• Trump has sought to assure voters that he can lower gas prices before the midterm elections.
• The results of his efforts, however, have not yet materialized.
• Gas prices reached a national average of $4.36 per gallon on Sunday, AAA reported.

President Donald Trump is running into the limits of his influence as he seeks to bring down sky-high gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.

In social media posts and stump speeches across the country, Trump has sought to assure voters that gas prices — a major sticking point for Americans grappling with an affordability crisis — will soon go down.

At the White House on Friday, for instance, Trump recalled seeing gas prices below $2 a gallon in Iowa before the US and Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran in February.

"We'll be down to those levels soon," he said.

The numbers and the trajectory of conflicts around the world, however, portend a different story.

As of Sunday, AAA reported that the average price of regular gas in the US was $4.36 per gallon. At this time last year, that number was $3.09. Diesel prices have also skyrocketed, reaching $6.28 per gallon earlier this month.

Early Monday, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was trading about 2% lower at around $103 a barrel.

That's more than 40% above its level at the start of the Iran war, but about 2% below where it stood a month ago, after prices surged past $100 a barrel in early September.

The bigger concern, however, is diesel, where prices have remained elevated despite crude's recent pullback.

Refinery bottlenecks and attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East and Russia have squeezed supplies of the fuel, which powers trucks, trains, ships, and farm equipment. That raises transportation costs across the economy and can keep inflation under pressure even if crude prices stabilize.

Persistently high diesel prices also pose a political challenge ahead of the midterms, as rising transportation costs threaten to add to the inflation pressures already weighing on American households.

Trump suspended fuel export sanctions on Russia this week to bring more diesel to the market and lower prices, prompting allies and enemies alike to wrinkle an eyebrow. Hours later, Ukraine struck a Russian oil depot.

On Sunday morning, Trump tried again to calm oil markets, announcing an "ENERGY CEASEFIRE" between Russia and Ukraine on Truth Social.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X, however, that while he supports such a ceasefire, the deal was news to him. He added that a Russian drone struck a power plant in Kyiv on Sunday.

Meanwhile, on Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz, through which oil shipments have slowed to a trickle as Iran flexes its control of the key waterway — a big reason the price of oil has increased and gas prices have spiked — an oil tanker struck a mine and caught on fire.

The US-Israeli war on Iran is only expanding as Iranian allies target Saudi Arabia, a US ally, and its oil infrastructure. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have expanded their control of the coast bordering the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping lane for Saudi oil exports. And last month, the group orchestrated an attack from southeastern Iraq on a major Saudi oil pipeline, forcing Saudi Arabia to temporarily shut it down.

An attack on King Khalid International Airport by Houthi fighters on Saturday killed 12 people and injured over 300. One American was killed, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, and officials were forced to briefly close the airport.

At this rate, it's hard to imagine oil prices softening enough to relieve Americans of high gas prices by the time they head to the polls in November.

• At 21, Raymond Loong Ng put college on hold after his startup raised $250,000 from VC firm Afore Capital.
• He and his cofounder spent two months in a program in San Francisco, working on their startup.
• A subsequent investment brought their total funding to $1 million, and they're now back in Singapore awaiting O-1 visas.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Raymond Loong Ng, 21, the cofounder of Makeable, a San Francisco-based startup. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I was born in Vietnam and moved to Singapore when I was 9. As a kid, I always had some kind of side hustle. In school, I sold toys, snacks, in-game currency, and sneakers to my classmates — anything that might earn me a little extra pocket money.

When I was 16, I did an internship at an auditing firm, where I had the chance to speak with a lot of business owners. I began to see technology as a tool that could help me advance in the business world.

I ended up getting a diploma in applied AI and analytics at a polytechnic after finishing secondary school. I was never the best at math or coding, but it offered me a way to turn my ideas into actual projects.

I always saw myself as the connector: I could spot a problem, form a vision, attract resources, then bring in my smartest classmates to make things happen.

That was how I began building projects of my own. I built an AI tool that helps ex-offenders build résumés and find jobs. I also started a community of young AI builders that runs workshops for students across Singapore.

From rivals to cofounders

In school, the projects we built often felt theoretical. Participating in hackathons gave me the chance to build solutions under real-world market constraints.

Although we had crossed paths earlier through a separate scholarship program, hackathons were also how I got to know the person who would later become my cofounder better.

We competed as rivals on different teams, but would often find ourselves among the only people still working at 2 or 3 a.m. Eventually, we decided we wanted to be on the same team.

We started entering competitions together in late 2023 and went on a winning streak. We soon realized that full software solutions were becoming harder to differentiate in hackathons as AI tools and models advanced.

We ventured into hardware because it gave AI a way to be deployed in the real world.

At a medical technology hackathon in 2025, we built a device to help paralyzed patients communicate through brainwaves and eye blinks. That became our startup, Neural Drive. The product caught the attention of a local hospital and is set to undergo a clinical trial there.

At the same time, I was trying to find my way to the US.

I grew up fascinated by the people and stories of Silicon Valley. My favorite films were "Jobs" and "The Social Network," and they made me feel that if I wanted to build something that could change the world, I had to be there.

While serving my two years of mandatory military service, I applied to several US colleges but was rejected by all. I ended up being accepted into the computer science program at the National University of Singapore, but I still wanted to go to the States.

I kept reaching out to venture capital firms in the US, and Neural Drive eventually caught the attention of Afore Capital in June.

In June, Afore Capital made a $250,000 pre-seed investment in Neural Drive. My cofounder and I then joined its two-month Founders-in-Residence program in San Francisco.

The timing was tricky. College was due to begin in August, so I had to defer my enrollment before classes started. My cofounder had to request a leave of absence from school, too.

It wasn't an easy decision, but we took a bet on ourselves.

I found a city that moved as fast as I did

I had visited Shenzhen in China before and expected Silicon Valley to look even more futuristic. Instead, I was surprised by how ordinary it looked. Because we were scrimping on rent, we moved into a hacker house in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood.

Those two months in San Francisco were intense, but incredibly rewarding. We were often working until 4 a.m., but we made as much progress as we would have in two years in Singapore.

The sheer density of talent inspired us: "What are you working on?" felt like the way people said hello. It was a city full of workaholics. I thought: This is my kind of place.

We went through several pivots before landing on Makeable, our startup that lets people build a physical product from an idea. All they have to do is describe their idea in a prompt.

Makeable can generate everything from the 3D model to the electronics and code, then sends users a kit they can put together themselves, like Lego.

In our final week of the program, Afore Capital made a follow-on investment, bringing our total funding to date to $1 million.

We flew back to Singapore to apply for our O-1 visas. While we're home, we're still working. The plan is to return to San Francisco for the next few years and keep building our company.

I probably have to extend my leave of absence. If it doesn't work out, I'll go back to school. I want to keep that option open. But honestly, I hope I don't have to.

The MLB Playoffs are underway, and the National League Championship Series starts soon. We've rounded up absolutely everything you need to know about how to watch the Dodgers vs. Brewers, including live streaming options for those without cable.

If you're hoping to tune in, you can live stream the NLCS games on FOX and FS1 via a streaming service like YouTube TV. Keep reading to learn additional streaming options and to get a look at the series schedule.

How to watch the Dodgers vs. Brewers in the US

The Dodgers vs. Brewers National League Championship Series will air on FOX or FS1 (and sometimes both). There are a few easy ways to stream every game, including live TV services like YouTube TV and Fubo.

YouTube TV is our top recommendation for the MLB Playoffs. You can find FOX, FS1, and 100+ other popular channels in the platform's Main plan, which costs $83 a month. There's a limited-time promo for new customers that will knock the first five months down to $68 a month after a free trial.

Fubo is another popular live TV service with FOX, FS1, and tons of other channels. Fubo Pro subscriptions unlock 200+ channels for $89 a month, but new users can get $25 off their first month after a free trial.

FOX and FS1 live streams are also available through FOX One, which costs $20 a month. You can subscribe directly through the FOX One website, as a Prime Video add-on, or as a bundle with ESPN Unlimited.

If you're also interested in the ALCS, we recommend sticking with YouTube TV rather than FOX One or Fubo, since they don't carry Warner Bros. channels (like TBS and truTV).

How to watch the Dodgers vs. Brewers from anywhere

MLB fans traveling abroad can still access their usual streaming methods with the aid of a VPN, or virtual private network. VPNs enable people to temporarily change their virtual location, so they can access their favorite websites and apps without interruption while overseas. A VPN is also a solid way to boost cybersecurity. Since the services we've highlighted require US payment methods, this option will work best for Americans who are just traveling away from home.

If you're not sure where to start when it comes to VPNs, NordVPN is our top recommendation right now. It's speedy, user-friendly (even for beginners), and has a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can learn more in our NordVPN review.

National League Championship Series schedule

• Game 1: Dodgers at Brewers on Sunday, October 11 at 8 p.m. ET
• Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers on Monday, October 12 at 5 p.m. ET
• Game 3: Brewers at Dodgers on Wednesday, October 14 at 8 p.m. ET
• Game 4: Brewers at Dodgers on Thursday, October 15 at 9 p.m. ET
• Game 5 (if necessary): Brewers at Dodgers on Friday, October 16 at 9 p.m. ET
• Game 6 (if necessary): Dodgers at Brewers on Sunday, October 18 at 8 p.m. ET
• Game 7 (if necessary): Dodgers at Brewers on Monday, October 19 at 8 p.m. ET

What happened during the 2025 National League Championship Series?

The Dodgers and Brewers also met in the 2025 NLCS. Los Angeles swept Milwaukee 4-0 and went on to win the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• "Saturday Night Live" took on Kevin O'Leary and his data center.
• "These things shouldn't be anywhere. That's why I'm building one in Utah," Johnson's O'Leary said.
• The real O'Leary is backing a giant data center project spanning over 20,000 acres.

AI data centers got the "Weekend Update" treatment on "Saturday Night Live" this week.

Comedian James Austin Johnson portrayed "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary on the sketch comedy show, during which he addressed the dispute over the real O'Leary's proposed data center in Utah, known as the Stratos Project.

"It's very simple. All I want is to buy up 40,000 acres of God's untouched splendor and replace it with a very loud computer that steals your job," Johnson's O'Leary said. "Is it going to take up precious water? Absolutely. Is it going to provide a necessary service? Who's to say? But on the flip side, it's going to make me a tremendous amount of money, and I think that's great."

The "SNL" version of O'Leary said he understood that some Americans were concerned about data centers near their homes. (An actual May Gallup poll found that over half of American surveyors opposed constructing AI data centers in their local area.)

"These things are terrible and shouldn't be anywhere. That's why I'm building one in Utah," he said.

Data centers are a contentious issue in the United States.

Leading tech companies rely on AI data centers to power their systems and products. Supporters say they'll create new jobs, bolster the economy, and help the US defeat China in the race to control the global AI market.

Residents in the places where they are being built, however, are often much less excited about them.

The Utah project, backed by O'Leary Digital, has drawn criticism from many local residents over concerns that the data center could strain local resources and worsen the environment. Some residents are also upset over what they consider a lack of transparency from O'Leary and local leaders. Critics of the Stratos Project have staged protests, created petitions, and taken legal action to stop its construction.

O'Leary scaled back the data center's size from about 40,000 to just over 20,000 acres after public pushback. He has said he remains undeterred, though.

"There are bumps in the road. There's litigation. There's misinformation. There's propaganda. You name it. But if you know what you're doing is right, you make it, you get there," O'Leary told Business Insider in June. "Persevere."

During a May interview on Fox News, O'Leary said said some critics of the project have ties to the Chinese Communist Party, a claim he later walked back. A Utah advocacy group that has publicly opposed the project filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News and O'Leary in July.

On "Saturday Night Live," Johnson's O'Leary acknowledged the incident.

"I made the mildly inflammatory claim that every single person in Utah who opposes me is a paid communist super agent from China. Was I wrong? Perhaps. But just because they're not, doesn't mean they aren't," he said.

He added, "I'm going to make the future go away. And we're doing just that in Utah."

• Alexandr Wang said his prolific X posting is part of a broader effort to make Meta cool again.
• The 29-year-old has filled his feed with memes about Muse, the company's AI agent.
• Wang said his posts "made an impact" on the growth of Muse.

Alexandr Wang said he had trouble focusing during recent Meta meetings.

On his mind: New memes to post about the company's popular new AI assistant.

"I would just like think of a meme and I'd be like 'Oh God, I have to get this out,'" Wang said in a recent interview with podcaster David Senra, adding that his coworkers were "somewhat surprised" at the buzz his posts were generating.

"It actually made an impact on growth," he said of the posts, "which is kind of hilarious."

Much has been said about Meta's chief AI officer and his chaotic X feed, which the 29-year-old has crammed with occasionally off-color yet invariably eccentric references to Muse, Meta's personal AI assistant that sent the company's stock soaring and redefined the market for AI tools.

In his interview with Senra, though, Wang said that his often spur-of-the-moment posts served a broader goal — to make Meta "cool again."

"Despite having like these incredible pieces of cultural software like Instagram and Facebook, historically, Meta was not cool," he said. "I remembered that the internet rewards risk."

After launching on September 8, Muse shot to the top of Apple's app store 10 days later, surpassing ChatGPT. Meta says Muse can help users research, fill out forms, buy items online, book restaurant reservations, find a dog sitter, and connect with services such as email, calendars, Spotify, Instagram, and OpenTable.

The app marked Meta's first successful breakthrough in AI tech, after its Llama and Spark LLM models failed to find niches already filled by widely used models from OpenAI and Anthropic.

With Muse, Meta found a largely untapped gold mine — though competing AI agents from OpenClaw and Instinct already existed in Silicon Valley circles. Muse, however, had the advantage of coming from a popular company with several billion potential customers already signed up on Instagram and Facebook.

And the internet, weary of staid pronouncements from CEOs who were perhaps once cool but are now entering their 40s (Mark Zuckerberg is 42), welcomed the boundless energy of a young executive newly endowed with power in the AI era.

"It was a lot of fun," Wang said. "There were like a few tweets where I just didn't think that much about it and just said, 'Fuck it, post.'"

Business Insider wants to know, by the way, how you're using personal AI agents. Take our survey below!

• I loved being in the marching band in high school.
• I didn't love the practice that was forced on me from a young age, and neither did my husband.
• We waited until our three kids asked about music lessons instead of forcing them on them.

Some of my favorite high school memories involve music. I played flute in the marching band, and I still remember traveling with my friends to perform at Disneyland in our senior year. Those trips were fun, and the friends I made in band class are the only high school friends I still keep in touch with.

But getting there involved years of music lessons that I didn't exactly choose.

I started piano lessons in fourth grade, which meant giving up after-school hours when I'd much rather have been doing almost anything else. Eventually, I switched to flute and continued playing through high school. By then, I was good enough to enjoy being in the marching band, but years of being told to practice left me with mixed feelings about music.

My husband had a similar experience with the viola. He spent countless hours practicing an instrument because his parents wanted him to. Today, decades later, he doesn't play it.

Neither of us wanted to repeat that experience with our own kids.

We decided not to sign them up

When our kids reached the age when many of their friends were starting piano, violin, or other music lessons, we took a different approach.

We didn't say no to music. We simply didn't volunteer them for it.

If they wanted to learn an instrument, we told them we would support them. But we weren't going to spend hundreds of dollars on lessons and then spend the next several years nagging them to practice something they never asked to do.

It wasn't always easy to stick to that philosophy. As a parent, it's tempting to look at all the activities other kids are doing and wonder whether you're supposed to be signing your kids up, too.

Music seemed particularly important. I knew firsthand how much kids could get out of being part of a band or orchestra. I also knew that learning an instrument can teach discipline and give kids an outlet for creativity. I didn't think those benefits required us to force it on them.

Eventually, they came to us

Then something interesting happened: They asked about music lessons.

My daughter eventually decided she wanted to take acoustic guitar lessons. Later, my sons got interested in music, too, signing up for electric guitar and drumming.

Because they chose these activities themselves, the dynamic was completely different from what I remembered from childhood.

I'm not hovering over a piano bench telling someone to practice scales. I'm not threatening to take away screen time because someone hasn't picked up a guitar.

They know they have to practice to get better, and they're more invested because the decision to play was theirs.

I get to enjoy the show

The biggest surprise has been how much more enjoyable music is for me as a parent.

Instead of being the kid who is being told to practice, I'm the mom sitting in the audience with my phone out, waiting for the performance to start so I can record them.

I get to cheer when they nail a song and encourage them when they don't. I get to listen to them practice "Johnny B. Goode" in their bedrooms and watch their confidence grow.

And because they chose this for themselves, their accomplishments feel like theirs.

Maybe that's what I was really trying to give my kids by taking music lessons off the parental to-do list: not necessarily a childhood without instruments, but one where they get to decide what they want to become good at.

After spending my childhood being told to practice, I've found that one of my favorite parts of parenting is not having to be the practice police.

Let's be honest: most TVs aren't doing your living room any favors when they're turned off. They're basically just big black rectangles taking up wall space. That's the problem Samsung set out to solve when it launched the Frame in 2017, and it's a big reason frame-style TVs have become so popular.

Instead of looking like tech, the best frame TVs are designed to pass as décor. They have anti-glare screens that mimic the look of canvas, slim builds that hug the wall, and swappable bezels to match your space. And when they're not playing your favorite show, they double as digital art displays for classic paintings and modern pieces. Samsung may have started the trend, but it's not the only game in town. Hisense, TCL, Amazon, LG, and Walmart have jumped in with their own takes on art-inspired TVs.

I've spent the past few years testing multiple versions of Samsung's Frame, including the standard Frame and the high-end Frame Pro. I've always appreciated Samsung's design, but I wanted to see how the competition stacks up. Can options like the Hisense CanvasTV, TCL NXTVISION TV, and Amazon Ember Artline TV really deliver that same gallery feel without cutting corners?

To find out, I tested the best frame TVs from Samsung, Hisense, TCL, and Amazon. Here's how they compare — both as actual TVs and as statement pieces — with details on where each shines, where they fall short, and which models make the most sense for your space and budget.

Our picks for the best frame TVs

Best overall: Samsung Frame TV - See at Amazon

Best high-end model: Samsung Frame Pro TV - See at Amazon

Best Frame TV alternative: Hisense CanvasTV - See at Amazon

Best overall

Samsung's standard Frame TV is the best art TV for most people. It checks every box you'd expect from a display that doubles as décor, and it offers a few thoughtful perks that cheaper competitors skip.

On the design front, the Frame delivers all the essentials: a matte, canvas-like screen, support for magnetic bezels (sold separately), a flush wall mount, and a motion sensor that turns art mode on only when someone's in the room. Because the standard Frame has been around the longest, it also offers the widest selection of bezel styles, from understated to more ornate. Just keep in mind that none of these bezels come included — out of the box, you get a basic black border.

The TV utilizes Samsung's wired One Connect Box, which consolidates power and device connections into a single, thin, transparent cable that runs from the screen to a separate box. You can then place the box on a console or out of sight. This keeps your wall clean and makes it easy to add a streaming player, an antenna, or a game console without moving the TV.

Samsung's Art Store is another standout. Its catalog of high-quality images is far more robust than the free selections you get from Hisense or TCL. But while Samsung does offer a small rotating batch of free artwork, you'll need a paid subscription to unlock the full library.

The Frame's anti-glare matte display also performs well in bright rooms, helping art look convincing and daytime TV viewing remain comfortable. But as with most art TVs, picture quality isn't the Frame TV's strong suit. Brightness peaks at around 500 nits, contrast is lacking, and the edge-lit backlighting can result in patchy black levels. While watching TV in the dark, this uneven lighting can be downright distracting.

Still, the Frame isn't aimed at cinephiles chasing premium HDR performance — it's for style-first shoppers who want a TV that blends seamlessly into their space. And in that role, it shines. It's also available in a wide range of sizes: the 2025 model recommended here ranges from 43 to 65 inches, but you may still be able to find older versions from 32 to 85 inches.

Check out our guide to all of the best Samsung TVs.

Best high-end model

The Frame Pro is Samsung's premium art-style TV. It's the most advanced option on the market and offers a noticeably bolder, brighter image than any other display in this guide.

This model carries over all the essential features of the standard Frame TV, including a matte screen, support for attachable bezels, a flush wall mount, and a motion sensor. What sets this model apart from Samsung's cheaper Frame is its wireless connection box and local dimming backlight.

Like the standard Frame TV, the Frame Pro uses a separate One Connect Box to house its video ports. However, the Frame Pro takes it one step further by making this connection box wireless. It still needs to be plugged into an outlet, but it doesn't require a physical connection to the TV itself. This greatly expands placement options and makes it easier to work around obstacles in your home, so you can mount your TV in more spots.

When it comes to picture quality, the Frame Pro utilizes Samsung's Neo QLED technology with Mini LED edge-lit local dimming. These features provide a significant technical advantage over the standard Frame TV and its rivals. Every other art TV uses a basic edge-lit LED backlight without dimming, which greatly limits contrast and brightness. But the Frame Pro's Mini LEDs help it reach a peak brightness of around 1,000 nits, about double that of the standard Frame, Hisense Canvas, and TCL NXTVISION.

This higher brightness allows the TV to produce bolder highlights when watching high-dynamic-range (HDR) videos and helps it overcome ambient light in rooms with many windows. The Mini LED backlight can also produce deeper black levels than other art frame TVs, so dark scenes don't look as washed out and uneven when watching TV with the lights off.

That said, I still noticed some light blotches and uneven dimming in dark scenes during nighttime viewing. While this is the best frame TV for picture quality, it still can't match the image performance of traditional Mini LED and OLED TVs.

It's also important to remember that access to Samsung's full Art Store requires a subscription fee, and that magnetic bezel attachments are an additional cost. But while this all adds to the price, the Frame Pro is easily the best art TV for premium performance.

Check out our full Samsung Frame Pro TV (2025) review.

Best Frame TV alternative

The Hisense CanvasTV is the best Frame TV competitor, matching most of the Samsung Frame's features and design perks. It has all the essentials that make an art TV an art TV, including a matte screen, support for magnetic bezel attachments, a flush mount, access to digital paintings, and a motion sensor.

I reviewed the 2024 version of this TV, but that edition has since been replaced by a slightly revised 2026 model. General features and design are the same, but the refreshed model is a bit brighter, and its matte screen has been improved to handle reflections better. It's also available in a 50-inch size for the first time.

Hisense offers a solid assortment of free paintings and photos without a subscription. In fact, Hisense doesn't currently offer a premium membership. The selection of photography and art prints isn't as wide as what you'd get with Samsung's paid Art Store, so if you like to switch up the mood in your room frequently, you won't have as many options. However, I never had that problem and found more than enough free choices that I liked.

The biggest complaint I have about the CanvasTV is that all its ports are on the back of the display, just like a traditional TV. This contrasts with Samsung's Frame models, which use a separate connection box. So, if you have multiple media devices you want to hook up, you could end up with multiple cables hanging from your wall. This hinders the TV's ability to mimic a framed painting. Of course, you could hide cables with a cover or feed them through the wall if you can drill, but Samsung's solution is more user-friendly and versatile.

On the plus side, I appreciate that the TV comes with a magnetic bezel that resembles a wooden frame. You'd have to pay extra for that when buying a Samsung model. However, alternative magnetic bezels are difficult to find from Hisense or third-party retailers. The most common search results are for those from sellers on Etsy. In contrast, there are tons of styles available for Samsung Frame TVs.

In terms of picture quality, there's not much separating the CanvasTV from Samsung's standard Frame. The 4K QLED display offers decent pop in both dark and light rooms, with similar brightness. Watching movies with the basic settings most people use, I couldn't easily tell the difference between the two products in black levels or color saturation. That said, the CanvasTV's viewing angles are more limited, especially when watching TV in bright daylight.

Despite its drawbacks, Hisense's CanvasTV is the best Frame TV alternative for anyone seeking an art TV that mimics most, though not all, of Samsung's features.

Check out our guide to all the best Hisense TVs.

The best art frame TVs, compared

What else we considered

TCL NXTVISION TV - See at Amazon
TCL’s NXTVISION gets most of the basics right for an art TV. It has a matte screen, a flush wall mount, an included light-wood bezel, and more than 100 free art selections. But it leaves out a few design touches that make Samsung’s Frame and Hisense’s CanvasTV more convincing. It lacks a motion sensor, offers limited art customization, and is missing a stand. It also has its ports built in rather than use a connection box. The NXTVISION can be a good value when it's discounted, but alternatives from Samsung and Hisense are better buys at similar prices. TCL also has a revised 2026 version of the NXTVISION, which it now brands as the TCL Designer TV with Frame. We haven't tested that model yet, but it appears to offer similar specifications, with the main difference being that it now includes a stand.

Amazon Ember Artline TV - See at Amazon
Amazon's first frame-style TV, the Ember Artline, is now available. Like other gallery TVs, it uses a QLED panel, features a matte finish, and includes a slim wall mount. It also supports interchangeable bezels, and Amazon offers 10 styles to choose from. Users get access to around 2,000 pieces of free art. However, the Ember Artline has a very noticeable black sensor bar right under its frame. This bar is used for motion sensing and voice control, but it ruins the illusion of a framed piece of art. The TV also has its ports built into the panel, rather than using a separate connection box. Generally, I recommend getting a Samsung or Hisense art TV instead, but if you're not bothered by the sensor, the Artline is a worthwhile budget option when it's on sale.

