The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is known for responding to extreme weather like hurricanes and wildfiresthe kinds of disasters that are becoming more intense and more common as climate change gets worse. The agency also has a program that sends billions of dollars proactively to communities, municipalities, and states so that they can prepare for these events before they hit.
In an internal FEMA memorandum obtained and first reported by Grist, the Trump administration announced its plans to dismantle that programthe biggest climate adaptation initiative the federal government has ever fundedeven as disasters incur hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of damages across the United States. The decision comes as at least seven people were killed this week as tornadoes and catastrophic flooding descended on the Central United States in what meteorologists called a once-in-a-generation event.
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, or BRIC, was established in 2018 during President Donald Trumps first term, replacing a similar FEMA initiative. BRICs first round of funding was launched in 2020, when Trump was still in office, and in 2023, the program awarded close to a billion dollars to scores of communities, states, and tribal nations across the country. In January, before Trump began his second term, the agency opened its fiscal year 2024 notice of funding, with $750 million in matching grants made available to applicants from areas that received a major disaster declaration within the past seven years.
But FEMA now aims to cancel those grants and any other BRIC grants that have not been paid out yet by the federal government, according to the pre-decisional memo dated April 2 from Cameron Hamilton, a Trump administration official who is serving as FEMA administrator until the president appoints a permanent head of the agency.
BRIC was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program, a FEMA spokesperson told Grist. It was more concerned with climate change than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.
BRIC generally shoulders 75% of the cost of a given resilience project, and up to 90% of the cost of projects in disadvantaged communities. The programs emphasis on equity is what may have marked it for demolitionthe Trump administration has been systematically dismantling Biden-era efforts to infuse equity into governmental programs and direct more climate spending toward underrepresented groups.
FEMA employees disputed Hamiltons argument in the memo that BRIC grants have not enhanced the level of hazard mitigation as much as desired.
I dont know where that came from, said one agency employee who preferred to stay anonymous.
According to a source within the agency, the Trump administration asked BRIC staffers to offer justification for the program and its Direct Technical Assistance sister initiative, which offers nonfinancial support to help communities navigate the BRIC funding process and identify the hazards they face. The request was made on Tuesday this week with a Wednesday deadline.
With a tight turnaround, staffers offered success stories from across the country. BRIC awards have helped communities bury power lines, build culverts, protect wastewater facilities from being inundated by flooding, and upgrade power stations. If BRIC is frozen, communities will no longer be able to apply for the grants for fiscal year 2024 made available in January. Projects that have been selected in past years but not yet disbursed funds will no longer receive payment. Partially completed projects will be scrutinized and reviewed, the memo said.
The administration now has one of FEMAs most effective grant programs on the chopping block, said Shana Udvardy, a senior climate resilience policy analyst with the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Its oversubscribed almost every single year. In fiscal year 2023, FEMA received more than 1,200 subapplications across all 50 states, 35 tribes, five territories, and Washington, D.C., totaling more than $5.6 billion in requests. It was able to provide less than a fifth of the money requested.
A looming question is whether FEMA can yank grants that are being funded with money appropriated by Congress. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the bipartisan infrastructure law, allocated approximately $6.8 billion to FEMA for community-wide mitigation efforts, with a portion of this funding directed to the BRIC program. If this administration does away with the program, it goes against a law that Congress passed, Udvardy said, so theres a concern there to be raised.
This article originally appeared in Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for its newsletter here.
To San Francisco chef and restaurateur Thomas McNaughton, QR codes are an efficient way to serve a crowd. Sure, the codesand restaurants that use themhave endured much loathing. And, yes, people still love to criticize them. But at the newest location of McNaughtons Flour + Water Pizzeria, set to open later this month, QR codes are the star.
There’s good reason. The 1,800-square-foot restaurant sits a few blocks from Oracle Park, where the San Francisco Giants just opened the baseball season. It needs to handle serious spikes in business from game-day crowds and pump out pizzas fast.
We envision a scenario where, for two hours, it’s completely gangbusters before the game. How can we help manage those crowds? McNaughton says.
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The team, with the help of a local design agency, got creative. Inside the restaurant, guests cant miss the large, stylized poster featuring a Giants player with a QR code for a face. Scan to place a takeout order, it reads, & pick up around the corner.
The restaurant also printed baseball-style trading cards with the same image, for fast QR ordering (for pickup or delivery) from afar. Smaller codes dot a handful of tables. If youre lucky enough to snag one, orders placed digitally are delivered right to your seat.
Research from the National Restaurant Association shows that about half of diners are keen to order via QR code at a quick-service restaurant like this onebut you might not know it based on very loud grumblings everywhere you look.
The QR backlash has won, declared a headline in the Wall Street Journal last year. A year earlier, I was quoted as an industry expert in a New York Times piece titled, The QR-code menu is being shown the door. About twice a month, someone sends me an Instagram post where a celeb or influencer or random stranger complainsstillabout using the tech.
[Source Photo: Flour + Water]
For all the whining, the codes are . . . really useful. When deployed thoughtfully, theyre downright hospitable. The skepticism, McNaughton thinks, has to do with negative emotions associated with the moment that QR codes rocketed to restaurant infamy during the earliest days of the pandemic.
I think the pushback that you heard was partly because everything was so different, he says. Every restaurant was just trying to stay afloat and trying to be accessible while still being safe.
Its true. Clunky QR-code menus promised to keep shared surfaces touch-free, an almost quaint, if completely misguided effort from a challenging time. Since then, the codes have evolved with utility in mind. Major restaurant technology companies like point-of-sale and payments giant Toast built QR ordering into their products. Now, customer orders go straight into the system, bypassing human servers and their potential human mistakes.
Digital orders also shorten the distance between diner and kitchen, McNaughton explains, a shortcut that allows the pizzeria to pump out orders much faster and keep crowds happier. (People placing digital orders get to skip the presumably long line.)
Its a model specific to this location, which McNaughton calls a fast-casual offshoot of his restaurant groups original, much larger pizzeria. Plenty of fast-casual and fast-food restaurants (or “quick service,” in restaurant lingo) are chasing digital orders. Last month, Taco Bell parent company Yum Brands tapped AI powerhouse Nvidia to coax more orders online, in an effort to one day digitize every order.
