Why Americans are suddenly obsessed with Stanley drinking cups and Trader Joe's tote bags

Tech Insider : Economy
A Stanley cup and a Trader Joe's mini tote surrounded by sparkles
The mania over Trader Joe's mini tote bags and Stanley cups is indicative of just how fast today's consumer fads can come and go.

iStock; BI

Ambition was my friend. Then it turned on me.

Tech Insider : Economy
Illustration of a person being overwhelmed by the phones.
My ambition helped me get into a great college, start a successful newsletter, and do a fellowship at Oxford. But it came with a cost.

Sophi Gullbrants for BI

One muggy night in the summer of 2021, I found myself livestreaming a panic attack on Instagram.

The homes your real-estate agent doesn't want you to see

Tech Insider : Economy
A house being covered up with cloth
Real-estate agent commissions have barely budged over decades. Critics blame a shady practice known as "steering."

Allevinatis/Getty, stuartbur/Getty, malerapaso/Getty, Tyler Le/BI

America's economy is being wildly mismeasured

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics
A stock line as the neck of an ostrich in the ground
The surveys and polls that help us understand the lived experience of Americans are getting less reliable.

Chris Gash for BI

When was the last time you picked up a phone call from an unknown number?

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell could wind up deciding the presidential election

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics, Economy
Photo Collage featuring Jerome Powell holding a scale. On one side of the scale is a picture of Donald Trump, and on the opposite side is an image of President Biden,

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Matt Rourke/AP; Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

Why America's hospitals are on life support

Tech Insider
A loan shark about to eat a hospital

Anson Chan for BI

In community after community, the hospitals keep closing. In 2018, it was Northside Regional Medical Center in Youngstown, Ohio.

It's pretty clear: Elon Musk's play for OpenAI was a desperate bid to save Tesla

Tech Insider
Elon proposing to the two companies.

Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

We know that Elon Musk was very desperate back in 2018.

America has descended into a new Red Scare

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics
Three farm water pump windmills. One of the windmills resembles a Communist hammer and sickle symbol.
The backlash in Green Charter represents something seldom seen since the Red Scare: a quasi-militant, homegrown resistance to the perceived threat of communism at home.

Matt Harrison Clough for BI

I read all the studies on the economic impact of bike lanes. Here's what I learned.

Tech Insider : Economy
A shopping bag locking a bike to a parking meter

Pete Ryan for BI

If Trump is reelected, Americans are planning to flee in droves

Tech Insider : Politics, Politics
Photo illustration of a man with luggage and a Canadian flag in the background.
After November, Europe could well become what Canada was for draft dodgers during the Vietnam War: a political asylum for Americans fed up with their own country.

Prostock-Studio/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

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