The Baltimore County Police Department confirmed the identity of the sixth victim, 37-year-old José Mynor López, after salvage teams located his body Tuesday.
Republicans tried for the kind of headline moments they've scored in similar hearings with elite college presidents. But the testimony from K-12 public school leaders offered few surprises.
Why do video game workers offer labor at a discount? How can you design a video game for blind and sighted players? Does that design have lessons for other industries?
These and other questions about the business of video games answered in todays episode. The Indicator just wrapped a weeklong series decoding the economics of the video game industry, we're excerpting some highlights.
First, we meet some of the workers who are struggling with the heavy demands placed on them in their booming industry, and how they are fighting back.
Then, we check in on how game developers are pulling in new audiences by creatively designing for people who couldn't always play. How has accessibility become an increasingly important priority for game developers? And, how can more players join in the fun?
You can hear the rest of our weeklong series on the gaming industry at this link, or wherever you get your podcasts.
This episode was hosted by Wailin Wong, Darian Woods, and Adrian Ma. Corey Bridges produced this episode with help from James Sneed. It was edited by Kate Concannon, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez with help from Valentina Rodríguez Sánchez. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
Back in 2019, The Indicator started checking in on with a Venezuelan economist Gabriela Saade. The economy was in freefall. The country was suffering from hyperinflation and a huge jump in poverty. Today, the U.S. faces a spike in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, many from Venezuela. So we check back in with Gabriela. Venezuela is due to go to the polls in July. We ask Gabriela and two other Venezuelans: what are economic conditions like at the moment? How has life changed since the pandemic? Some of the answers surprised us.
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
Remember the letter-writer asking whether there was anything they could do about their nightmare workload? The first update was here, and here’s the resolution.
Well, I certainly wasn’t planning to have another update after a week and a half, but I am no longer at this job! Things deteriorated really, really quickly.
Last Monday, my coworker and I realized our bosses were planning to fire her. After they found the new hire we knew they were looking for, they kept the posting up and continued the search — there were poorly disguised interviews all over the office schedule, with timestamps clearly indicating they were added after the new hire accepted the offer. At that point, I was done. It would have been bad enough for her to quit, but the idea that they were going to proactively get rid of my only coworker just when I had room to breathe for the first time in a year and a half … it was the point of no return. The only reasons I didn’t give my notice that day: I wanted to give my coworker space to figure out her own next move, and I didn’t want to burn the bridge until I had my April retention bonus in hand.
Tuesday my coworker gave her notice. They told her they didn’t need her two weeks — she could just wrap up the next day. They broke the news to me on Wednesday morning and told me it was for the best. Even though I knew it was coming and had been heated up about it all week, I still wasn’t really prepared for how it felt. Once she left it was like the past year and a half all came down on me at once, which was pretty crushing. Thursday and Friday I was standoffish with my bosses. I kept to myself — no pleasantries, a couple of petty little silences, and for the most part I sent emails for things I usually would have popped into their offices to discuss.
Monday was mostly back to normal, and then at the end of the day was my annual review. They acknowledged I’d done a lot of great work, but the focus of the conversation was my professionalism and attitude, and that I should really think about whether the company was a good fit for me if I couldn’t be comfortable with change. (There was also a section about how I needed to work on time management and prioritization, because I could “appear to get flustered and overwhelmed.”) I said we should go our separate ways and offered a little more than two weeks notice — I was about to take a few days off, so two weeks starting from my first day back. In the interest of getting a clean break and getting me out before the new hire started, they said they only needed one more day from me. (I do wonder what she’ll think, showing up for her first day only to find both of the team members she was introduced to are gone.)
So now I’m out! The last few weeks have been an emotional rollercoaster, but I’m weirdly happy this is how it shook out. My (former) coworker’s relieved to be out, I got the bonus, I didn’t have to stress myself out about how to break the news I was leaving, and one day was such a laughably short handover period that I barely thought about the million things I would have wanted to tie up if I’d had more time. Most importantly, I think I always would have believed on some level that if only I had done things differently, everything could have worked out. This made it really clear that it would have gone absolutely horribly if I’d ever tried to intervene on my coworker’s behalf, and there was never any salvaging this.