Flour + Water Pizzeria isnt planning to push all of its orders online; it employs humans who can take orders on countertop tablets, or, if necessary, flip them over to become self-service touch-screen ordering kiosks. The guest chooses based on how, and how fast, they want to get their order.
You can talk to somebody, you can use a kiosk, or you can just skip that line completely, McNaughton says. Its about efficiency.
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In Abbey Roads Studio One, even a lick of paint could ruin everything.
Famous for hosting Adele, Harry Styles, and U2, its where the scores of Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Wicked were recorded, as well as the soundtracks of blockbuster games like Call of Duty, Halo, and Final Fantasy. Its also where Ryan Gosling delivered his memorable Im Just Ken for Barbie.
Nearly a century after its opening, Studio One underwent a six-month, multimillion-pound refurbishment, with the main priority being the preservation of one very important thing: the sound.
What we dont want to do is change the acoustics, so every minute detail in the room has been conserved and preserved, so the sound doesn’t shift, said Sally Davies, managing director of Abbey Road Studios.
The reverb of the 4,844-square-foot room has been maintained at 2.3 seconds, the same as it was in the 1970s. Theres been no redecorating or style makeover, leaving the original art deco wall panels untouched.
We have simply washed down the walls to preserve that sound, said Davies, adding that the floor was re-sanded and oiled, but not varnished. Most of the upgrades, she explained, are technological upgrades in the control room. This room is just about preserving that magic.
A pilgrimage for music fans
Opened in 1931, this hallowed hallonce a nine-bedroom house on a grand suburban street in Londons St. Johns Wood neighborhoodbecame the worlds first recording studio. Its where stereo was invented and its visited every day by music fans from around the world, who are happy just to stand on the street outside.
Davies says that more than a million people a year make a pilgrimage to the crossing outside, many to recreate the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road albumand that number could increase after Sam Mendess upcoming biopics starring Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Harris Dickinson, and Joseph Quinn as the Fab Four.
And while John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr are famously known for using Studio Two, they also made history in the larger Studio One, which they used for the worlds first global live performance, a rendition of All You Need Is Love beamed to television sets around the world in 1967.
Before the Beatles, Studio One had already cemented its place in music history, when it was opened by British composer Sir Edward Elgar, who recorded his Land of Hope and Glory with the London Symphony Orchestra. Its also hosted other music greats like Maria Callas, Igor Stravinsky, Daniel Barenboim, Fats Waller, and Glenn Miller.
Due to its huge size, more than double Studio Two, it can fit a 100-piece orchestra and 100-member choir at the same timewhich is perfect for recording film soundtracks, and explains why 6 to 7 out of every 10 Hollywood films are scored at Abbey Road, according to the studio.
History being made
Standing on the balcony, overlooking the 40-foot-high room, Davies points out the original screen that was used to show Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) while musicians played along to record the soundtrack.
Since then, everything from The Lord of the Rings trilogy to Marvels Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy to Barbie were scored in Studio One. For the last, all the musicians came in with something pink, whether a pink instrument or piece of clothing.
Oscar-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton has been recording in Studio One since 2009 and calls his creative home a spectacular space.
Outside, it just looks like a normal house. And then you come in and you find this space in it thats like almost the size of a football pitch. In fact, I have played football in there once, he laughs.
Pemberton is known for scoring Spider-Man: Across the Spider Verse, Ferrari, and The Trial of the Chicago 7, and creating the Slow Horses theme song and Strange Game, with Mick Jagger.
Whats so exciting about a room like Studio One is what happens on the day is what happens for the rest of time, he says. Its like history is being made, whether its good history or bad history or whatever, youre making a moment then.
Pemberton notes the stories, whether personal or musical, that have unfolded within the walls of Studio One.
The ghosts are insane in there, he said.
Davies agrees that the history adds to the enchantment.
You walk into this room and you can feel it. . . . There is a magic in the sound. It sounds phenomenal. There is a spirituality in who has been here, who has performed here, she says. So when we see artists come through, you know that immediate reaction of, Oh my gosh. Im in Studio One.
To celebrate the reopening this week, Abbey Road Studios showcased an unusual art form for the space: dance, which incorporated Pembertons scores, remixed by resident artist Jordan Rakei and choreographed by Joseph Toonga.
It kind of like threw me back a bit like, wow, it really is big, said Toonga of the first time he saw the studio. He then incorporated that feeling into a dance which spanned hip-hop, krumping, and ballet.
Up next, the first client to record in Studio One since the refurbishment is a hush-hush Hollywood franchise.
But there are lots of secrets at Abbey Road. One of them is Pembertons plan to record the unique rattling sound of the new railings for a movie soundtrack.
There was concern that the hollow, art deco-style bars would upset the acoustics of the room, and a backup plan was made to fill them with sand if they messed with the reverb.
Luckily, the empty bars were allowed to stay because Pemberton is delighted by the noise they make when you run past them with keysits another dramatic sound that can only be created in Studio One and will make its way into theaters around the world, via a film score.
By Hilary Fox, Associated Press
Walton Goggins has had an incredible run recently. Last year, he anchored Amazon’s Fallout TV show and this year is starring in Season 3 of The White Lotus and the 4th and final season of The Righteous Gemstones. These roles are feathers in the cap of the character actor who’s had star turns in The Shield, Justified, and Vice Principals.
But he’s not just an actorhe’s also a small business owner. As part of his partnership with GoDaddy, he’s teamed up with the company to use its suite of AI tools to design the website for and manage his new ventureWalton Goggins Goggle Glasses. He worked with GoDaddy to create the line of glasses that resemble ski goggles and retail for $150 each, and he starred in the company’s Super Bowl ad in February. The spot highlights AiroGoDaddy’s suite of AI-powered tools that help small business owners with everything from website creation and copywriting to inventory management.
In the latest episode of the Most Innovative Companies podcast, Goggins and GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani talked with host Yasmin Gagne about how the company helps small businesses use AI to grow. And after a bit of prodding, Goggins offered some hints about the last episode of The White Lotus Sunday night.
In 2020, you said to Garden and Gun, speaking about your whiskey brand, Mulholland Distilling: Well, I’m not going to sell toothpaste. I’m not really good at selling anything. I would argue you’re pretty good at selling things. Why partner with GoDaddy?
