Journal

The best things on and off the Internet this week, curated by Fast Company employees.

Name: Joshua Lieberman
Twitter: @joshualieberman
Role at Fast Company: Software/Web developer. I have already had the chance to lead on two big projects since I joined Fast Company in October 2014. I wrote the front-end code (code that processes and formats data for a browser to present) on our new mobile site and am currently leading the front-end for a top-secret but much bigger project.
Titillating Fact: It usually surprises people that I once had a go as a figure skater. I’m a pretty big guy now and not exactly graceful, but up until I was about 13, I was doing competition “ice dancing” (my mom’s preferred name for the sport). I only ever wore all black outfits, and stole the hearts of judges throughout the region. I also have a rat tattoo on my ribcage and am a big fan of Mariah.

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There’s no true one-stop, all-you-can-eat shop for podcast distribution. Howl and podcasting king Marc Maron are looking to change that.

Long before the breakout of last year’s Serial podcast from This American Life, the medium of podcasting had evolved into a cultural phenomenon, thanks in large part to the success of WTF With Marc Maron. That show, launched in 2009 by comedian Maron and producer Brendan McDonald, is now nearly 630 episodes deep and features compelling, revealing interviews with everyone from little-known comedians to President Obama. Which is one good reason to pay attention to Howl, a podcast discovery and listening app that relaunches today from podcast ad network Midroll. Maron has partnered with the platform to offer his entire archives, and sees it as a critical step in expanding the medium’s reach.

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Becoming a leader takes courage as well as creativity. And creativity takes practice.

Being a leader is difficult. That’s why most of us end up taking direction from others in our professional lives. But the ranks of the self-employed are swelling, hinting that more people are getting comfortable taking the reins in their own hands. And in fact, becoming a leader (even if it’s just of yourself) is something anyone who’s committed to the task can master. There’s no inborn quality that leaders possess. They’re ordinary people who decide at one point or another to do extraordinary things.

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Competition changes your brain, and normal methods of conflict resolution don’t work. Instead, use these three strategies.

In every organization, there’s a handful of people who everyone else goes to for advice. They know how to manage people. They know how to win and establish trust. They know how to turn adversaries into allies. They’re able to seemingly adopt a neutral stance when conflicts arise.

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From the Cola Wars to the battle between long-distance carriers, we take a look at some of the biggest business rivalries in recent history.

You’re paused in the soda aisle at the grocery store or on your way into work, in search of your morning latte. Coke versus Pepsi, Dunkin’ Donuts versus Starbucks—which brand do you choose? For you, it’s a split-second decision shaped by years of habit and brand marketing. But for the rival companies, understanding and shaping that decision is a daily obsession that involves thousands of employees and costs billions.

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And their companies aren’t always doing too hot, either.

Discovery Communications’ stock fell 24% last year, but its CEO still made $156.1 million. It’s a number so astronomical that it seems abstract—until you compare it to what a typical employee at the company makes. CEO David Zaslav makes 2,282 times more than the people who worked behind the scenes to bring you Shark Week.

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Regulators in the European Union hope to spur local innovation while pushing back against Google, Facebook, and Amazon.

The European Commission—the executive body of the E.U.—wants to supercharge its sluggish startup scene and cultivate a generation of Skypes that don’t emigrate to America.

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The pioneering “no brand” brand views design as a solution for problems we encounter daily.

With around 400 stores in Japan alone, and another 300 operating internationally, housewares brand Muji shows no signs of slowing its rapid clip of expansion. For the past 35 years, the company has unwaveringly remained faithful to its philosophy of functional, quality design offered at a reasonable price and plans to stay the course for the next 35 years. But in a climate that constantly celebrates novelty, how can Muji continue to thrive?

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The New York design duo talks to Co.Design about why they finally decided to upgrade their digs.

When most design firms change offices, they set up an address forward. But when Stefan Sagmeister & Jessica Walsh of the eponymous Sagmeister & Walsh were finally driven out of their New York offices by vermin and cockroaches, they set up shop in the Flatiron district and announced the change of address with their own eccentric panache: stripping down naked, getting dirty, and covering themselves in bugs.

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The Harvard law professor says America’s political system needs an emergency intervention. Can he pull it off?

Over the last 20 years of talking about the problem of big money in politics, Congress hasn’t actually voted to do anything about it, and it’s unlikely that they will anytime soon. So Harvard University law professor Lawrence Lessig has cooked up a crazy plan to force some change: He’s trying to crowdfund a presidential campaign focused on the single issue of campaign finance reform.

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