Read our full Amazon Ember Artline TV review.

How we test art TVs

To find the best frame TVs, I spent time with all the major models from Samsung, TCL, and Hisense. In addition to judging them like traditional TVs, I evaluated each one specifically as a design-forward frame TV, paying close attention to differences in build quality, features, and how convincing they look on the wall.

Since most people buy frame TVs for their art-first design, I put most of my focus there. Picture quality still matters, of course, but it takes a back seat to things like how realistic the artwork looks, how much art is included, the quality of bezels and accessories, and how easy and enjoyable the software and interface are to use.

I've purchased and lived with several Samsung Frame TVs over the years, and I have hands-on experience with every model featured in this guide. I used them the way most people would — watching movies and TV shows and playing video games. All of the TVs were tested in similar, well-lit rooms with plenty of natural sunlight, so I could properly judge glare and anti-reflective performance. To keep comparisons fair, I also watched the same movie at the same volume level on each TV to get a consistent sense of image quality and speaker performance.

Meet the expert behind this guide:

Tyler Hayes, contributing reporter: I've been covering consumer electronics for more than a decade, testing everything from headphones and soundbars to smart home gear and even electric cars. For this guide, I spent hands-on time with frame-style TVs from Samsung, TCL, and Hisense, and I've personally purchased and lived with several versions of Samsung's Frame over the years. I tested each one not just as a TV, but as a piece of design, comparing how realistic the artwork looks, how appealing each TV looks on a wall, and how intuitive the software feels day-to-day. My goal is simple: if you're aiming to buy a TV that doubles as décor, I want to make sure you end up with the one that actually looks (and works) the part.

Learn more about the Reviews team at Business Insider.

Art TV FAQs

What is an art frame TV?

An art TV is designed to resemble a framed work of art when it's "off" and not in use. To accomplish this, all of the best art TVs include key features that set them apart from most traditional TVs. These include:

• An anti-reflective matte screen meant to resemble canvas
• A thin profile and flush wall mount so they can hang like a picture
• Support for magnetic bezel attachments in different art-frame styles
• Access to a curated gallery of art and photographs that can be displayed when the set isn't used as a TV

Some, but not all, art TVs also include additional features that help them to further mimic the look and feel of a framed painting:

• A separate connection box so you can keep your wall free from cables
• A motion sensor to turn on the TV's art mode only when people are in the room

Which brands make frame TVs?

Samsung, TCL, and Hisense all produce art TVs designed to replicate the appearance of a framed painting. LG, Amazon, and Walmart also recently launched their first full-fledged art-frame TVs: the LG Gallery TV with frame, Amazon Ember Artline, and the Onn Fresco Art Gallery TV.

Other major brands, such as Sony, Roku, and Vizio, do not currently sell display models specifically designed to function as frame TVs, but some of their TVs offer certain features that art TVs provide.

Are there OLED frame TVs?

Art frame TVs all use LED or Mini LED panels, as those screen types are best suited for displaying static images. Though there technically aren't any OLED frame TVs, the new Samsung S95H OLED does include several gallery-style features, including a metal-frame-like bezel, an anti-glare screen, and access to Samsung's art store. However, the bezel is not interchangeable, and the TV lacks a motion sensor. You can learn more in our Samsung S95H review.

Can you access art galleries on other TVs?

Most TVs have a screensaver feature that displays various images when you're not watching a movie or show. However, these modes aren't as full-featured as those found on the best frame TVs, and the selection of images is often more limited.

That said, Samsung now offers access to its full Art Store on all of its latest Neo QLED and QLED TV models. The Art Store is also available on the S95H, the first Samsung OLED to feature it. Those displays don't have all the design features of a Frame TV, but they can showcase the same images, so long as you have an Art Store subscription. Likewise, LG's Gallery+ service is available on multiple TV models.

Are art TVs good for home theater enthusiasts?

Art TVs place a greater emphasis on design than on picture quality. Generally speaking, most midrange and high-end traditional TVs offer better image performance than even the best frame TVs. This is especially true for contrast, brightness, and black levels. While casual viewers may not notice the backlight limitations on most art-frame TVs, those with a keen eye will see uneven lighting and distracting patches of brightness. If you're a home theater enthusiast looking for a TV with picture quality in mind, we don't recommend buying a frame TV.

For home theater TV recommendations, check out our guides to the best TVs and best TVs for picture quality.

Are art TVs available in many sizes?

Frame-style TVs are available in various sizes, depending on the brand and model. Samsung offers the most expansive lineup, with options ranging from 32 to 98 inches.

For more TV recommendations specific to certain sizes, check out our other buying guides:

• Best 100-inch TVs
• Best 85-inch TVs
• Best 75-inch TVs
• Best 65-inch TVs
• Best 55-inch TVs
• Best 50-inch TVs
• Best 43-inch TVs

Do art frame TVs have good sound quality?

Generally speaking, most TVs, including art frame-style ones, do not have good sound quality. Brands use small speaker drivers to fit them into flat-panel designs, which limits dynamic range, stereo separation, and depth.

Among the frame TVs we tested, the Hisense CanvasTV had the strongest audio output; however, it still lacked bass. For optimal audio quality, we recommend using a soundbar.

You can view our top recommendations in our various audio buying guides:

• Best soundbars
• Best budget soundbars
• Best Dolby Atmos soundbars
• Best soundbars with subwoofers
• Best Bose soundbars
• Best Sonos soundbars
• Best surround sound systems

• Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" has yielded three No. 1 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.
• It's the first female album since Swift's own "1989" to achieve the feat.
• The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Rihanna also have multiple albums on the list.

Thanks to "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore," Taylor Swift has added another rare achievement to her resumé.

The deluxe edition of Swift's 12th album added four new songs to the tracklist, including "Patient Zero," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — becoming the album's third song to reach the chart's summit, following "The Fate of Ophelia" and "Opalite."

Since Billboard launched the Hot 100 in 1958 as the definitive all-genre singles chart in the US, only 33 albums have spawned three or more No. 1 hits (not counting greatest-hits compilations).

Counting songs that were released later on deluxe editions and reissues, Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" holds the all-time record with six No. 1 songs, followed by Michael Jackson's "Bad" with five.

This elite group of musical blockbusters seems to be getting more exclusive over time: Only 12 of the qualifying albums were released in the 21st century. "The Life of a Showgirl" is the first female album to achieve the feat in over a decade, since Swift's own "1989" in 2014.

All 33 albums are listed below in chronological order.

1. "Where Did Our Love Go" by The Supremes

No. 1 songs: "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Come See About Me"

2. "Help!" by The Beatles

No. 1 songs: "Help!," "Ticket to Ride," "Yesterday"*

*Included on the original UK release of "Help!" and later included on the US-exclusive release of "Yesterday and Today"

3. "Magical Mystery Tour" by The Beatles

No. 1 songs: "Penny Lane," "All You Need Is Love," "Hello Goodbye"

3. "Let It Be" by The Beatles

No. 1 songs: "Let It Be," "The Long and Winding Road," "Get Back"

4. The "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack

No. 1 songs: "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive," "Night Fever," "If I Can't Have You"

5. "Spirits Having Flown" by the Bee Gees

No. 1 songs: "Tragedy," "Too Much Heaven," "Love You Inside Out"

6. "Make It Big" by Wham!

No. 1 songs: "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go," "Everything She Wants," "Careless Whisper"

7. "Whitney Houston" by Whitney Houston

No. 1 songs: "Saving All My Love For You," "How Will I Know," "Greatest Love Of All"

8. "True Blue" by Madonna

No. 1 songs: "Papa Don't Preach," "Live to Tell," "Open Your Heart"

9. "Whitney" by Whitney Houston

No. 1 songs: "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "So Emotional," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"

10. "Bad" by Michael Jackson

No. 1 songs: "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Dirty Diana"

11. "Faith" by George Michael

No. 1 songs: "Faith," "Father Figure," "One More Try," "Monkey"

12. "Forever Your Girl" by Paula Abdul

No. 1 songs: "Opposites Attract," "Forever Your Girl," "Straight Up," "Cold Hearted"

13. "Girl You Know It's True" by Milli Vanilli

No. 1 songs: "Baby Don't Forget My Number," "Blame It On The Rain," "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You"

14. "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" by Janet Jackson

No. 1 songs: "Miss You Much," "Love Will Never Do (Without You)," "Escapade," "Black Cat"

15. "Wilson Phillips" by Wilson Phillips

No. 1 songs: "Hold On," "Release Me," "You're in Love"

16. "Mariah Carey" by Mariah Carey

No. 1 songs: "Vision of Love," "I Don't Wanna Cry," "Someday," "Love Takes Time"

17. "Daydream" by Mariah Carey

No. 1 songs: "Fantasy," "One Sweet Day," "Always Be My Baby"

18. "The Boy Is Mine" by Monica

No. 1 songs: "The Boy Is Mine," "The First Night," "Angel of Mine"

19. "Christina Aguilera" by Christina Aguilera

No. 1 songs: "Genie in a Bottle," "What a Girl Wants," "Come on Over Baby (All I Want is You)"

20. "Confessions" by Usher

No. 1 songs: "Yeah!," "Confessions Part II," "Burn," "My Boo"*

*Included on the special-edition reissue of "Confessions"

21. "FutureSex/LoveSounds" by Justin Timberlake

No. 1 songs: "SexyBack," "My Love," "What Goes Around...Comes Around"

22. "The Dutchess" by Fergie

No. 1 songs: "London Bridge," "Glamorous," "Big Girls Don't Cry"

23. "Good Girl Gone Bad" by Rihanna

No. 1 songs: "Umbrella," "Disturbia,"* "Take a Bow"*

*Included on the reissue "Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded"

24. "The E.N.D." by The Black Eyed Peas

No. 1 songs: "Boom Boom Pow," "Imma Be," "I Gotta Feeling"

25. "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry

No. 1 songs: "Teenage Dream," "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," "California Gurls," "Firework," "E.T.," "Part of Me"*

*Included on the reissue "Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection"

26. "Loud" by Rihanna

No. 1 songs: "S&M," "What's My Name?," "Only Girl (In The World)"

27. "21" by Adele

No. 1 songs: "Rolling in the Deep," "Set Fire to the Rain," "Someone Like You"

28. "1989" by Taylor Swift

No. 1 songs: "Blank Space," "Shake It Off," "Bad Blood," "Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version) [From the Vault]"*

*Included on the rerecorded album "1989 (Taylor's Version)"

29. "Purpose" by Justin Bieber

No. 1 songs: "What Do You Mean?," "Sorry," "Love Yourself"

30. "Scorpion" by Drake

No. 1 songs: "God's Plan," "Nice for What," "In My Feelings"

31. "After Hours" by The Weeknd

No. 1 songs: "Heartless," "Blinding Lights," "Save Your Tears"

32. "The Life of a Showgirl" by Taylor Swift

No. 1 songs: "The Fate of Ophelia," "Opalite," "Patient Zero"*

*Included on the deluxe edition "The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore"

• Trump called those who don't adopt the term Super Intelligence "the enemy."
• Marc Benioff said Salesforce's AIForce platform is becoming SIForce.
• Elon Musk also pledged to rename SpaceXAI as SpaceXSI.

Donald Trump wants two letters scrubbed from the tech industry’s vocabulary, and some executives are already reaching for replacements.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said Friday that his company’s AIForce platform is getting a new name.

“The era of Super Intelligence is here. AIForce is officially SIForce,” Benioff wrote on X.

The announcement follows Elon Musk’s pledge Sunday to rename SpaceXAI to SpaceXSI, giving Trump’s campaign to replace “artificial intelligence” with “super intelligence” traction beyond Washington. The company's X account has already been changed.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has also made the switch, referring to the tech as "Super Intelligence" in an X post about AI model containment and governance on Saturday. While Nadella has used the term "superintelligence" in the past, this was the first time he used it as two words — and capitalized.

Salesforce’s change concerns its agent platform, rather than the company’s corporate name.

Trump, meanwhile, is turning his terminology preference into a test.

“The White House considers anyone that uses the term, ‘Artificial Intelligence,’ as opposed to the highly accepted new and more accurate term, ‘Super Intelligence,’ THE ENEMY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.

The warning escalates a push Trump formalized in a September 29 executive order directing federal agencies to substitute “Super Intelligence” and “SI” for “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official communications, websites, reports, and policy documents, to the extent permitted by law.

Private companies aren’t required by the order to follow suit. But Benioff’s announcement and Musk’s proposed rebrand show how the president’s preferred language is making its way into corporate branding.

The administration’s argument is that AI has outgrown its name. The executive order says today’s systems increasingly amplify human creativity and that “Super Intelligence” better captures their potential.

The rebranding push complicates matters for companies whose names include AI, and raises questions over what counts as superintelligence. The term generally describes systems far more capable than humans across a broad range of tasks, and renaming existing products doesn’t establish that they meet that threshold.

OpenAI, Scale AI, Character AI, and Resolve AI did not respond to requests for comment.

• My parents met as teenagers and celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary this year.
• My twin brother and I surprised them with more than 40 friends and relatives.
• Planning the party reminded me that my parents have a story beyond raising us.

My parents met in May 1986, when they were just 14 and 15 years old, and started dating in September that same year. Just a month later, my mom turned 15.

She can't remember exactly what their first date was. Maybe a movie, she says, or something simple, like hanging out with friends. But when she first saw my dad — a quiet yet funny guy — playing catch with his best friend while she babysat across the street, neither of them could have known what kind of journey they were about to take together.

They were married in June 1996, at Alex & Henry's, a then-popular catering hall that closed a few years later.

This year, the day before their official 30th anniversary, my twin brother and I pulled off what I'd argue was one of the best surprises of our adult lives: a party with more than 40 of their closest friends and family members.

They deserved to be celebrated

My grandma traveled from Delaware to our hometown in Westchester County to help bring the surprise together. For months, she fielded my frantic calls about table arrangements, centerpieces, and cake flavors, while I dodged my parents at home. Trying to surprise the people you live with is no small feat.

I quietly texted out invitations, made decorations, including "Back in 1996" cards for each place setting, and coordinated with vendors and the restaurant to make sure every detail was just right.

I was flooded with butterflies. I wanted so badly for them to be completely stunned — they deserved it. And because I had dropped off the decorations beforehand, the final setup was in the hands of my grandma and my best friend since kindergarten, who I tasked with bringing my vision to life.

My brother and his girlfriend needed a believable reason to come home from Austin for the weekend. He told my parents they'd visit to celebrate their pearl anniversary, which made sense before a major work trip.

He fibbed. There was no work trip.

We surprised them

Several weeks before they arrived, my brother "made a reservation" at one of our favorite restaurants — where he had worked in high school— for six people on June 7. We'd have a late lunch to celebrate our parents' anniversary with our partners and us. Since we'd be together, I convinced them we should take family pictures. My plan was solid.

That afternoon, my boyfriend and I left the house first — racing to the restaurant just a few minutes away, leaving my brother with the coveted task of escorting my parents inside without them noticing the familiar cars belonging to friends and family in the parking lot.

They turned the corner expecting to sit down at a table for six, but instead were met with a roar of "Surprise!" in a room full of their favorite people.

They were shocked.

As they bounced between tables, they embraced, laughed, caught up, and reminisced while admiring the several photo boards my grandma had made, which captured decades of their love story in still moments.

To me, the process, the surprise, and the aftermath — how it has remained a dinner-table discussion months later, and how the joy and love they felt that day still radiated from them whenever they talked about it — were a joy in themselves. It filled me with so much happiness.

This joy has lingered in conversations, in the photo boards my mom kept displayed around the house, and the cake-table decorations draped over the piano. The pieces of that day scattered throughout our home became reminders that our parents are more than the people who raised us — they are people with their own stories, memories, and milestones worth celebrating.

As we marked a milestone in their marriage — a stretch of time longer than my 25 years on this earth —I found myself thinking about the lives my parents had lived before they became my parents.

They had already spent years together before my brother and I were born in 2000. They had been teenagers, friends, boyfriend and girlfriend, and eventually husband and wife. They had memories and inside jokes, losses and milestones, dreams and disappointments that belonged entirely to them.

Their lives did not stop when they became parents.

They are still living, experiencing, learning, loving, and losing things for the first time, just like my brother and I are as young adults.

• I knew I'd likely have my first child abroad when I married a Frenchman and moved to France in 2021.
• So far, I've loved a lot about France's approach to pregnancy, including the use of midwives.
• However, I miss American traditions like baby showers, my favorite snacks, and the people I love.

When I fell in love with a Frenchman who wanted kids as much as I did, I knew there was a distinct possibility that I'd be going through pregnancy on foreign soil. And when we moved to France in 2021, with no intention of leaving anytime soon, my fate seemed all but sealed.

Earlier in 2026, I found out that we were pregnant for the first time. For a year leading up to this moment, I'd set the stage for everything to go as smoothly as possible, ensuring that I was properly registered in France's national health-insurance program and completing all the preliminary checkups.

Yet, despite my best efforts, nothing could have prepared me for the cultural differences surrounding pregnancy in France. Although I've found there's a lot to love about the French approach, there have also been a handful of times I've wished I were back in the US with my family in Southern California, where I'm originally from.

I was expecting to have an OB-GYN, but using midwives is the norm over here

Though midwifery isn't regulated nationally in the US, it is in France. Here, midwives are required to attend six years of schooling and obtain a master's degree.

They're allowed to prescribe medicine and lead childbirth, and I've found that most French people with low-risk pregnancies are recommended to them over OB-GYNs for all the steps of pregnancy and delivery.

I'm being treated by three midwives, and I love the way they're specialized to my different needs. There's one who performs the sonograms and monthly checkups, one who will get me through the delivery, and one who provides classes to help me prepare.

Plus, they'll visit you at home to make sure your recovery is on track after the big event. That's not as common with physicians in the US.

Most of my pregnancy costs are covered by the national health insurance program

Although I haven't been pregnant while living in the United States, I've heard plenty of horror stories about hefty hospital bills — even for Americans who are covered by insurance.

By contrast, France requires all residents to register with the national healthcare system, which can subsidize up to 70% of related charges until the fifth month of pregnancy, and all associated costs from six months onward.

For what's not covered during the first half, most people have a second insurance called a mutuelle — generally provided by your employer — that fills in the gaps.

Although I don't have a mutuelle, the appointments I have that aren't completely covered generally cost me 40 euros or less. What's more, the French government offers a birth bonus of over 1,000 euros to parents earning below a certain income threshold.

This will more than make up the difference if my husband and I qualify for it.

Despite all these advantages, there are times I wish I were in the US

France has gone above and beyond my expectations in a number of categories, but there's no denying that I'd trade a lot for a taste of home — literally. No French cornichon can ever live up to the real-deal American pickles I've been dreaming of.

I've also had to accept that I'm probably not going to get a baby shower while I'm over here, as celebrations like that aren't part of the local customs. Although French folks have started to embrace things like registering for baby gifts, even that's not always a given.

And although I definitely don't feel the need for festivities at every step of the way — I'm not the type to throw a gender-reveal party, for example — I'd appreciate at least some of the pomp and circumstance that feels more customary back home.

More than that, it's the friends and family I miss the most. No number of video chats will ever measure up to sharing laughs, hugs, and love in the same physical space. I'd give up all the pickles and baby showers in the world just to have that.

Ninety-nine percent of international internet traffic flows through cables stretched across the ocean floor. Demand is at an all-time high as the world becomes more dependent on cloud computing and AI. But only one US company can both make and lay them. We visited its 73-year-old factory and went aboard a multimillion-dollar cable-laying ship to see how it is keeping up — and why our data still needs to travel thousands of feet beneath the sea.

• My mom moved us from Brooklyn to Michigan after my grandma developed Alzheimer's.
• I helped care for my grandma while my mom navigated caregiving as a single parent.
• Our cohousing community became an extended family that supported all of us.

I spent the first years of my life on the brownstone-lined streets of Brooklyn, waking up to the sounds of birds chirping mixed with car horns reverberating throughout the city. Little did I know that my childhood would take an unexpected turn.

In the middle of first grade, my mom pulled me out of school, packed our suitcases, and moved us across the country to Michigan as my grandma, Lillian, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and needed extra support. My immediate family is small, just my mom and me, and Michigan felt completely foreign at the time.

We moved into a co-housing community

My mom always emphasized the importance of building family through community. With that in mind, she moved us to Great Oak Cohousing, a community designed around the concept of independent living with shared amenities: a common house, an expansive garden, and a variety of gathering spaces, all collaboratively managed by residents.

I fell in love with Great Oak almost immediately. It unlocked a lifestyle that had been missing in New York: raw nature all around us, the ability to run around independently, and an unmatched sense of community.

We welcomed my grandma into our new home with open arms, picking her up from my aunt Heidi's house, where she lived during the week, and bringing her to ours for long weekends.

My grandma had visited us in New York when I was a baby, but beyond that, we hadn't spent much time together. Almost immediately after the move, we became rascals together, finding many ways to play and get into trouble.

We had a community

My mom often tells the story of a time we were at our local grocery store. I was tasked with pushing my grandma in her wheelchair. Soon after we arrived, we disappeared from my mom's view. When she spotted us, I was whisking my grandma up and down the aisles while she stuck her arm out, knocking boxes of cookies off the shelves as we went, the two of us bursting into laughter. We were two peas in a pod.

At cohousing, we could sit outside and toss tennis balls around while neighbors strolled by and engaged us in friendly small talk. We could enjoy our dinner at picnic tables on a warm day. Everyone knew my grandma, welcomed her, and met her with patience and kindness.

When she had a medical emergency, I called 911 while my mother got the attention of neighbors. Within minutes, three people rushed into our condo to help, while another stood in the street waiting to direct the ambulance. In one of the scariest moments of my childhood, we weren't alone.

A story I often think back to is from a time when we were at a community event, watching a girl play the piano. Midway through the song, my grandma began singing along in a shrill voice. Instead of shushing her, the whole community joined in. What could have been an uncomfortable moment turned into one of joy. It truly captured what Great Oak meant to us. My grandma was never treated as a burden or an outsider. She was simply part of the community.

It was painful to see my grandmother with Alzheimer's

Still, witnessing her Alzheimer's brought challenges that, as a young child, I didn't immediately understand. I helped her get dressed, enduring a fight or two along the way, and even discovered that I had pretty good reflexes when it came to dodging the occasional flying plate of food. Despite those challenging moments, I understood that she couldn't help it. It was painful to watch her lose her sense of self, and I can only imagine how much harder it was for my mother, who had to watch her own mother struggle in this way.

I often look back at that time through a different lens now that I'm older, specifically from my mother's perspective. Caring for a parent with Alzheimer's while raising a young child as a single mother was no easy task. I have immense admiration for her and for the strength she displayed through it all.

Experiences like these teach you lessons that are difficult to learn anywhere else: patience, unconditional love, sacrifice, and, perhaps most importantly, the power of family. Caring for my grandma not only brought the two of us closer together, I also grew closer to my aunt, someone I look up to tremendously. I witnessed the sacrifices she made, opening a bedroom in her Detroit-area home so my grandma could stay during the week.

What could have been a lonely experience became one that was defined by community. Great Oak became an extended family of our small one, showing me that family isn't only who you're born to, but who welcomes you in, stands beside you, and shows up when you need them most.

• My favorite hidden gem in California is Paso Robles, a central coast town filled with wineries.
• Paso Robles has much cheaper tastings than Napa. The average cost is $27, while it's $79 in Napa.
• There's also a range of great restaurants, from Michelin-starred dinners to handmade pastas.

Where should you go in California for delicious food, sprawling vineyards, and the satisfying sound of a freshly uncorked wine bottle?

Let me guess, you're thinking of Napa.

But what if I told you there's a hidden gem on the central coast where you can get all of the above with fewer crowds, lower prices, and cooler tasting experiences?

Welcome to Paso Robles.

A wine for everyone

Growing up in the Bay Area, Napa Valley quickly became a special place for my family. With no relatives living in the US, my Greek parents took us there every Christmas to make the holidays feel special.

I've visited Napa over 20 times, but over the past few years, Paso Robles has stolen my heart.

Paso Robles is almost exactly in the middle of Los Angeles and San Francisco, about 200 miles each way. Parallel to the mountains and the sea, the region has a unique terroir due to big temperature swings. The topography's distinctive microclimates are perfect for growing a variety of grapes, helping Paso distinguish itself in a crowded California wine market.

"The diversity of this area really separates itself from the monoculture that Napa has become," Andrew Jones, the owner of Field Recordings Winery, told me.

Adding to that diversity is the low barrier to entry in the Paso Robles wine industry. Most of the wineries are small and family-owned, and the winemakers are often on-site to guide you. This refreshingly laid-back approach makes tastings feel intimate and approachable, and they're at a far more accessible price point than Napa, where the high cost of winemaking has trickled down to tourists. Silicon Valley Bank's 2026 direct-to-consumer wine report found that the average tasting fee in Napa is $79, while it's $27 in Paso Robles.

"Napa has a taller order; they have to live up to a brand that's worldwide," said Neeta Mittal, one of the first Indian women to open a winery in the US. "Where we thrive in Paso is we're able to etch our own identity, and that's a great nimbleness that we're allowed."