Walton Goggins: I’m a big believer in small business owners and what they do for their families and for communities. The opportunity arose when GoDaddy was looking to promote its product GoDaddy Airo. They approached me about starting a business, asking me if there’s something that I really wanted to do. I wanted to work with this company, which I’ve been a fan of for a very long time. In the past, they hosted a website for Mulholland Distilling. Part of our portfolio was already in GoDaddy when we started, so when the opportunity arose to work, I just jumped at it.
Why did you decide to partner with Walton for the Super Bowl ad?
Aman Bhutani: Our mission is to make opportunity more inclusive for all, and we want somebody who feels it themselves and who cares. And Walton, from the first moment we met him, cared. The glasses are awesome.
What is the brand identity you’re trying to build for GoDaddy? I remember some pretty sexual ads back in the day.
AB: When people think about small business, they’re sometimes talking about people that have 50 employees or 30 employees. If you go through GoDaddy’s over-20-million customer base, you’ll start with companies that have one employee. By the time you get to 10, you will have traversed 90% of our customers. They want to connect with somebody like Walton who is doing what they are doing. He’s starting a business, and it doesn’t matter how big a celebrity he is or how successful he is, it’s still hard for him to start a business. Every person watching the Super Bowl ad feels like an imposter when they start their business. The ad makes people see themselves in him.
Walton, tell me about the concept of the glasses and how you built the business with GoDaddy.
WG: I wear the most fashion-forward accessory you can put on the body. I’ve been collecting sunglasses for a very long time, for upwards of 28 years. I bought my first pair of sunglasses that were of real value when I was 22 years old. I saved up my money with tips. I had a valet parking business because I refused to wait tablesI was not the kind of guy that would ever get someone a glass of iced tea. I saved up my tips to buy this pair of Oliver Peoples sunglasses. They cost $250 in 1993. It was a lot of money to me. I still own that pair of sunglasses.
There was a time when I was sitting in this new place where I moved with my family. We have a little ski resort not too far from our home. I was sitting around a fire, having a beer, and with ski goggles on, thinking, I don’t want to take these off! I made that mental note, and this just stayed in the back of my mind. No one’s really done this in a functional way that also brought fashion into the conversation. I pitched GoDaddy this idea. GoDaddy Airo does the things I dont know how to doto build a website, to procure all of these domain names, to regulate your inventory. Once they began to show me this product, I was blown away thinking, had this existed when I was 19 years old and I had my first business, I probably wouldn’t be an actor right now.
What was your first business when you were 19?
WG: The first thing I did was valet parking. The second thing I did was become a personal trainer.
That’s how you got the abs.
WG: Yeah, that’s exactly right. But if I’d had a website then, I would’ve had more clients. However, it did allow me to sustain myself as an artist and work only 10 or 15 hours a week. Then I started a whiskey spirits brand, Mulholland Distilling, and now, Walton Goggins Goggle Glasses.
The name, Goggins Goggle Glasses: Is that a play on your character, Uncle Baby Billy, from The Righteous Gemstones and his show, Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers?
WG: Of course. It just kind of makes sense. And it was already out in the public. It just rolls off the tongue.
How does Airo work with small businesses?
AB: Many micro business owners or small business owners are good at what they know, but theyre not good at technology, building websites, or purchasing domain names. Instead of needing to know the domain name you want, you just describe your business, and Airo looks at millions and millions of available domains and gives five or 10 that people would remember. As soon as you buy that domain, it builds out a one-page website for you. You don’t have to pay anything for that. You can customize it a little bit. So within a few minutes, you’ve got a presence online. People can find you, you can post it to social media, and people now know who you are. You have branding; Airo can create a logo for you in a few seconds. Airo can create a social calendar for you, create posts, and upload them. Once they have a website, once [they have] inventory online and they start to use the tools, their reach increases exponentially.
At what point did Generative AI change things for you?
AB: Airo uses the power of Generative AI to create content. Airo does three big things: It automates a lot of tasks so our customer doesn’t have to do it. It generates content using Generative AI. Our customer might say, How do I respond to my customer? Well, Airo will generate a message for them, and then they just have to say, Yes, send it.
What portion of the GoDaddy business is Airo leading?
AB: We’re a decent-size business and we talk to [Wall Street] about Airo all the time. But I’m always talking about why Airo is first and foremost about discovery and engagement. The monetization should come over time. Weve had Airo for about 14 months. The first cohort of customers are just finishing their first year, and we’re seeing high retention rates because the customer is discovering and engaging with multiple products.
Walton, what’s been the most useful feature for your business?
WG: I’ve used them all, right? I like writing copy. I like writing texts and emails. But when it comes to communicating with an audience that you’re trying to reach for a product, it’s hard to formulate those thoughts in a vacuum. There’s also an element to this experience that allows you to capture some images and then repurpose those images. All of a sudden, that social pressure of producing things that are outside of your product is taken off the table for you. You don’t have to think about it.
How did you all come up with the concept for the Super Bowl ad?
AB: GoDaddy hadn’t been in the Super Bowl for eight years. We really wanted to come back and remind the world that GoDaddy is so much more than what they might remember; so many folks remember GoDaddy as a domains company, but we do so much more.
What was your creative input in that ad?
WG: We talked about different scenarios and what’s the best way to explain the fact that many small business owners can feel like imposters and how can we mine comedy but then land it someplace that is real and that can move you.
Can you tell us what happens in The White Lotus finale?
WG: Ill give you a fake ending. Everyone on The White Lotus dies, everyone. Including the staff. Its food poisoning. Not from the Four Seasons, mind you. Its nothing to do with our corporate sponsors. It’s from a delivery, an off-site delivery. Somebody ordered some bad pizza.
How did you prepare for the Super Bowl commercial?
WG: I eat one meal a day, and I may augment that with a couple boiled eggs for lunch or something like that. I like being lean, not just lean physically, but mentally. I like being a little hungry. I feel more creative when I have an appetite.
And we’ve seen you in so many shirtless photo shoots lately. I cant believe you didnt take your shirt off in this GoDaddy ad.
WG: Yes. There’s more to come, I’m afraid. I’m so sorry. My apologies now.
Over the past few years, experts have been sounding the alarm over how much time Americans spend alone.
Statistics show that were choosing to be solitary for more of our waking hours than ever before, tucked away at home rather than mingling in public. Increasing numbers of us are dining alone and traveling solo, and rates of living alone have nearly doubled in the past 50 years.
