This guy cut his screen time by making his phone incredibly annoying to pick up. Now you can, too

Business 10/17 5:30A Grace Snelling

The 6 Pound Phone Case is designed to be physically uncomfortable to hold, walk around with, or look at on the toilet. Logan Ivey has tried everything to cut down on his screen time. He bought a modern “dumbphone” that’s designed to be used as...

I helped build the internet’s ad economy. Now I want to save it

Business 10/17 5:20A Brian O'Kelley

‘The internet we want is possible. We just have to choose to build it.’ If you ve noticed that the internet feels different lately—more cluttered, harder to navigate—you’re not imagining it. The system is breaking down in real time, and by 2026,...

The fast-growth entrepreneurs helping kids break their screen addiction

Business 10/17 5:00A Nicole Gull McElroy

Companies like Yondr, Tin Can, and Gabb Wireless are leading a ‘counterculture’ to soothe the ‘anxious generation’ and their nervous parents. With more than a decade of experience working as a design and tech analyst, Andrew Hogan is all in on...

AI is about to make it faster (and a whole lot cheaper) to redesign your home

Business 10/17 4:30A Nate Berg

Havenly’s new app uses AI to take a first pass at being your personal interior designer. There s no shortage of inspiration for what to do with a part of the house that s not quite looking its best. Interior design magazines and furniture blogs...

In Austin, this 100% geothermal neighborhood is designed to shrink utility bills

Business 10/17 4:00A Adele Peters

Habitat for Humanity’s new homes in an Austin suburb use geothermal and solar energy plus high-efficiency appliances to help residents save money. A typical three-bedroom house in Austin, Texas, can sometimes rack up monthly utility bills of $200...

Smucker goes to court to protect the design of its Uncrustables sandwiches

Business 10/16 4:30A Hunter Schwarz

The J.M. Smucker Co. says the circular, crimped design of its Uncrustables sandwiches is trademark protected. The J.M. Smucker Co. says it doesn t have a problem with other companies selling their own prepackaged, crustless sandwiches like its...

This Chinese schoolyard uses giant Lego blocks to let kids endlessly redesign their playground

Business 10/15 4:30A Jesus Diaz

A partnership between Lego and Nike turned a primary school in China into every child’s dream space. I can t think of anything better than assembling Lego blocks. Except assembling gigantic Lego that I can actually walk, jump, and nap on. Which...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on the difference between a business decision and a principle decision

Business 10/15 3:00A Robert Safian

Chesky discusses how CEOs can navigate fraught political times by focusing on what matters to the company. Amid dramatic disruption, what role should business play in building the future? Airbnb cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky shares his candid...

E.l.f. CEO Tarang Amin reflects on a tumultuous 2025

Business 10/13 6:00A Stephanie Mehta

E.l.f.’s CEO talks tariffs, the Matt Rife scandal, and doubling down on board diversity. Hello and welcome to Modern CEO ! I m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive...

We launched an AI agent and it flopped. Here’s what we learned—and why we’re trying again

Business 10/13 5:28A Francisco Martin-Rayo

A case study in AI pivoting In September 2023, we thought we had done something revolutionary. Helios AI became the first company in our industry to launch a generative AI agent. We called her Cersi . She was designed to help food companies...

The emerging new job for humans AI just created

Business 10/13 5:01A Emily Mabie

What are ‘AI automation engineers,’ and could you become one? As a learning designer at Zapier, I used to spend my days helping my teammates learn: I built and led trainings, created enablement resources, and helped folks better understand how...

Long Beach’s charming airport finally got the design upgrade it deserves

Business 10/13 5:00A Nate Berg

After years of being a jumbled mess, Long Beach Airport underwent a $185 million renovation that puts its public outdoor space front and center. Long Beach Airport had a trailer problem.

Innovation hubs are struggling. Here’s what’s next

Business 10/13 4:30A Engin Ayaz

Innovation hubs are ubiquitious, but they also haven’t delivered on their promise. Strategic design firm Atölye asks, what now? Innovation hubs were once the darlings of corporate strategy, promising to future-proof businesses and spark...

This new law solves a longstanding sound design problem: ads that are way too loud

Business 10/11 6:00A Hunter Schwarz

Finally, ads can’t be louder than the show you’re watching (if you’re in California, that is). If you ve ever been startled while watching a show on a streaming service that was interrupted by an unreasonably loud commercial and thought to...

Starlink satellites are already falling, and it will only get worse

Business 10/11 4:30A Jesus Diaz

Elon Musk’s satellite network is expected to balloon in size over the next decade. Should we be concerned? SpaceX s Starlink orbital internet satellites are falling out of low earth orbit at an increasingly alarming rate, with one to two...