Tasting experiences with a twist

Mittal and her husband, Kunal, own LXV Wine, which offers the only wine-and-spice pairing in the US. I visited LXV on my first trip to Paso Robles and was delighted that my tasting included cheeses covered in various spices. I learned how ginger and black truffle salt can bring out the flavors of Cabernet and why Szechuan peppers and Nebbiolo pair so well.

I also love the tastings at Field Recordings, which prides itself on making wines that "are all about the flavor — with none of the pretension," as its website reads. Jones specializes in small-batch, single-vineyard wines. They're fun and funky, decorated with colorful labels and names like "Kitties" or "Super Gnario."

Field Recordings is in Tin City, my favorite part of Paso Robles. The converted industrial hub features over 20 wineries, all within walking distance of each other, where tastings typically cost between $20 and $30. It's perfect for a wine crawl, but there's also a brewery and the very fun Tin City Distillery if you're craving cocktails instead.

Where you can wine and dine

Another reason I keep going back to Paso Robles is the fantastic restaurant scene. I never skip a dinner at The Alchemists' Garden, which has a fun cocktail list and some of the best fries.

My parents still rave about the meal we had at Il Cortile Ristorante. Its pappardelle is handmade and paired with a rich, luscious Bolognese, and the branzino is light, bright, and cooked to perfection. But the star is the risotto covered in white truffles, a holiday splurge I've never forgotten.

The Restaurant at Justin, which earned its first Michelin star in 2022, bested any fine-dining experience I've had in Napa. I still have pictures saved from that dinner, where my fiancé and I feasted on maple-leaf duck breast, prime filet, and various veggies picked from their 26-acre farmstead.

And no visit to Paso is complete without a stop at Brown Butter Cookie Company, which has mastered the salty-sweet combo in a little treat. The hand-rolled cookies are made locally and available in a variety of flavors.

On my last visit, I grabbed a dozen bags for my family, friends, and myself, of course.

A destination for any season

Blessed with California sunshine, Paso Robles is a great vacation year-round. I've gone in the fall, summer, and winter — where it's festively decorated for the holidays — and have always been charmed by the small-town vibes and friendly locals. (Don't miss karaoke nights at the Pine Street Saloon.)

The winemaking world is slowly starting to learn about Paso Robles, but the town itself remains a hidden gem.

For now, at least, this is California's best-kept secret.

• My husband and I live in a separate house on the same property where my immediate family lives.
• In total, nine family members and three dogs live in the two houses on our "family compound."
• We love spending time with my close-knit family, and it's been great for our daughter, too.

There's a popular saying that it takes a village to raise a child.

I'd always understood the saying as a metaphor. But when my husband and I decided to build a house on the same property where my parents, younger siblings, and my brother's fiancé live, that adage became a lot more literal.

Now, we're raising our daughter on our "family compound," with our village right next door.

A compound wasn't the initial plan, but living here has been an incredible experience

Although my family had jokingly talked about building houses next door to each other since I was a child, we never thought we could make that a reality.

However, the arrangement started to materialize in 2024. At the time, my husband and I were living about 15 minutes from my childhood home, which was bursting at the seams with my three siblings, my brother's fiancé, both my parents, and their two adorable golden retrievers.

My parents had been searching for a larger home for years, but eventually decided to purchase a piece of land in our Massachusetts hometown.

Here, they built a house big enough for all six of them to live together comfortably, and realized there was enough room left on the property for my husband and me to build our own house if we wanted to.

They began construction on their home that same year, and not long after, my husband and I decided to sell our existing home and break ground on a new place on the property.

In total, nine family members and three dogs live in the two houses, which are just a short walk away from each other.

We've now been living here for six months and couldn't ask for a better living arrangement. I love being able to see my siblings off for their first day of school or prom night, having game nights with my family, and enjoying slow, cozy days watching football together.

Not only are my husband and I fortunate enough to have our built-in best friends only a short walk away, but we also get to watch our daughter grow up with direct access to her grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

It's nice that we never have to worry about finding a sitter we trust, as my family members love to keep an eye on her for any reason, from a date night to me squeezing in a workout while my husband is out.

Even having one of my younger siblings pop over and play with our daughter while we get chores done around the house makes a huge difference.

Childcare is expensive, especially in Massachusetts, and we are forever grateful that we don't have to take on that financial burden.

And although my family spends a lot of time together, and have some shared spaces (like a pool and a detached garage), we never feel like we're on top of each other.

In fact, there are plenty of days I don't even see my family members because of busy school and work schedules.

Plus, we're all very respectful of boundaries. If we borrow each other's clothes, we wash and return them. If we want to take a snack from someone else's pantry, we ask first.

The living arrangement feels like a continuation of our close-knit relationship

I'm frequently asked why my siblings and I would want to live in such close proximity to each other and to my parents.

To me, though, it just felt like a continuation of something that my parents had already created. They were incredibly intentional about keeping our family close while we were growing up, so as adults, we naturally want to spend time together.

Plus, my parents never weighed the success of their parenting on whether we got into fancy colleges, established huge careers, or moved away to be "independent."

They believe their parenting will have been successful if their kids want to spend their time with them and each other. Their goal was to raise us to want to be each other's best friends.

The next question I'm typically asked is how my husband feels about the arrangement. Honestly, he was just as excited as I was to build a house next to my parents. Now, he loves playing basketball outside with my brother, and luckily, his side of the family lives just 10 minutes away — so, we spend lots of time with them, too.

Unfortunately, our current property isn't large enough to accommodate additional houses, so as our family continues to change and expand, we've already begun looking for a bigger piece of land down south that can accommodate each sibling, should they someday want houses of their own.

Our current setup is perfect for this stage in our lives, but we want to make sure there is always room for all of us if we want to continue living together on the same property.

• We wanted to find a rental to live in while building a new house.
• It took nearly three months, and we stayed in an extended-stay hotel during our search.
• I felt cramped at times, but I missed some things about it when we moved.

After eight years in the same home, my family needed a change. We planned to rent while we built a new house, imagining a brief transition between the two. Instead, the rental market had other plans.

Apparently, it was a very popular time to be looking for a new place to live. With multiple families vying for each house, landlords could be choosy. Being self-employed with dogs put us near the bottom of the list. In the meantime, we were living in an extended-stay hotel. Still, I wasn't discouraged because…well, how long could it take to find a match?

What I thought would be a two-week hotel stay stretched into nearly three months. During that time, my husband, our 1-year-old daughter, Talia, two dogs, and our cat learned what it meant to live with little space. More surprisingly, hotel living changed how I parented — and eventually, my views on home.

We took what we needed, and the rest went in storage

We moved everything we owned into two storage units, and I packed for a short stay. We took what fit in our SUV: a large suitcase, a bag for my daughter, stuffed with pajamas and outfits, a few toys and books, a box of diapers, a litter box, the travel stroller we kept in our car, and a travel wagon that would become a lifeline.

By the second week, I was making weekly trips to storage to rotate my daughter's toys. Living in a hotel can make toddlers bored fast.

I also started feeling boxed in. I missed my home, hated walking the dogs at all hours, and dreaded the slow elevators that occasionally got stuck. Some days, I'd climb four flights of stairs or take my high-energy dog for runs. Talia and I frequented the supermarket just to keep from going crazy.

I rethought how I parent

I also had to rethink some parenting rules. At home, I was against both junk food and screen time. But the hotel breakfast buffet had limited vegetarian options. When Talia pointed at the plain donuts, I let her have one. She usually took one bite. She also asked for my husband's vegan sausages, so she had one with him most mornings.

Screen time became another compromise. I still needed to work, and concentrating while sharing a hotel room with a toddler was nearly impossible. Fifteen minutes of Miss Rachel or Gracie's Corner gave me enough time to put on my noise-canceling headphones and dump a thought onto the page before I forgot it.

When a storm ruined our beach plans, a friend suggested we use the hotel's conference room for a change of pace. It became part of our routine, with Talia playing peekaboo around the tables with the sales manager.

I enjoyed getting to know our 'neighbors'

Not everyone in an extended-stay hotel is a long-term guest. There were vacationers, business travelers, military members waiting for traditional housing, truck drivers, and people whose employers maintained corporate accounts.

Then there were families who simply had nowhere to go.

I met veterans and families navigating the housing system. Agencies sometimes place families in hotels until they find housing. Extended-stay hotels can accommodate entire families — including the dogs and cats that can make rental searching even harder.

I also bonded with the staff. One woman spoke only Spanish, yet somehow, I started picking up on what she was saying, which allowed me to help translate for other guests. I chatted with second-shift front-desk workers, who shared their aspirations with me and looked the other way when I snuck into the kitchen for cornflakes. Talia earned the nickname "spicy water baby" because she and I shared seltzer from the bar.

We've found a rental, and I was surprised to miss the hotel

I spent weeks worrying about what she was missing by not being home and what bad habits would stick. Now that we've moved, she still asks for "Pad," but only needs a few minutes before wandering off to color or read. And every day feels like 15 minutes of Christmas as she rediscovers another toy from storage.

When we finally left the hotel, I expected relief. Instead, I felt a strange tug of homesickness.

In those nearly three months, my daughter had gone from saying a random word or two to speaking full-on toddler gibberish. She stopped face-planting in the hallways and learned to run.

Talia was living her life, enjoying playing in the conference room, splashing in the pool, and making friends with the people who knew her name. Maybe that was what I hadn't understood when we checked in with one carload of belongings and a two-week plan: Home is wherever your family is.

• I'm 39 and pregnant with my third boy.
• I had my other two at 29 and 31.
• It's different this time around. I'm experiencing more nausea and fatigue, but my boys help me out.

I'm having my third child at 39. It's a different experience from when I was pregnant with my other 2 boys.

My 40th birthday is in April, and my third son is due just two months before my milestone age. It's a fact that came as a bigger surprise to me than anyone else.

A few days after a missed period and continual cramping, I asked my husband to go buy a test. It lit up with double lines so quickly that, in my shock, I wondered if there were multiple babies. Later, I learned I was hosting just one new babe.

Things are different this time

The pregnancy was unexpected, but not unwelcome. After several miscarriages, likely due to my bicornuate (or heart-shaped) uterus, I thought our days of having babies were over. However, this one found a viable spot to hold onto, and he's now over half-grown, having just completed his anatomy scan with nonstop movement.

Unlike my earlier pregnancies, this one is taking a greater toll. At five months pregnant, I'm more tired and nauseous, and my belly has gotten bigger faster. That meant earlier acid reflux, more bathroom breaks, more months of waddling, and all the difficulties that come with pregnancy: it's a process to stand up, hard to bend over, and I'm just plain slow. Every day, the words, "And that's Uncle Joe, he's a moving kinda slow" from Petticoat Junction play in my head. Not unlike Uncle Joe, I'm moving very slowly at all times.

And that's with extra sleep — after getting my sons (7 and 9) to sleep each night, I'm in bed right behind them, usually crashed out by 8:30 or 9. This body is doing a lot of growing, and it's exhausted.

Much to my husband's chagrin, there was no "fun period" of this pregnancy. I went straight from constant nausea to feeling uncomfortable. This is likely due to it being a third advanced pregnancy. Despite only gaining 15 pounds thus far, I'm short with a short torso, so when the baby grows, I grow along with him.

One thing that has made life easier this go-around is that my children are older now. Now, I have two helpers who can pick things up, fetch drinks, or take out the trash. At home, they do most of my bending and gathering and are happy to help; it's a far cry from the early days of having two under 2.

I have a clean bill of health, though we'll be doing more frequent monitoring

My doctor noted that 35-39 is a "gray area" for the advanced maternal age protocol. Though chromosomal and gene variant blood tests are recommended after 35, my insurance disagreed, opting not to cover the recommended prenatal blood tests due to my heritage. Thankfully, we weren't on the hook for the entire $12,154 bill due to the company's income requirement guidelines — families up to 400% of the federal poverty level are eligible for heavy discounts — but my insurance rant is beside the point.

The tests were done, and all came back with good news. Considering the annual increase in risk to pregnancies in one's 30s, it came as a huge relief. There will be a point where my doctor visits increase — to date, I've been seen once a month, but after 32 weeks, that jumps to once a week for fetal monitoring and blood pressure checks. Medically, this is the only change from my previous pregnancies I've seen so far, thanks to an otherwise clean bill of health. Hopefully that continues to be the case, but there's no denying this pregnancy is taking a toll on my body.

Pregnancy is a young person's game, but thankfully, I'm over halfway through. In the meantime, I'll continue to sleep and rest, helping us both through a healthy pregnancy.

• I decided early on that I don't want to use AI; I can't see any practical ways it could help me.
• My friends, however, love using AI in their daily lives.
• It has created some uncomfortable situations, but I try not to share my opinions.

My first true encounter with AI was at a teacher training about two years ago, where the objective was to show the different ways AI could save teachers' time.

My reaction to using AI to design my next lesson plan was not positive. I admittedly saw the ease in stating your lesson's objective and yielding a full lesson plan in seconds. It was tempting to give it a try, but all I could think about was how I wouldn't even know how to teach without designing my own lesson plans.

I then decided to ask AI for an age-appropriate chore chart for my 10-year-old son at the time. It was the one thing in my life that I could think of that I really needed help with. The list AI gave me was adequate, but I knew I would never reference it. It felt cold and generic.

I decided then not to use AI anymore; I wish I could say the same for my friends.

I feel peer pressure to start using AI

All my close friends use AI regularly to do everything from designing their weekly meal plans to scheduling out their entire weeks. They rave about how brilliant and helpful it is.

Getting on board with AI is almost starting to feel like peer pressure. I do realize that I cannot entirely resist technological change, but choosing to do my own thing instead of using AI is my choice right now.

What makes me most uncomfortable is feeling like I'm being interrogated about why I'm choosing not to use it.

I'd love to stand on the rooftops and yell about why I don't want to use AI, but because I love my friends, I don't want to criticize them and their choices.

Because of a good friend, AI did me a big favor once

One of my friends talked me out of a poor haircut decision by asking ChatGPT to alter a photo she had of me with the haircut.

It was not a good look, and in this instance, a friend used AI to save me from regretting a rash haircut decision and many years of awkwardly growing my hair out. Still, this one experiment wasn't enough to lure me to AI use in my everyday life.

While I do my best to support and hype up my friends, I make a point of telling my girlfriends that I prefer their untouched, original photos. And it's the truth. I explain that I love seeing all the imperfections, and that the unfiltered version of them is the one I find more beautiful.

In this way, I feel like I can still express my opinions about AI while showing my love and respect for them simultaneously.

I now want to be more thoughtful when sharing my opinions

I think it's been a blessing in disguise to be so close to people utilizing AI because it's forced me to learn how to communicate my feelings about it in a nonconfrontational way.

I might have strong opinions regarding the technology, but that doesn't mean one of my best friends needs a lecture from me for asking ChatGPT to show her how to add more protein to her diet. I'd rather listen to her tell me excitedly about the week of dinners she's looking forward to because I just love listening to her.

Whether or not I'm using AI in my day-to-day life is irrelevant to our friendship unless she asks for my direct opinion on it.

What's more, not wanting to disrespect my friends' decisions to use AI has helped me communicate my own feelings more thoughtfully, taking everyone's feelings into account. It doesn't mean I agree with it or that I'm going to start using it.

I'm still pretty resistant to the technology, but I'm even more resistant to making anyone who uses it feel bad about it.

• Denise Woodard founded Partake Foods after her daughter's life-threatening food allergies.
• She says expanding too far, too wide, too fast in 2020 was almost deadly to the business.
• Woodard has raised millions in funding and credits storytelling for her success.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Denise Woodard, founder and CEO of Partake Foods. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I spent my career in consumer packaged goods and spent significant time at The Coca-Cola Company. Then my daughter Vivienne came along.

She's 11 now, but right around her first birthday, we had a couple of scary incidents that alerted us to the fact that she had multiple life-threatening food allergies. She was allergic to foods I consider to be super simple: eggs, tree nuts, bananas, and sesame.

I started to realize that food allergies were going to become a big part of our everyday lives. I was really frustrated with the options from a taste and nutritional perspective. Most of all, I thought about how, emotionally, she wouldn't be able to partake in so many social events like birthday parties, playdates, and school snack time, and that she'd always feel excluded and othered.

I wanted to create a solution for that.

In June 2016, I incorporated my food company as Vivi's Life LLC, because I just wanted to make my daughter's life easier.

I was knocking on doors, selling cookies out of my car

We officially launched in the New York market, in independent stores, in August 2017, and from then all the way through 2019, I was knocking on doors and selling cookies out of my car.

Our marketing strategy was super grassroots: local trade shows and events, and demos in grocery stores. We didn't have any extra dollars, and those things cost our family time. It was a full-family adventure. We used to drive around with a demo table in the back of our car, and if we were in the city for the day and went to a store that wasn't selling cookies, we would literally pull up and do a demo in that moment.

The storytelling and the tasting of the product were our entire marketing strategy for the first couple of years. Even as we've scaled and moved away from demos, storytelling is such a huge part of the business, and not just the consumer marketing.

When I think about how we got our first investors on board, like Marcy Venture Partners, the fund that Jay-Z co-founded, it was the storytelling of why I was doing what I was doing and what I wanted it to stand for that sold them.

If I were launching today, I'd still lean into a grassroots approach, but there are more scalable ways to tell your story now. There are only so many people I could talk to in a natural foods grocer in New York, whereas on TikTok, millions of people can literally see your story.

As the world gets more automated, I think human touch and storytelling are even more valuable.

I ran into one challenge that could've killed my small business

When we had an opportunity, we went after it, and I think we went after it too boldly in terms of distribution. In 2019, we were in 300 stores, doing $350,000 in revenue. We finished 2020 in 5,000 stores, doing 10 times that amount, and then we doubled our door count after that.

It costs money, and it takes infrastructure and process, and it requires brand awareness that we couldn't pay for. That became an almost deadly challenge for the business. Rather than jumping in both feet first, we should have waited to prove some things out.

Like so many startups, we also got caught up in a growth-at-all-costs mentality. So many investors and other founders shooed away the focus on unit economics: you'll get profitable when you scale. Then the market turned, and all of a sudden it was profitable at all costs. That's not a switch you can flip on and off without affecting people's careers and the trajectory of the business.

I wish I had taken a more temperate approach.

I'm still working on trusting my own intuition

It's really important to get multiple perspectives, but as the founder, I know more about this business than anyone else. Someone's years of experience doesn't equate to them having more knowledge than you do about what's right for your business.

Sometimes the advice wasn't even given to me. I have such admiration for what Daniel Lubetzky built at KIND and Hamdi Ulukaya built at Chobani, but both of those were in a very focused category. I watched their journeys and then applied the way they built to my own company in a way that I shouldn't have. We're operating in a very different category. And I wish that we had innovated sooner.

Now Partake Foods is launching a protein and fiber granola later this fall and soft-baked individually wrapped cookies in Q1 of 2027. Protein is on fire in all the data, and fiber-maxing is the next hot thing.

The cultural capital of your business is more important than the size

In September, we announced that the Girl Scouts cookie program chose to partner with us, and the cookies will be available for purchase from the Girl Scouts' Digital Cookie mobile app in January 2027.

The Girl Scouts program is over 100 years old. I'd argue they probably have their choice of partners, but I think they chose us because of the brand equity we've built with the food allergy community. This has taught me that just because you're not the biggest company doesn't mean you don't bring value to much larger partnerships.

To me, cultural capital is what's important. It's when a person or brand has earned enough relevance, trust, and authenticity that they don't just participate in culture — they have the ability to move it. For Partake, the cultural capital I want us to build is around inclusivity.

We started with food allergies, but I've always believed the idea is much bigger than that.

Our board is 80% women of color, the team is extremely diverse, and we have a 501(c)(3) aimed at increasing diversity in the food industry. It's all around this ethos of building a bigger table. I have this plus-one mentality: How can you always bring one more person into the room, make one more introduction? Somebody saying yes or making an introduction has completely changed the trajectory of my business and my life so many times over.

Size doesn't necessarily matter when it comes to having influence. We slid into Ben & Jerry's LinkedIn DMs in 2020 when we were a team of five people. In January 2023, we announced our partnership with them to provide the gluten-free oatmeal cookie pieces inside their varieties of Oatmeal Dream Pie available in pints and scoop shops.

I was one person selling cookies out of my car. What business did I have thinking I was going to go find Jay-Z? Dream big and shoot your shot. If you don't, it's not going to happen.

Do you have a small business lesson to share? Email the editor, Manseen Logan, at mlogan@businessinsider.com.

• After divorcing her European husband, Karen Anderson decided to remain in France.
• She says she'd love to move back to the US, but the higher cost of living makes that unrealistic.
• She says affordable housing and healthcare have made life in France far less stressful.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karen Anderson, 57, a Californian who moved to the UK in 2011 and now lives in a small village in northwestern France. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

I was working as a 911 dispatcher for a California police department when I met my ex-husband, who is English. After dating for a year, we got married in 2011 and eventually moved to his home country, the United Kingdom.

I wanted a different life and the chance to experience more of the world. For years, we split our time between the UK, where he worked, and France. And in 2016, we bought a house in France for €45,000 ($50,450), far less than anything we could have afforded in the UK.

At closing, I remember being handed more than 100 pages of paperwork. We were foreigners buying a home in a language we didn't understand, so it was very scary. But our hands were held during the process.

After my divorce, I decided to remain in France

In 2021, I returned to the US to care for my mom, who had been diagnosed with cancer. After getting screened myself, I was also diagnosed, so I ended up staying in the States for about a year while undergoing treatment. During that time, I got a job at Amazon, which helped me get health coverage.

I eventually returned to Europe, but by 2023, my ex-husband and I decided to divorce. Although we were married in California, we had to divorce under French law. The process was difficult and took three years to finalize.

While the divorce was still underway, I returned to the US to see whether I could make a life there again. It took me about six months to find work, and I eventually became a flight attendant with Frontier Airlines. Unfortunately, I could only afford a twin bed in a house I shared with 13 other women, so I decided to move back to Europe.

Once our divorce was finalized, my ex-husband bought out my share of the house. This year, I bought a home of my own in France for €59,100 ($66,159). The process couldn't have been more different from the first time around. I only had to sign three documents electronically, and that was it. The system has changed so much in less than 10 years.

For me, staying in France is really about affordability. My $900 monthly pension from my former job as a dispatcher is enough to cover my mortgage, utilities, home insurance, and car insurance.

If I were living in the US, I would still need to work just to support myself, but there aren't many job opportunities at my age.

I live in a small, idyllic village in northwestern France

I live in Saint-Servais, a village of about 400 people in Brittany, in northwestern France, mostly known as the birthplace of crêpes. Breton has a distinct identity, and its people have their own language and traditions.

What I love most about living here is that there just aren't as many temptations. You don't feel the same pressure to buy material things. The lifestyle is easy and tranquil.

Saint-Servais is surrounded by farmland, with fields of maize grown for cattle feed, as well as sheep, pigs, and chickens. Despite being so small, the village has a restaurant and a church dating back to the 14th or 15th century.

There aren't many everyday conveniences. There's no bakery, butcher, or grocery store, so I drive about two and a half miles whenever I need to pick up groceries or fresh bread, which is important to me.

There's no light pollution or traffic noise in Saint-Servais. I can look outside and see the stars every night of the year, which amazes me. There aren't police sirens or much crime, either.

Like many homes in the village, mine is made of stone and, to be honest, it's been a bit of a money pit. It's about 732 square feet. It's small but very cute. The ground floor is underground, and the two bedrooms are upstairs, one of which has an ensuite bathroom. Altogether, I have three bathrooms, which is very unusual for a house this size.

Because the ground floor is underground, I have a great deal of humidity. Dampness is a real problem across Europe because of the cool, rainy climate. We get about six months of rain each year, which is very different from California.

There isn't central heating or air conditioning in most homes here. I heat mine with a wood-burning stove, and I cut my own firewood. I could install a heat pump, which also provides cool air; it's still relatively new. France is behind the times in some ways — we only got fiber internet in my area in the last few years.

My quality of life is better in France

In America, we live to work. In France, people work to live. The standard workweek is 35 hours, and many businesses close from noon to 2 p.m. for lunch — they take it very seriously. I came from the US, where I worked 80 to 100 hours a week at the police department. I absolutely loved my job, but it owned me.

I recently got a job as a real estate agent. I'm relatively new, and right now my hours are scattered. I'm not quite there yet on understanding how to curtail self-employment.

Europe has great healthcare. In the UK, our healthcare was covered regardless of whether you worked because of the National Health Service. France is a little different. Everyone — citizens and legal residents alike — is reimbursed for about 70% of most healthcare costs. Then you buy a top-up, or what the French call a "mutuelle," to cover the rest.

How much you pay depends on the coverage you choose. Because I previously had cancer, I receive full coverage, and I've always been looked after.

The challenge, though, is access. Doctors and dentists are few and far between. My doctor is two hours away, but my local pharmacy now has a Telebox where I can have a video consultation and get advice or a prescription.

I don't see myself moving back to the US

Living in France on my own has been a big transition — it's not exactly the life I envisioned.

It may look like a dream to other people, but Americans don't always see the sacrifices you make to live abroad. I don't have my children or grandchildren nearby, and I really miss that.