These trends coincided with the surgeon generals 2023 declaration of a loneliness epidemic, leading to recent claims that the U.S. is living in an anti-social century.
Loneliness and isolation are indeed social problems that warrant serious attention, especially since chronic states of loneliness are linked with poor outcomes such as depression and a shortened life span.
But there is another side to this story, one that deserves a closer look. For some people, the shift toward aloneness represents a desire for what researchers call positive solitude, a state that is associated with well-being, not loneliness.
As a psychologist, Ive spent the past decade researching why people like to be aloneand spending a fair amount of time there myselfso Im deeply familiar with the joys of solitude. My findings join a host of others that have documented a long list of benefits gained when we choose to spend time by ourselves, ranging from opportunities to recharge our batteries and experience personal growth to making time to connect with our emotions and our creativity.
So it makes sense to me why people live alone as soon as their financial circumstances allow, and when asked why they prefer to dine solo, people say simply, I want more me time.
Its also why Im not surprised that a 2024 national survey found that 56% of Americans considered alone time essential for their mental health. Or that Costco is now selling solitude sheds where for around $2,000 you can buy yourself some peace and quiet.
Its clear there is a desire, and a market, for solitude right now in American culture. But why does this side of the story often get lost amid the warnings about social isolation?
I suspect it has to do with a collective anxiety about being alone.
The stigma of solitude
This anxiety stems in large part from our cultures deficit view of solitude. In this type of thinking, the desire to be alone is seen as unnatural and unhealthy, something to be pitied or feared rather than valued or encouraged.
This isnt just my own observation. A study published in February 2025 found that U.S. news headlines are 10 times more likely to frame being alone negatively than positively. This type of bias shapes peoples beliefs, with studies showing that adults and children alike have clear judgments about when it isand, importantly, when it is notacceptable for their peers to be alone.
This makes sense given that American culture holds up extroversion as the ideal, indeed as the basis for whats normal. The hallmarks of extraversion include being sociable and assertive, as well as expressing more positive emotions and seeking more stimulation than the opposite personalitythe more reserved and risk-averse introverts. Even though not all Americans are extroverts, most of us have been conditioned to cultivate that trait, and those who do reap social and professional rewards. In this cultural milieu, preferring to be alone carries stigma.
But the desire for solitude is not pathological, and its not just for introverts. Nor does it automatically spell social isolation and a lonely life. In fact, the data doesnt fully support current fears of a loneliness epidemic, something scholars and journalists have recently acknowledged.
In other words, although Americans are indeed spending more time alone than previous generations did, its not clear that we are actually getting lonelier. And despite our fears for the eldest members of our society, research shows that older adults are happier in solitude than the loneliness narrative would lead us to believe.
Social media disrupts our solitude
However, solitudes benefits dont automatically appear whenever we take a break from the social world. They arrive when we are truly alonewhen we intentionally carve out the time and space to connect with ourselvesnot when we are alone on our devices.
My research has found that solitudes positive effects on well-being are far less likely to materialize if the majority of our alone time is spent staring at our screens, especially when were passively scrolling social media.
This is where I believe the collective anxiety is well placed, especially the focus on young adults who are increasingly forgoing face-to-face social interaction in favor of a virtual life, and who may face significant distress as a result.
Social media is by definition social. Its in the name. We cannot be truly alone when were on it. Whats more, its not the type of nourishing me time I suspect many people are longing for.
True solitudeturns attention inward. Its a time to slow down and reflect. A time to do as we please, not to please anyone else. A time to be emotionally available to ourselves, rather than to others. When we spend our solitude in these ways, the benefits accrue: We feel rested and rejuvenated, we gain clarity and emotional balance, we feel freer and more connected to ourselves.
But if were addicted to being busy, it can be hard to slow down. If were used to looking at a screen, it can be scary to look inside. And if we dont have the skills to validate being alone as a normal and healthy human need, then we waste our alone time feeling guilty, weird, or selfish.
The importance of reframing solitude
Americans choosing to spend more time alone is indeed a challenge to the cultural script, and the stigmatization of solitude can be difficult to change. Nevertheless, a small but growing body of research indicates that it is possible, and effective, to reframe the way we think about solitude.
For example, viewing solitude as a beneficial experience rather than a lonely one has been shown to help alleviate negative feelings about being alone, even for the participants who were severely lonely. People who perceive their time alone as full rather than empty are more likely to experience their alone time as meaningful, using it for growth-oriented purposes such as self-reflection or spiritual connection.
Even something as simple as a linguistic shiftreplacing isolation with me timecauses people to view their alone time more positively and likely affects how their friends and family view it as well.
It is true that if we dont have a community of close relationships to return to after being alone, solitude can lead to social isolation. But its also true that too much social interaction is taxing, and such overload negatively affects the quality of our relationships. The countrys recent gravitational pull toward more alone time may partially reflect a desire for more balance in a life that is too busy, too scheduled, and, yes, too social.
Just as connection with others is essential for our well-being, so is connection with ourselves.
Virginia Thomas is an assistant professor of psychology at Middlebury.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Smartphone cameras are still getting bigger and better by the year, particularly if you look at high-end phones coming out of China with huge sensors and protruding bumps to match. These phones can deliver awesome results, and Im happy to use them in several situations where I would previously have had to rely on a dedicated camera. Just this week I used the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to shoot a Formula One event in Tokyo.
But for all the advances that have been made, the laws of physics remain undefeated, and youre still going to get better results from a camera setup thats able to make use of larger lenses and sensors. Phones do need to be able to fit into our pockets, after all, so theres a limit to what can be achieved in that regard.
At Mobile World Congress this year, some concept announcements showed that companies are thinking about this reality, coming up with ideas to move mobile photography beyond the constraints of the phone. The question is whether peripheral camera products can ever really be more than a niche curiosity.
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Xiaomis concept is called the Modular Optical System, and it involves self-contained camera modules that magnetically and wirelessly attach to your phone. While the company doesn’t have concrete plans to sell them commercially, working models do exist I used one.
The demonstration unit had a Micro Four Thirds-size sensor with a 17.5mm f/1.4 lens, which comes out to 35mm-equivalent when accounting for the sensors crop factor. It could attach to a Xiaomi 15 phone that had been outfitted with magnets and a window for laser data transfer but otherwise looked normal.