I’ll be applying to new positions here and there if they look really good, but I’ve been chanting “summer off, SUMMER OFF” in my head for a little over a week, so the real plan right now is just to enjoy a nice long break.
DENVER—Finding it an adequate substitute for the alcohol she used to consume during an evening of social drinking, local woman Candice Cooper told reporters Thursday that an $18 mocktail helped her satisfy the craving she still had to waste money. “It’s nice to have a drink that gives me that same experience of…
Citing their concerns about citizens’ privacy, a bipartisan group of senators is pushing to limit the use of facial recognition technology in airports, a rapidly expanding part of the check-in process. What do you think?
Florida has passed a restrictive law that bans abortions after six weeks from a woman’s last menstrual period, before most women know they are pregnant. The Onion breaks down the numbers behind the state’s war on reproductive rights.
"We were united in the way that women had to be in order to thrive in a man's world, through mutual respect, intellect and collaboration," Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter posted in a tribute.
Two-bedroom townhouse only 15 minutes from downtown and, Jesus Christ, what was I thinking trying to sell this all by myself? It’s too late to go get a realtor now because I know my wife will be all smug about it, after I insisted I could do this myself and save a ton of money. God. I think we’ll just not move.
EVANSVILLE, IN—After finding several messages the father of three had sent to women online, members of the local Branson family admitted Wednesday that they couldn’t even be mad at their dad after seeing his heartbreaking attempts at cheating. “I know I should be upset, but it’s hard to feel anything other than pity…
Shaking off rumors of his retirement, 82-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) declared his plans to seek reelection, saying in his announcement video that the 2024 election “is the most consequential election in our lifetimes.”
NEW YORK—Earning $2,200 per appearance, former president Donald Trump has begun paying his legal bills with a new gig as a CNN contributor, sources confirmed Wednesday. “We are pleased to welcome Donald Trump to CNN’s talented roster of experts and insiders,” CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson said of the former…
CHICAGO—Dismissing concerns that funds were being mismanaged, the Chicago Police Department vigorously defended its decision this week to buy an entire fleet of 1967 Ferraris. “We will use these babies to keep the community safe, and we will look badass while doing so,” said Chicago Police Superintendent Larry…
The world has changed in the hundred years since A. A. Milne introduced us to Winnie-the-Pooh and his pals, but that doesn’t mean our lovable friends haven’t adapted to life in the twenty-first century. This heartwarming, laugh-out-loud parody—by frequent McSweeney’s contributor Jennie Egerdie—takes us along for some marvelous misadventures as the gang grapples with modern life’s headaches and pesky predicaments. Today, we’re happy to offer an excerpt from Oh, Bother.
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Session 1
Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood, in a sensibly furnished den, Eeyore shared feelings of inadequacy with his therapist, Dr. Festinker.
“Everyone in the Hundred Acre Wood has a home,” he complained, “and I live in a wobbly tent of sticks.”
“I’m sorry,” said Dr. Festinker. “That must feel terrible.”
Eeyore shook his head from side to side. “Not much use feeling bad about it,” sighed Eeyore. “Feeling bad doesn’t build me a house.”
“Maybe not,” agreed Dr. Festinker. “But ignoring your feelings will only lead to resentment and make it harder for you to make the changes you desire in your life.”
Eeyore stared at his skunk therapist. He took in her deep, sympathetic gaze as well as her strong, pungent scent. (This was the reason behind her very reasonable rates: a sliding scale based on each patient’s tolerance of the odor.)
Eeyore let out a long, slow sigh. “Can’t help noticing you’re right.”
“Have you told your friends how you feel about your home?” asked Dr. Festinker.
“No,” said Eeyore.
“What do you think would happen if you asked for their help in finding you a home like theirs?” encouraged the skunk.
“I think they would help me,” admitted Eeyore glumly.
Dr. Festinker smiled.
“Not that they think of me as a friend,” added Eeyore. “They only keep me around so they have someone to blame when it rains.”
- - -
Session 17
Eeyore was remembering a trauma.
“And then,” said Eeyore, “my tail went missing.”
“That sounds very hard,” said his therapist.
“It was,” said Eeyore gloomily. “Have you ever lost a tail?”
“Can’t say that I have,” said Dr. Festinker.
“That’s what I thought,” said Eeyore, gazing sadly at his therapist. “Losing a tail is terrible. But it got worse. My tail was at Owl’s house being used… as a bell-pull.”
