The author works in London in his second language. Courtesy of Santiago Barraza Lopez I started my life and career in Mexico, so my first language is Spanish. But I now work in London, so I work exclusively in English. Even though I'm fluent in English, everything I say in the office requires more work and attention. I built the first part of my career in Mexico, in Spanish, surrounded by a professional culture where I understood almost everything about my day-to-day life. After relocating to the UK, that shifted. English became the language of my entire working day — not just formal presentations or important calls, but emails, feedback, meetings, quick messages, office small talk, and the situations where being clear matters almost as much as being right. It was not a matter of adjusting in places; it required rebuilding everything. I'm more confident in Spanish I am fluent in English, and I have worked in it for years. I understand the conversations around me, I can do my job, and I do not feel like I am constantly translating every word in my head. But fluency is not the same as having the instinct you have in your first language. In Spanish, I know how I sound. I know when I am being too formal or too funny. I can adjust in real time because the language feels like a natural extension of my personality, not like another tool I have to manage. I started overthinking almost everything I said in the office In English, there is often an extra layer of attention. I may know exactly what I want to say in a meeting, but I still need a second to find the version that reads as natural, professional, and precise. I may want to make a joke, but first I have to decide whether it will land as dry, rude, awkward, or simply not funny. That small delay can be frustrating at work because it is invisible to other people. They only hear the final sentence, not the effort behind it. It does not mean I am less capable, but it does mean that some ordinary exchanges require more energy than they would in Spanish. Email etiquette is probably the clearest example. A message that should be simple can become a small exercise in tone management. I write a sentence, then wonder if it reads too direct. I soften it, then worry it comes across as weak. I make it warmer, then wonder if it feels fake or like I am trying too hard to pass as British. The same happens in meetings, especially when I need to disagree or challenge something. In Spanish, I can push back quickly while still maintaining control of the tone. In English, I am more likely to build the sentence first, check the structure, and choose a safer version if I am not sure the sharper one will land properly. This has left me more careful, but also more self-conscious. There have been times when I had something useful to say and waited too long because I was still deciding how to say it. It has made me more responsible at work Over time, I realized I was compensating by becoming more prepared. If I had less room to improvise, I needed better structure. Before important meetings, I started writing down the points I wanted to make so I could focus less on finding the right words and more on the actual discussion. That extra preparation has made me better at some basic professional skills. My work product is clearer because I do not trust a sentence just because it reads fine in my head. Explanations are more structured because I know I cannot rely only on instinct. And listening is sharper because I pay close attention to how people phrase urgency, hesitation, disagreement, or approval. I'm exhausted some days There is a real cost to working this way. By the end of some days, I am not only tired from the work itself. I am tired from the precision required to make the work visible, especially in a language that still asks me to prove myself in small ways. But there is also a benefit. English has forced me to slow down and become more intentional with how I communicate. I still miss the ease of Spanish, but working in my second language has changed me. It has made some moments harder, but it has also made me more careful, more disciplined, and probably better at communicating than I would have been if I had never had to think this much about every word. Read the original article on Business Insider

