Hello, readers. Hallam Bullock here, Insider's newsletter editor, reporting from London.
When we caught up last week, I asked to hear your thoughts about a CEO who appeared to laud an employee who sold their family dog in order to meet expectations at work.
Some of you were shocked: "Selling a pet for work?!" Others were incensed: "Pets are members of the family!" But all of you had something insightful to share (there was even the odd pet picture, too!)
Now, this week I wanted to share some of our top stories from our Discourse team. Insider explores the day's most fascinating issues and ideas through our Discourse journalism, so expect thought-provoking perspectives informed by analysis, reporting, and expertise.
Let's get started.
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Arif Qazi / Insider
1. AI has come for software developers, and the job will never be the same again. Tech companies have rushed to embrace generative AI, recognizing its ability to turbocharge programming, Insider's Aki Ito writes. And for better or worse, this effectively marks the end of coding as we know it. Read the full story.
2. The four-day workweek works — and experts say it could be even shorter. A growing body of evidence suggests a shorter workweek prevents employee burnout, fosters a healthier workplace, and boosts company productivity. We explored why it works.
3. Take a look at the wildest vehicles designed by Kittyhawk. Kittyhawk, Larry Page's flying car company, closed its doors in September. But Insider was able to get its hands on some of its wildest plans and designs, including a vehicle that a former employee described as a "reverse Boba Fett Slave I ship." View them here.
4. A brutal reckoning for real-estate agents. As home sales slow down and the pool of listings shrink, real-estate agents are about to find out who's in it for the long haul and who will get washed out. Here's our full report.
5. Social media loves hating on people who shill for multi-level marketing schemes. The MLM model — made famous by brands like Tupperware, Mary Kay, and Amway — has been around for decades. But a lot of the online outrage toward MLMs is targeted at participants, rather than the real scammers; the companies exploiting a system that undervalues womens' work. Read more.
6. The lives at stake in the battle over Ozempic. Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are revolutionary, but high costs and insurance hurdles are keeping the drugs from getting to many of the people who need them most. More here.
7. The wild traffic hack that could pave the way for self-driving cars. Self-driving cars need smarter roads, and one engineer has a plan to rewire our traffic infrastructure to control the flow of both people and robots. Dive into the full story.
8. How much should you care about your job? Too much will burn you out. Too little can leave you lonely. Striking the right balance can be difficult. But finding that equilibrium may be trickier now than it was a year ago — or at any other point in recent memory. Here's our full report
9. The hidden addiction behind America's housing shortage. The US has more than two billion parking spots. All that wasted space is bankrupting cities, slowing development, and driving up home prices. Here's why.
10. "I got addicted to an app that helped me turn my most ambitious goals into daily routines." Struggling to stick to a diet? Go to the gym? Learn the guitar? If you're trying to pick up a new habit, we've got a story for you. Shubham Agarwal found habit-tracking apps helped him build new routines, but they came with a downside. Read more.
Today's team: Hallam Bullock in London, and Lisa Ryan and Bob Bryan in New York.