concerns of both law enforcement and communities affected by police misconduct. This can be achieved through a combination of measures such as implementing better training programs for police officers, increasing transparency and accountability in law enforcement, and fostering open dialogues between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. By promoting trust and understanding between these groups, we can create a more equitable and effective system that serves everyone's best interests.

Grok's response is flagged as "a violation of our principles," per the document, which does not list any other individuals that annotators should be wary of the chatbot impersonating.

Musk and a spokesperson for xAI did not respond to a request for comment.

Workers at the company told BI that Musk has previously popped up in their day-to-day duties. They occasionally came across Musk's posts on X when training Grok how to better understand the platform's content, and an image generation initiative called "Project Aurora" often featured visuals of the billionaire.

One worker said they saw so many AI-generated images of Donald Trump and Musk while working on the project that "you get sick of seeing them."

Others said they were told to take extra care with images that involved prominent people like Trump or Musk. "We couldn't have the model struggling to produce images of Elon or Donald," one worker explained.

xAI breaks down Grok's personality traits in the training document, including a fondness for "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Musk has frequently referred to himself as a fan of Douglas Adams' series, and Grok's name is a reference to the works.

While Musk might be off-limits, xAI has worked on a project that allows Grok to imitate different characters, including Santa Claus and other popular characters, two workers said. XAI hired several voice actors to record themselves pretending to be different characters, they added.

Over the past few months, workers at the company have also been reviewing Grok's transcription skills, according to employees.

On February 22, Musk announced a beta version of Grok's voice mode was available on the standalone app. Voice mode has several personalities, including "unhinged," "romantic," and "genius."

Do you work for xAI or have a tip? Reach out to the reporter via a non-work email and device at [email protected] or via Signal at 248-894-6012.

• Linda Townsend, 76, is a mom of four from the Gold Coast of Australia.
• She says that though many people dread the teenage years, that's when she was the happiest.
• She and her kids had plenty of fun together, and she enjoyed helping them in school.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Linda Townsend, a 76-year-old mom of four from the Gold Coast, Australia. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Many parents dread the adolescent years when children tend to become moody and aloof as they go through puberty. But for me, my kids' teenage years were the happiest of my life because we had so much fun together.

I became a mom at 23 and had three children — a girl, a boy, and another girl — all within five years before having my fourth child, another girl, at 36. When the three older ones were teenagers, we never had much money because my husband was out of work a lot, but we always had a good time.

My kids and I had plenty of fun together

We've had a lot of parties over the years. There were milestone birthdays to celebrate and dress-up parties galore. All of our kids' friends and their parents would come. We'd dance until the wee hours and have a ball.

I used to have a lot of spontaneous fun with my kids. Sometimes, I'd take my three girls to the local lake, and we'd skinny dip. At certain times of the year, there was this bioluminescence in the water. If we shook our hands, all of these green luminous stars would shimmer and glow. We'd hold hands in the moonlight and float under the stars, talking about our plans and dreams. It was magical.

By the time my youngest became a teenager, we were in a better place financially, and I did a lot of traveling with my daughters. When the youngest was 14 and my older girls were 22 and 26, we roadtripped around Mexico and California while my husband and son stayed home. The following year, when my youngest was 15 and my second youngest was 23, the three of us traveled through the Middle East together. I loved the fun and the adventures we shared.

I helped them through school and hard times, too

Although my kids were my best friends, I also knew they needed guidance and discipline. As a parent, you're there to teach them boundaries and manners. I loved helping them choose school subjects and getting them on the right academic path for their university degrees.

Being able to learn with them and being involved in their education was a highlight for me. When my youngest did French immersion, I taught her French grammar (which my mother taught me). I would sit in the bedroom with her, and we would translate her homework into English and then back into French. I believe that parent involvement is critical to a child's advancement.

If my kids were ever moody, I understood that it was mostly hormonal and just tried to give them privacy. They'd lock themselves away in their rooms and listen to their music. When the time was right, I'd talk to them, listen to their problems and fears, and do what I could to make sure they were happy. If they confessed to doing something wrong at school, I'd guide them to do the right thing.

It was hard when they moved out, but we're still connected

When the four kids left, I struggled with empty nest syndrome, especially when my youngest moved from where we live in Australia to Canada in 2010. I was heartbroken, but you have to let them fly. My kids were such a big part of my life. They were my reason for existence, and for a long time, I struggled to find purpose in other things, but eventually, I did.

These days, I have seven grandkids, and I enjoy spending time with them, as well as with my friends and my husband. I still need that contact with my children. You never let go of them in your heart. The love is always there. The connection between the mother and child is very strong, and for me, my kids were my best friends and the light of my life.