The author and her husband moved to Victoria, Canada. Courtesy of Maria Polansky My partner is from the UK, and I'm from Vancouver, Canada. We wanted to choose somewhere to live, but couldn't decide between our hometowns. We chose a neutral third city to avoid resentments and start fresh. Being in a long-distance relationship certainly has its challenges. One of the biggest is deciding where to live when you do decide to merge your lives. The choice is often narrowed down to two options: your city or your partner's. It's something that my husband and I struggled with, until we realized we had another — and arguably better — option. Choosing a completely different and neutral third city. We tried each other's hometowns, but they didn't work out My husband and I met in 2018 in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada. He was traveling through the country on a soon-to-expire working holiday visa, which meant he had to go home to Birmingham, England, not long after we started dating. I decided to make the move the following year after dating long-distance for a bit so we could be together, and we got married in 2021. I arrived in the UK with an open mind. I had always wanted to experience living abroad, and I was genuinely curious about where my husband was from. We agreed that this move would be a test, with no obligation to remain. At first, I enjoyed the novelty of living abroad. There were a lot of things I liked about the UK, like the architecture, the bustling cities and quaint villages, the fashion and music scenes, and the new friends I'd made. Plus, it made financial sense for us since Birmingham was more affordable than Vancouver. But I started getting homesick after a few visits back to Canada. I missed Vancouver's beaches, mountains, forests, diversity, and the more laidback lifestyle. It felt a world apart from post-industrial Birmingham's pubs and canals, and the culture in the UK. My husband could tell I was getting homesick, but we found ourselves at a standstill. He enjoyed his time in Vancouver, but not enough to move back. He had a very valid point: we'd likely be working so much that we'd barely get to enjoy all of Vancouver's natural beauty, given its high cost of living, especially with post-pandemic inflation. I understood where he was coming from, but the longer I stayed in the UK, the more I missed Canada. Then we went on a trip that changed everything. The author and her husband chose a neutral city to avoid resentment. Courtesy of Maria Polansky Visiting a third city made us realize we had more options On a visit home in 2022, we stayed with some of my family in Victoria. It was my husband's first time in the city, and he fell in love with it. Like Vancouver, Victoria is a coastal city with easy access to nature, but its smaller size makes life less stressful and slightly more affordable. He enjoyed his time in Victoria so much that he suggested moving by the end of the trip. Victoria was our perfect compromise. It's culturally and geographically close enough to Vancouver that I'm happy, and the lower cost of living and slower pace of life feel more worthwhile to my husband. Now I get to enjoy the West Coast lifestyle that I love so much (and that he also appreciates), and we still feel like we're on track toward our goals. There's also a significant British population here in Victoria, which has helped him feel more at home, from being able to watch football games with his favorite UK foods to making friends at work. Living in a third city has brought balance to our relationship Choosing a third city hasn't completely eradicated the sense of sacrifice and guilt that often comes with being in an international relationship. Sometimes I still feel bad that we're so far away from my husband's family, and it's not as easy to visit as we'd like. I also know there are certain cultural elements that he'll never quite get behind, as I felt the same in the UK. Still, it's made a big difference. I believe it's a choice that has helped us avoid future resentment. Knowing how homesick I got during those last few years in the UK, I don't think I would have wanted to stay there forever. And knowing how my husband feels about Vancouver, I also don't think that would have been the best choice for us. Moving to Victoria has created a more level playing field. We've both had to start from scratch, so we can empathize with each other more about re-establishing our jobs, social circles, and lives in general. But more importantly, we both love it here, and we're excited about the future we can build in the city we both chose. Read the original article on Business Insider

