Ben Berkley
Managing Editor, The Hustle, The Hustle
A pair of headphones is dropped into a waste bin.

Why Spotify’s latest layoff will make employees everywhere want to give up

Following up a profitable quarter with a massive layoff round — the third round of the year, no less — is hard for workers to stomach.

Ben Berkley • December 5, 2023
A chart compares hours required for certification in various industries — Certified Cheese Professional (4k hours) tops the list, ahead of Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (3k hours), certified electrician (2k hours), physical therapist specialist (2k hours), and commercial airline pilot (1.5k hours).

Career development could be an ace up Whole Foods’ sleeve

Apprenticeships are the leading edge of the chain’s attempt to make grocery careers more appealing.

Ben Berkley • December 4, 2023
workforce numbers by generation over time

Boomers out, zoomers in, and other working-world trends you may see in 2024

Data from Glassdoor suggests some rough trends ahead for workers in 2024, like benefits and equity leaving offer letters.

Ben Berkley • December 1, 2023
An aerial shot of Riyadh’s skyline.

Saudi Arabia will host the 2030 World Expo (and incidentally, World Expos are still a thing)

The Saudi kingdom has allocated $7.8B+ to host the global event and (they hope) to soften the nation’s global image.

Ben Berkley • November 30, 2023
A global map with the location of each of Disney’s six theme parks identified alongside an illustration of a prominent landmark from that park and a price tag showing the admission fees required to enter the park this previous weekend.

Disney Parks focuses overseas, on seas, and on ceasing

Over the next decade, Mickey and Co. will invest $60B into its theme parks, cruise lines, and resorts.

Ben Berkley • November 27, 2023
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks on stage with OpenAI and Microsoft logos displayed on a screen behind him. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stands to the left, looking on.

OpenAI will still exist, but in what form?

The latest on the AI company’s self-inflicted crisis.

Ben Berkley • November 21, 2023
A photograph of Sam Altman against an orange and yellow background.

Why this Sam Altman/OpenAI drama is just getting started

OpenAI’s boardroom drama is the kind of thing TV writers would draft up, then pare back because it feels like it’s a little much.

Ben Berkley • November 20, 2023
global seafood waste

Seafood waste: A billions-losing issue with billions-earning potential

Seafood-adjacent startups are looking to turn the industry’s excess waste into value.

Ben Berkley • November 20, 2023
Build-A-Bear profitability over time

Build-A-Bear is a money-making machine

After 26 years and ~225m stuffed animals, the specialty retailer is hitting peak profitability.

Ben Berkley • November 17, 2023

How do you feel about the job market? Probably pretty weird

Gotta love the bizarro world of job stats: Hiring is down and layoffs are up, yet unemployment is static. What gives?

Ben Berkley • November 13, 2023
An oil painting by English painter Samuel Scott depicts a British vessel attacking a large Spanish galleon. The force of the gunfire seems to blow the Spanish vessel apart in a cloud of smoke and flames, reflected on the water.

A ‘finders keepers’ fight except it’s over $20B in sunken treasure

Things have escalated in the decades-long battle of a shipwreck’s treasure — but complications keep mounting.

Ben Berkley • November 9, 2023
A sign disparaging Bud Light beer is seen along a country road.

Does every societal conflict really require a corporate statement?

Brands are having a rough time stepping into the public discourse on divisive issues, but silence isn’t golden either.

Ben Berkley • November 6, 2023
brand statement consumer polling

Consumers don’t want brands to speak out — except for the ones who do

Americans’ interest in corporate advocacy is divided across demographic lines, making social issues harder to handle for brands.

Ben Berkley • November 6, 2023
sandwich stats

Let’s celebrate National Sandwich Day, because why the hell not?

On its special day, an ode to the ever-versatile sandwich, savior of the lunch hour, deliverer of tasty treats.

Ben Berkley • November 3, 2023
A young woman looks back toward a cracked doorway.

The American economy is fine, but Americans aren’t

Despite data suggesting things aren’t half bad, the nation remains unhappy about the economy. Why?