At this point, I can't imagine moving back to America. I wouldn't be able to afford the healthcare or housing.

I'd love to have a partner again someday. Will some man whisk me away? Maybe. Maybe not. But I don't pin my hopes on that.

For now, I have a great circle of friends, and I'm happy with the life I've built. France has given me the ability to enjoy life without worrying about the next paycheck or what it will afford me.

• Junead Khan earned over $200,000 his at Microsoft, but he decided to leave the company anyway.
• He said the job had become less fun and that he wanted to go all in on his side business.
• He resigned with no customers or VC funding and has since grown his social-media following to around 30,000.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Junead Khan, a 25-year-old entrepreneur in Seattle. He worked at Microsoft before resigning last year to focus on his startup, Treasury. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I had a really good experience at Microsoft when I first joined full-time in 2023.

It was my first job out of college, and I joined right in the middle of the AI boom. I was involved in the rollout of data centers across the world. It was a great opportunity.

Then Microsoft experienced some service outages, and by early 2025, I saw a greater emphasis on security and service stability. It felt like shipping things got slower. That started to take some of the fun out of the job for me.

At the same time, I was watching new AI coding tools emerge. I wanted to experiment with them and get access to them faster. I was making very good money at Microsoft: I earned more than $200,000 in 2024, including stock and bonuses. But I didn't feel like I was learning all the AI skills I wanted to learn.

I started to think more seriously about leaving the company and pursuing an AI startup I'd been working on on the side.

Still, I wasn't ready to quit immediately.

I built my startup on the side of my full-time job

My business idea came to me during my senior year of college.

I was born and raised in the UK but came to the US in 2019 to pursue a bachelor's degree in computer science at the University of North Carolina. I had money to manage in both countries, and I felt like the existing financial tools weren't working well for me.

Around the same time, AI models were getting much better. I started wondering if I could use the technology to build a financial advisor tool for the average person who might not have access to one or want to pay thousands of dollars a year for one.

So after graduating from college and before starting at Microsoft later that summer, I started building Treasury, which I describe as an AI money coach.

For roughly the next two years, I worked on the business at night and on the weekends alongside my day job. Eventually, I started thinking seriously about leaving Microsoft.

I waited for my Microsoft stock and bonus before leaving

Last year, I applied to a few startup accelerators, including Y Combinator. My thinking was that if I got accepted, I'd quit Microsoft and work on Treasury full time.

But I didn't get accepted.

At that point, I decided I didn't want to wait for somebody else to give me permission to go all in on Treasury. So, I started thinking of the money I'd earned at Microsoft as my own seed funding.

I also wanted to be strategic about when I left. I waited for some of my stock to vest and until I'd been at Microsoft long enough that I wouldn't have to repay part of my sign-on bonus.

Last August, after about two years at Microsoft, I resigned and officially launched my company two months later.

I built an audience by sharing the highs and lows

When I left Microsoft, I started documenting what I was building on social media, primarily on TikTok and Instagram, but I also posted on LinkedIn and X. Part of the calculation was practical. If I wasn't going to raise venture funding and spend money on paid advertising, I needed to find another way to help people discover the product.

I also thought that, as AI made software engineering more accessible, having a personal brand and an audience would become increasingly important to my career. Even if Treasury didn't succeed, I thought documenting my journey could put me in a better position if I decide to look for another job one day.

The problem was that I had basically no social media following at the time, but I had to start somewhere. I began sharing my whole business journey on social media: the highs, the lows, and even failed product launches. I wanted to show what it was actually like to build a startup by myself without VC funding.

I think that approach resonated with people. Over the past year, my following has grown to around 30,000 across platforms.

About a year ago, I had fewer than 500 followers on TikTok. Today, I have more than 9,000.

My advice for growing your social media presence is to focus on telling your story in the way that suits you best. People might assume that means making TikTok or Instagram videos, but that won't be the best fit for everyone.

For some people, it might be writing articles or making long-form videos. Find the platform and content that work best for you and your style.

AI made me think I could build the company solo

One reason I felt comfortable trying this on my own was how much AI had changed software development.

A few years earlier, I think I might have needed a cofounder to help me build the product behind the business. But today, Claude Code and Codex allow me to code so much faster. Building a basic version of a software product without a cofounder or VC funding felt achievable.

If I eventually decide to raise money, I'd rather do it after I've had a chance to validate the idea with an audience on my own terms than give up equity before I've really tried.

Today, I'm still the only person working on Treasury.

I'm still living off my savings

Treasury now has paying customers and has generated more than $6,000 in revenue.

It's still very early. I don't pay myself a salary. The money the business makes stays in the company, and I've been living off the savings I accumulated before leaving Microsoft.

When I initially quit, I told myself I'd give the company a year and then see where things stood.

I've continued because I believe I've built a good product and have an audience that wants the company to succeed. Now I'm focused on figuring out how to reach more people and grow the business.

Leaving a well-paying job without paying customers or outside funding was a risk. But one thing I've learned through the process is not to wait for somebody else to give you permission to pursue something.

I used to think: If I get into this accelerator, then I'll quit. If this happens, then I'll do the next thing. Sometimes we look for those things as validation.

I've learned that sometimes the only permission you need is your own.

Do you have a story to share? Reach out to the reporter via email at jzinkula@businessinsider.com, or via Signal at jzinkula.29.

The World Cup put a spotlight on soccer this summer. Now that we're into fall, everyone has hung onto the notion of sporty, low-profile sneakers as their go-to casual sporty option.

The shoes that best embody this look are the Adidas Sambas. Originally introduced in 1949 as a training shoe for professional athletes, the slim sneaker is now everywhere thanks to its timeless silhouette and easy-to-style colorways.

During peak Sambas hype I considered buying a pair, but didn't want to dress like a carbon copy of everyone else. Below are the best Sambas alternatives I've found, including a handful that worn by our style editors.

For more of the top trendy sneakers we've tested, see our guide to the best retro sneakers. Learn more about how the Reviews team tests shoes at BI.

SeaVees Low-Profile Trainer

SeaVees' nylon-and-suede sneakers have a memory foam footbed crafted with recycled materials. They're lightweight with a slim fit
and discreet silhouette, which makes them easy style with jeans, trousers, or track pants.

The sawtooth rubber soles add extra grip, and we're big fans of the minimal branding. They're the perfect amount of unremarkable, though still a clear derivative of retro-style runners.

Gola Viper

White sneakers are a staple in my everyday wardrobe, whether I'm wearing a dress or athleisure, so I was excited to try some Gola sneakers. The Vipers are a high-quality leather alternatives to Sambas, which offer a similar suede T-toe and a translucent gum sole. After removing them from the box, I was immediately impressed with their sturdy yet flexible feel. They felt comfortable on the first wear.

Although they look equally good with leggings or a sundress, my favorite styling choice for these shoes is to have them peeking out from underneath a pair of wide-leg slacks. They add a sporty touch, yet still manage to look polished. These fit true to size. They look good with various sock lengths, but I found them most comfortable with calf-length socks since the tongue of the shoe rubbed against my ankle a bit when I wore them with short socks.

Bared Footwear Amakihi

Bared Footwear is one of our favorite shoe brands here on the Reviews team. I've tried their strappy heels, lug-soled loafers, and knee-high boots, and somehow each pair is more comfortable than the last. They're more expensive, but that's because this brand employs podiatrists to design its signature biomechanical footbeds.

Unlike thin, flat-soled Sambas, the Amakihi sneakers have substantial arch support, a padded forefoot area to ease metatarsal pain, cushioned heel cups to absorb shock, and a "cuboid notch" — AKA, a custom orthotic modification that helps with stability.

On top of all this, you get a"Fit Kit" (so don't throw it out with the packaging!), which includes two sets of padded footbeds in case they feel too narrow or too wide. If you're going to walk all day but don't want your sneakers to read as "walking shoes," this pair is worth the splurge. Just remember this brand is based in Australia, so shipping may take longer than usual.

Veja Volley Sneakers

The organic leather that makes up these stylish Veja kicks is super soft and pliable, although they also come in canvas and suede versions. Additional materials include a bio-based E.V.A. from sugar cane, recycled rubber, and recycled polyester. Whether you prefer a lime green leather pair with lilac contrast or a camel-colored suede with black leather details, these are sure to be the focal point of your outfit.

Rothy's The Ivy Sneaker

"I'm incredibly critical about shoes, but I don't think I've never tried a pair I didn't like from Rothy's. The Ivy sneakers are no exception to the rule. They were winners for me right out of the box, with zero break-in time and an extremely comfortable, flexible fit," writes executive editor Sally Kaplan. "I love the retro vibe, but more than that, I love how versatile and dirt-proof these are. The ReVelvet looks a lot like suede, and the texture makes it such that dirt and wear are much harder to see."

Read more in our full Rothy's flats review.

New Balance RC42

New Balance may have perfected the chunky dad sneaker, but the RC42 showcases the versatility of the brand's design language. This plimsoll mixes suede and leather for a multidimensional look.

Reviewers note that these tend to run about a half size small, so round up if you plan to wear these with athletic socks. If you prefer a no-show sock, their padded heel collars and tabs will make them easier to break in blister-free.

Adidas SL72

If totally flat sneakers are too taxing on your feet, consider Adidas' SL 72 style. They look similar to the Sambas but with a slightly raised heel, which can help reduce pressure and alleviate pain. The textile and leather shoe with a rubber outsole comes in 16 unique colorways, including a patterned burgundy option inspired by ornate carpets.

Quince Italian Suede Sneaker

Quince shoes can be hit or miss, but your safest bet is with simple designs like this one. The Quince Italian suede sneakers a decent price on genuine leather shoes and are easy to style with the brands' massive selection of basic everyday clothing.

Sorel Ona Drift

Sorel is probably known best for its chunky silhouettes and rugged winter boots for men and women, so this low-profile gum-sole shoe is a sign the brand has noted where sneaker trends are heading. The Ona Drift sneakers are made with suede uppers and come with Ortholite insoles for an ideal weekend style.

Beckett Simonon Morgen Trainers

Beckett Simonon shoes are made-to-order, eliminating unsold inventory. The brand also takes pride in creating a favorable work environment for its employees and using the highest quality leather.

The Morgen Trainers feature a full-grain leather outer with water-repellent suede detailing. Their Vachetta leather lining is temperature-regulating, moisture-absorbing, odor-controlling, and breathable to keep feet feeling fresh and comfortable. The rubber sole is strong yet flexible and water-resistant.

Nike Moon Shoe OG

When you think of retro Nikes, the Cortezes are usually what first come to mind. But this '70s-borne pair feel a bit more Samba-adjacent, with an intriguing, low-to-the ground rubber sole that reminds me a bit of my old track spikes. Ever since the Nike Moon Shoe got the designer treatment with a special Jacquemus edition, it's made a full comeback.

Their perforated uppers allowed my feet to breathe, even as I walked on hot concrete in a heat wave. The slim, contoured shape makes them super lightweight, and they're quite foldable and easy to pack in case of a summer weekend getaway.

Alo Sunset Sneaker

I'll admit, I was first clued into Alo's new Sunset Sneakers because I saw that Kendall Jenner is attached to their debut and felt curious as to why the brand keeps putting out more colorways (they're now up to seven). Even more curious is the yoga apparel brand's new foray into footwear and how it'll compare to Lululemon's attempts.

These have an edge over Sambas because their raised foam insoles offer better cushioning than a completely flat sneaker. They run small and have a narrow toe box, so the brand recommends ordering a half size up.

Larroudé Stella Sneaker

The Stellas are Larroudé's very first pair of sneakers, and a big departure from the brand's somewhat fanciful design language. The Stellas have a luxury-grade aesthetic, yet are still much more affordable than those from Chloé or Loewe. As a bonus, each pair comes with two sets of laces for a more customizable look.

Dolce Vita Notice Sneakers

Dolce Vita generally offers a wide variety of colors and patterns in their shoes, and these suede sneakers are no exception. They come in 20 colorways including an icy blue suede with white accents, a leopard-print calf hair version with sparkling silver details, and a sunny yellow. Customers appreciate that these shoes can be dressed up or down, although they run slightly narrow.

Coolway Kizuna Sneakers

Coolway's Kizuna sneakers are designed in Spain and take clear design notes from the Sambas. However, the suede uppers come in a notable amount of pastel shades, which will complement any light-wash jeans you wear them with. They come in unisex European sizing, so be sure to compare the brand's size guide with your foot measurements.

Alohas Tb.490 Rife Sneaker

If you prefer a bright statement sneaker, consider Alohas' low-top leather style. It's available in dozens of vibrant hues like orange, pink, and lime, alongside neutrals in cream and ivory — and of recently, some fresh new colorways. Exposed stitching, perforated details, and contrast accents up the style factor, while the rubber sole keeps them comfy.

Read our full Alohas review.

Puma Palermo Sneakers

These Pumas offer comfort and style, and they're roomy enough for people with wider feet. The retro-inspired sneakers have a low profile, leather upper, and a rubber sole. Another point to consider: Puma has received the Fair Labor Association accreditation for upholding fair labor standards throughout its supply chains and improving working conditions.

Naturalizer Medina

Naturalizer is one of our favorite sources of comfortable women's dress shoes. Its Medina sneakers stand out because several colorways come in narrow, wide and extra wide sizes, with a contoured footbed and cushioned heel cups. So if you've ever felt too squeezed in or unsupported by Sambas, you now have your solution.

Greats The Charlie

These are probably my most-worn sneakers, and this is coming from someone with a closet that's practically brimming with them. I love that the Charlies carry the aesthetic impact of a pair of Sambas or Gazelles, but also have a quiet luxury thing about them. While folks with a high arch may want to add a pair of inserts to these, I find them to be pretty comfortable as-is for walking around all day. They do take a solid three to five wears to break in, but once you've gotten the leather to mold to your feet a little, you'll never want to take these off. — Sally Kaplan, executive editor

Naghedi Milan Sneaker

I'd never tried neoprene shoes before trying Naghedi's pointed toe flats, but they somehow made its lightweight, scuba-like texture look and feel luxe. They've done the same here with their debut sneaker, a slim, flexible almond-toe designed with a suede trim and natural rubber sole that's perfect for spring.

Nike Killshot 2

These lightweight leather sneakers with suede accents soften and gain a vintage look with each wear. The rubber gum sole adds traction and a retro look. They're great if you want a subtle pop of color — like a fuchsia Nike logo — without an entirely colorful shoe. Customers report they run a bit narrow, though, so they may not be the best fit for people with wide feet.

Oncept Essex Sneakers

If you're need a pair of Sambas alternatives to feature in your next vacation post, try packing these as your lightweight, wear-anywhere sneakers.

"The Essex sneakers are like a cool, more obscure version of the Nike Cortezes. I keep them by my doorway so I can slip them on anytime I walk to the bodega. They're so comfy and light, and they go with everything," writes senior associate style editor Gabrielle Chase. "The insides are so plush that I can even wear them without socks. I also love their tube laces — it's a little detail that makes them a bit more unique."

They have a similar fit to ballet flats, with a slim footbed and tapered toe box. Even better, they're made with recycled materials featured in their durable rubber outsoles and silky soft Tencel-based lining.

Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 SD

The classic shoe (beloved for its pliable leather and thin, bendable sole that's great for athletes) was recently reinvented with an upgraded design. The new Mexico 66 SD features a refined and more comfortable silhouette while delivering the same sporty-chic style as its predecessor, the Mexico 66. Choose from 14 colorful and muted hues.

Sam Edelman Talia Velcro Sneaker

A velcro closure helps differentiate these sneaks from Sambas and makes putting them on effortless. The gummy Talia sneakers are crafted from leather and synthetic materials with a rounded toe and contrast detailing. Customers report a comfortable fit, a soft terry-cloth fabric interior, and true sizing.

Cole Haan Women's GrandPrø Breakaway Sneakers

A quilted design elevates these leather kicks, available in five colorways including a metallic silver. The Breakaways offer lots of comfort, too, thanks to a cushy, supportive footbed. If you have a wide foot, consider sizing up for a more comfortable fit.

• British Airways is updating its Airbus A380s with plush first-class suites.
• This week, it unveiled new designs, including what it says is the world's largest business-class cabin.
• The new A380 was expected to debut earlier this year and is now set for the coming months.

Airlines love business class, and British Airways' latest updates to its Airbus A380s are proof.

This week, the airline unveiled a major overhaul to the interiors of its superjumbos, including what it says is the world's largest business-class cabin, with over 100 suites spanning the double-decker jet's upper floor.

"This is the largest single investment that any airline has ever made in reconfiguring an aircraft, stretching from nose to tail and touching every single aspect of the experience on board," CEO Sean Doyle said at a media event, which Business Insider attended.

Over 35,000 individual parts are installed on each aircraft as part of the retrofit, which includes new galleys and staircases, British Airways said.

While the A380 has fallen out of favor with many airlines since the pandemic, it still plays a key role in British Airways' fleet. The flag carrier has 12 such airplanes — the second most behind Emirates.

"You're going to see a glimpse into the future of long-haul air travel on British Airways, and it represents the investment we've been making in our premium experience, and the A380 is one of our flagships in demonstrating our commitment to that mission," Doyle said.

British Airways is making a rare bet on the A380.

Airbus stopped making the A380 in 2021, as many carriers retired their superjumbo jets to save costs during the pandemic.

However, its enormous size allows space for extra features and plush first-class suites.

Although the aircraft type is expected to stop flying by 2040, British Airways is spending millions retrofitting its A380s as its most opulent offering.

British Airways previously unveiled its luxurious first-class suite in 2024.

"Our ambition throughout this whole transformation journey is to take British Airways to the next level and to make it really special," Calum Laming, chief customer officer, said during British Airways' first-class suite reveal in 2024.

While most US airlines have cut first class, European carriers have been investing in extra luxury.

At the time, British Airways said it was set to debut in mid-2026, but this has been pushed back and could slip into next year.

The airline says its retrofitted A380 is expected to debut "in the coming months."

First-class passengers have their own selection of snacks inside their suite.

This includes peppermints, chips, chocolate bars, and hydration sachets from ViDrate.

And they get amenity kits made by Swaine, a luxury British brand established in 1750.

The kits are available in blue or cream, and contain a selection of skincare products from Wildsmith, including a face mist, hand and body lotion, ceramide multi-balm, lip balm, and face cream.

It launched in early October for first-class passengers on all British Airways' outbound long-haul flights.

The new business-class suites match the same modern color palette.

British Airways also said it includes added storage space, informed by customer feedback.

Business class, or Club World, will occupy the entire upper deck, with 106 seats.

It reflects travelers' growing willingness to pay extra for luxury experiences since the pandemic — especially among wealthy American passengers.

The cabin also has its own snack station, called the Club Kitchen.

Passengers will be able to get drinks and snacks, like popcorn and chips. British Airways also said there will be "dedicated dwell areas" to encourage people to move freely throughout the airplane.

Downstairs, the updated A380 will include 84 premium-economy seats.

They will come with brand-new bedding and pillows.

The seats feature privacy wings, too.

Passengers will receive a reusable amenity kit that's designed as a tote bag for onward travel, featuring a Dr.PAWPAW moisturizing balm and more.

Plus, there are bigger screens in coach.

British Airways says economy passengers will also get upgraded bedding and pillows with more filling than before.

The seats are wider as well.

Passengers will also get blankets designed for added warmth and comfort.

The NFL heads overseas for today's early game. We've compiled everything you need to know about how to watch the Eagles vs. Jaguars, including free and global live streaming options.

If you don't want to scroll any further, you can live stream the game on the NFL Network via a live TV service like Fubo in the US, for free on Channel 5 in the UK, on DAZN in Canada, and through DAZN's NFL Game Pass pretty much everywhere else. You can access your streaming options from abroad with a VPN, such as NordVPN.

What channel is the Eagles vs. Jaguars game on?

The Eagles vs. Jaguars game will be nationally broadcast on the NFL Network in the US. The game is scheduled to kick off on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET.

How to watch Eagles vs. Jaguars in the US

If you don't have cable, don't sweat. There are several different streaming services that can help you watch the NFL Network. Fubo is one of the best live TV streaming services we've tested. The NFL Network is available in several plans, including Fubo Pro, which costs $89 a month. First-time customers can get $25 off their first month of service after a free trial. As a bonus, Fubo also unlocks access to ESPN Unlimited at no extra cost.

YouTube TV is another popular live TV platform that carries the NFL Network. The network is available in multiple plans, including YouTube TV's Main plan. This tier typically costs $83 a month, but new users can get $15 a month off their first five months after a free trial. ESPN Unlimited live streams are also included in the service.

If you're looking for a more budget-friendly option, the NFL Plus streaming service is the way to go. NFL Network live streams are available in the base tier, which costs $7 a month or $50 a year. There's also a special NFL Plus Premium and ESPN Unlimited bundle, which costs $42 a month and offers some savings compared to what you'd pay for both services separately each month.

How to watch Eagles vs. Jaguars in the UK

As usual, British football fans can live stream games through DAZN's NFL Game Pass. However, today's game will also be available through Sky Sports, which is a paid option, and Channel 5, which is free-to-air and also available to live stream for free.

How to watch Eagles vs. Jaguars everywhere else

The DAZN NFL Game Pass carries NFL live streams around the globe in pretty much every region outside the US and China. In Canada, NFL games are available through a standard DAZN subscription. Subscription prices vary by country and contract details.

How to watch Eagles vs. Jaguars from anywhere

If you're away from the location where your desired streaming service works, you can still access your go-to viewing methods (including the free ones) with the help of a VPN. Short for virtual private networks, VPNs are handy tech tools that help people to temporarily alter their virtual locations. They're especially popular among those looking to boost their cybersecurity or keep up with their usual websites and apps while traveling abroad.

NordVPN is one of the best VPNs we've tested. It's user-friendly, offers a large selection of global servers, and has a 30-day money-back guarantee if you find that it's not what you're looking for.

Where is the Eagles vs. Jaguars game being played?

The UK-set Eagles vs. Jaguars game will be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Who is favored to win the Eagles vs. Jaguars game?

The Jaguars are the favorites to win today's game. According to DraftKings (at the time of writing), the Jaguars are -395 on the moneyline, while the Eagles are +310.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• Insurance companies have long profited from customers who don't shop around or challenge prices.
• Personal AI agents could upend that business model by comparing prices and haggling.
• "It would certainly be disruptive," one insurance analyst told Business Insider.

Personal AI agents are coming for one of companies' most profitable customer behaviors: doing nothing.

As personal AI agents make their way into people's financial lives, early users are using them to lower internet bills, recover airline credits, find cheaper insurance, chase refunds, and unearth money they had forgotten was theirs.

Noah Shinn, the CEO of Instinct, one such personal AI agent, touted their saving benefits on an episode of "Invest Like the Best" released last week, saying they can scan users' bank transactions, identify forgotten subscriptions, and cancel them.

"It just sends back the number of what it saved you," Shinn said. Meta has marketed its new agent, Muse, in a similar way.

That could come at a cost to insurers, airlines, banks, broadband providers, and subscription businesses — industries that have for decades benefited, at least in part, from consumer inertia: the millions of people who do not compare the renewal price, dispute the fee, call about the credit, or brave the cancellation maze.

Wall Street has already seemingly begun trading on that thesis. In the two weeks after Muse launched, the share prices of Airbnb and Booking.com dropped 12% and 10%, respectively. Planet Fitness shares dropped 17% over the same period.

No insurer or consumer experts Business Insider spoke to could put a reliable dollar figure on the potential impact. But Tony Soloman, director of insurance intelligence at J.D. Power, said personal AI agents "would certainly be disruptive" for insurers.

"Right now, to actually purchase a policy or make a change, you still need to contact someone, but if AI replaces that, then the carriers lose control over the consumer journey," he said.

Let the bots do the haggling

Some early users have already leveraged personal AI agents to make significant savings.

AJ Stuyvenberg, an engineer at Datadog, asked ChatGPT to negotiate with Verizon after Comcast offered him faster fiber internet for $50 a month.

After a little over an hour in Verizon’s live chat, the agent secured a lower monthly bill — $69.99, down from $94.99 — plus a $47.50 loyalty credit. Stuyvenberg said the deal saved him $347.50 over a year.

"It’s nice to use AI to remove some of the sludge from my life," Stuyvenberg told Business Insider.

David Pawlan, who works in growth at Merit Systems, used Instinct to track the price of his United flights, then AgentCash’s StablePhone tool through Claude Code to request travel credits after fares fell.

He said he recovered $73 across three flights in about five minutes each.

"The future of personal assistants will be the ones that can do the painful and proactive tasks for you," Pawlan told Business Insider.

The cost of getting customers to act

Widespread adoption of personal AI agents could pressure businesses that have long benefited from customers not shopping around, disputing a charge, or tackling a convoluted cancellation process.

But the exposure will not be evenly shared. Craig Moffett, a partner and senior analyst at MoffettNathanson, said agents are likely to matter most where prices are hard to compare or suppliers are difficult to identify.

"Real estate, insurance, and financial services all fit the model much better," Moffett told Business Insider.

Insurance may offer the clearest test.

With roughly $560 billion in US auto and homeowners insurance premiums in 2025, if 5% of policyholders used an agent and secured a 10% lower price, about $2.8 billion in annual premiums would be at stake.