Maggie Sellers Reum has ambitions to rival Steven Bartlett's "Diary of a CEO." FlightStory "Diary of a CEO" host Steven Bartlett is trying to turn his podcast company into a talent incubator. One protégé, "Hot Smart Rich" host Maggie Sellers Reum, described working in Bartlett's orbit. She adopted Bartlett's operational approach, but kept touches geared toward her female audience. Star podcaster Steven Bartlett better watch his back. "I tell Steven all the time, I'm coming for you, because I think the most valuable consumer in the world is a female consumer," Maggie Sellers Reum, Bartlett's podcast protégé and the host of "Hot Smart Rich," told Business Insider. "So be ready." Bartlett is looking to turn his "Diary of a CEO" podcast into a multifaceted media empire. One piece: signing and nurturing other talent. His first big test case is Sellers Reum, who he recently invested seven figures in through his media company, FlightStory. Sellers Reum described how Bartlett is applying his playbook to "Hot Smart Rich" — and why she thinks her show, while it's a fraction of the size of Bartlett's today, can match him. She's even willing to put a timeframe on it, saying she believes that milestone is 12 to 18 months away. That may sound ambitious. His show is the No. 1 business podcast on Spotify in the US, and has 17 million subscribers on YouTube. She's sitting at No. 13 in business on Spotify, with about 33,000 YouTube subscribers. Sellers Reum's argument is that she has a large potential audience among women, who control the majority of consumer spending and are key decision-makers at home and at work. Bartlett's bet on Sellers Reum is part of a trend of superstar creators — including Alex Cooper and Dude Perfect — bringing on other talent to form a network. Results have been mixed overall. Cooper's Unwell Network has had growing pains, notably splitting with Alix Earle last year. Theorist, meanwhile, outlasted its founders, who sold to a startup, and Mythical Entertainment has spawned multiple shows that live under its umbrella. Jocelyn Florence, a consultant on creators for the management company Soft Shock, said operational support is key to this model working because the creator-founder is busy making their own content. It's also important for the creator to have a well-defined brand that extends to the people they bring into their network. "It's easier to sell a brand on a more unified vision," she said. FlightStory has five shows featuring creators, in addition to "DOAC," including Davina McCall, who speaks to the midlife experience, and relationships podcaster Paul Brunson. Its "Hot Smart Rich" deal is the only one structured as an equity investment, with Sellers Reum being the majority owner. Steven Bartlett is using his "Diary of a CEO" blueprint to grow his media company. Mat Hayward/Getty Images for iHeartPodcasts Applying the Bartlett playbook Bartlett's company has been applying its operational blueprint to grow Sellers Reum's show, honing guest selection and amplifying the podcast through social media clips. FlightStory helped expand her guest list beyond her immediate network to include broader cultural figures such as entrepreneur Codie Sanchez and tech educator CatGPT. There are some key differences between how "DOAC" and "Hot Smart Rich" operate, though. One is the trailers. Instead of emphasizing the "hero's journey" as Bartlett does with "DOAC," "Hot Smart Rich" trailers focus on why the audience should care about the guest and what they'll learn from the episode. Sellers Reum also adapted Bartlett's intensive pre-show research process for her female audience, but instead of calling the resulting 18-page document a "research brief," she calls it a "gossip thread." "We're trying to reclaim what it means to gossip for women," she said. "Like, let's gossip about things that make us hotter, smarter, and richer, not about other people. And so we call it a gossip thread. He calls it a research brief. For Maggie and 'Hot Smart Rich,' it's a gossip thread." She's also retained her interview style. Sellers Reum said while Bartlett's are "expert-driven," she positions herself as more conversational. She conducts her interviews from a comfy chair, legs folded, and always hits on the same five topics of money, power, relationships, business, and femininity. "This is just more my gut; I feel that female voices in media are preferred by the female listener to be conversational," she said. "If you look at 'Giggly Squad,' Amy Poehler, 'Call Her Daddy,' it's actually like the viewer or the listener wants to hear the host's opinion a lot more than what I've seen in male-dominated podcasts." When FlightStory proposed she do a Q&A-style show telling people how to solve their business problems, Sellers Reum pushed back. "I said, 'I can't do that,' because I'm not better than anyone that listens to me. I was investing $2,500 checks," she said. "I wasn't a billion-dollar founder." In the near term, she envisions launching a behind-the-scenes YouTube show. Long term, the plan is to expand "Hot Smart Rich" beyond the podcast and its WhatsApp community of fans whom Sellers Reum calls "angels," potentially to books, TV shows, or products. For now, the priority is growing the long-form podcast. She'd love to have guests like Alix Earle (who's done a "phenomenal job" taking equity ownership in companies) or Reese Witherspoon (whose book club was "very underestimated"). "There's just such a big opportunity, but we have to earn the right to grow," she said. Read the original article on Business Insider

