This story is part of What Happens Next, our complete guide to understanding the future. Read more predictions about the Future of Aging.
The longevity era has arrived—and it looks different to your grandparents’ generation.
If you’re 65 ...
healthcare
The most screwed-up employee perk in America (and the man who just might fix it)
The last time Atul Gawande started a company, he named it after a Greek myth.
Ariadne Labs, based in Boston, Massachusetts—where Gawande also works as a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and teaches at Harvard—has been trying since 2012 to innovate in an area that has historically resisted innovat...
How to track the most important races and issues in the US midterm elections
American voters are expected to turn out in record numbers today to elect 435 House representatives, 35 senators, 36 state governors, and hundreds of local politicians.
The election has been called a referendum on Donald Trump’s divisive presidency. But with Trump and som...
The US now has more than 56.7 million freelance workers—and they vote
Freelancers are on the rise. And they’re rising up.
A new report from Freelancers Union and Upwork estimates that there are now 56.7 million Americans freelancers, an increase of 3.7 million in the past five years.
“The s...
The future of work will raise difficult questions. Are we prepared to confront them?
On a hot day last May, entrepreneurs from all over the world packed themselves into a warehouse event space just off of New York City’s FDR highway for TechCrunch Disrupt. Half trade show, half Shark Tank–style pitch competition, Disrupt is a tri-annual gathering where s...
New research reveals one of the bad things about a higher minimum wage
Ever since there have been economists, there have been debates between economists about the impact of a minimum wage (pdf). Few research topics feature so many twists and turns. Many economists once presumed that higher w...
Trump blames “global freeloading” for costly US drugs. That’s not the problem
Introducing his plan to reduce prescription drug prices in America today, Donald Trump said his government would focus on “tougher negotiation, more competition, and much lower prices.”
The president criticized drug makers and insurance companies for failing to put...
Walmart is the next big company looking to get into health insurance
The world’s biggest company wants a slice of one of the world’s biggest industries.
Walmart is in talks to buy health insurer Humana, the Wall Street Journal reported (paywall). The retailer’s move into health care would be massive—Humana has a market c...
Trump health care nominee reportedly padded his resume then blamed it on a tornado
Robert Weaver, the Trump administration’s nominee to head the Indian Health Service, may have misrepresented his employment at a Missouri hospital, according to a report Friday in The Wall Street Journal.
Weaver, 39, is a member of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma. The White House announced his nomination last October, saying he would bring “nearly two decades of experience in hospital, mental health administration, and entrepreneurship” to IHS.
Weaver reportedl...