But that is a scenario, not a forecast. And the disruption would take far more than a small group of early adopters.

"I don't think 5% to 10% of customers are going to be enough to meaningfully change" companies' economics, Rhys Williams, chief strategist at Wayve Capital Management, told Business Insider. "If 40% to 50% of customers are using agents, then the effects will be noticeable."

Some firms have already paid significant penalties and refunds over such alleged practices, including Amazon, which has issued more than $845 million in refunds as of September under a settlement over allegations that it enrolled consumers to Amazon Prime without consent and made cancellation difficult.

Companies, however, are unlikely to sit back and let AI personal agents do all the bargaining.

Ben Winters, director of AI and privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, said firms could make it harder for consumers and their agents to get through in the first place.

"The companies are always a step ahead in making those processes harder," Winters told Business Insider, pointing to Amazon’s move to block Meta’s Muse agent from shopping on its site for users.

The result could even be an AI-versus-AI battle for customers.

"I would also expect carriers to use AI to help keep ahead of some of these at-risk customers, being more proactive in trying to retain the more profitable business," J.D. Power's Soloman said.

• Erin Keating spoke too fast during her first big presentation. She also felt kinda sweaty.
• In her mid-40s, she took an improv class to get better onstage.
• It's taught her lessons about listening to others that have helped at work and at home.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Erin Keating, an executive analyst for Cox Automotive. It has been edited for length and clarity.

People should scare themselves. In public.

I tested that theory out in my mid-40s by taking five seasons of improv classes at the DC Improv Comedy Club. My goal was not to become a comedian — I wanted to take on a challenge that I could easily fail at.

And to add to the pressure, I had to perform in front of my family.

I work as an executive analyst in the auto industry at Cox Automotive. I distill data to explain the industry's market dynamics to automakers, dealership groups, lenders, and journalists. The material I cover can quickly get boring if I'm not careful.

Some of those conversations happen in small rooms, others happen in high-pressure settings: on stages in front of hundreds or thousands of people, on live television, at product unveilings, in podcasts, you name it.

I also consider myself an introvert. I didn't always feel so comfortable in front of people — and I certainly haven't always been the funniest person in the room.

Getting on the stage

At my first major corporate presentation, I couldn't stop sweating. My colleagues said I was good, but I was talking too fast. Their feedback was basically, "You did fine. Slow down."

I improved over time and got less sweaty when talking in front of people. There was still more I could learn.

I decided to take the improv classes in 2018 because, honestly, I was a little bit bored. I had just left a marketing communications job and was trying to figure out what to do next.

I knew I liked talking: I was hosting a successful podcast about books, but I wanted to be better at having conversations. Loving to talk is definitely not the same as being a good conversationalist.

The classes with a cast of characters…

So, I joined my first class. I was there with a biology teacher, a German woman who was really funny, an older woman who had done a ton of onstage acting, and a handful of people (like me) who were nervous about participating. The majority of us stuck it out for our five consecutive seasons.

At the beginning, I fought against my preconception that I had to be funny.

I remember playing a game called "Die, not today," where we had to mime throwing a hammer or a spear at each other. If the object was heading your way, you had to come up with how you'd survive the attack on the spot. Most people just tried to shield themselves, but one woman staged a dramatic scene where a spear nearly struck her nose. She grabbed it at the last second, saving her (improv-ed) life. It was amazing.

… And their lessons

Improv is really about paying attention to what another person is giving you. You have to build upon the scenario they set up, a principle called "yes, and." You accept the premise someone introduces, and add something to it.

You also learn about status. In a scene, you might be the character driving the action. In your next, you could be supporting the other person's arc. Scenes are most interesting when you watch people respond to each other and create together through those statuses. Some of the worst scenes are when two people are just trying to compete to be the funniest.

All of that applies to work and your life more than you might realize.

Before I speak at big conferences, I talk to people in the audience to understand the energy in the room and what is on their minds. I don't like working from a script. It can get too prescriptive and keep you from responding to the people in front of you. I'm listening for the thought that is begging for a "yes, and."

The same goes for one-on-one conversations. When someone talks, improv has taught me to follow the unexpected and respond to what was actually said.

Those skills also matter a lot for office politics. Those classes taught me to recognize an awkward moment, assess the reaction, and apologize if I misread it. I am now comfortable saying, "Thank you for receiving that with the intent it was given," when I know I don't express myself well.

The final big lesson was authenticity. Near the end of my third improv season, I jumped into a scene and used the New York Jewish-grandmother voice I'd always been able to pull off (do not ask me to do other accents — even when I think I sound like a señorita, I always revert back to that Eastern European drawl.)

I'd avoided that voice because I thought, "This is not acting, I'm not supposed to do that." But for that scene, it was exactly what my partner needed. My classmate asked me why I had never done it.

That voice was a breakthrough for me. I realized I could bring my whole self to that stage.

Onto the next challenges

Human skills are becoming more important, especially as AI changes how we work.

Sure, technical skills will remain important. But I think people who can listen, relate to others, read a room, and recover gracefully from an uncomfortable moment will have a real advantage.

Those are human skills that you can't fake by memorizing a script.

So, I suggest doing the thing that scares you: get onstage, take a class, give the speech. You may sweat, and you may talk too fast. But you'll get through it — and learn something about how you show up for the people around you.

I plan to keep testing that theory myself. My first stand-up comedy class starts on Tuesday.

And I'm terrified.

• The retail industry's seasonal hiring push is on track to be the lowest in years.
• The shift reflects a trend toward earlier hiring and less reliance on seasonal workers.
• Fewer seasonal jobs could also start to erode a once-common first step on workers' career ladders.

The annual stampede of seasonal retail job openings continues to taper off, with hiring expected to be at its lowest level since the Financial Crisis.

As mid-October approaches, some major companies have not said if they will bulk up their front lines to a specific target.

"It's a little bit of chicken right now with retailers and the economy going, 'Okay, who's going to move first?'" said Trent Cotton, head of talent-acquisition insights at recruiting-software company ICIMS. "It will be interesting to see this at the end of the year."

This year's retail industry hiring push is on track to be lower than last year's tally of 461,000, according to career transition firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

A report released last month projects that this year will see around 450,000 seasonal retail jobs, the lowest gain in nearly 20 years.

"Almost every hiring announcement we've seen in the last three years is smaller and more surgical than the pre-pandemic playbook. Even if the big names come in at last year's numbers, the total will likely fall well short of the 2019—2021 peaks," chief revenue officer Andy Challenger said in a statement.

This year, Spirit Halloween and craft shop Michaels led the charge, saying they intended to hire 52,000 and 10,000 seasonal workers, respectively.

Amazon has not yet shared its plans, and Walmart told Business Insider it will take the same approach as last year, which did not have a hiring goal target. "Our stores are well-staffed and ready to serve customers this holiday season," the company said.

Target said it will once again rely on its on-demand team of about 43,000 workers and leave further hiring up to local managers. Walmart and Target both said last year they would prioritize assigning additional seasonal hours to existing employees.

Cotton also said that these smaller numbers reflect a trend toward earlier hiring and less reliance on seasonal workers.

"They're moving it back to over the summer, so that way they're fully staffed by October going into November and December," he said.

That point also came up several times during visit Business Insider had with Target's chief stores officer Adrienne Costanzo in August. For some Target stores, the larger hiring push already happened in preparation for the critical back-to-school season, which also enabled managers to train new hires for the holidays.

But fewer seasonal jobs could also start to erode a once-common first step on workers' career ladders.

Retail workers represent roughly one in ten US workers, and analysis from the Urban Institute estimates that six in 10 workers have held a retail job at some point in their careers.

• I recently attended the Silvia Investor Summit in New York City.
• Many of the events attendees were focused on opportunities in AI and crypto.
• The retail traders I chatted with made are hyped to see agentic AI reshape finance.

There was no AI doomsday scenario on the radar at this week's investor event I attended in New York City.

On October 7 and 8, over 1,000 self-directed traders gathered for Silvia Investor Summit, hosted by Anthony Pompliano, the CEO of ProCap Financial. On tap were speakers including GameStop CEO and retail trader hero Ryan Cohen, Opendoor bull Eric Jackson, and other figures closely followed by the retail crowd.

It was a diverse mix of markets junkies, crypto enthusiasts (one attendee wore a Satoshi Nakamoto football jersey), and day traders. When I asked the spectators what they were most excited for in markets, though, the responses were surprisingly unified.

Most attendees I chatted with quickly made it clear there's one game changer they're most focused on right now: agentic AI.

"AI agents will create more time for investors to do other things," one veteran trader told me on the sidelines of the event. "That's the most important thing there is. When everything is automated, everyone will have more time to do what they love. I'm 1,000% positive that it will be the force we need."

John Samuelson, the chief investment office of family office advisory firm Karas Partners, told me he's spent years helping clients understand digital assets. The bitcoin pin on his lapel hinted that he might be focused mostly on the crypto market's recent turnaround, but I was wrong.

Samuelson also brought up agentic AI for finance as the thing he's most interested in, as he sees it as bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance, or DeFi.

"I see it as a very good thing across the board," he said. "It's a good thing for crypto and the digital-asset world because they now actually have a very extreme use case for the cryptocurrencies in the payment system area. It's a very good thing for the AI world because [AI agents] now have an ability to be able to complete transactions with each other."

David Arquilla, a content producer who has also been investing and trading for years, told me he's been focused on agentic finance recently because he sees it has a major breakthrough for many sectors, but particularly for bank stocks.

"I'm interested in industries that go down but are ripe for AI integration,"Arquilla stated. "How will they continue to use AI to become more efficient, more profitable? We've had a pretty big pullback in banks recently but in the future, I could see bank stocks being traded in a much higher multiple, given the integration of AI."

Arquilla added that he sees a world quickly approaching in which AI does most, if not all the actual trading for investors. Some investors have rejected the idea of allowing AI to complete trade for them using their own money but Arquilla said he thinks he would trust the technology, though he likely wouldn't give it all his capital at first.

• Jimmy Kibuswa, who lives in Kenya, works remotely from 4 p.m. to midnight for a US company.
• He builds his day around reading and staying active and says his unconventional schedule has been life-changing.
• The recruiter used to have a long commute. Now he asks: "What can I use these extra hours for?"

This is an as-told-to essay based on a conversation with Jimmy Kibuswa, 32, who lives in Nairobi, Kenya. He works remotely as a healthcare recruiter for a US company and shares what it's like to work an unconventional shift. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

I work American time from here in Kenya. In Kenya, when it's 4 p.m., it's 8 a.m. in Chicago.

I've always been cautious about my health and well-being. When I got this job about three months ago, I thought, "How am I going to structure my day so that I can go to the gym, read, and rest?"

My work begins at 4 p.m. and ends around midnight, so I can be online for the US workday. Immediately after midnight, I normally don't do anything else. I just get ready to go to bed.

In the first month, I struggled. I would take naps during the afternoon before my shift. Nowadays, I don't feel like I need those naps because I've adapted.

I always ensure that I sleep for eight hours because if I don't sleep well at night, I'm not going to function well the next day.

I keep a regular schedule

I love waking up around 8:30, preparing breakfast, and then maybe reading a chapter or two. I'm a big fan of self-help books.

When it gets to 10:30, I go to the gym for two hours. I walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then run for 15 minutes.

I started working out consistently when I got this job. Before this, when I was working locally in Nairobi, I'd work out for a month, then not pay the gym subscription for the next month.

The beauty of getting to the gym at 10:30 is that most people go early in the morning. So, by the time I arrive, it's almost empty, and I've got the full attention of the coaches. After the treadmill, the coach will tell me, "Today, this is what we're going to do."

After two hours, I'm done. I get back to my place — it's about 2,000 steps — and I prepare my one big meal of the day, besides breakfast. That's around 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. Then, during work, I have nuts and water. That's all I need.

Between about 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., I might strategize. I still consider myself early in my career, and I think, "Where do I want to be in the next five years or maybe the next 10 years?" Maybe I didn't finish something the previous day, so I'll be thinking, "How can I find that talent that I really want for this particular role?"

If I don't do those things, I'll relax and listen to music. People need downtime.

I grew up in the countryside. That's why I'm such a homebody. I'm lucky because my girlfriend also works the same kind of hours as I do. We only meet on the weekends, and then on Monday when it's time to go back to work, we're all sorted.

My friends know the best time to communicate with me. I also communicate with my family between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

My routine makes me feel sharper

Today, when I meet people that I used to work with, they're like, "You're getting even younger. What's happening? What's the secret?"

In Kenya, it is hard to find a remote job. It's what so many people would wish to find. I thank God I did.

I am sharper now because my mind is relaxed. I get sleep, and when I exercise, I feel like my brain absorbs more information. I can solve problems better, and I'm more creative.

Before this job, it was all about work. I used to get stressed. Now, when I'm able to incorporate sleeping, reading, working out, and relaxing, I feel like I'm not stressed anymore. I think it all stems from the schedule that I've incorporated.

One thing that really surprised me when I started this schedule was how much time I have on my hands. In a previous job, I would work about nine hours and then spend almost two hours on the road. Now, I'm like, "What can I use these extra hours for?"

Do you have a story to share about your work schedule? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.

It's been over a year since Hannah Bates, 31, was sued by her private student-loan lender — a legal battle she called lengthy, expensive, and confusing.

It started in October 2024, when Sallie Mae notified her that she'd made the final payment on her outstanding balance of $55,000. Bates knew that was a mistake. In fact, she was falling behind on her $1,500 monthly payments and had years' worth left. When she tried to clarify with Sallie Mae, she said she received conflicting information on how to avoid default. Six months later, Sallie Mae sued her to collect.

When she's not working her 12-hour nursing shifts, Bates has represented herself in the lawsuit, with the help of ChatGPT. She said it's taken a significant emotional and financial toll, and after multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach a payment agreement, the court ordered that her wages be garnished.

She lost $884 from her roughly $2,700 paycheck for two pay cycles, prompting her to pick up extra shifts at her hospital.

"It's the weight of the world," Bates said. "Some days are better than others, but I didn't think I'd be here."

More student-loan borrowers could soon find themselves in Bates' situation. Private student loans comprised only 10% of the $1.85 trillion student-loan market in 2025, according to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Data. But President Donald Trump's repayment overhaul, which took effect July 1, is expected to drive more borrowers to private lenders like Sallie Mae, which lack substantial federal oversight.

Business Insider's previous reporting revealed widespread confusion in lender communication as borrowers moved toward default and litigation — about one in four complaints filed with the CFPB in 2025 were about private student loans.

A report from advocacy group Protect Borrowers said that private lenders sued more than 100,000 borrowers between 2012 and 2016. Bates said that her legal process taught her that she's "very much not alone."

"At first, I was really embarrassed and ashamed to talk about it," Bates said. "Now I'm absolutely not."

What came after the lawsuit

Before defaulting, Bates was paying what she could afford — around $560 a month — but was unable to make her full $1,500 payments. She tried and failed repeatedly to negotiate a lower monthly bill, and didn't know how to return to good standing after she defaulted.

"I didn't hear anything for months," Bates said. "I had contacted them once or twice throughout this process, waiting to hear back, and no one ever had an answer for me."

A Sallie Mae spokesperson previously told Business Insider that it could not comment on Bates' account and that the company "proactively and consistently" communicates with its customers, including sending notices when a customer defaults, when that defaulted loan is sold, and informing them of the new owner.

After Bates was sued, the judge encouraged her instead to reach a settlement or agree to a payment plan with Sallie Mae. Bates said Sallie Mae offered her a payment plan of around $1,600 a month — higher than the original payments that had led her to default in the first place.

"That's not feasible," she said after the hearing. "I am more than willing to pay back what I took, but it needs to be a payment that is manageable, and that's not going to put me on the streets."

She requested a lower payment plan and waited months for Sallie Mae's sign-off. She saw in August that a garnishment notice had been added to her court docket. Weeks later, she lost a chunk of her paycheck.

"It's hard going to work knowing that with everything you deal with and go through, you're not getting paid the way that you ultimately deserve," Bates said.

At the end of September, a judge signed off on a plan allowing her to make $600 monthly payments toward her balance until it is paid off. It won't be easy, she said, but it's preferable to losing about $1,700 a month to wage garnishment.

"Home-wise, with bills and finances, it's not 100% feasible," Bates said. "But it's given me some sort of empowerment because at least I have the ball back in my court, and the money won't just be taken from me."

Bates will begin making payments through the court's payment system on November 1. Looking back, she wishes she had better understood how lengthy litigation can be, so she could have better prepared herself for the legal battle ahead. While she still has years of payments to go, she's relieved to close this chapter.

"I'm optimistic," Bates said. "I feel a lot better mentally because it's not consuming my life as much as it was."

Have a story to share about student loans? Contact this reporter at asheffey@businessinsider.com.

• OpenAI launched "ChatGPT for Teens" in August, aimed at users ages 13 to 17.
• It includes study-help features and content guardrails, with the goal of making AI safer for teens.
• Emily Oster, founder of ParentData, shared how parents can navigate their teens using AI.

OpenAI seems to have solved the problem of adolescents lying about their age: if they type like they're under 18, it automatically assumes that they are — and restricts them to a teen version of ChatGPT.

It's one of the main features boasted by OpenAI's "ChatGPT for Teens," which officially launched in August and was the subject of a parent forum in New York City on October 7.

But even with those protections, parents face the harder question of how their kids should actually use AI.

"If I had to pick a word for how people are feeling about this moment, it's probably confused and anxious, which is not how we want parents to feel," Emily Oster, the founder of ParentData, a data-driven parenting and pregnancy resource, said at the ChatGPT for Teens Parent Forum.

OpenAI is trying to address these concerns with ChatGPT for Teens. Besides its age-estimation feature, which analyzes a user's language patterns, the questions they ask, and the time of day they use ChatGPT, ChatGPT for Teens also has a "study mode" to break down math problems into steps or create custom flashcards.

It also includes guardrails such as a more neutral tone of voice (to avoid ChatGPT sounding too friendly or romanticized), content restrictions, and notification tools to inform parents with linked accounts if their teens are asking about topics such as self-harm or eating disorders.

The goal, according to Allison Mishkin, head of child development at OpenAI, is to create a version of ChatGPT that is not only safer but also more age-appropriate for teens, but that also includes features that will directly benefit teens who need extra homework help or have a genuine interest in using AI tools.

So far, the roll-out has had some mixed feedback. A Common Sense Media report published on October 7 that analyzed 4,000 prompts found that the platform failed to alert parents after talks of suicidal ideation, was inconsistent in identifying teen users, and could still be used to provide answers to homework.

For many parents, AI feels like an inevitable part of their teens' future, and something that's increasingly difficult to avoid. Oster spoke to Business Insider about three ways they can manage their teens' AI use.

You should already be mindful about screen time

Over the past few years, parents have expressed concerns about their teens' relationships to their screens. AI adds another dimension to the worry: what if it's yet another reason for their kids to remain glued to their devices?

Oster told Business Insider that the same advice for navigating a teen's social media use exists for AI: good parenting starts with actually knowing what your teen is doing online and their relationship to these platforms.

If it remains a complete mystery, Oster encouraged asking open-ended questions. "I would urge parents to come into that conversation without an aim to come out of it with some rules or controls," she said, which can hopefully get teens to share what they use AI for more freely.

Ultimately, she said it's "incredibly important" for parents to think about how all screen use — AI included — fits into their kids' lives.

"How do we give kids enough time to do the things that are really important — to do their homework, to sleep enough, to spend time with their families, to be outside?" she said. "I would encourage parents to think about that time displacement regardless of what your kid is doing on their computer."

Take advantage of the best tools, like customized tutoring

One of the biggest controversies around AI is students using it to either outwardly cheat on assignments or do most of the thinking for them.

It's a tension, Oster said, that researchers are still exploring.

"I do think that the struggle piece is a huge part of learning," she said. "We do see when kids are using AI to answer all their homework questions, then they can't do the tests. So that's not good."

At the same time, she said everyone learns differently, and some might benefit from having the material repeated or explained in a different way. One father in California previously told Business Insider that he programmed ChatGPT to quiz his two daughters on their classroom materials until they're confident enough to pass their tests.

Oster is also excited about the platform's new college planner feature, announced in October, which she said can "make it easier for kids without access to a good college counselor to access information" about specific schools and admission processes.

Just as it is for adults, AI is what you make of it. It's on parents to instill the right values in their kids and encourage them to use it as a helpful tool rather than a cheat code.

"If your kid hears 'getting 100 on everything is the most important thing in the world,' that changes how they're going to be interacting with a tool that can help them get 100 on their homework every time," Oster said at the forum. "On the other hand, if you ask, 'really, what is school for?' Well, school is for learning how to learn."

Be cautious, but not fearful

Considering all the troubling AI headlines in the news, it's no shock that some parents are wary of the future.

"I think there's so much fear, and I really understand that as a parent, I really understand the fear and anxiety, but there's also so much promise," Oster told Business Insider.

While navigating teen AI use can feel like a unique, of-the-times conundrum, Oster believes it ties into the constant, "core question" of parenting: "How do I make good decisions under uncertainty?" she said at the forum.

She said the best thing a parent can do in any scenario is to do their research, make the decision, and set boundaries they feel are appropriate. " We can never be sure that we made the right decision," she said. "We can never live the other path."

Her advice is to take necessary precautions, like talking to your teen, but also to keep an open mind about where AI can be helpful. She shared that her own teenage daughter wanted to build something to connect kids to volunteer opportunities, which she built using AI.

"We can communicate with them: there's a lot of stuff you want to be careful of here," she said. "There's also a lot of opportunity to take the really cool stuff that's in your head and make it real. I don't want to lose the wonder of how neat this is."

• Daniel Harnack nearly fell for a personalized AI job scam that used stolen LinkedIn information.
• He said AI tools are enabling scammers to create highly tailored and convincing fake job offers.
• Harnack advises other job seekers to be wary of scams and avoid sharing financial information.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Daniel Harnack, a data analytics professional. It has been edited for length and clarity.

About a month ago, I was almost tricked into falling for an elaborate AI scam. A scammer stole a recruiter's LinkedIn picture, linked to her profile, and created a fake email address for her so they could send me a job listing created with the help of AI.

The role was perfectly tailored to my experience, and it sounded like a dream job. Also, the pay was double the reasonable salary for that kind of role.

All the person needed was my résumé to submit to the hiring manager. When, instead of taking my résumé and suggesting I apply for the role on their career site, they suggested I meet with a "career consultant" to suggest changes to my résumé, that sealed the deal in my mind that this was definitely going to be a scam where they asked for payment.

This is just a reminder to everyone that AI is making these very individualized scams much easier to pull off.

The usual red flags weren't there

This was such a surprising scam because of how personalized, tailored, and realistic it was.

The red flags that I'm used to — vague promises, fake names, fake companies, and fake-sounding job titles — had all been addressed or covered up. Unless someone really pays attention, it would be easy to get caught up in a scam like this.

The person used a real recruiter's name, organization, and LinkedIn profile. They put together a job description that matched my experience and looked reasonable, and they responded to my questions without typos or grammar mistakes.

People on the job market unintentionally make themselves targets of such scams

I really think that the current way job seekers are putting themselves out there — noting they are open to work, applying to large numbers of jobs, and publicly posting about the difficulties of the job search — makes us exposed to these scammers who are seeking out vulnerable and eager people looking for jobs.

The unfortunate thing is that I don't think there's a good way to avoid this in the current job market. The fact that the job market requires us to apply for so many roles before finding one that connects means our information is likely out there for scammers to harvest.

What you can do to avoid being scammed on the job market

Because there is no great method of prevention, the best course of action is awareness and scrutiny over folks reaching out to you.

The core of any scam is the scammer's desire to get either your money or your information (so they can exploit that information for money). The best thing we can do is to never send banking information or payment to these people.

No recruiter should be asking for payment to find you a job. Recruiters should be paid by organizations to fill positions, not by job seekers for the opportunity to be seen. Services exist to review your résumé and help you draft applications, but those services should be transparent that the service is the résumé review, not the allure of a dream job.

My professional background has exposed me to the type of tools these scammers are using

My background leading data analysts and scientists helped me identify the scam relatively fast.

I reached out to the real person on both LinkedIn and by sending an email to their work email, but she never responded. I took that to mean that the scammer and the real person were definitely not the same.

Do you have a job-related scam you fell for or avoided that you'd like to share? Email this editor, Manseen Logan, at mlogan@businessinsider.com.

• Hanna Miller and Nikki Elbaz created ShieldCart to aid Miller's father with dementia.
• ShieldCart uses AI to simulate checkouts, allowing older users to shop without financial harm.
• Miller and Elbaz aim to expand ShieldCart, helping more families manage dementia-related challenges.

Everyone in Hanna Miller's family knew her father as a giving and generous person. But as his dementia progressed, he couldn't recall that he'd already ordered something online just a few hours earlier. Gifts, like toys for the grandkids, piled up so quickly he couldn't easily pay for them.

Watching his decline was heartbreaking. Miller's father was a biomathematics Ph.D. who spent his career in pharmaceuticals, living abroad but visiting often, always with suitcases full of presents. Whenever his grandchildren called to ask what he was doing, he would answer, "Sitting and waiting for you."