The author and her family decided to move back to the Northeast while she was pregnant with her second child. She said she realized it was important to be near family. Courtesy of Morgan Flaherty. My husband and I grew up in the Northeats. We thought moving away would give us independence. After we had kids, we realized that we didn't have much of a support system nearby. We moved from Florida to New York while I was pregnant and it was one the best decisions we've made. Shortly after college, my then-boyfriend (now husband) and I moved several states away. We had both grown up and lived our entire lives up until that point in the Northeast, he in New York and me in Connecticut. But now, in our early 20s, we wanted a change. When he was offered a job in Florida, we saw it as the perfect opportunity to gain some independence. We did so pretty successfully for nearly a decade. During our time in Florida, we got engaged, got married, adopted a cat, held a variety of jobs, and sheltered through a pandemic. All the while, we only really got to see our families a few times a year. In a weird way, it felt like a point of pride. I felt like we had accomplished so much in a state far away from our families, proving we could be independent and on our own. However, things changed in 2022, when we welcomed our daughter to the world, and I started to question whether being far from family was still worth it. The author said she started questioning a return to the Northeast after her first child was born. Courtesy of Morgan Flaherty. I began missing the Northeast pre-kids By the time my daughter Sadie was born, we had lived in Florida for about six years. At that point, there were already parts of living in the South that had begun grating on me, a born and raised Northeasterner. For one, the summers were brutal. While everyone (rightly) complains about the horrid winters up north, I would say there's a similar sentiment for the summers in Florida. Sometimes, it's so hot you don't want to go outdoors, which isn't too dissimilar from being homebound during the brutal cold of winter in New York or Connecticut. It's hard to get used to though. We also started to feel less aligned and connected with some of our neighbors in the Sunshine State. When we started thinking about where we wanted our family to put down roots, it was clear that living in the Northeast would offer the values, educational opportunities, and sense of community we wanted. Living away from family with a kid changed things Having kids completely changed our mindset on being a plane ride away from family. As soon as my daughter was born, my thinking on the positives of independence quickly shifted. The life we had carefully built was starting to feel harder to sustain. Every daycare illness became a logistical nightmare. I very quickly learned the importance of the village everyone talks about when having a kid, and the downside to not having one. The author and her family now reside in New York, closer to family in the Northeast. Courtesy of Morgan Flaherty. A second kid finalized our decision to move back What ultimately cemented our decision to move back to the Northeast was finding out I was pregnant with my second child in 2025. We decided the benefits of moving back to be with family outweighed our major stresses of leaving a place we had called home for a decade, and my husband leaving a job that was tied to the state. We made the leap when I was in my third trimester, moving in with my in-laws for a few months while we found a job for my husband and a new place to live. While I, ideally, would not recommend making so many life changes at once (especially while heavily pregnant), it ended up being the best thing we've ever done for our family. Being closer to family means our kids get to see their grandparents and cousins weekly. When we've had sick days where we couldn't miss work, someone has been able to help step in and watch the kids. My husband and I have more opportunities to spend intentional time together because support no longer feels so limited. I no longer see needing support as a weakness The biggest surprise, though, was how much my mental health improved. I didn't realize how exhausting it had been trying to manage parenting, marriage, work, and daily life entirely on our own until we stopped doing it alone. For a long time, I believed independence was the ultimate sign of adulthood. Now I think there's something equally mature about recognizing when you need support and building your life around the things that actually matter to you. Before kids, I thought moving closer to family would mean moving backward. Now, it feels like one of the best decisions we've ever made. Read the original article on Business Insider

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Hassan Mujtaba / Wccftech: Memory chip vendors say CXMT's DDR5 prices match Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron, and it has a supply advantage in client markets as it is not prioritizing HBM  —  CXMT's DDR5 memory is apparently not as cheap to procure as reports claim, falling in the same range as DRAM from other manufacturers.

