David Lidsky's Blog, page 20

FAFSA changes are here: What students and parents should know

The 2026-27 FAFSA brings new limits for Parent PLUS and grad loans, plus updates to Pell Grant eligibility.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) period is set to reopen next month. According to a statement from the Department of Education, the online form for the 2026-2027 year will be available on October 1. 

This viral comedian’s ‘clanker’ skit has ignited debate over robot slurs

A viral sketch by Stanzi Potenza, as well as one by Samuel Jacob, use a ‘Star Wars’–inspired insult for robots. Critics say the jokes echo real-world racism.

A TikTok comedian has sparked debate after riffing on the viral term “clanker,” which in recent months has surfaced as an insult for robots, AI systems, and those who rely on them.

Argentina’s markets plunge after President Milei’s party loses in Buenos Aires

The 13-point gap in favor of the opposition Peronists was much wider than polls anticipated and what the market had priced in.

Argentina’s markets tumbled on Monday, with the peso currency at a historic low, after a heavy defeat for President Javier Milei’s party at the hands of the Peronist opposition at local elections stoked worries about the government’s ability to implement its economic reform agenda.

4 ways AI can improve your thinking

What if we used AI to slow down, challenge our thinking, and build new tools, dashboards, and experiments?

This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.

Tech is making workers’ jobs more dangerous instead of safer

AI and robots could save workers’ lives and improve job conditions, but instead we are using them to make jobs more dangerous.

Technologies from AI to advanced robotics have been celebrated for their ability to lighten people’s workload. But despite their promises, these technologies aren’t being used to improve workers’ lives or keep them safe. In 2023, 385 workers died every day due to hazardous working conditions, with over 3 million more work-related injuries and illnesses reported that year in the United States.

How to handle a bad boss

In an excerpt from her new book, Harvard Business School lecturer Margaret C. Andrews lays out strategies for dealing with a bad boss.

Most of us will work for a really bad boss at some point in our lives, perhaps more than one. Research by the Harris Poll bears this out, showing that more than 70 percent of workers have had at least one such noxious manager in their career. These difficult managers can range from inexperienced and incompetent bosses to truly mean-spirited individuals who have little regard for human suffering. Researchers have found that when we experience incivility in the workplace, about half of people intentionally decreased their work effort, more than three-quarters said it decreased their commitment to the organization involved, and more than one in ten said they had left a job because of poor treatment/behavior.

First connections can impact your career trajectory

What makes these first encounters so powerful is not only the transfer of skills but also the shaping of confidence and identity.

People often say that a single spark can light a fire.

Our built environment doesn’t have to be so depressing

Walk-friendly, bike-friendly, transit-friendly places are good medicine, and they’re not impossible to build.

Our built environment contributes to a mental health crisis. 

What Machiavelli and St. Francis can tell us about the motivations of CEOs

We found very high correlations between power motivation and CEO behavior.

Niccolò Machiavelli, the infamous author of The Prince, wrote in the 1500s that the ideal leader makes and breaks solemn agreements. He creates alliances with weak allies to defeat a powerful enemy and then eliminates them one by one. He blames his next-in-charge for his own mistakes, and he executes opponents in public.

The silent manipulations that often go unnoticed, according to a Harvard law professor

From ‘sludge’ to peer pressure, manipulation is a serious problem that we need to reduce.

Cass Sunstein is a Harvard Law School professor and one of the most cited legal scholars in the world. He founded the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School, served in the White House during the Obama Administration, received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, and has written dozens of books on topics ranging from behavioral science to constitutional law.