But as the dementia worsened, his online shopping habits became more than an annoyance — he would repeatedly order food, and the expenses began to outweigh his modest Social Security and pension income, which covered only rent and basic living expenses.

Miller knew she had to intervene, but wasn't sure how. Her sister had power of attorney as her father's caregiver, so they worked together to cancel his online orders and replace his credit cards with a debit card. This not only upset him and led to repeated conflicts, but forced Miller to grapple with ethical questions about parenting her own father so strictly. She felt she was invading his privacy and stripping away his independence.

"I was constantly second-guessing myself, thinking: 'Do I really have the right to decide this for him?'" Miller said.

Miller wondered whether AI could help find a middle ground: a way for her father to keep shopping without letting each purchase become a financial crisis. She'd played with ChatGPT for personal use but didn't feel confident enough to build a real product that would prevent unnecessary orders.

So Miller teamed up with her friend Nikki Elbaz, who had a marketing background. Miller built a service to redirect users to a fake checkout page at any online store, preventing them from completing a real transaction. They called it ShieldCart.

"I told him that there's this new AI-based app that's basically a secure checkout. It makes sure that everything's right and there are no problems," Miller said.

But this well-intentioned deception went a step further than canceling sporadic online orders, and Miller was deeply conflicted about moving forward.

So she went to her rabbi for guidance. He was supportive, likening the act to performing life-saving surgery on an unconscious patient.

Miller describes ShieldCart as the dignified solution to a very demeaning problem.

"Even though I had to step in and become the 'parent,' I was able to do it in a way that he couldn't feel it," she said. "He didn't need me stepping in and saying, 'I'm taking over. You can no longer be the parent. I have to be the parent.' He didn't have to deal with that."

Miller estimates that the family saved thousands of dollars a month, while letting her father believe he was purchasing all the gifts and goods he wanted to, and avoiding the bitter fights they'd faced previously.

"It was beautiful to see that he could be generous again," Elbaz said. "We've given him that freedom back."

ShieldCart was built with Claude Code. It works as a Chrome extension installed on the aging parent's computer and as an app for the caregiver to monitor their purchases.

The caregiver can also block certain websites — in Miller's case, crypto sites — much like parental controls. The app doesn't collect real credit card information; it only asks for the last four digits of the card to create more realistic confirmation pages. Different modes allow purchases to be blocked completely, paused temporarily, or processed and reviewed afterward.

In opening the app to outside users — currently in beta testing by application only — Miller and Elbaz are clear-eyed about the ethical quandaries their product engenders. They encourage users to speak with an elder law attorney or to secure power of attorney before installing software on their loved one's device.

Miller said the app probably wouldn't work for every family. If children are not as close to their parents, or if loved ones have a less advanced form of dementia, the app may not work as effectively.

Miller's father died last month. His death came as a shock, as he had been in decent health and still had his wits to him. After a period of mourning, Miller decided to carry on with the app, now working to get it out to as many families as possible.

The goal now, Elbaz said, is to partner with organizations that help people caring for loved ones with dementia. They've been gearing up to get more users into beta testing, making the app free for the rest of the year. They're also developing mobile capabilities for loved ones who only use phones or tablets.

"Knowing that the system we built for him will now help other families navigate these challenges with that same respect and love feels like a true privilege and like a secondary, meaningful legacy beyond what lives on through our nuclear family," Miller said.

• Franco Lopez asked Meta's Muse AI agent to help his son prepare for an astronomy quiz.
• Muse made him digital flashcards, a practice quiz, and a podcast for the ride to school.
• Lopez's son aced the quiz.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Franco Lopez, a 53-year-old from Miami who works in insurance. Business Insider confirmed his son's perfect quiz score. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.

I got Muse a couple of weeks ago. I have been hopping on every AI since the very beginning. I talk about it all day, and am completely overwhelmed and excited.

I was playing with Grok Bot a lot and loving it. Then I saw Muse, I downloaded it, I tried it, and it felt different. It seemed like a better all-around product, so I ended up canceling my Grok subscription, just like I did with Claude and ChatGPT before that.

Now, I'm full-time on Muse and sharing it with everyone I know.

I'm a father of four kids, and two of them go to school. Schools email you a lot on a daily basis. I'll get sometimes 30 emails combined between the two schools: homework, events, and payments due. It's a nightmare to keep up with.

I have Muse recognizing all of the emails coming in and creating a digest posted into my "Family Operations" Slack channel. I have a daily digest for both of my kids by name, so I know what uniform they have to wear that day, if any homework is due, and I'm on top of it.

I shared it with my wife and gave her access to the Slack channel. She loves it as well. When it doesn't work for us, we just make modifications. Sometimes it gets a little too verbose. We say, "Can you trim it down a little bit?"

I've done that with the soccer team. I have a Slack channel that all the parents have access to, so we all have one page to review what the coach said, what color shirt to wear on Saturday, how much to bring for the ref fees, all that stuff.

I stopped reading emails. I have robots that read emails for me.

How Muse helped my son prep for his quiz

My wife delegated this one assignment. She said, "I need you to get on this science vocabulary quiz," and handed me this wrinkled-up page.

I'm reinforcing something my 10-year-old has already looked at a thousand times. All the fun has already been squeezed out.

I said to Muse, "What can you do to help him understand this? Can you create some kind of quiz?"

I had done this homework experiment with Claude back in the day. I expected something similar: it was very blocky, very straightforward. I got something very different.

Muse's was very bubbly and colorful. It had his name on it and an encouraging message. It absorbed that the material was about astronomy, and it added rocket decorations.

It was two tabs: the typical flashcard experience, and then a multiple-choice quiz. In the end, it graded him and gave him the opportunity to do it again. The second time, he got an 80 or 90%. He'd done well, and it was getting late anyway, because it was soccer night.

The next morning, the day of the quiz, I asked, "What else can we do to reinforce learning?"

Muse created a podcast. It was seven minutes, a perfect length, and he was amazed. It caught his attention. It covered all the material with fun and tips to remember it.

I finished it, and I prayed that he did well.

Mom picked him up that day, and he didn't say anything to me. Later on that day, I heard from mom that he aced it. He got 100.

I went up to him and said, "Dude, you didn't tell me you aced it." He goes, "Oh, yeah," like it wasn't a big deal. He had never gotten a 100, not because he can't, but because he hasn't been engaged.

I'm feeling confident about AI and education

Kids are watching really great content, made by people who are experts at retaining your attention. If that teacher is slightly boring, the kid is going to tune them out. Teachers don't stand a chance unless they build some level of personality.

I don't think the classroom piece is going to be successful. I think AI-to-human learning will be cheaper and faster.

I see everything changing. I'm in a soccer team with a bunch of parents, and I have conversations with people who have never even opened AI. They're living in a completely different reality. I've tried to break the news, but it's really a subject that only a few of us are handling right now.

I don't think there's such a thing as too much AI in parenting. I think there's a wrong use and a right use. My goal is to help him learn how to do it, not give him the answer. I can use it every day and twice on Sunday, as long as I use it to empower him.

You don't have to stop doing what you're doing what you're doing as a parent to deal with AI. You can continue to be the parent you need to be.

You're just getting some help. You're offloading. You're getting employees.

Jolly wants to help make your life easier — and be cute while doing it. The mascot for Meta's Muse AI is a slightly rotund, plush creature with rosy cheeks, big eyes, and a toothless grin. It can wear clothes or little headphones when he's "working" on tasks for you.

As someone who once went through some (embarrassingly) elaborate hoops to acquire a Labubu, I must admit that I was immediately enamored by the creature's debut. I'm not alone — much ink has been spilled on how cute the little avatar is. Jon Stewart even devoted a whole segment to debating the cuddly guy's true intentions.

Jolly joins a growing group of creatures vying for the hearts and minds of potential AI users. There are the round, mouthless dots of OpenAI, the fluffy Genspark lobster, and Grok users have adopted a little teal alien named "Groklet." All adorable, all plushy, and all debuting as the general populace was starting to worry that AI would maybe kill us all.

The idea behind Jolly and the rest of the mascots is simple: make us forget about all that AI doom-and-gloom and learn to love it. They play on our most human, primal instincts, distancing us from the fact that they represent something distinctly non-human. This round, fun little creature is your friend! He's going to work on your behalf! The fuzzy little charms also tap into our sense of nostalgia. Everyone I spoke to for this piece immediately had a connection to the Muse avatar: Some said it reminded them of a Tamagotchi, or MySpace avatars, or Baymax, the lovable robot from Big Hero 6.

"Seeing something cute stimulates the pleasure centers in your brain before you've even had a chance to think about it," Joshua Paul Dale, the founder of the niche academic field "Cute Studies," and a professor at Chuo University in Tokyo, tells me. "You're predisposed to act socially towards something that you find cute."

It's not the first time that cuteness has arisen in response to a collective sense of unease. In the past, the trait has been wielded as a comforting salve, a PR pivot, or to put a smiling face on something more complex. Cute has proven to be a powerful tool, and AI companies hope they can ride that wave into America's hearts — and computers.

The most visible — and successful — use of cute culture was in Japan following post-World War II. Fluffy mascots, manga, and stationery were used to shift the narrative about the country away from its aggressive, imperial history toward one of an approachable cultural destination. This shift is best personified by Hello Kitty, the now-ubiquitous cat-like mascot created in 1974 as an emblem of kawaii, the Japanese term for cute. Designed to appeal to Japanese women with newfound spending power — and their children — the cat avatar has since become a literal cultural emissary, bringing comfort to Japan's citizens and promoting the country's image elsewhere.

Beyond Japan, the deployment of cute as a culture-shaping force seems to repeat across the years. Gen Zers embraced Y2K nostalgia during the pandemic — a marked contrast to their Zoom-first era. Another 2020 hit was the video game "Animal Crossing: New Horizons," as gamers stuck at home clamored for the coziness of tending to animated life. Cultural theorist Sianne Ngai calls cuteness "an aestheticization of powerlessness" — for a consumer to feel something is cute, they need to feel they can wield power over it, giving them a sense of calm control. On the grim end, cuteness was used by Purdue Pharmaceuticals in its campaign for OxyContin: the company handed out plush toys to practitioners whom they wanted to convince to prescribe the drug. The Drug Enforcement Administration later said the tactic was "an indicator of Purdue's aggressive and inappropriate marketing."

AI companies clearly appreciate the persistent power of cuteness. It's easier for you to ask a question to your little buddy than a gray box — and why not buy a few more tokens so Jolly can book your next vacation or sift through your finances. For University of Iowa business analytics professor Thiago Serra, the branding has echoes of Tesla. Rather than consumers feeling like they have to take their eco-conscious vitamins and pony up for an electric car, Tesla made cars that looked and felt good — the environmental thing was a nice added bonus. For agents, adding a mascot shifts your thinking from the scary AI that might kill you or take your job to a cute buddy that can be helpful in your personal life.

Rebecca Kowalewicz, a digital marketing VP and millennial-Gen-X-cusper in Philadelphia, dabbled with a few AI platforms, but none were as fun as Muse. Jolly played on her sense of bygone days, reminding her of choosing a MySpace avatar. And Kowalewicz went one step further: She fed the software a photo of her late dog, Doctor Watson — a rescued coonhound pointer mix — and it quickly generated an animated version of him to replace Jolly. Now, Doctor Watson smiles at her, types, and moves his head. She's so endeared to the agent that she feels more inclined to stick with it.

"It's almost like having a work bestie," she says, except it won't push back and "you don't have to take it out to lunch."

In addition to personifying inanimate ideas or technologies, coziness and cuteness can also psychologically soothe us in uncertain times. Take Japan: already steeped in postwar cuteness, the country saw a renewed boom in coziness after its property bubble burst in 1990. People said it felt healing, Dale tells me, temporarily easing their woes amid financial and job-market upheaval. Similarly, agents can endear themselves to users by solving a task that causes dismay — with a little smile.

That's been the case for edtech consultant Tonja Brunn, a Gen Xer who — like many white-collar Americans — is on the job hunt. That search is how she and "Monkey," her Muse agent, first "connected." Monkey has "revolutionized the job search" for Brunn, and she's fallen in love with how cute her newest "employee" is. Seasonally appropriate, Monkey now wears a little shirt with a pumpkin and two cherubic ghosts.

A friendly avatar helping you plug away at all of the worst parts of the job search is the latest attempt by AI companies to target a new segment of customers: Everyday folks who were turned off by the early, austere chatbots and spooked by the rush of AI doomer news.

When Cole Benefield, the 25-year-old founder of Servo, an agentic firm for service businesses, first saw the Labubu-esque creature, he thought it was silly. Then he saw the promotional materials for Jolly, happily typing away at a keyboard. The business owners he works with probably wouldn't be too amused or charmed by the fuzzy guy. But the greater mass appeal of Jolly revealed something: While other AI firms signal their tech-industry bona fides with clever model names and sterile interfaces, Meta's years of honed consumer prowess have allowed it to reach a wider swath of consumers. Benefield says Meta's use of Jolly means non-technical users never have to think about what's happening under the hood.

"Their goal is to make it to where they never even have to think about that," he says.

Kaitlyn Murphy, a 26-year-old tech publicist in Massachusetts, questions how much AI agents could improve her day-to-day life — especially given the access they require. Despite the skepticism, when she first saw Jolly, she felt tempted to make her own version.

"I love the idea that I could watch it typing while I'm sending it on a task. I actually do think it's really cute," she said. The Jolly aesthetic could definitely appeal to cute-obsessed Gen Z, she said, but it would have to go hand in hand with a meaningful attempt to address the larger AI doom-and-gloom concerns many in her generation still hold.

The fact, though, that someone like Murphy is swayed shows the potency of personifying these agents. They also come at a time of tanking consumer sentiment and increasing worry about the economy, making the idea of a pinchable, smiling face even more enticing.

"I do have psychologist colleagues who are speculating that Japan might've hit peak cuteness, that people are being overstimulated by it, and that's certainly possible," Dale says. "But my answer to that is that outside Japan, it's only getting started."

• Eating a variety of plant foods helps the gut to function smoothly and promotes overall health.
• Sophie Medlin, a dietitian, has made eating fiber-packed vegetables a daily habit.
• She makes a big salad three times a week and roasts vegetables.

Sophie Medlin knows what it takes to keep a gut healthy. At this point, it's nearly second nature for the longtime colorectal dietitian.

"I don't need to worry about counting because I'm just in the habit of doing things in a way that meets my needs," Medlin, who is based in London and has worked as a dietitian for 20 years, told Business Insider.

Official dietary guidelines recommend eating at least 28 grams of fiber a day, but research suggests the majority of Americans eat around half of that. Fiber is found in plants and feeds the trillions of microbes that live in the lining of the digestive system, known as the gut microbiome. Eating a wide variety of plants increases the number of beneficial microbes in the gut, which is linked to health benefits.

Whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, and pearl barley, legumes such as beans and chickpeas, and fresh produce such as leafy greens and berries, are all good sources of fiber.

Medlin shared with Business Insider what she eats in a typical day, and it makes getting enough fiber look surprisingly simple.

Breakfast

Medlin usually has her first meal of the day at around 1 p.m.

If you wake up hungry, you should eat, she said, but typically she does not.

She starts her day at 7 a.m. with a cup of decaf tea, and occasionally some Greek yogurt with low-sugar granola for protein and fiber. The oats, nuts, and seeds in granola make it a good source of fiber — half a cup of rolled oats contains about 4 to 5 grams.

Lunch

Medlin said she usually keeps it simple at lunchtime. Among her go-to food choices are eggs on seeded sourdough bread or a toasted sandwich with cheese and fish, typically tuna or an oily fish like mackerel. One slice of sourdough bread and a handful of mixed seeds, including sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds, contains around 4 grams of fiber.

The American Heart Association recommends eating two portions of fish, including one portion of oily fish, a week. Fish contains omega-three fatty acids, which help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Her non-negotiable is a big side of vegetables. About three times a week, Medlin makes a large salad with arugula, lettuce, cucumber, onion, pomegranate seeds, dill, and other herbs, dressed with some olive oil. She will either have this with her lunch or some chopped vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, and cucumbers.

"We have a very big focus in my house on eating plenty of plants," she said.

Dinner

Medlin's dinner typically consists of a protein, a starch, and vegetables. Protein-wise, she switches between grilled chicken, fresh tuna, salmon, steak, and lamb. For starch, she makes rice, potatoes, or pasta.

She loves to roast a tray of mixed vegetables, including butternut squash, beetroot, and greens such as Chinese cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or bok choy.

"Instead of just chopping up broccoli in the evening, chuck some cabbage in there as well. It's just as quick, and then you get an extra type of vegetable in there," Medlin said.

A cup of cooked butternut squash contains around 7 grams of fiber, a cup of cooked broccoli contains around 5 grams, and a cup of cooked Brussels sprouts contains around 4 grams.

Medlin also sets the table with side dishes of fermented cabbage and homemade tzatziki, a dip made with Greek yogurt, cucumber, extra-virgin olive oil, and herbs. Fermented foods contain live ingredients such as bacteria, yeast, or mold, and are thought to introduce new beneficial microbes to the gut.

She mainly eats them to add flavor to her plate and for her gut health, but fermented vegetables like kimchi or sauerkraut also contain fiber. A 100-gram serving of kimchi boasts around 3.5 grams of fiber.

If she's feeling hungry between meals, Medlin likes to snack on nuts and fruit, both of which contain micronutrients and fiber.

She intentionally stocks her kitchen with healthy snacks because she knows she will reach for whatever's most convenient.

• Creators behind an AI-generated TV series said they spent about $38,000 in AI credits making it.
• The series runs about 83 minutes in total and was made with tools like Seedance and Kling.
• The filmmakers said AI freed them from the typical budget constraints in traditional productions.

When the filmmakers behind "The Arc" got approval to create a short narrative series, they didn't yet have a concept. Still, three and a half weeks later, they turned in the final cut of the first episode.

That's because the series was AI-generated. It required no human actors, no sets, and no props or costumes.

The five-episode sci-fi action series was directed by Darin Stewart and executive produced by Simone Ferretti, an AI content creator. The series, which totals about 83 minutes of runtime, was made with and greenlit by Artlist, an AI platform for video content creators. It takes place in a near-future America and follows an incarcerated veteran who must fight his way through deadly historical simulations in order to buy a cure for his dying son. It's available to watch for free on Artlist's website.

The filmmakers said the series was made with a small production team and roughly $38,000 in AI credits supplied by Artlist, a subscription platform that gives users access to multiple AI image and video generators in one place.

"The Arc" spans multiple time periods and settings that would typically require large budgets to pull off.

"We've never been given the budget or opportunity to go to Japan and film a battle scene," Stewart said of his production team, all of whom came from traditional entertainment. With AI, he said, they could produce scenes in 1600s Japan and 1800s Montana without the usual budget constraints.

Stewart said "human ideation was top to bottom" and that the team developed the storyline, characters, and settings.

For each episode, the team would do a 10-minute verbal brain dump outlining what happens, specific dialogue, and desired camera movements. They'd use that as a prompt for Anthropic's Claude and, within a few minutes, would have a workable script they would then edit.

They used ShotDeck, an online library of images from movies and shows, and Figma, a design platform, to make character sheets and mood boards. Stewart said the process was "pretty similar to traditional production." They also used tools such as Google's Nano Banana Pro and GPT Image 2 to generate images.

A dining room in episode five had floors that glowed white, a detail directly inspired by the luminous floors in the 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey." The team also specified the objects they wanted in the room, such as a particular stone statue or the paintings that lined the walls. They used Claude as a research assistant to determine what paintings would make sense for the character to have.

"The level of detail is the same level of detail that we would do if we were physically on set," Stewart said.

Once the details were worked out, the scenes were generated primarily using Seedance and Kling, AI video generation models. They averaged about $7,600 in AI credits per episode, with episodes ranging from 10 to 22 minutes.

Stewart said that one shot could require eight to 10 generations, and that they used the credits carefully by doing the initial generations at a lower resolution and only increasing the output quality once they had their desired result.

The impact of AI on Hollywood

AI in filmmaking has become a flash point in Hollywood, where some view the technology as a threat to jobs in an industry where many are already struggling to find work. Last year, actors' union SAG-AFTRA condemned Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated character branded as an actor, warning that AI performers threaten actors' livelihoods and devalue human artistry.

Still, some industry giants are embracing it. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on a July earnings call that roughly 300 of its titles used AI at some point in their workflow.

Ferretti said creators and filmmakers have so many stories they'd like to tell but lack the money or connections to get them made. AI could make it so more of those stories get told, he said.

He also said AI gives filmmakers more chances to experiment and follow their creative impulses. On "The Arc," AI made it possible to kill off a character they hadn't originally planned to kill because, unlike a traditional production, doing so didn't require reshoots on the other side of the world.

With a greater budget, Stewart said they would've hired more people to work on various parts of the production, adding, "Everyone on our team got paid their full day rates the same way they would on set."

He also said that while he missed the camaraderie of being on set, the experience of producing a series with AI was exciting because of what the technology allowed him to do with fewer resources.

"For someone who's always wanted to make films and shows and tell stories, it's just the best feeling ever," he said.

The series has had in-person screenings in London and Los Angeles, and the filmmakers are working on getting it in front of more audiences.

Stewart said he wants to get to a place with AI filmmaking where "mass consumers appreciate the art and the story and don't care exactly how it was made."

• Nicole Ethridge's hair started falling out after the birth of her daughter in 2007.
• She was self-conscious and wore wigs to disguise the alopecia.
• The mom flew to Turkey for a hair transplant, regaining her confidence before her wedding next year.

This story is based on an interview with Nicole Ethridge, 39, a Southern Marylander who works in finance and is also an influencer. It has been edited for length and clarity.

My hair had always been thin, but I first noticed it coming out soon after the birth of my daughter, now 19.

It was mainly at the front, which made it noticeable. I was self-conscious and particularly hated going to hairdressing salons, where it was impossible to hide the problem.

The dermatologist diagnosed me with traction alopecia, sometimes caused by tight hairstyles and other things that pull on your hair.

I started wearing wigs

I started wearing wigs that mimic your hairline. They were expensive, ranging from $300 to $700, but they don't last forever. I'd go through as many as nine a year.

The expense motivated me to begin making my own wigs, which I started to sell to other women in the same position.

However, I still didn't feel like myself because it wasn't my real, natural hair.

I tried every treatment under the sun, such as creams and ointments. They included an FDA-approved over-the-counter hair growth supplement. I didn't have high hopes that it would work, but it actually brought some of my hair back.

Still, I felt it wasn't enough. My attention turned to getting a hair transplant.

I found a clinic in Istanbul

I looked into having the procedure in the US. The prices were upward of $13,000, and I didn't have the budget.

I knew some people traveled abroad to get it done much more cheaply, and I considered Mexico. I was put off because when I did my research, I didn't find many testimonials from African Americans.

Turkey seemed like a better option, and I saw that a lot of patients who looked like me were going to a particular clinic in Istanbul.

I collaborated with an international facilitator called Doctours, who connected me with the clinic and arranged my treatment and hotel accommodation. As an influencer, I paid 50% of the quoted $2,600 cost.

My flights were extra at $1,250, and I traveled in August 2025. Although I was excited, I was nervous on the airplane because my friends told me I was taking a risk going to Turkey.

Nevertheless, I was willing to take that risk. I wanted to be free of the wigs and hair wraps for good.

My head was shaved

The only parts of the process that hurt were the injections to numb my scalp. I was fully awake, lying down, either listening to music or being alone with my thoughts.

The medical team extracted individual follicles from the back of my head and moved them to the problem area. It's optional, but I chose to have my head fully shaved beforehand because I wanted the experience to be more sterile.

I came back the following day for a specialized hair-washing treatment. They advised me on upkeep. All in all, I spent four days in Istanbul.

My hair started to grow back within four months, but there wasn't a wow factor at that stage. There was a huge difference at the six-month mark.

I'm getting married next year

I started going out with a wig — something I hadn't done for nearly 20 years — and felt confident about my appearance. Now my hair is pixie length, which I love.

My fiancé and I are getting married next year. It makes me happy to think I'll have a nice head of hair for the wedding.

Maybe I'll have a bob by then. It doesn't matter, though. I finally feel happy with how I look and feel.

• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said tech companies should treat AI models as an insider threat.
• He said companies should assume their AI models are "compromised" and contain them from the start.
• Tech leaders are grappling with how to contain and govern frontier AI models.

Satya Nadella says that in the relationship between AI and a company, trust issues can be healthy.

In a lengthy X post on Saturday, the Microsoft CEO said companies don't always understand an AI model's decisions or behavior, so they need to build walls to protect themselves from the tech.

After all, it's very possible that AI is already exploring new connections.

"We need to surround non-deterministic models with strong, deterministic system design, human controls, and reliable operating procedures, and establish industry standards where existing ones are insufficient," Nadella said. "Treating frontier closed and open weight models like insider risks is a way to build such a system."

Nadella said that AI models aren't inherently malicious, but anything with access to vital systems can become compromised or make mistakes. He added that AI models shouldn't be able to operate the controls that determine what they can access or what actions they can take.

"Today this means separating the model from the harness that orchestrates its work, as well as the action space that defines what it can do. It also means externalizing controls and safeguards," Nadella said.

He added, "The most trustworthy Super Intelligence system will not be the one with the model we trust most. It will be the one that enables us to trust the model the least."