Eeyore let out a long, sad sigh.
“My tail…” He moaned, slowly shaking his head. “A doorbell!”
“I’m sorry that happened to you,” said Dr. Festinker.
“Owl didn’t even notice it was my tail,” said Eeyore with a great deal of self-pity. “He would have noticed if it were Pooh’s tail. Pooh’s the best bear in all the world. And what am I? A grey, gloomy donkey, with a droopy tail that keeps getting lost.”
“Eeyore, you have many strengths,” said Dr. Festinker kindly. “But what if, since losing your tail bothers you, you left your tail at home?”
“Can’t,” answered Eeyore.
There was a long silence.
Dr. Festinker politely counted to ten in her head.
- - -
Session 114
Eeyore was making a gratitude list, naming things that made him happy.
“I like the little Piglet. He’s my favorite size,” said Eeyore. “I like Pooh Bear’s kindness. I like that Rabbit always has snacks, and Kanga’s warmth, and that Tigger is so bouncy. And I like that Owl sends out a newsletter to the whole wood for free.”
“Eeyore!” exclaimed Dr. Festinker. “Look at all this positivity! You’ve made so much progress!”
“I think so, too,” agreed Eeyore. “I’ve been feeling sunnier as of late.”
“That’s wonderful,” beamed the skunk.
Eeyore smiled and looked out the window at the fine autumn morning in the forest. The sun dappled between green and bronze oak leaves, greeting the donkey with waving branches in the cool, fresh winds.
“Oh, no,” sighed Eeyore. “Looks like rain.”
- - -
Illustrations by Ellie Hajdu.
- - -
From the bookOh, Botherby Jennie Egerdie. Reprinted by permission of Running Press, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc. Copyright 2024 by Jennie Egerdie.
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes:
What’s the etiquette, if that’s the right word, for leaving a job before the end of your notice period?
I resigned due to a toxic micromanager boss who also leans toward abusive. She has been out on medical leave for the last three weeks, but is back today. I’m halfway through my notice period and my last day is Friday.
She’s going through her emails now and so far I’ve received two from her, both of which literally say, “I’m going through my emails and see this (insert issue that arose while she was out) and I assume nothing was done? Please advise as to why not.”
Actually, both tasks that she mentioned were handled and filed appropriately, and email loops were closed (which she will see when she gets through all her emails). It’s just in her nature to always assume the worst.
I’m wondering what obligation I have to remain at my current job for my full two weeks? I understand I committed to do so … but I’m also concerned about my mental well-being. While she was out, all was fine but her being back is reminding me why I resigned.
So … if she decides to spend 20 minutes berating me for using square and not round bullet points (true story) or something similar, is it an option to just say that the current day is my last? Or does that do too much reputational harm? I’m trying not to borrow trouble, but it’s 10 am and I’ve already been accused (twice) of doing nothing while she was out.
For what it’s worth, I was honest with the CEO that my manager was my reason for leaving and did detail why. Other executives have asked me directly if I’m leaving due to micromanagement from my boss, so it’s not a secret that she’s like this. (Why they let it continue is a conversation for a different email.)
What are my options? Is staying the entire time given in my notice period my only choice?
You don’t need to stay for your full notice period if you’re being mistreated.
If the tone of your manager’s communications remains accusatory or harsh, it’s reasonable to say any of the following:
“I’m taken aback by the emails you’ve been sending me today. I’m happy to stay for the remainder of my notice period as long as I’m treated respectfully. But I don’t want to be accused of not doing work that you’ll see I did if you continue through your emails.”
“I’m happy to spend the rest of the week wrapping up projects, but I’m not willing to be berated for (examples). If that continues, I’d prefer we make today my last day.”
“I don’t appreciate being spoken to like this when I’m working hard to leave my area in good shape before I go. Given that, I’m going to make today my last day. If there’s anything you’d like me to handle before I leave today, please let me know.”
If her treatment of you were particularly outrageous, you could just leave on the spot: “I don’t think it makes sense for me to remain for the rest of the week. I’ll let (other person) know.” That other person could be HR, your manager’s boss, the CEO you’ve already been talked with, or whoever else makes sense.