The author started looking forward to her empty nest. Courtesy of Susan Teresa My looming empty nest filled me with sadness, so I made exciting plans. But as my twins headed off for college, my oldest moved back in. I'm learning midlife transitions rarely unfold the way we imagine. I hadn't known that choosing to be a parent was also saying yes to an inevitable series of heartbreaks. It starts small. In their early teen years, you realize they've started keeping secrets. The number of subjects they'll only discuss with friends keeps growing, while your role as confidant shrinks and fades (for the time being). In later teen years, the internal clock that tracks your waning time together begins to tick louder. Your home becomes a changing station — a pitstop between other, more exciting destinations — as your offspring come and go. When they leave for college, every visit, followed by every leaving, becomes a mini-earthquake — shaking your entire nervous system. So when my firstborn moved across the country for his first real job, and my twins started looking toward college, I knew I had to prepare myself for the ultimate heartbreak: an empty nest. Learning how to fill an empty nest As my twins chattered on — hypothesizing about what roommates and campus life would be like, researching room décor, furniture, and sundries for college dorm living — I conducted my own research. I've always believed words carry weight, so I found it interesting that the word "empty" could feel so heavy. Ironically, "empty" also points to a solution. When a glass is empty, we fill it. When writers fill empty pages, they become authors. Even an empty heart can fill with an act of caring. I Googled "how to ease transition to empty nest." Then I studied the leading advice. Researching art classes to fill the coming void, I discovered a multitude of nearby opportunities for creative exploration and expression. By subscribing to local music and entertainment venues to fill the anticipated gap in joy, I discovered vibrant communities for liberated adults. Diving deep into forgotten dreams to fill the hole in my heart, I revisited passions, goals, and wishes I'd let go as sacrifices to parenthood. Then, informed and inspired, I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and listed all the ways I could fill my "empty" nest. Each item on my list inspired excitement, enthusiasm, and hope, but more importantly, shifted my focus from a perception of loss to the prospect of future possibilities. Free from school schedules and daily child obligations, I'd once again become the architect of my own life. My empty nest was short-lived Fall arrived, and our twins went off to their respective colleges. Although I grappled with the familiar tangle of feelings that accompany letting go, I knew the coming months held promise for us all. The twins would meet new friends and learn new things. My husband and I would reconnect and explore new hobbies, places, and interests. Then one day, we got the call. Our oldest — the one who'd moved across the country for work — said his role had been cut and that he was struggling to secure a new position. Within a few months, he'd moved back home, reshaping the future we'd just begun imagining. My son has moved back in, and I'm learning to be fluid The joys of having him home far outnumber the challenges. His presence tempers the feeling of emptiness we'd otherwise have experienced. The house doesn't feel as quiet, I notice, as his laughter drifts down the stairs. And the nights of quietly hoping he's safe somewhere across the country have quieted and given way to restful sleep. Soon, he'll move away again to start a new graduate program, while the twins, for now at least, appear to be settled. But I'm learning that this stage of life is filled with ever-changing seasons and new surprises. So, I'm making a concerted effort to practice fluidity — refusing to stay stagnant and learning to adapt without fear or resistance when life changes direction unexpectedly. While I've learned it's good to have a plan, it's better to know when to loosen your grip on it. Life is always moving around us. I'm learning to soften enough to change with it. Read the original article on Business Insider

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New Yorkers, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, use the subway to get around. Bloomberg/Getty Images Commuting, and how long it takes, is a huge aspect of daily working life in New York City. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has focused on making buses faster; longer commutes can be a drag for workers. We looked at how New Yorkers commute, and who commutes the longest. New Yorkers, famously, are walking here. But just about 25% of them are driving too. Commuting undergirds New York's economy, and shapes the daily lives of its workers. New York's robust public transit system carries around six million passengers daily, and around 1.6 million people drive into Manhattan's Central Business District daily. But not all commutes are created equal. As politicians like Zohran Mamdani eye affordability measures, proposals like free and fast buses have taken the spotlight. Longer commutes can have real health impacts, lower worker satisfaction, and dent productivity. In New York City, bus riders, and those in further-flung, historically more working-class neighborhoods experience that more acutely. "Most New Yorkers are traveling much farther in their daily commutes than people would be if they were living in a less expensive city, a smaller city," said Lauren Melodia, the director of fiscal and economic policy at the Center for New York City Affairs. To understand how commutes affect New Yorkers across transit methods, income bands, and occupations, we analyzed 2024 American Community Survey data compiled by the University of Minnesota's IPUMS programs. We looked at survey results in the New York metro area, which includes suburban New Jersey and Westchester counties. From priests to Rockaway residents, here's what it's like for different New Yorkers to get around. How New Yorkers commute In New York City, the subway is king. Driving is the second-most prevalent way of getting to work and back. A solid chunk of New Yorkers work from home, and a decent share take the bus or walk. A rarified few take taxis or ride shares. Workers using long-distance or commuter trains, unsurprisingly, have the longest commutes. Subway riders still spend a decent amount of time in transit. And while New York's reliance on public transit is anomalous for the US, it has challenges. "It's another variable that you need to account for for your workday, basically," said Ege Aksu, a NYC-based economist for Revelio Labs. "You need to plan accordingly because there will be delays on your commute. The subway is going to be a little messed up, maybe." That can have its own trickle-down effects on productivity, Aksu said; long commutes can feel like "another hustle." How long different workers spend commuting To understand what commuting looks like across professions, we looked at occupations in the New York City metro area with at least 100 survey respondents. Some of the longest commutes belong to lower-paid or hourly workers: The median annual wage for baggage porters and bellhops in the New York metro area is $48,610, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Similarly, the annual median wage for cleaners of vehicles and equipment is $41,540. Both of those are well below the New York City metro area's median household income of $99,852. Higher-paid workers tend to have easier, although not necessarily shorter, commutes. "If you have more flexibility in your job, then you can have a more pleasant commute with a seat on a train, compared to if you need to work a job where you're required to be there for a specific shift that kind of coincides with rush hour traffic," Melodia said. Commutes are quite consistent across income bands. Workers in middle-income roles face longer commutes than their lower-paid counterparts. Some workers in more WFH-friendly knowledge industries may choose to trade a longer commute for fewer days in the office, said Randall Reback, an economics professor at Barnard College: if you move out to Long Island, you may spend more time commuting, but go in less often. A slew of occupations have their own commute advantages. Tutors, who likely often work from home or Zoom into class with their pupils, had the shortest commutes. They were followed closely by clergy, who often live at or near their parishes. Father Chris Lawton, a priest with the Paulist Fathers at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, lives around the corner from his office at the Paulist Fathers' Motherhouse. He finds his stroll-next-door commute convenient and reflective of his ministry, as the priesthood is more encompassing than just a job. "Sometimes it's a little too close, and sometimes I long for a little more distance just to kind of create a separation in my head and heart of work and home," Fr. Lawton said. His boss has a rule: Out of the office once a day, out of the neighborhood once a week, and out of the city once a month. Transit is still top of mind for many clergy and parishioners. Last fall, Lawton hosted a commuting-focused community talk called "mass transit." "What we talked about was how stressful commutes can be, and how stressful our daily routines can be," Lawton said, "And where do we find God amidst that?" Attendees left with tools like prayer rituals and stress-reducing breathing techniques, as well as an appreciation for who they're commuting with. "In New York City, even whether someone has a short or long commute, there's so much richness," Lawton said. "A real blessing of living in the city is that no matter who you are, unless you're taking private cars everywhere, we have the unique privilege of being in proximity to all kinds of people regularly." Read the original article on Business Insider