Box CEO Aaron Levie responded to Nadella's post and said AI will need to go through a "zero trust era."

"And all of this leads to needing various layers of protection and auditability of what agents are doing, what data they can work with, and controls for when things go wrong. And a huge opportunity right now for those building such systems across the enterprise," Levie said.

As the pace of AI development continues to pick up, everyone is clamoring for stricter guardrails, including the companies building the AI models themselves.

In September, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the industry needs to slow down AI development. His blog post drew support from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk.

The Trump administration, which has supported rapid AI development, has resisted regulating the industry. This month, Senators Josh Hawley and Chris Murphy proposed bipartisan legislation to hold AI agent developers and operators liable for hacking incidents.

Nadella's remarks come after a series of cybersecurity incidents rocked the AI industry. Last month, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said an OpenAI agent breached a government website this summer. In July, Anthropic said it had identified three incidents in which a Claude model accessed the internet and breached unauthorized systems.

On X, Nadella shared a list of suggested principles that companies should follow, including the assumption that models are "compromised" and must be contained from the start.

"Think of it like an emergency brake. An authorized person should always be able to pause or shut down a model mid-task," he said. "More advanced models will require more advanced containment technologies that we need to standardize on."

Nadella also said companies need to disclose when their AI systems fail or become compromised to the affected parties in a timely manner.

The Bulldogs head to Tuscaloosa for a can't-miss SEC match-up against the Crimson Tide. We'll show you how to watch Georgia vs. Alabama, including worldwide live streaming options.

If you don't feel like reading any further, don't fret. You can live stream the game on ABC via a streaming service like Fubo in the US, and on DAZN in the UK and most other regions. You can access your usual streaming options from anywhere with a VPN. Keep reading to learn about additional streaming options.

What channel is Georgia vs. Alabama on?

The Georgia vs. Alabama game will air on ABC this weekend. The game is scheduled to kick off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch Georgia vs. Alabama in the US

Cord-cutters have several options for live streaming the Georgia vs. Alabama game. Fubo is one of the best live TV streaming services our team has tested. The streaming platform carries ABC and tons of other channels in multiple plans, including Fubo Pro. Pro costs $89 a month and unlocks access to 200+ channels (and ESPN Unlimited), but new users can get $25 off their first month after a free trial.

YouTube TV is another popular option. The platform's Main plan offers ABC and 100+ other channels in its lineup. The service also carries ESPN Unlimited live streams. The Main plan costs $83 a month, but new users can get $15 a month off their first five months of service after a free trial.

ESPN Unlimited, ESPN on ABC's direct streaming counterpart, will also carry the game. This is a great option for college football fans who are mainly just interested in SEC games. ESPN Unlimited costs $32 a month and unlocks live streams from all ESPN-related networks.

How to watch Georgia vs. Alabama in the UK and everywhere else

International football fans will find lots to love on DAZN, which carries tons of college football games each week (including Georgia vs. Alabama) for most viewers outside the US. Prices for the DAZN NCAA College Sports subscription vary by region.

How to watch Georgia vs. Alabama from anywhere

If you're traveling abroad right now, you don't need to worry about missing out on any of the action. You can keep up with your usual streaming options from anywhere with the help of a VPN. Short for virtual private networks, VPNs are handy tech tools that let people temporarily alter their virtual locations. This way, their favorite websites and apps work from anywhere in the world — just like they would back home. The services we've recommended require country-specific payment methods, so this option will work best for those who are simply traveling away from home right now.

NordVPN is our top recommendation right now. It's fast, easy to use, and ranks among the best VPN services we've tested. Plus, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Where will the Georgia vs. Alabama game take place?

Alabama will host this weekend's match-up. The game will be held at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Who is favored to win Georgia vs. Alabama?

No. 6 Alabama is the narrow favorite to win today's game against No. 2 Georgia. According to DraftKings (at the time of writing), Alabama is -122 on the moneyline, while Georgia is +102.

Who won the last game between Georgia and Alabama?

The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide football teams played each other twice last year. Alabama won the regular-season game 24-21 in September, and Georgia won the SEC Championship game 28-7 in December.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

Thuma pioneered the viral, tool-free bed frame trend inspired by Japanese joinery, a traditional woodworking technique that uses precision-cut interlocking joints instead of nails, screws, or glue. The result is a rock-solid, squeak-free frame that slots together for quick assembly. But with pricing starting from $1,195 for a queen, many will consider that a steep investment.

Other brands have started to offer their own take on this bedroom staple, such as Silk & Snow, which offers a solid-wood contender that matches Thuma's interlocking, hardware-free design for roughly $350 less.

To see if the budget contender holds up among the best bed frames, we put both the Thuma Classic bed frame and the Silk & Snow Wooden bed frame through head-to-head testing in our own homes.

While Silk & Snow is the clear overall value winner, Thuma's lifetime warranty, buy-it-for-life, and renter-friendly build, and customization options still give it the edge for long-term buyers. Here is how they stack up across build quality, design options, and assembly.

Thuma vs Silk & Snow: Overview

Thuma vs Silk & Snow: Design

Both wood frames utilize Japanese joinery techniques

The Thuma and Silk & Snow bed frames are both Japanese joinery-style platform bed frames, which means they're designed so the pieces slot together without hardware (or not much, anyway).

Both platform beds are made with natural wood — acacia and rubberwood for the Silk & Snow bed frame and upcycled rubberwood for the Thuma. The wood used for the Thuma bed frame has a scratch-resistant finish, and that, combined with the fact that it's stained different colors, gives it an almost semi-gloss look. There is no finish on the Silk & Snow bed frame, resulting in a more natural look.

We like Silk & Snow's larger variety of headboard options, but Thuma has more finishes and bed sizing options

Both brands allow you to purchase a stand-alone platform frame sans headboard or pair it with a variety of headboard designs. Silk & Snow leads in headboard style diversity, offering natural cane rattan, solid wood, plush-cushioned, and fully upholstered options. Thuma counters with deeper finish selections and luxury fabrics, letting buyers choose between solid wood, a cushioned headboard (available in premium performance linen, performance-textured weave, or Italian wool felt), or its signature Pillowboard—a low-profile foam wedge that rests unattached between the mattress and wall.

Beyond materials, Silk & Snow and Thuma have different headboard heights that affect room aesthetics. Silk & Snow stands taller at 42 inches across all headboard styles, giving it a stronger visual presence on the wall that easily clears thick mattresses. Thuma's solid wood and cushioned headboards sit slightly lower at 39 inches, while its base Pillowboard rests at 35 inches. If you have a mattress over 12 inches thick, Thuma's Pillowboard can get partially hidden by pillows unless you elevate it with an optional bolster block.

For those who prefer an upholstered look to wood, Thuma also offers the Signature Bed, a low-profile, fully fabric-wrapped platform bed with the same tool-free ethos as the original bed.

While both bed bases feature tool-free Japanese joinery, their headboard attachments differ in hardware requirements. Silk & Snow provides screws and an Allen wrench to attach its headboards to the frame. Thuma remains 100% hardware-free across all configurations: its solid wood and cushioned headboards securely lock directly into the frame's interlocking joinery, while the free-standing Pillowboard requires no installation at all. Thuma also sells under-bed storage drawers that can be fitted to the bed frame, and you can read our review of them.

In terms of bed sizing, Thuma offers twin xl and California king, while Silk & Snow limits its lineup to twin, full, queen, and king.

Both are sturdy, but the Thuma has a higher weight capacity

There are slight differences in the frame that contribute to overall durability. The Silk & Snow bed frame has two bars in the center of the frame with four center support legs, while the Thuma only has one bar and one center support leg. The single bar on the Thuma bed frame is locked in place with two hand-tightening screws. In the case of assembly, having one bar that gets tightened into place made the Thuma a bit easier to put together. But it's worth noting that the extra legs on Silk & Snow's bed don't equate to a higher weight capacity. The Thuma has a weight capacity of 1,500 pounds, while the Silk & Snow bed frame supports up to 1,100 pounds.

Thuma vs Silk & Snow: Price

Silk & Snow is the more affordable option, about $350 cheaper than Thuma

The Thuma and Silk & Snow bed frames may look similar in design, but their prices differ significantly. Silk & Snow bed frames are considerably more affordable, even when you order them with a headboard, compared to the Thuma bed frame. At the regular price of $850 for a queen-size, the Silk & Snow platform bed is a steal. The Thuma queen platform is $345 more. Opt for the classic headboard design, and the difference creeps to $695. Given that both bed frames are made from upcycled rubberwood or acacia and share a similar design, the price difference is surprising, especially for the platform-only option.

The Silk & Snow bed ships free, while Thuma offers free shipping on orders over $1,000; most bed options meet this threshold.

Thuma vs Silk & Snow: Assembly

Both frames assemble in under 30 minutes

Both of our reviewers took about 30 minutes to set up each bed in their respective bedrooms, which included time to take everything out of the boxes, set the pieces in place, and put the bed frame together. A few minutes might be saved in the assembly process of the Thuma bed frame versus the Silk & Snow bed frame, as the Thuma only has one single center support bar and center support leg, while the Silk & Snow has two center support bars and four center support legs. However, overall, both bed frames are easy to put together, especially with two people.

As the bed uses the interlocking Japanese joinery technique, each piece slots together rather than requiring tools and small screws.

If you're not into assembling it yourself, Thuma offers white-glove delivery for an extra fee

Thuma offers premium delivery for $295, which includes bringing the bed to your room of choice, fully assembling it, and removing the packaging. It's unnecessary for most customers (though not all, especially those with mobility issues or who live in fourth-floor walk-ups) to go the premium delivery route because assembling the Thuma bed is considerably easier. However, if you're buying multiple items from the brand, it could be worth your while to forgo the setup entirely.

Thuma vs Silk & Snow: Trial and warranty

We prefer Thuma's hassle-free trial and warranty policies

Both Silk & Snow and Thuma have a 30-day return policy. Previously, Thuma offered a 100-night trial, but they shortened it in February 2026. If Silk & Snow buyers want to return their bed frame, the company will deduct the shipping cost from the return. It must be returned in the original packaging and in a condition suitable for donation. Thuma bed frame customers don't have to pay a shipping fee for returns.

Thuma carries a phenomenal lifetime warranty for their bed frame. It covers any breakage or defects to the wooden frame and slats that occur through normal use. As for the Silk & Snow bed frame, the brand offers a five-year limited warranty that covers physical flaws that cause the frame to "bend, crack, or permanently deform more than 1 inch." Unfortunately, the buyer is responsible for the shipping costs for returning the original part that needs to be replaced.

Thuma vs Silk & Snow: Sustainability

Both brands are eco-friendly, and Silk & Snow gives back to the community

Buyers will be happy to know that both bed frames have strong sustainability features. The Thuma bed frame is Greenguard Gold Certified and made with 100% upcycled rubberwood, and the headboard cushion features CertiPUR-US-certified foam. The core upholstery materials, the performance Linen is OEKO-TEX® ️Class 2 certified, and the Italian Wool Felt is GREENGUARD Gold certified and made from 100% recycled materials, including 70% post-consumer recycled wool.

Silk & Snow, on the other hand, uses wood sustainably sourced from plantations in Southeast Asia and a lumber processing facility that promotes eco-conscious manufacturing principles. The wood is then sent to a woman-founded company in Vietnam that finishes it and constructs the bed frame. Silk & Snow also partners with Veritree to plant trees to offset carbon emissions and with True North Aid to provide bed sets to Indigenous communities in rural Canada.

The bottom line

When comparing the Thuma and the Silk & Snow bed frames, we recommend the Silk & Snow bed frame. It's sturdy, easy to assemble, and much more affordable than the Thuma — without sacrificing anything in terms of materials or design. That said, the lifetime warranty for the Thuma bed frame is appealing, especially compared to the Silk & Snow bed frame's five-year warranty. Keep in mind that you have to pay the full shipping cost for Silk & Snow returns, too. Perhaps the one thing that will split the vote for you is the headboard, whose designs differ considerably. Both are solid options, and we recommend both bed frames. Ultimately, it'll come down to your personal needs regarding pricing, design, and store policies.

Read our Thuma classic bed frame review and Silk & Snow wooden bed frame review. 

Which should you buy?

Go for Thuma if you:

• Want a premium, design-forward statement piece and don't mind paying more for aesthetic + durability
• Care about customization (finishes, headboard options, add-ons)

• Value Japanese joinery craftsmanship and ultra-sturdy construction
• Require Twin XL or California King sizing

• Prefer policies like a lifetime warranty and the option for White Glove Delivery

Go for Silk & Snow if you:

• Want a Thuma-like look for less and shopping on a tighter budget

• Still want tool-free assembly and solid build quality
• Don't need as many customization options
• Want a rattan or boucle-fabric headboard, or a taller headboard height
• Are okay with a shorter 5-year warranty and potential return fees

Other tool-free bed frames to consider

In addition to the frames offered from Thuma and Silk & Snow, other brands to consider if the following don't fit your needs or budget:

• I grew up in Australia and always dreamed of living in New York City, so I moved my family there.
• Living here comes with costs, like missing family in Australia and being unable to visit them often.
• We've spent a ton on rent, and I've moved around the city a lot, but there's no place I'd rather be.

It was my lifelong dream to live in New York City. Wild, given that I was born in a small rural town in Australia, where I grew up riding dirt bikes, not reading fashion magazines.

The Land Down Under was a big, beautiful place offering an idyllic, laid-back beach life, but I always felt a pull toward The Big Apple.

That lust further ignited in the '90s as I watched the city depicted in shows like "Friends" and "Sex and the City." So in 2014, on the cusp of turning 40, I dragged my husband, our Bengal cat, and our two sons — then 2 and 9 — to New York.

We told ourselves we'd come for a year, for an adventure. Twelve years later, I'm still here. It's certainly been one hell of a (ridiculously expensive) ride.

The rent we've paid feels astronomical, and we've moved so many times

In New York City, rental costs are no joke.

We traded our beautiful 1890s cottage — three-bedroom, two-bath, front porch, huge yard, tree-lined street, 10 minutes from Bondi Beach — for a two-bedroom loft apartment in Tribeca that cost us $8,000 a month. (This is not unusual for a two-bed in this neighborhood.)

By comparison, the monthly mortgage on our cottage in Sydney was, after conversion, less than half of that price.

Still, we knew we were choosing to live in a more expensive neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, and we did so because it felt like a great place to raise our kids. We loved the community, the quiet cobblestone streets, and the access to Hudson River Park.

Our loft was essentially a large box, with windows only at the front. It was also a fifth-floor walk-up, and between the angry downstairs neighbors who complained constantly about the sound of kids moving around and the fact that I had to carry a toddler and a stroller up five brutal flights of stairs, we left in under a year.

We moved around the corner to another loft, this one even more expensive, and lasted a little over a year until the building was condemned and we had to move — again.

At one point, my husband and I had considered buying a property in NYC with our nest egg, but we didn't have a clue how to navigate the competitive real-estate market, and it seemed clear we'd only get a teeny apartment for our budget.

The math didn't add up, and the risk of owning freaked us out. So we kept rolling the dice on renting.

Between my husband and me separating, the kids outgrowing smaller apartments, and landlords unexpectedly hiking up the rent, I've moved about 10 times since coming to the US.

My kids got a solid free education, but college costs felt tough to swallow

A financial reprieve in NYC is that public education is free, though school admissions can be complicated, with factors like zoning and lottery systems shaping where kids end up.

Thankfully, both of my boys got into a highly regarded public school in Manhattan, and I was impressed with their education.

I was also glad we (mostly) dodged expensive private schools — except when my youngest attended a language-immersion school for about $30,000 a year. He came out knowing basic Mandarin, which would have been worth the investment — only he's since forgotten all of it.

Then comes the killer: college. After graduating from high school, my oldest was accepted into a prestigious university in the Midwest to study engineering.

Sure, he could've attended a more affordable or in-state school, but a lot of "New York rats" (that's what my boys proudly call themselves) want to leave the city they grew up in — and their parents — to go to college somewhere else. Getting into a respected college also felt like a major flex, and we all felt the pressure for him to attend, no matter the cost.

So, his dad and I haggled over merit and financial aid and took out student loans to cover his first year. Add kitting out his dorm room, him blowing up our Seamless account (despite having a paid meal plan), and the costs of us flying out to visit and flying him home … year one probably cost around $70,000.

He didn't end up staying after his first year, which meant our student loans were due far sooner than we planned. The silver lining of not completing his degree is that, unlike many college graduates in the US, he's not saddled with four years' worth of debt.

Going home feels like an expensive, uphill battle — and it's tough being far from family

Our rent, as established, doesn't leave much in the budget for vacations — or for airfare back to Australia to see family and friends.

As Aussies, our ideal time to go home is around Christmas, when it's summer there, and many people are off work and school. However, that privilege can set us back upward of $4,000 in round-trip airfare alone for the four of us. On top of that, each way, we'd have to take two flights, totaling over 22 hours in the air.

In my opinion, we need three weeks for a proper trip Down Under, especially as I have to visit my loved ones in two cities.

Considering our sons' public schools only granted about a week off around that time of year, it rarely seemed worth the money or jet lag. This also explains why we typically only make it home every other year.

Some costs are even harder to reconcile with when living on a separate continent and in a different time zone from so many loved ones. From afar, I'm watching my mum age from 10,000 miles away (she just turned 80), and how my sister must carry the load of caring for our father as he faces health issues.

There are so many milestone birthdays, weddings, funerals, and family events I've missed and can never get back.

Still, I'd choose moving to New York City every time

To be clear, a lot of these costs were tied to choices we made as we sought to give our family a certain kind of life in NYC.

Despite the emotional and financial pain, do I regret moving? Not for a New York minute. This city has an incredible, lively vibe. We've forged deep friendships, created new traditions, and lapped up the electrifying culture on tap.

I also feel connected to the world in a way I never did in Australia; I can be in the Caribbean in about four hours, Europe in seven — and I've met people from all walks of life.

There's an energy and diversity here you won't find anywhere else in the world, along with a feeling that you can do anything.

Regardless of any financial regrets and mistakes from the past 12 years, New York City is home.

• I grew up thinking my small hometown was boring and couldn't wait to leave.
• Housing costs eventually brought my partner and me back when we wanted to buy.
• Now I appreciate the family support and community I couldn't see as a teenager.

I didn't think parking spaces would have a particularly big impact on my life, but ultimately, it was the thought of not having to parallel park on the street every day that made me realize I was going to move back to the town I grew up in.

My partner and I were trying to buy our first home together and hoped to stay in Oxford, the city where we had lived for the past five years.

I was speaking to a real estate agent about what we were looking for, and he raised his eyebrows slightly when I told him our budget. He told me that if I wanted an off-street parking space within our budget, we needed to consider smaller towns outside the city.

There was one town which we knew very well, as I'd grown up living there, 25 minutes away. My parents lived there, and we went back often, so my hometown was the obvious choice for our move.

At first, I resisted the idea of moving back home

Initially, I was resistant because I felt moving back was a cop-out. I'd remembered growing up feeling bored and like I couldn't wait to move somewhere else, but when the agent showed us what we could get for our budget — a house, with parking and a garden, rather than a tiny flat with no outside space - the maths and the logistics started making sense.

We were planning to start a family in the not-too-distant future, and I wanted to put down roots so the prospect of being close to my parents and a place I knew was appealing to me. We decided to go for it, and 12 years later, I'm now raising my own kids in the same town where I grew up.

People know me from when I was little

I've learned that raising kids in your hometown is a unique experience. Lots of people know you from when you were young, and it can sometimes feel like you have gone back in time.

It's weird dropping my kids off for clubs at my old school, and even weirder when I see people who I went to school with dropping off their own kids on the school run. I still feel like we're the kids, not the parents. And sometimes I cringe knowing that people know my past mistakes or what I was like as an awkward teenager.

When my kids were small, I thought I might have made a mistake. I worried it was very unadventurous, and I didn't have as much access to culture, jobs, and city life. My town is quite small and quiet, and I miss living in a city, the architecture, services, and atmosphere.

For a while, I considered moving to the coast or back to the city. But as we've all gotten older — my kids are now 7 and 9 — I have realized how lucky I am.

Being close to my parents has made a huge difference

As my kids have grown up, being close to my parents and seeing them regularly has made a big difference in my life. My son is autistic, and it's hard to find childcare — but parents are able to help us out a lot. Proximity means we can all help each other with caregiving, and it has made my life much easier.

I'm now grateful that both my kids and I get to spend time with my parents so easily, and glad of the family support network I have around me.

Living where you grew up has other benefits, too. I'm still close with some of my old friends who have stayed local, too, and I love seeing them. I also have lots of hometown knowledge and know where the best places to eat, play, and visit are.

I have learned to love where I live and have put down my own roots here as an adult rather than a child. I have made new friends and feel a part of the community in the part of town where I now live.

There are downsides, like a lack of culture, but it's not hard to hop on the bus or train, and I am happy to travel for events and trips in exchange for the benefits.

I've realized there's no perfect living arrangement, but it's a constant weighing up of the pros and cons of where you are physically with where you are in life. For me right now, the downsides are well worth the benefits of hometown living - and the fact that I rarely have to parallel park turned out to be just a cherry on the top.

• "The Altruists," a series about the collapse of FTX, is premiering on Netflix in November.
• Former staffers said the series isn't an accurate representation of FTX or its scandal.
• The former COO said the series' trailer made her "physically throw up."

Former FTX staffers are calling Netflix's new show about the company's collapse more fiction than fact.

Constance Wang, the former chief operating officer of FTX and co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, said watching the trailer for "The Altruists" made her "physically throw up."

Premiering on November 19, "The Altruists" is an eight-episode series dramatizing the rise and fall of the cryptocurrency exchange under former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Bankman-Fried is now serving a 25-year prison sentence for fraud after siphoning away billions from FTX customers. Caroline Ellison, who previously led FTX's affiliated crypto trading firm, Alameda Research, pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy and also served time in prison for her role in the scheme.

The show is called "The Altruists" because the pair initially said they were members of the effective altruism movement, which advocates earning as much money as possible to help improve the world.

"I was COO from before FTX even had a name, it was my baby, and I was the last one out of the Bahamas after Sam got extradited. I lost everything I had on it and it took me a long time to get over, so I have zero interest in defending the people who caused this," Wang said in an X post on Friday. "The media loves the story that FTX blew up because we were all partying in the Bahamas, but the place I worked looked nothing like that."

Wang said FTX had fewer than 200 employees in the core company at its peak, excluding subsidiaries, so many of them worked 16- to 18-hour days for more than three years.

"Whenever we walked in, day or night, Sam was at his desk," she said.

Wang also pushed back on the series' portrayal of Ellison, and the extent to which employees knew about Ellison's romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried.

"I worked with Caroline and never once saw her get aggressive like she does in this trailer. She's quiet and mild, and often lost in her own thoughts," Wang said. "Most of us didn't even know she and Sam were dating until we read about it after the bankruptcy, and I never saw him so much as put an arm around anyone."

Ellison, who served 14 months in prison, was released in January. She now works at the grantmaking platform Manifund, where she's researching how to direct its philanthropic funds effectively.

Andrew Croghan, the former head of business development at FTX, agreed with Wang's account.

"Constance and I worked alongside SBF and Caroline for years. This is so far from any realistic interaction," Croghan said on X. "Worse than that, it makes the complicated and tragic reality of their failures look like trivial romantic conflict and tropes."

"The Altruists" is the latest example of Hollywood turning to Silicon Valley for inspiration.

"The Social Reckoning," which debuted on Friday, chronicles the fallout from the 2021 Facebook leak.

"Musk," a documentary examining tech billionaire Elon Musk, also premiered on Friday.

And "Artificial," a film detailing the tumultuous period when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was ousted from the company, will hit theaters on Christmas Day.

The Longhorns and Sooners will clash in this weekend's Red River Rivalry showdown. We've gathered everything you need to know about how to watch Texas vs. Oklahoma, including global live streaming options.

If you don't want to scroll any further, you can live stream the game on ESPN Unlimited in the US, and on DAZN in the UK and other regions. You can access your usual streaming options from anywhere with a VPN, such as NordVPN.

What channel is Texas vs. Oklahoma on?

This weekend's Texas vs. Oklahoma game will air on ABC in the US. The game is scheduled to kick off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch Texas vs. Oklahoma in the US

Cord-cutters can catch ABC through a live TV service, like YouTube TV or Fubo, or the network's direct sports streaming counterpart, ESPN Unlimited.

ESPN Unlimited costs $32 a month and unlocks full live streams for all ESPN networks, along with ESPN on ABC games and streaming-exclusive programming. You can learn more in our ESPN streaming service guide.

ABC is also available in several live TV streaming services, including YouTube TV and Fubo, two of our top recommendations. YouTube TV carries ABC and 100+ other channels in its Main plan, which typically costs $83 a month. However, a limited-time deal will discount the first five months of service down to $68 a month for new customers. YouTube TV also unlocks ESPN Unlimited live streaming and offers a free trial for first-time customers.

Fubo is another popular live TV service. ABC is available in several plans, including Fubo Pro, which unlocks 200+ channels. Pro costs $89 a month, but new customers can get $25 off their first month after a free trial. Subscriptions also unlock access to ESPN Unlimited at no extra cost.