The connection felt very secure, and there wasnt any need to fiddle with Bluetooth pairing or any special software once connected, the feed from the camera simply appears in the regular camera app. You can focus the lens by turning its ring or tapping the phones screen.
Because the camera mounts to the middle of the phone, the resulting combination feels well-balanced and similar to a regular mirrorless camera. It did make me wish the phone had a dedicated shutter button on the edge, though; using the touchscreen with your hands in that position takes some getting used to.
The results, at least as far as I could tell on the phone screen, were excellent. Micro Four Thirds is one of the smaller mirrorless formats, but its still a huge leap over even the 1-inch sensors found in the highest end phone cameras, and pairing one with a fast 35mm-equivalent lens makes for a really useful combination. I was taking pictures of friends in a dark restaurant that clearly could not have been captured on a phone.
Realme, a sister brand to Oppo, took another approach. Its Ultra concept phone has a couple of traditional smartphone cameras as well as a third 1-inch sensor thats exposed behind the glass; you can attach a Leica M-mount adapter and a lens of your choice to use with that sensor.
This feels somewhat less useful in practice. Theres no electrical connection between the lens and the phone, so adjusting the aperture ring isnt going to be reflected in software; the experience is more like adapting a manual lens to a digital camera.
M-mount lenses are all manual focus, however, so there isnt a need for anything like the touchscreen AF solution like Xiaomi came up with. But the sensors 2.7x crop factor means that actual Leica M lenses will have a zoomed-in field of view even a wide-angle 28mm becomes a 75mm-equivalent portrait lens.
These arent necessarily new ideas. Realmes is very similar to a Leica M-mount concept Xiaomi put out a few years ago, while Xiaomis own idea of wireless camera modules has been tried before.
And Sony made a go of it in 2013 with the quirky QX line, a range of all-in-one cameras that connected over Wi-Fi and clipped onto the back of your phone; one model even featured an APS-C sensor and could work with any E-mount mirrorless lens. Olympus tried something similar in 2014 with the Air A01, a wireless Micro Four Thirds sensor and mount.
There have been two big problems with these kinds of products in the past.
The first was that they were a hassle to use, forcing you to deal with attachment mechanisms, wireless pairing, and slow connectivity. The appeal of mobile photography is its convenience, and these detracted from that.
The second, arguably bigger hurdle is simply that they were separate devices that you had to carry alongside your phone. Thats a big ask for most people. Sonys QX100 had the same sensor and lens as its excellent RX100 compact camera, but it cost almost as much why not just carry the actual camera instead?
Sony discontinued the QX line pretty quickly, suggesting it didnt take off with consumers. Things could be different today Xiaomis magnetic mount solution is certainly more convenient but its still hard to see the idea becoming mainstream.
Personally, I would be interested in buying something like the Xiaomi concept I used. Id still have several questions, like how much itd cost and how long the magnetic mount would be supported on future handsets, but even in prototype form the idea worked well enough that I could see the extra lens being worth tossing into a tote bag.
But for most people, my sense is that it will still be worth paying more attention to built-in phone camera quality for the foreseeable future. Thats the camera youll actually find yourself using.
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Of all the modern parenting paradoxes, navigating screen time usage might be one of the most complexand divisive. Critics of screen time claim it can negatively impact social skills, behavior, and sleep. Proponents say it can help kids learn about living in a digital world, improve cultural awareness, and serve as a means of communication. Parents say sometimes they just need a break.
The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the messy middle of it all; like so many aspects of parenting, its all about finding the balance thats right for you and your child(ren).
Screen time is just one of many topics explored in Poems of Parenting, a new collection of poetry out April 8 from author and artist Loryn Brantz, a consulting creative director for the beloved kids educational program Ms. Rachel who has won two Emmy Awards for her work on Sesame Street. The mom of two children (one of whom has a disability) offers short, snappy, honest, and often irreverent reflections on everything from trimming tiny fingernails to watching war and famine play out on TV.
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Its exactly the type of content moms need in todays world. So what about screen time? Here, Brantz shares some insight behind her poem on itplus, an important and powerful reminder that applies to many aspects of parenthood.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Loryn Brantz (@lorynbrantz)
Youve worked on two beloved kids shows and youve struggled with navigating screen time for your own kids. What insights can you offer parents trying to find the right balance?
It comes down to what works best for your family. I would never say, This or that is the right thing to do, because it never accounts for kids with disabilities who may rely more on screen time than others for various reasons.
That said, I believe there is such a thing as quality screen time, and I would encourage people to be cognizant of what they put on. Also, when possible, co-watching together, asking questions, or interacting while watching the show is ideal.
In our household, there was a lot of pressure to pack in as much early intervention therapy as we could during the first years of my daughters life because of all her developmental delays, so we were very strict with screen time. She was only allowed an hour or so per day in tandem with physical therapy, or as much as needed to distract from medical treatments. It was as stressful as it sounds. Now shes older (and doing amazingly), and her neurotypical little-potato brother watches with her, and were not worried about it at all.
Sometimes, after a long day of work and school, spending time on the couch cuddling and watching a movie can be the best thing for everyone. I often think, Wow, I can’t believe I popped these sweet little people out of my body, and now they’re watching TV with me! Life is pretty magical, isn’t it?
Every kid is different, and every kids needs are different.
How has your work in kids educational programming influenced your own parenting style and strategies?
When I was working on Sesame Street at the Jim Henson Co., it was well before I had my own children and I was mostly tapping into my own inner child as far as things I enjoy including The Muppets, Disney World, and picture books.
I was making what I enjoy. I figured thats also what a kid would enjoy, too. Nowadays, with my work for Ms. Rachel, I have learned an extraordinary amount about childhood development, not only from the show but through my own experience with early intervention (EI) for my daughter.
EI works best when the parent takes on what they learn during sessions and incorporates it into their childrens day-to-day lives. I more or less became a full-time speech, occupational, physical, and special-instruction therapist for the first three years of her life. So now, my work comes from not only a place of genuinely enjoying childrens media, but also thinking about what I would want my own childrenand really, all childrento be watching. Childrens media is so important and needs to be treated as such.
Youve said you feel like youve been working toward Poems of Parenting your whole life.