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Dwarkesh Patel / Dwarkesh Podcast: Q&A with Google DeepMind's Director of AGI Economics Alex Imas and Epoch AI's Phil Trammell on what remains scarce after AGI, redistributing AI wealth, and more  —  “One robot now turns into many robots next year, but the number of ballerinas is the same.”  —  Economics of AGI episode w Alex Imas and Phil Trammell.

Toby Sterling / Reuters: ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet applauds the EU's tech sovereignty plans but says substantial EU involvement in steering “strategic projects” is a cause for concern  —  The CEO of top European tech firm ASML (ASML.AS) on Friday welcomed most proposals made by the EU Commission this week …

Tanya Pandey / The Economic Times: Industry data: India's six largest IT companies grew combined revenue from $95.9B in FY23 to $103.1B in FY26, while headcount remained broadly steady at ~1.9M  —  India's top IT companies are achieving revenue growth with stable employee numbers.  This trend highlights a shift towards automation and improved productivity.

Reuters: French carriers Bouygues Telecom, Orange, and Free-iliad sign an MOU with Altice France to acquire SFR for €20.35B, including debt, expected to close in H2 2027  —  Bouygues Telecom (BOUY.PA), Orange (ORAN.PA) and Free-iliad Group said on Saturday they have signed a memorandum …

Cristina Criddle / Financial Times: OpenAI plans to overhaul ChatGPT in the coming weeks, turning it into a superapp with coding tools and AI agents to serve as a gateway to higher-margin products  —  $850bn start-up to recast hit chatbot as a route to higher-margin products before a potential IPO.

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Isabella Kwai / New York Times: How LinkedIn is transforming into a “post-cringe” social network as it courts high-profile influencers, who are building audiences on corporate-friendly topics  —  Celebrities and paid influencers have transformed the career-focused platform, which for some users, has become a job unto itself.

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Caleb Mutua / Bloomberg: Report: in May, supply of unsecured bonds from hyperscalers hit $155B YTD, 45%+ more than 2025's total issuance; some AI-infra bond sales are 4x oversubscribed  —  Credit heavyweights like DoubleLine Capital LP and Oaktree Capital Management are buying debt now that can perform …