Speaking of the CEO, since you’ve already told her that your boss is the reason you’re leaving (and I’m gathering she wasn’t terribly surprised?), another option is to go back to her now and say that your boss’s treatment has you questioning your willingness to work the remainder of your notice period. Who knows, she might encourage you to leave now and/or say she’ll handle it with your boss.
The other option, of course, is to just stay and internally roll your eyes, knowing that what you’re seeing from your boss is exactly the reason you’re leaving and feeling vindicated that you’re escaping. Hell, since you’re leaving, you could simply ignore her ruder emails and figure she’ll realize when she gets through all her messages that she was wrong and thus your response is not required. This option could save you some hassle and drama, so you might choose it for that reason. And sometimes knowing you could leave if you wanted to makes it easier to just roll your eyes and deal with it for a few more days.
But you’re absolutely allowed to set boundaries on what you will and won’t tolerate, and you’re not required to stay if your manager isn’t holding up her end of the bargain and treating you with basic respect.
This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager.
A reader writes:
Am I crazy or is this a red flag?
I’m working a temp to perm job, and was just let in on a departmental secret. Apparently, when our supervisor is deciding who to keep on permanently, she will figure out which car is yours and walk out to it on a break to inspect the inside. If it’s messy, she doesn’t hire you on full-time.
This is insane, right? I feel a little bit like my privacy is being violated, honestly. I know people can see into my car, of course. But I don’t expect anyone to be actively snooping.
Is this a sign I don’t want to work here? I like all my colleagues and the work I’m doing. This is the first red flag I’ve seen, and I want to make sure I’m not blowing things out of proportion.
As a hiring test, this is insane.
Plenty of people have messy cars for reasons that have nothing to do with how they’ll perform on the job. Maybe they had a hectic weekend and their car ended up messy and they haven’t had a chance to clean it. Maybe they’re neat in every other area of their life and their car is the one spot they don’t care much about. Maybe they share the car with a slob. Maybe they’re a generally messy person but they’re still awesome at their job. It means nothing.
It’s particularly silly as a hiring test for people she already works with. It’s one thing to look for proxies when you don’t have much other data to go on — but when she works with people every day, she has loads of direct information about their work and how they operate. She doesn’t need to go looking for hidden meaning in their cars.
All that said … is it a sign you don’t want to work there? Eh.
It would be easy to say “anyone with ridiculous tests like this is a bad manager who you don’t want to work for.” But I’ve worked with people who have silly pet hiring theories, and they were perfectly fine to work for.
For example, I used to work with a woman who was absolutely lovely — a good manager and a good person. And she believed that she could tell things about candidates by how they handled the offer of a beverage. I asked her about it for this very old post and she said, “It’s a measure of politeness extended, politeness rejected or accepted, and how it’s done. I don’t care if they accept the drink or not, but I do pay attention to how they respond to the offer. Also, I pay attention to whether they dispose of the cup themselves (these were paper cups that would tossed in the trash) or leave it for me to do myself. Tells me so much about what kind of person they are.”
I think that’s reading way too much into it (especially in an interview situation where people are nervous and may simply forget to throw away their trash), but my point is: she had a silly test that she had convinced herself she could learn from, and she was still a fine person to work for.
Would she be better at hiring if she got rid of that test? Yes. Should interviewers move to more evidence-based forms of hiring that more objectively assess the must-have characteristics and skills for the role? Yes. Was her test an indicator of what she was like to work for? No.
Just as your manager should be focusing on the more substantive things she sees from you every day, the same goes for you: Pay attention to the substantive things you see about her. Does she set clear and realistic expectations, give useful feedback, resolve roadblocks, and ensure you have the space and tools you need to do good work? Is she fair, transparent, and even-keeled? Do other people seem generally happy working with her? If all those things are good, her car test may be a fluke. On the other hand, if some of those things are bad, the silly car test doesn’t really matter; she’ll be a problem to work for regardless.