Its been quite a journey. This will essentially be my 12th book. So many things set it apart. For one, its the first book that feels like it has a real energy behind it from readers. When I started writing these poems, I immediately began getting messages like, When is the book coming out? or Will you be making a book? And I was just blown away because no one had ever asked me for a book before. Its just a dream come true. . . . After over a decade of pushing and pushing to get books made and in front of people, having people come to me asking for a book is a real pinch-me moment. After starting this book, I also decided it was finally time to take the leap to being a full-time artist and writer, primarily for my own projectswhich has been a lifelong goal.
Read more with Loryn Brantz on Two Truths.
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On Tuesday, Brad Schimel, the Trump-backed candidate in the race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, lost in decisive fashion to his liberal opponent, Susan Crawford. Other than the candidate himself, the elections biggest loser is Elon Musk, who spent $25 million on Schimels blowout loss, and whose future in bankrolling the Make America Great Again movement is suddenly up in the air.
Musk is not used to this sort of uncertainty. He spent more than a quarter-billion dollars on the 2024 presidential election, a savvy investment that bought him both a de facto Cabinet seat and the obedient silence of Republican politicians who fear that Musk will use his astronomical fortune to finance primary challenges against them the moment they step out of line.
Musk saw the Wisconsin Supreme Court as his next conquesta chance to prove his kingmaker bona fides in an important election for the Republican Party, which he framed in startlingly apocalyptic terms, especially for an off-cycle judicial race in a state where he doesnt live: The result, Musk warned on March 30, could decide the future of America and Western Civilization.
Wisconsin voters, however, did not see things Musks way. (Or, if they did, they did not share his vision for the future.) Crawford won by 10 points, and Schimel called her to concede a few hours after polls closed. A closer look at the numbers reveals the scale of his defeat: Every county shifted in Democrats favor relative to the 2024 election, when Donald Trump won the state by a bit less than one point. Even in deep-red areas where Schimel beat Crawford by margins in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, Crawford still outpaced Vice President Kamala Harriss performance just four months ago, and sometimes by double digits.
Musk has no one to blame but himself. Since November, his antics at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have made him one of the most polarizing political figures in the country: 60% of people have an unfavorable view of Musk, including 46% who say they view him very unfavorably, according to a recent Marquette poll. As it turns out, if you are an unelected plutocrat dismantling the federal government and trying to put hundreds of thousands of people out of a job, and then show up in a new state imploring people to do what you say or else, an appreciable number of them are going to use their votes to tell you to go to hell instead.
Musks carpetbagging in Wisconsin was equal parts confident and cringe. He promoted a Schimel campaign event on X, and tweeted a weird caricature of the candidate dressed as Superman, urging his followers to vote for Superjudge. His PAC hosted a pro-Schimel town hall in Green Bay during which Musk spent more time defending DOGE than he did stumping for Schimel, who opted to campaign elsewhere that night. Musk kicked off the event by bounding onto the stage wearing a bright yellow Packers cheesehead hat, which he promptly autographed and then threw out into the crowd in the style of a band lead singer pandering to concertgoers in a city he can barely remember the name of and never intends to visit again.
Perhaps most audaciously, Musk dusted off a strategy he employed in Pennsylvania during the closing weeks of the 2024 election, which basically involved turning voter registration into something resembling a sweepstakes. This time, he promised to pay Wisconsin voters who signed an online petition condemning activist judges, and to hand out million-dollar checks to a few lucky winners who had cast their ballots early. Musk modified the terms of his offer shortly after making it, perhaps after learning of a state law that makes it illegal to pay people for voting. Instead, he explained, the million-dollar checks would merely go to spokesmen whod agreed to promote his petition.
In a wild coincidence, one recipient, Ekaterina Diestler, works at a company led by well-connected Republicans in the state; the other, Nicholas Jacobs, is the chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans. After Diestler cut a soft-lit promo video in which she explained that she did exactly what Elon Musk told everyone to do: Sign the petition, refer friends and family, vote, and now I have a million dollars, Musks PAC quickly pulled the clip and replaced it with an edited version that omits the word vote.
Thanks largely to Musk, overall spending on Tuesdays election cracked $90 million, which makes it the most expensive state judicial election in U.S. history, roughly doubling the record set in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election two years ago. Musk loomed so large over the race that Crawford was happy to treat it as a referendum on him, earning laughs on the campaign trail by referring to Musk, rather than Schimel, as my opponent.
This strategy paid off: Turnout was nearly 40% higher than it was in 2023, and Schimel underperformed the other Republican on this years ballotBrittany Kinser, who lost the statewide race for school superintendentby 2 points. In other words, Schimel didnt lose this badly just because Democrats showed up to the polls en masse. Schimel lost this badly because people associate him with Elon Musk, and even some voters who are otherwise inclined to vote for Republicans decided they wanted nothing to do with him.
As Crawford celebrated her victory, Musk does what he always does when hes upset: Post. I expected to lose, but there is value to losing a piece for a positional gain, he wrote, which is also how I grieve when my 7-year-old niece hits me with two straight Draw 4 cards to beat me in Uno. Hes since promoted a video from (of course) conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and Trump-adjaent gadfly Roger Stone suggesting that the election was stolen, a time-honored Republican response to election results they do not like.
The open question is whether Musks diminishing influence with voters threatens his positions of power within the Trump administration, and within the Republican Party as the 2026 midterm elections approach. Candidates will want his moneybecause candidates always want moneybut the more they clock him as ballot-box poison, the more likely they are to conclude that taking his money isnt worth the trouble of sharing the stage with him.
It is probably not a coincidence that the morning after Schimels loss, Politico was ready with a report that Musk and Trump, in the proud tradition of amenable breakups everywhere, have mutually decided that hell soon leave the White House and take on a supporting role instead.
The story frames the decision as driven by the statutory 130-day limit on Musks tenure as a special government employee, and acknowledges that hes likely to continue in some sort of informal adviser role. But it also notes a growing number of administration figures who see Musk as a political liability who has served as a rallying point for fractured Democrats.
The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board similarly worried that Musks failure in Wisconsin shows that the Trump-Musk governing style is stirring a backlash that could cost them control of Congress next year. Basically, watching Musk write novelty checks was all fun and games until he became one of the most repellent people on earth.