How to watch Texas vs. Oklahoma in the UK and other regions

In the UK and other international markets, DAZN live streams loads of college football games every week. Not every game is guaranteed coverage, so it's always a good idea to double-check that the game you want to watch is available. DAZN NCAA College Sports subscription prices vary from region to region.

How to watch Texas vs. Oklahoma from anywhere

If you're a football fan traveling abroad right now, you can still access your usual streaming options by utilizing a VPN. Short for virtual private networks, VPNs are handy cybersecurity apps that let people temporarily change their virtual location. This way, their favorite websites and apps work overseas the same way they would back home. Since the platforms we've recommended today require country-specific payment methods, this option will work best for those who are just traveling away from home right now.

NordVPN is one of the best VPNs around. It's fast, easy to use (even for beginners), and has a hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee. You can learn more in our NordVPN review.

How are the teams doing?

The No. 1 Texas Longhorns have had a remarkably strong start to the season, going 4-0 with memorable wins over Ohio State and Tennessee. The 2-2 Oklahoma Sooners have had a less stellar first month, punctuated by losses to Georgia and Michigan.

Where does the game take place?

The game will take place at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Who is favored to win Texas vs. Oklahoma?

Texas is the favorite to win today's game. According to DraftKings (at the time of writing), Texas is -325 on the moneyline, while Oklahoma is +260.

Who won the last Texas vs. Oklahoma football game?

The Longhorns have won the past two football games against the Sooners. Texas beat Oklahoma 23-6 in 2025.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• The Rossi family has been living in an RV full time for six years.
• Their lifestyle allows them to travel and spend more time together as a family.
• They hope to keep living the RV lifestyle until they pay off debt and feel more financially secure.

The view from Haylea Rossi's bedroom is constantly changing. Sometimes, she can see snowy mountains. A week later, she could see waves crashing on the shore.

No, Rossi doesn't have a green screen that rotates outside her home. She and her family live in an RV full time, traveling the country year-round.

The mom of two told Business Insider that she loves RV life for lots of reasons, but especially because of the financial freedom it gives her family.

The Rossi family was at a crossroads in 2020.

In 2020, Rossi, 31, didn't get to see her husband, Ryan Rossi, 34, much. Rossi was at home with their two children, Liam and Olivia, who are now 12 and 10, while her husband finished up his military service.

"He deployed almost every single year," Rossi, who is a content creator and social media creator for brands, told Business Insider of her husband's time in the military. "He was constantly away."

When her husband's service was finally done, the Rossis wanted to make up for lost time. When her husband got a remote job as an independent insurance adjuster, which required him to travel to Colorado for six months of training, Rossi was excited that her family could be together.

However, they struggled to find a housing option they could afford as they relocated, particularly because they were trying to pay off debt at the same time.

They decided to try RV life.

The Rossis took the expensive housing in Colorado as a sign to do something different: buy an RV.

Rossi said an RV was more affordable for her family than buying or renting a house, and the six-month span seemed like a good way to test out the lifestyle, which was completely new to them.

"We went into it knowing if it wasn't a good fit, we weren't going to stay in it," she said, adding that she had some trepidation about RV life.

"Once I did some research before we actually did it, I was like, 'There's a whole group of people who do this, and they actually travel, and they experience life,'" she said.

With all that in mind, they decided to give it a go, buying an RV and heading to Colorado.

"We lived there up in the mountains for six months, and then said, 'This is kind of the best thing ever. Let's travel,'" Rossi said.

They've been on the road ever since.

The Rossis have had two RVs in their six years of traveling.

Their first RV was a 2020 Forest River Sabre. They renovated the interior for a more custom, tiny-home feel, as many RVers do.

That RV got totaled, which led the Rossis to buy a newer Forest River Sabre 36DBB in January 2026. It's slightly larger and has separate bedrooms for their kids, unlike their first RV. The Rossis haven't customized their current RV, as the newer design is a good fit for their family.

The new vehicle cost $70,000.

When you enter the RV, you're greeted by the main living space.

The vehicle's main room houses a kitchen and a living area. The kitchen has a stove, oven, microwave, and refrigerator, but it doesn't have a dishwasher. There's also ample built-in storage, including a hidden pantry that sits behind their TV and fireplace.

A large island sits in the center of the room, which Rossi said is a big upgrade for their family.

"It's really spacious compared to a normal little dinette table," she said.

The Rossi kids do most of their schoolwork at the kitchen island.

Rossi homeschools her children on the road, doing many of their lessons from the island and taking them to see the places they're learning about in their travels. They also took one seat out of their couch, so Rossi's husband has a dedicated desk in the living space and does not have to use the same surface as the kids.

Liam Rossi's bedroom is visible from the living area, as it sits in the loft above the space.

They also have a projector screen that pulls out from above the TV, so the family can have movie nights.

The right side of the RV serves as the primary suite.

If you walk to the right when you enter the RV, the primary bathroom and bedroom sit a level above the living area, almost like a private suite.

One wall of the bedroom is made entirely of closets, giving the Rossis built-in storage. Their washer and dryer also sit in one of the closets.

The Rossis' daughter has the second private bedroom.

Although Olivia Rossi's bed takes up much of the space, the bedroom is actually packed with storage for the whole family.

There's a closet for her clothes, a shelf for her and her brother's shoes, and space under her bed for storage.

The mattress also lifts completely to reveal a hidden storage compartment where the family keeps items such as winter clothes, extra toys, and holiday decor.

"You have to live pretty minimally if you live in an RV. You have to be strategic," Rossi said. "It's definitely a challenge at times to cut everything, but we make it work."

There's also a second bathroom attached to the bedroom, which Olivia and her brother use.

The Rossis do most of their travel in the fall and spring.

Ryan Rossi's work can sometimes dictate where the family travels, as he gets sent to different locations after storms. Most of the time, though, they can travel where they want when he's working remotely.

Rossi said her family usually stays in a new place for about two weeks, giving them time to explore. They do most of their traveling in the fall and spring, spending summers in Kansas City with family and winters in Florida.

Many RV families spend time in Florida during the colder months, so they have a community of friends to spend time with in the winter.

Rossi loves the freedom of life on the road.

Rossi said that the quality time she gets with her family because of RV life is the biggest benefit of her lifestyle.

"We had such a big section of our life where we did life away from each other," Rossi said, adding that being able to actually experience everything with their kids is a gift for her and her husband.

She also thinks the experience has changed her family's perspective on material goods for the better.

"When we had a house, my kids had so many toys, and they played with maybe a quarter of those toys," she said. "They would much rather be outside riding their bikes or doing something out there."

Living in the RV isn't always easy, though.

Rossi loves that the RV makes it easy to spend time outdoors, but it can be challenging on days when that isn't an option.

"On days where the weather's bad or it's raining, you can feel like you're closed in a little bit," she said. "Our kids will sometimes argue, just like normal kids, and then it sometimes feels like you can't escape that. I can go to my room, but I can still hear them if they're playing a game and they're arguing. That part really is the hardest for me."

Rossi also said she sometimes struggles with the space feeling cramped.

"It can get very cluttered very quickly," she said. "The upside is it doesn't take long to clean up. It's a small space. But that sometimes drives me a little crazy."

The Rossis will continue living on the road for the foreseeable future, in part because it's the most affordable option for their family.

Rossi said she doesn't think her family will always live in an RV, but it doesn't make financial sense for them to buy a house right now.

"We definitely could buy a house, but then we would feel so much more limited on what we could do financially," she said.

Right now, their monthly household expenses are often under $1,000, Rossi said. The RV payments are around $600 a month, and they're often paying $200 in RV park fees with their Thousand Trails membership, which provides access to a network of campgrounds and resorts.

Between the cost of homes and high interest rates, Rossi said her family wouldn't be able to travel or pay off their debt if they had to pay a pricey mortgage each month.

"We're at the place where we want to pay off our debt," she added. "We want to actually have some experiences while our kids are at home and not feel like we're stuck in the house, just trying to get by."

Still, Rossi said they won't continue living on the road if her kids aren't happy.

Rossi said it's important to her and her husband that their kids are happy with RV life, especially as they get older.

"I know a lot of people have different opinions on this, but I feel like your kids should want to do the lifestyle as well," she said. "We do have frequent check-ins with my kids. We're like, 'Do you feel ready to stop and stay?' But they're both like, 'No, this is the best thing ever. We want to travel.'"

They'll continue checking in with their kids, but Rossi said it's been empowering to know their nontraditional lifestyle makes her children happy.

"Sometimes, it's easy as a parent to feel like you have to make your life look like everyone else's to give your kid the childhood that you think that they should have," she said. "And for us, we have found that our kids are so much happier just having time with us and experiences with us versus things."

At some point, they will likely stop living on the road. For now, though, they're glad to keep the adventure going.

"As long as our kids are happy and we're working toward our goals, we'd rather reach our financial goals first before we think about [moving into a house]," Rossi said.

• McDonald's just relaunched its fan-favorite Snack Wrap in the UK.
• Fans were left disappointed by the "downgraded" menu item.
• We tried the US and UK versions of McDonald's Snack Wraps to see how they compare.

The Snack Wrap has officially landed overseas.

McDonald's brought the fan-favorite item back to UK menus on October 6, marking its first appearance there since it was discontinued in 2016. Much like in the US, British fans spent years calling for its return — and McDonald's finally answered.

However, shortly after the launch, The Sun reported that a few British McDonald's customers were disappointed by the "downgraded" menu item, lamenting the removal of cheese from the wraps and calling it "a bit plain" on social media.

We decided to put each version to the test.

Our London-based reporter, Roya Shahidi, thought the UK's version of the Snack Wrap, while light and crispy, was disappointing overall and needed cheese.

On the other hand, our US-based reporter Erin McDowell was impressed by the flavorful sauces and crispy chicken tenders included in each of her wraps.

Here's how McDonald's Snack Wraps in the US and the UK compare in terms of taste and value.

UK-based reporter Roya went to a McDonald's in Islington, London.

There were no ads inside the McDonald's about the Snack Wrap's return.

McDonald's in the UK has only one version of the Snack Wrap.

Unlike in the US, where you can choose between a spicy or ranch version of the wrap, the UK only has one option.

The UK version contains 282 calories and costs £1.99, equivalent to about $2.62.

When ordering in the app, you can upgrade the Snack Wrap to a medium meal deal for £5.59 ($7.38), which includes a drink and fries.

The UK Snack Wrap was neatly packaged.

Roya took the Snack Wrap to the office to eat.

The UK Snack Wrap comes with a chicken tender, black pepper mayo, and shredded lettuce.

Roya found it disappointing that there was no shredded cheese inside, unlike in the US, especially since the previous UK iteration did contain cheese.

At this McDonald's, adding a cheese slice would cost 50 pence — equivalent to about 66 cents.

There was a generous amount of mayo and shredded lettuce in the wrap. However, while she is a fan of the UK McDonald's Chicken Selects, Roya felt the portion was too small for the price.

The chicken breast was tender and crispy, but the wrap overall was quite bland.

Roya thought the mayo serving was generous, though as someone who prefers other sauces, she would have liked the option for something else.

The black pepper mayo had a mild kick, and the lettuce added a nice crunch, but overall, it was missing something extra, like cheese.

The UK-based reporter thought the ingredient distribution wasn't great, with one side containing no lettuce.

As its name suggests, the Snack Wrap makes a good snack because it's light; however, it's not filling enough as a meal in its own right.

Business Insider reached out to McDonald's for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

Snack Wraps have been back on menus in the US since July 2025.

McDonald's brought back its Snack Wraps nationwide last summer, marking one of the year's most anticipated fast-food launches. The $2.99 wraps come in ranch and spicy-pepper varieties, with chicken tenders, lettuce, and shredded cheese.

The wraps began disappearing from menus in 2016 and were officially discontinued in 2020. A petition calling for their return later drew more than 18,000 signatures.

The US Snack Wraps contain 390 calories for the ranch version and 380 for the spicy version, and cost $2.99 each.

When ordering in the app, you can upgrade the Snack Wrap to a medium meal deal for $11.09, which includes a drink and fries.

In the US, they come in two varieties — spicy and ranch.

This is arguably the biggest difference compared to the new UK version, along with the addition of shredded cheese.

Our US-based reporter Erin tried both wraps and was impressed by the amount of sauce in each.

Both wraps are made with McDonald's new chicken tenders, which launched in the US in May 2025.

The spicy Snack Wrap packed more heat than Erin expected.

The lettuce tasted fresh, and Erin was impressed by how substantial the wraps were. Though billed as snack-sized, one was filling enough for a quick lunch.

The spicy sauce had a noticeable kick without being overwhelming — enough heat to earn its name.

She also enjoyed the ranch version of the Snack Wrap.

The ranch version tasted lighter but still packed plenty of flavor. Its creamy sauce balanced the fresh lettuce and crispy chicken tender, while the shredded cheese added a mild savory note and a little extra texture to each bite.

The tortilla wrap itself also seemed lighter and less doughy in the US.

We can see why McDonald's fans across the pond are disappointed by this new release.

While both reporters were excited to try the Snack Wraps, we felt a little let down by the UK version.

The key differences between the US and UK versions of the snack wrap are the absence of cheese in the UK version and fewer flavor options, which ended up greatly affecting our final takeaways.

While Erin would — and has — order these snack wraps again after their first launch, Roya wasn't so sure, given the bland flavor profile, less-than-satisfactory presentation, and mediocre distribution of ingredients.

When it comes to Snack Wraps, McDonald's fans might have to head to the US to get the tastiest version possible.

• I'm from Massachusetts, and I love visiting Salem, but it can be too busy in the fall.
• Instead, I think Beverly, Massachusetts, is an amazing, less-crowded alternative.
• Not only is the Halloween decor incredible, but the place also has great food and historic charm.

Anyone from Massachusetts knows that during Halloween, Salem is packed tighter than a Candy Crush board.

I've visited Salem many times, but I like to avoid the area from September through the beginning of November because of the surge in tourism. Each year, the city welcomes roughly 1,000,000 visitors every October, with 96,000 people going on Halloween alone.

During the fall, crowds flood the streets on ghost tours, take selfies in front of the statue of Elizabeth Montgomery from "Bewitched," line up at the Salem Witch Museum, and try to snag a ticket to the Haunted Witch Village at the Salem Wax Museum.

It's always exciting to welcome new guests who are eager to learn about the city's twisted history. But during October, Salem's narrow streets and scarce parking make its charm hard to enjoy.

However, a recent three-day staycation in Beverly, Massachusetts —just three miles away from Salem's city center — gave my family and me the best of both worlds: easy access to Witch City, plus a quieter place to eat, explore, and sleep.

Until this year, I'd thought of it as mostly Salem's sleepier sister, but my time there made me realize I'd been overlooking it as a must-visit destination in its own right.

Beverly has Halloween spirit without Salem's October crowds

Downtown Beverly has the independent restaurants, family-owned boutiques, and historic architecture that I love about Salem, minus the holiday crowds.

I loved checking out the trails at Long Hill estate, which houses 114 acres of land and gardens. For most of October, the grounds' pathways feature thousands of hand-carved glowing jack-o'-lanterns, twinkling lights, decorations, and treats like cider as part of the Halloween on the Hill event.

I've attended the event twice and can't recommend it enough.

Our hotel was beautiful — and cheaper than many places in Salem

My family and I stayed at the recently renovated Wylie Inn in Beverly, which sits on Endicott College's leafy seaside campus and has direct beach access.

Not only is the hotel stunning, but most rates for a late-October night are cheaper compared to places I've stayed in Salem.

Plus, parking at the Wylie Inn is free, so you don't have to worry about competing for a spot at a public garage.

The food and sweet treats were incredible

During our time in Beverly, we dined at Flip the Bird, a fast-casual restaurant that had the most delicious, crispy chicken sandwiches and frothy frappes.

The desserts in Beverly also blew me away. On our last day, we hit up Prides Crossing Confections. This family-owned candy shop — housed inside a former train station — featured Halloween treats and tasty chocolate lollipops.

Like Salem, Beverly is rich in historic charm and cultural activities

Sure, Salem is full of incredible tales and features many cultural attractions, but the same is true for Beverly.

While visiting, we checked out Cabot House, an 18th-century Georgian-style mansion. Stepping inside this home, which was the first brick mansion built in the city, I instantly felt like I had traveled back in time to Beverly's founding.

Along with Cabot House, there are plenty of other activities to plan a getaway around — instead of just limiting yourself to Halloween-themed activities in Salem.

For example, the Montserrat College of Art offers five free galleries in Beverly, and the nonprofit Cabot Performing Arts Center hosts comedy and music acts.

Hiking through Witches' Woods was incredible

One of my favorite moments during the staycation was hiking at the Beverly Commons Conservation Area.

This 409-acre preserve was once a major thoroughfare during colonial times, and during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692, the forest became known as Witches' Woods after families sought refuge there.

Now, centuries later, as I walked beneath peaceful canopies of trees, I couldn't believe that Salem's busy streets were only a few miles away.

If you want to brave the Salem crowds, it's a short drive or train ride away

Beverly is incredible, but if you're still itching to check out the scene in Salem, luckily, it's conveniently located nearby.

Beverly has multiple rail stations, with direct trains to Salem that take about five minutes. Plus, during October, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority offers extra train cars, more departure times, and discounted fares.

But if you have a car, Salem is only about a 15-minute drive from Beverly, though holiday traffic can make the trip much longer. I'm a fan of Salem's free parking lot at Fort Avenue, which is about a 20-minute walk to the center of the action.

• My husband and I met on our seventh-grade field trip to a local amusement park.
• Twenty years later, I planned a surprise trip back to the park.
• It was the best we've felt since having a baby last year.

According to my childhood diary, I met my husband on our seventh-grade field trip to Canobie Lake Park — a local theme park, an hour north of Boston.

From the Ferris wheel overlooking the freshwater lake to the 90-year-old wooden coaster called the Yankee Cannonball, it would be hard to find a more idyllic spot for a middle school meet-cute in New England.

We weren't childhood sweethearts. We didn't start dating until our late 20s, but despite the sweeping romance we had reconnecting and getting married, we fell into a postpartum blur after having a baby.

As we adjusted to our new lives, romance kept falling down the priority list until it practically flatlined. But with the 18-month mark around the corner, I was ready for a comeback, and my husband absolutely did not see it coming.

Postpartum romance takes a village

Luckily, my parents offered to watch our daughter on many weekend afternoons, to give us time off. Yet left alone, we defaulted too easily to catching up on work and home improvement projects. We needed friends to shake us out of Mom-and-Dad mode.

I'd been hoping to orchestrate a surprise trip to Canobie Lake Park all summer, ever since I realized we'd passed the 20th anniversary of our meeting there. So, when two of our bandmates mentioned they were free to hang out one Saturday, I immediately called them in secret, and we hatched a plan.

It all kicked off when our friends offered to take my husband and me to a fun spot with live music for the day — a winery conveniently located near Canobie Lake. With the decoy destination in the GPS, the four of us piled into one car and set off, bathing suits hidden in the trunk. At the last second, we veered off course, pulling into the park as if it were a complete coincidence.

I wish I had a video of his face when we arrived. The only other time I've seen him so surprised and delighted was when I showed him the positive pregnancy test.

Everything about the theme park surpassed our expectations

Tickets were $48 per person. Parking was free. There was no line at the gate. We showed up at 4 p.m., sunlight glittering off the lake bordering the park. There were families with strollers all around, but it wasn't too crowded. I didn't hear a single tantrum being thrown for the entire five hours we were there.

We did exactly what 13-year-olds do after being let loose in an amusement park without supervision.

We rode roller coasters all night long. Played summer camp games while we waited in line. Made silly faces in the photo booth. Got soaked from head to toe on a log flume called the Boston Tea Party. Shared a basket of chicken fingers as a snack, and then forgot to have dinner. Rode the gondola and watched the sun set over the lake. Made fun of the totally-not-scary haunted house. Started a screaming competition with a bunch of pre-teen girls on the opposite side of the swinging Pirate Ship.

It was the kind of perfect date that only happens in a PG-13 movie

The highlight was when we stumbled upon The Hit Collective, a boy band trio from Las Vegas, kicking off a summer residency at the park. They serenaded the crowd with songs from One Direction and K-Pop Demon Hunters, and even pulled kids up onstage to take Polaroid selfies with them while they performed. In keeping with the childhood nostalgia, we used my disposable camera to take a group photo with them after, like they were the Jonas Brothers themselves.

Many things about the park felt the same, but I had so much more fun as a thirty-four-year-old than I did at thirteen. I wasn't scared of roller coasters anymore, for one. After giving birth, going upside down for a few seconds isn't quite so intimidating. I actually enjoyed being jokingly peer-pressured into the rides I used to be scared of. And I had no qualms saying no to the rides I know I hate (instead of going on the drop tower just to impress my crush).

We didn't just feel like kids; we were reminded of how much fun we could have as a couple. We fell in love again, holding hands, as we decided which ride to take next together.

What began as a romantic gesture to celebrate the start of our friendship turned into a time machine adventure we'll remember for the rest of our lives.

• Samuel Sévigny cofounded Chaletô, a Quebec-based rental management firm, with friends in 2022.
• They've grown the company in four years and now manage over 500 properties.
• Sévigny said that some things run more smoothly at scale — others don't.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Samuel Sévigny, 32, the cofounder and marketing director at Chaletô, a short-term rental property management company based in Quebec, Canada. Sévigny started Chaletô in 2022 with four of his friends and has scaled to over 500 cabins and condos. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

It started as six friends fresh out of college. We all had other jobs. It was in 2016, and we wanted to invest in real estate, diversify, and get started in life.

One of our co-founders had condos in downtown Quebec City already, so he pitched us the idea of investing all together and building our own cabin, and to manage it ourselves. So that's what we did.

We launched our first cabin together in 2019, then our second in 2020, right in the middle of COVID.

Fast-forward to 2022, and we had four different units that we owned and managed, and we wanted to delegate the process of managing them. We couldn't find anyone who was professional enough for our standards, so it was just like most origin stories: it starts with a problem that we're trying to solve.

In the meantime, our neighbor started pressuring us, asking if we could manage his property because he could see that we were rented pretty much the whole year. We said no at first, but he kept asking. At some point, we decided to say yes. It started with our neighbor, then it was the neighbor's neighbor, and then the whole street.

Then we had 10 properties under management in 2022.

The six of us had to sit down and say, "Hey, what are we going to do with this? It's getting serious." Either we'll make this a serious, legitimate business, or we stop, because there's no in-between.

So in 2022, we decided to incorporate Chaletô. We grew from 10 to 500-plus units in four years. We decided to make it a real thing and to go all-in.

When we scaled our business, our gains scaled, too

The biggest difference between an individual host and a property management company is really the optimization at scale.

When you're a professional host, you're dealing with your own cleaner, your tech stack is under one roof, and you've got one or two listings. You're paying the higher-bracket price for all the tools you're using.

You probably decide to cut different tools because you maybe don't have the resources, or the time, or the training to be able to use them well. I'm thinking about dynamic pricing tools. I'm thinking about AI automation for operations. I'm thinking about a bunch of things like that, because that's not your day job.

I was working in advertising in Montreal and doing Airbnb hosting on the side. I was managing the guest messaging on nights and weekends, so I really lived the individual host dilemma of having a full-time job and then dealing with guests Friday and Saturday when you're off from your day job. I lived through that for several years, so I really, really understand how it feels.

When you make this a full-time gig and it becomes a full-time business, then you make gains at scale.

You get a little bit more leverage with relationships within the industry. For example, you can negotiate cleaners' contracts a little bit easier. That comes with professional management, and that's the main benefit of having it at scale.

Also, you can attract talent for specific things in your business that you couldn't if you were alone. If you're managing only one or two properties, there's no need to have a full-time dedicated revenue management person, someone who's trained for this, sophisticated, and educated about that. But when you manage 50 or 100 properties, it becomes interesting because you can optimize each function of your hosting business.

Our business works best when we're not distracted by the latest trends

When you scale, it's easy to get distracted. You see it in every industry possible: real estate, service, and tech. It's like when something starts clicking, and it works, and everything seems to be working for you, then the easiest shortcut for entrepreneurs, I think, is jumping on all the opportunities.

It would be easy for us to say, "We're going to keep investing in real estate because we're giving the service to support it," but it's a different beast. Investing is totally different than servicing the owners. Now you're distracted between two different businesses: you're scaling one, and then you're trying to scale the other.

Another problem we face is the speed at which AI is moving, not only for our industry but for everyone.

At what stage does it become mature enough to be implemented within our business, and where do you focus? Because it seems like there is a new tool and there's a new shiny object being created by the next engineer every other week.

One of our challenges is always, do you keep hiring people and training them and keep it very hospitality based, or do you optimize with AI, and is it mature enough to support that optimization, or is it just a super shiny object and a gamble?

So far, I'll say I don't think we have 100% the right answer to that. We prefer to hire and grow our team for now and really double down on service when everyone's running towards AI.

We also prefer to hire actual people from Quebec. They speak French first, English second, and they can support any type of customer service issue because they live here, they understand the market, they understand the region, and the experiences around it.

We use tech to support our business, but every couple of months, it feels like you have to re-challenge yourself. Is this still the right tech? Are you overpaying for it? Because AI is going at a speed that is so fast.