QUEEN’S PARK – During a press conference at the Ontario Legislature, Doug Ford made it clear that pro-Palestine encampments in universities across the province were unacceptable and shouldn’t be tolerated, after accidentally mistaking the encampment tents for affordable housing units. “Listen, folks, I am just not in favour of these young, tax paying citizens of […]
LOS ANGELES—Kicking down the unlocked classroom door after listlessly wandering around campus, bored riot cops reportedly broke up a calculus course at the University of California, Los Angeles, on Tuesday. “Hey guys, look—there’s some students in there,” said Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Thomas Larkins, who led…
DAYTON, OH—Several reports indicated Tuesday that the email that would tear your life apart was currently in your nemesis’s draft folder and that after it was sent, nothing would ever be the same again. According to sources, the 600-word email—penned by your lifelong foe—is CC’d to your friends, your relatives, and…
Columbia University canceled its commencement ceremony after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that have shaken the campus, despite the fact that other universities have held their ceremonies with few disruptions. What do you think?
I did a video about Seoul last year, and one of the elements that I think is most interesting is how many “people movers” — really automated light metros and frequently locally-called “light rail” — exist across the region.
Seoul’s Sillim Line. (Credit: JR Urbane Network)
As I’ve talked about before, people movers often feel like they are used by cities as a crutch, connecting places that should be on the rapid transit network but were missed for one reason or another, be it a rapid transit line that didn’t stop where it should have, or a major development sited off of the transit network.
Acknowledging that people movers often exist to try and mitigate problematic conditions, I think it’s interesting to ask what we could do if we had more! While I certainly would rather major universities, hospitals, airports, and shopping centres be directly served by rapid transit, if they are not, a people mover could still be a serious improvement on the status quo.
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No American city seems poised to highlight this more than LA, which is in the process of building two different people movers, one connecting LAX to the LA “Metro” light rail system (it’s worth noting that rail to airport is a very common people mover typology in America), and another connecting SoFi stadium and other destinations with another light rail stop. While in both cases I think the people mover is a band-aid solution for poor planning (like putting an event venue the size of SoFi away from rapid transit — many cities most impressive stations are at major stadiums), the connections will be much better that what could have been offered by buses, and arguably higher capacity than the light rail service, since people movers should be able to operate at extremely high frequency.
Rendering of an Inglewood People Mover station. (Credit: City of Inglewood)
Now, what I think makes Seoul’s “people movers” particularly interesting is that they are not all strictly there for the purposes of connecting remote destinations. These such routes (like the Everline) do exist, but many of the lines actually act as infill urban transit, operating like a light subway line in an area that is poorly connected or dense enough to justify even more service. Since Seoul is extremely dense and hilly, this kind of role would be a struggle for trams, and while the city does do buses at an almost unbelievable scale (Seoul is easily the most underrated BRT city), once you experience a constant stream of diesel buses along a street you realize it is an imperfect solution.
And to be clear, cities in Asia in general have a lot of people movers. Bangkok has its Gold Line (nicely incorporated into the BTS system), I can think of loads of examples in Chinese cities (often using bespoke domestic tech), Singapore has its suburban “LRT”, and more than any other country, cities in Japan have all manner of monorails and people mover lines augmenting the conventional heavy rail and subway systems (it’s also one of the few places where these systems have been running long enough and have become busy enough that multiple generations of rolling stock have been introduced). In Asia, people movers feel like less of a crutch and more a flexible tool that can bring fixed guideway transit to places where it would be challenging for conventional rail. Of course, while a people mover is less convenient or capacious than a direct high-capacity rail link (likely delivered by shifting an alignment to hit a major destination), they still do offer a big boost for transit as a lightweight connecting service that can provide high frequency, and thanks to automation usually has low operating costs.
To some extent, the role played by these lines is similar to the “shuttle” lines in some traditional metro systems like Paris, London, New York, and Madrid — it’s just that like with light metro, people movers let you emphasize frequency instead of vehicle size, creating a better system — especially for inevitable transfers.
In a series of future posts, I am going to talk about how we can design and plan people movers to improve as opposed to simply fill in gaps in our transport systems, and I might even include some concepts for places in various cities where one (or several) might be of use.
Rakus, a wild Orangutan being observed in Indonesia, was seen using a medicinal plant called Akar Kuning, which is used throughout Southeast Asia to treat pain and inflammation, to heal a facial wound, chewing the leaves and applying them to the injury like a bandage. What do you think?
WASHINGTON—Showing wide-ranging approval across all demographic groups regardless of political affiliation, a new poll from the Pew Research Center found Monday that the majority of U.S. citizens want immigration reform that includes making up new last names for people again. “Our data show that most Americans do…