Schimels loss does not mean that Musks career in politics is all the way over. The first elections after presidential elections often cut against the party in power, and thanks to the U.S. Supreme Courts enduring passion for money in politics, as soon as Musk overcomes the humiliation of blowing $25 million for a double-digit loss, he is as free as ever to throw himself into the next election that piques his interest. But at the very least, Tuesday showed that there are limits to what his money can buyand that if he keeps coming up empty, he could find himself out of political power just as quickly as he bought his way into it.
Ive written before about my love for the Social Security Administrationfrom its origin as a response to senior poverty during the Great Depression, to its elegant design as a direct transfer from current workers to current beneficiaries, to its regular adjustments that have preserved its future.
All of which to say, Im pretty darn attached to the SSA for someone ineligible to receive benefits before the year 2041.
So the recent news about Social Security, from reports of widespread customer service disruptions to Elon Musks claim that only fraudsters complain about delayed benefits, made me worried, angry, and more likely to stress eat all the pretzels and hummus in the house.
As upsetting as all this is, there is still plenty we can do. Whether youre a beneficiary, the child of a beneficiary, or just someone who likes efficiency experts to wield scalpels rather than chainsaws, heres what you need to know about protecting Social Security.
Fraud is not a problem with Social Security
The Trump administration has claimed over and over that there is a rampant fraud problem in the Social Security system. The most recent example (as of this writing) was Musks claim during a tele-rally for a Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate that someone would be arrested the next day for stealing 400,000 Social Security numbers in order to fraudulently claim benefits.
There are many things wrong with that previous sentenceincluding the fact that its really stupid to announce a potential arrest before it has happenedbut lets focus on the fraud claim.
Fraudulently claiming Social Security benefits simply isnt a thing.
Social Security is a remarkably accurate government program, enjoying a payment accuracy rate of 99.7%. Only 0.3% of Social Security benefits are improper payments (which includes both overpayment and underpayment), and the majority of these improper payments are caused by delays or mistakes. The SSA has a 47% recovery rate for overpaymentsand the government aggregates annual improper payment datasets so that any American citizen can take a look at how accurate the SSAs benefit payments are.
The SSA also has rigorous safeguards and protocols in place to stop payments to beneficiaries who have died, including collecting death data, checking that the oldest beneficiaries are using their benefits, and terminating benefits at age 115.
Finally, non-citizens who are eligible to work in the United States receive a Social Security numberand they pay into the Social Security systembut they are not eligible for benefits. This makes non-citizens with Social Security numbers a net financial benefit to the SSA.
When someone claims that Social Security needs an overhaul because of widespread fraud, they dont know what they are talking about.
The Social Security computer system needs to be updated
As much as I love the SSA, I am not blind to its flaws. Specifically, Social Securitys computer systems are written in COBOL, a computer language that was developed in the 1950s and gained widespread use in the 1970s. However, COBOL is now an obsolete computer languagebut the SSA maintains 60 million lines of code in this language to this day. The SSA also relies on COBOL for the code responsible for issuing social security numbers, calculating benefits, and managing payments, according to a report from Wired.
This is clearly unsustainable, as anyone who has ever asked a software engineer about their profession can attest. Computer systems are notoriously flimsy, held together by chewing gum and hope, and every day the SSA continues to hum along on an obsolete coding language is kind of miraculous.
The plan to rewrite this code to modernize the SSAs computer system is a good onebut DOGE wants to accomplish this migration in an irresponsibly short timeframe. A complete migration from COBOL to Java would take several years, but the Department of Government Efficiency is proposing a timeframe of a few months.
While it may be more efficient to burn the current computer system to the ground and build a new one on its ashes, the increased efficiency would be little comfort to the beneficiaries who dont receive payments, receive the wrong payments, or have to wait months for benefits they are entitled to.
Recognize the propaganda
For years, Social Security has been known as the third rail of American politics, since it enjoys bipartisan popularity. No one wants the government to cut payments to Nana and Pop-Pop. (They have the good cookies at their house!)
The only way to touch an untouchable program is to convince the populace that its riddled with problems. Pointing out the real or fabricated problems within a beloved program allows the people in power to dismantle the program in the name of improvement.
This is why we are hearing so much about Social Securitys supposed faults. Musk and his minions claim rampant fraud, dead beneficiaries, and non-citizens receiving fat benefit checks, despite the SSAs incredible 99.7% payment accuracy. The Department of Government Efficiency is correct that the SSAs computer system is based on archaic code and needs updatingbut the most efficient way of handling the update would imperil the benefits of millions of Americans.
What can you do to protect Social Security?
We the people have more power than any politician (or random South African billionaire). In the case of Social Security, pushback from beneficiaries has already delayed a deeply unpopular new identity-proofing requirement. Further complaints about this requirement could delay it even moreor perhaps eliminate it entirely.
With that in mind, contacting your reresentatives by phone and email is a great way to remind our government of how painful it is to touch the third rail.
Sharing the facts about Social Security (possibly by forwarding this article, ahem) is also an important protective measure, because it helps build immunity to misinformation and propaganda.
To protect your personal Social Security benefits, sign up for a my Social Security account if you havent already. From that account, save and print your Social Security Statement, which includes your earnings record. This will ensure you have the correct information about your Social Security earning record and potential benefits in the (unlikely!) event that DOGE actually tries to rewrite the SSA code during a single caffeine-soaked weekend.
Worth fighting for
The Social Security Administration represents the best of American government policy. We wont let it be dissected, dismantled, or demolished without a fight.
Kodiak Brush doesnt mince words when it comes to the state of football helmet design. Most helmets today are designed to win lab tests, not protect players on the field, he tells me over email. Brush, an MIT-trained mechanical engineer and former middle linebacker, is a production engineering manager who leads helmet design at Carlsbad, California-based Light Helmets. His latest creation is the Apache helmet, which, at just 3.5 pounds, is the lightest on the marketand yet it has achieved the highest safety score ever recorded by Virginia Techs independent helmet testing lab.
The Apache is a direct challenge to decades of conventional wisdom about what makes a football helmet safe. Its not just lighter, Brush claims, its smarterleveraging advanced materials, 3D printing, and a player-first philosophy that prioritizes real-world performance over outdated assumptions. And, while the number of total concussions in the NFL decreased 17% in 2024, theres still a lot of work to be done.
