Fast Company May/June 2020

As I compose this editor’s note from my home “office”—a writing desk in my bedroom, my laptop propped up by my college copy of The Riverside Chaucer in a feeble attempt at ergonomics—the future is unsettling. Hospitals and healthcare workers expect to be overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, and entire sectors of the economy are shut down, which has led to millions of layoffs. Some beloved local businesses, unable to weather this storm, surely will close their doors forever. Yet we at Fast Company are still finding reasons to be optimistic, a sentiment that’s reflected throughout this issue. The cover image of tidying expert Marie Kondo, along with senior writer Elizabeth Segran’s sprightly profile, can’t help but (forgive me) spark joy. A feature about the employees at corporate messaging platform Slack, who…

On Privacy.com, shrouding your online shopping habits sounds easy: Enter your debit or bank account information, and the website generates a virtual debit card. This so-called burner card acts as a buyer by proxy, keeping your name and billing address out of view. Simply type its number, expiration date, and CVV code into any e-commerce site, hit purchase, and Privacy takes over. The service charges your actual card, adds those funds to the burner one, and uses the new card to do the actual shopping. The promise is appealing. The card can be configured so that retailers can’t tack on any additional charges, such as an automatic subscription fee. If the retailer’s site gets hacked, you just ditch the burner and move on. And if anyone involved in the transaction tries…

Alison Roman’s salted butter and chocolate chunk cookies are so famous, they’re known merely as #thecookies on social media. Search Instagram, and you’ll find thousands of posts of the flat-topped shortbreads—and they’re not her only recipe the internet has minted as the be-all and end-all. The chef’s New York Times column, which publishes every other week, has inspired #thestew and #thepasta, and several other viral recipes. Roman’s second cookbook, Nothing Fancy, was a New York Times best seller after its release last October. With a conversational tone and a deep appreciation for her millennial following’s small budgets (and kitchens), Roman has built a dedicated audience for her unfussy take on cooking and entertaining. Here, she shares her recipe for making food, stories, and content people love to share. LEARN BY DOING Los…

01 Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric “I wanted to include chickpeas, but I didn’t intend for it to be vegan. It’s kind of a weird recipe to go viral. I don’t think #thestew would have happened without #thecookies. I think they set the hashtag trend.” 02 Vinegar Chicken With Crushed Olive Dressing “I can tell when a recipe isn’t going to go viral: if I use ingredients that are hard to find or that people are scared of cooking, like fish. This one only required one pan, and people seem less scared of chicken.” 03 Caramelized Shallot Pasta “I wanted to keep the ingredients cheap, and I knew I wanted to make something tomatoey. I posted a photo of a dish I made for a party on Instagram and I got a lot…

Five years ago, Christina Cassotis stepped in as CEO of Allegheny County Airport Authority, which owns and operates Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). She didn’t take the role to run an airport. She joined to change an industry and advance the region. Pittsburgh is an industrious, techsavvy, and collaborative place, where companies, nonprofits, universities, and government agencies come together to move the city forward. PIT reflects the city ethos by launching innovative programs that earn Pittsburgh International attention and elevate the traveler experience. These initiatives leverage community partnerships, global alliances, and local resources and reflect an innovative culture that permeates the entire organization. INNOVATION VALIDATION Fast Company recognizing PIT on its Most Innovative Companies list validates PIT’s commitment to purpose-driven innovation. Its mission is to not only fulfill its role as an airport, but…

Construction materials alone, including carbon and steel, contribute 11% of global carbon emissions (by comparison, air travel contributes about 2.5%). That’s why architects and development companies around the world are opting for a novel but not-so-new solution: wood. A study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, in Germany, found that with proper forest management, a global boom in wood buildings could sequester up to 700 million tons of carbon a year (wood naturally stores carbon, preventing it from being released into the atmosphere). The idea is catching on: Google’s Sidewalk Labs has proposed a 12-acre timber neighborhood in Toronto, while in February, France mandated that all public buildings after 2022 be constructed of at least 50% wood or other organic materials. The University of Arkansas completed the largest…