Ben Berkley • November 2, 2023
A female pilot with a roller bag in front of a small white jet with entry stairs.

Private jets have a pilot problem

Pilots are following the money — and it’s taking them to larger commercial airlines.

Ben Berkley • October 31, 2023
A collage of images — two white airships, Taylor Swift, voting stickers and American flags, and a dog wearing glasses — against a teal background.

Digits: Billionaire politicians, new billionaires, an airship’s new heights, and more.

Billionaire politicians, new billionaires, an airship’s new heights, and more.

Ben Berkley • October 30, 2023
Illustrations of signature handbags from linked luxury fashion brands Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, and Balenciaga. Each bag has a red downward arrow highlighted in its design, alongside its corresponding percent dip in sales.

Luxury brands seek a miracle inside their (ostentatious, overpriced) bag of tricks

A rough earnings season has high-end retailers fearing a prolonged slump.

Ben Berkley • October 30, 2023
taxation of billionaires

Another $250B going toward the greater good every year? Sounds nice, but it ain’t happening

European economists dropped research this week backing the taxation of billionaires. It’ll be an uphill climb.

Ben Berkley • October 27, 2023
A robotic arm hands a woman a red flower.

AI… after dark

A wave of NSFW generative AI chatbots are entering the market, because of course they are.

Ben Berkley • October 26, 2023
A GIF shows a dinner plate from overhead as green and purple liquid droplets shift around independently.

If your vision of the future includes your dinner dancing itself around the plate to entertain you, congrats

Scientists are putting technology to work on some wild culinary advancements.

Ben Berkley • October 25, 2023
A teenage boy looks at his phone; in the background, a grid of blue Discord logos fades away in a gradient against an orange backdrop.

Can Discord clean up the internet’s criminal justice system?

A leading social platform takes a gentler (and admirable, though dangerous) approach to moderating its users.

Ben Berkley • October 24, 2023
Basketball players Kevin Durant and Devin Booker wear black Phoenix Suns uniforms with stacks of $100 bills surrounding them.

As the NBA returns, its boardroom is just as entertaining as the on-court product

A new basketball season starts tonight and the business storylines are juicy.

Ben Berkley • October 24, 2023
A chart showing Tesla’s increase in operating margin between 2019 and early 2022, with a sharp decrease from late 2022 to present. The line is depicted as a charging cord coming out of a red and white Tesla Supercharger base.

Tesla is struggling, and the outlook for improvement isn’t thrilling anyone either

The Cybertruck is finally here, but so are serious concerns about the company’s shrinking margins.

Ben Berkley • October 23, 2023
US Halloween costume spending

You’re probably spending a lot on your Halloween costume

Halloween sales figures are looking scary good for retailers this year.

Ben Berkley • October 20, 2023
extreme travel prices

Months after the sub tragedy, extreme tourism is… more popular than ever?

Fears that the Titan submersible’s tragic end would derail the fast-growing adventure tourism sector were seemingly unfounded.

Ben Berkley • October 17, 2023
Three young people reading on their smartphones against a multicolored background made up of thread.

Threads’ golden opportunity is here — Meta doesn’t seem too interested in taking it

Chaotic as X may be, it’s still the only viable platform for what’s happening right now — unless Threads cares to join it.

Ben Berkley • October 13, 2023
An overhead view of a shrouded figure in a dark room typing on a laptop computer.

The world was already horrifying — technology is making it more so

From cyberattacks to crypto-funded terror, technology has amplified the devastation in Israel.

Ben Berkley • October 11, 2023
A grid featuring 11 pairs of jean shorts on a pink background, with one spot in the grid taken by an open dictionary.

Need help brushing up on the new dictionary?

Tech and business are well-represented in the latest additions to the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

Ben Berkley • October 10, 2023
A grid of four illustrations of earth as seen from space. Each one shows tiny dots denoting the number of objects in orbit across the decades (1960s, 1980s, 2000s, 2020s), with the number of dots multiplying in each successive image.

There’s just so much space junk

Efforts to mitigate space junk have momentum, but it’ll be a tall task keeping up with the rate of new launches.

Ben Berkley • October 9, 2023

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