[Photo: Light Helmets]
Brushs journey to revolutionize helmet design connects directly with his very core. As a middle linebacker at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he was never the biggest or fastest player on the field, he tells me. I would very rarely get out-leveraged. One of my favorite things to do was meet a pulling guard in the gap, put him on the ground, and ask him, How are you going to let a little guy like me do that to you? His helmet was an extension of his bodya tool he relied on for protection and performance. But it wasnt perfect. The pain points I had with helmets are personal, he says.
After graduating from MIT and working in accident reconstruction and product design, Brush joined Light Helmets with a mission to create a helmet that addressed those pain points while pushing the boundaries of safety technology.
The weight myth
The Apaches most striking feature is its weightor lack thereof. At 3.5 pounds, its up to 40% lighter than many competing helmets. This isnt just about comfort; its about physics. Lower helmet mass means less energy that needs to be mitigated, Brush says. It also reduces neck fatigue, allowing players to control their heads better and for longer.
While people think SUVs beat sedans in crashes, he tells me, your head isnt a car. Its 10% of your body mass, tethered by a neck that must stay engaged. So adding weight to it is never a good idea. Less is better.
[Photo: Light Helmets]
This philosophy runs counter to an industry trend of adding weight to helmets to improve performance in lab tests. Standardized testing protocols like those used by Virginia Tech and the NFL involve striking static head forms with pendulums or pneumatic rams. Heavier helmets tend to score better in these tests because they absorb more energy due to their mass. [Its] lab test gaming, he tells me.
But on the field, where players are dynamic rather than static, heavier helmets can do more harm than good. Increased helmet mass leads to higher energy impacts, Brush says. It makes the game less safe for everyone.
[Photo: Light Helmets]
How it works
Aesthetically, the helmet looks familiar, but certain details make it very different from its typical predecessor. It appears much leaner, and its lines are reminiscent of a trial bike helmetmore aggressive and angled. It also offers a wider field of view. The front of traditional helmets tends to be small and make players feel boxed-in, as if theyre medieval soldiers on the battlefield, but the Apache front is surprisingly open and airy. This is the result of the shock-absorption technologies Brush used.
First, there is its flexible outer shell, made from impact-modified nylon, a material more commonly found in racing helmets than football gear. Unlike traditional rigid shells, it flexes on impact, spreading forces across a larger area and reducing pressure peaks on the skull by nearly 20%.
Inside the shell there is a 3D-printed liner, a thermoplastic polyurethane network of many cylindrical pods with variable stiffness. This means they buckle under impact to absorb energy before returning to their original shape. This design dissipates energy more efficiently than traditional foam liners, which compress linearly and struggle to recover after heavy impacts.
It was developed with K3D, a 3D design and printing technology developed by Kollide, a company that develops impact-resistance technologies through 3D printing to protect humans in motion. Light Helmets simulated thousands of impact scenarios using K3D and rapidly iterated designs in ways that traditional manufacturing cant match. We broke 47 prototypes before we got the liners buckling pattern right, Brush says. But every failure taught us something new.
The company claims that its titanium alloy maskwhich is available only for professional teams at this pointallows it to shave about 40% of the weight of a comparable tradtional face mask, which is usually made with steel. And yet, it has the same hardness and durability of steel.
The helmet comes in two models: the Apache, designed for NFL and college football teams, and the Apache Lightning, designed for youth programs. The key difference between the models is in the interior liner material. The 3.5-pound Apache uses impact-absorbing TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), a durable material thats engineered to absorb impacts and return to its original state after shocks, maintaining flexibility through time, Light Helmets says.
The Apache Lightning uses EPP (expanded polypropylene) foam, an aerospace-grade material known for its ability to efficiently dissipate impact energy, the company claims. Its also lighter, configurable to less than 3 pounds. All the helmets can be custom made, allowing players to choose colors and different mask designs. The Apache is priced from $649 to $849; the Lightning variant sells for $449 to $649.
[Photo: Light Helmets]
Testing realities
Despite its lightweight designwhich Brush admits puts it at a disadvantage in standardized testingthe Apache scored an unprecedented 0.46 on Virginia Techs STAR rating system (lower scores indicate better performance). The testing protocol involves striking helmets at multiple locations and speeds with a pendulum system, then calculating a severity score based on how likely those impacts would result in traumatic brain injuries. Virginia Tech has become the Consumer Reports of helmet testing, Brush says. Their public results drive innovation by holding manufacturers accountable.
Still, he believes theres room for improvement in how helmets are evaluated. Both Virginia Tech and NFL protocols reward heavier helmets without consequence, he says. Light has proposed updates that would normalize scoring for weight or incorporate drop-tower tests where impact energy is proportional to massa change that could fundamentally shift how helmets are designed across the industry.
But the real test of any helmet isnt in the lab. Its on the field, according to Brush. Feedback from players at every level has been overwhelmingly positive. NFL players using the Apache report feeling quicker and more agile compared to when they wore heavier helmets from competitors like Riddell or Vicis. High school athletes have praised its comfort and visibility, noting that it feels more like wearing a cap than carrying extra weight on their heads.
One linebacker told Brush that wearing the Apache was like removing blinders: I can actually see my targets now. Another player described finishing games without the usual neck strain hed come to expect from heavier helmetsa small but significant change that could extend careers over time.
The future
Brush tells me the Apache design is the future of football helmets. He believes that flexible shells like those used in the Apache will become standard within the next decade, as evidence mounts that they mitigate impact energy more effectively than rigid designs. He also predicts greater adoption of additive manufacturing for position-specific liners tailored to individual needsdenser padding for linemen who take head-on hits versus lighter configurations for quarterbacks who need mobility and peripheral vision.
Further down the line, he envisions helmets integrating technologies like impact sensors, communication devices, and even camerasthough he insists these features must not come at the expense of weight reduction or safety.
For now, the Apache seems to already be the future of football helmets. Light Helmets sold 5,000 units in 2024, and its projecting sales of 50,000 helmets with increased production and word spreading across the community. As one AFC North coach remarked: Its not a helmet. Its an unfair advantage.
But for Brush, success isnt measured by sales figures or accoladesits about changing how people think about football safety and avoid traumatic brain injuries. We didnt set out to revolutionize anything, he says simply. We just stopped lying to ourselves about what works.
