An open letter from authors including Lauren Groff, Lev Grossman, R.F. Kuang, Dennis Lehane, and Geoffrey Maguire calls on book publishers to pledge to limit their use of AI tools, for example by committing to only hire human audiobook narrators.

Being a mom means you are a multi-tasking manager of all things household: meals, practices, appointments, and more. It's an overwhelming role that requires good organization, time management, and cooperation between spouses to keep things running smoothly.In a Reddit parenting thread, member u/Weekendengineerr got vulnerable about the overwhelming responsibility she feels when it comes to managing her family's schedule. She shared, "The 'invisible' work of family scheduling is making me resent my partner. How do you manage [your family's schedules]?"Fellow moms heard her plea. To help spark some idea for success as a family manager, 14 mothers shared their best family management advice and tips. Mothers Day Snl GIF by Saturday Night Live Giphy "We use a big calendar on the wall in the kitchen area. That way at meal time we can discuss upcoming events and the kids check it too." —u/royalic"We do this too. Also, there is a firm rule that if it’s not on the calendar, it doesn’t exist. So if you forget to put your thing on the calendar before there’s a conflict, that is your problem to deal with, not anyone else’s. That likely means calling so and so and saying 'I forgot to put you on the calendar, I have to cancel, I am now standing next to my calendar…' if it is something that can be rescheduled rather than just missed." —u/dixpourcentmerci mia farrow calendar GIF Giphy "Yes! We have a dry erase weekly calendar in the kitchen and each family member (there's only 3 of us) has a color so it's easy to see what the week looks like. Of course, I write out the calendar every Sunday so it's still on me more than my husband. But he does more than his fair share of cooking and cleaning so I don't mind being the scheduler as much." —u/on-purpose810"I divided it. I told him from now on, you're responsible for everything regarding the kids' extracurriculars. Here's the contact info you're going to need, and this is the website. From now on, if anything is forgotten it's not my fault. Were there missteps? Yes. Did he forget stuff? Also yes. Did I relent? No. Did he eventually learn from his mistakes? Yes." —u/I-Really-Hate-Fish"We leaned heavily into our phone calendar. We don’t use a shared google calendar but just invite each other to every appt added. It took awhile for us to get used to it but now everything from doctors appointments to potential play dates to friends flying into town to library trips are in there."—u/kitethrulife GIF by The Hills Giphy "I LOVE our skylight calendar so much that I sound like a paid Skylight influencer. It has made my life 100% less stressful because it's so much easier to keep up with the schedule now. We were using 2 white board calendars on the fridge, which was okay but not helpful for longer term planning or if I was anywhere else. The app is on everyone's phone, so even my 12 year old can add things to the schedule if he learns about an extra band practice at school or something. He can also check to see if he has anything happening after school. When my husband takes the kids to the doctor and has to schedule a follow up, he can look at the app on his phone and make sure there aren't conflicts (so I don't have to call back later and reschedule ?) The physical calendar on the kitchen counter means that it's everyone's responsibility to know something is happening, not just mine. There's a routine/chore function that's been helpful this summer and less work than (me, of course) writing a schedule on a white board every day." —u/chellerator"What really helped us was that my partner took the majority of parenting for a while. After a few months he came to me and said 'you know the google calendar, it’s really really useful.' I just didn’t do anything. He picked up the kids, took them to practice, had to communicate if something went wrong, etc." —u/DuoNem"A few years into our marriage I sat my husband down and I listed ALL the tasks that require my attention on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Then I told him he had to take on some of them and get them off my plate before I lose my sh*t. It took a few weeks before it caught on without the need to revisit the list but we are now 15 years into marriage and I have not had to schedule a doctors appointment for the kids in ages, I have never stepped foot in their dentist office cuz dad does that. I don’t make breakfast or pack lunches cuz dad does that and when I’m at the grocery store he is the person I call to see if we have to get more of something. We also tried The Fair Play Deck (based on the book Fair Play by Eve Rodsky) as well which is a set of cards with tasks on it and each person chooses what tasks they will be responsible for. It was helpful to visually see the tasks piling up with each card." —u/Main_Push5429 - YouTube www.youtube.com "A few things:I have two big acrylic wall calendars like this in a super prominent part of the house. It covers this month and next month and everything goes on it, including regular activities, appointments, etc. I fill out all the regular stuff at the beginning of the month like practices etc. and then we add appointments as soon as they are made. I find two months really crucial because then you have some grace with the “we forgot to update it” memory lapses. https://circleandsquaredecor.com/products/frostedacrylicmonthly-thecraig-vertical0box-18-5x23I add his phone number and email to every form I fill out so that he is also on the correspondence that gets sent out. He gets text reminders for appointments, school emails, etc.Mine is allergic to the phone, so I still manage most phone call scheduling. But I finally was like “bro, have you ever heard of an online portal?” So now I can just be like “I need you to schedule this thing.”Have your husband be keeper of the backpacks. He can be in charge of emptying and filling them and adding important dates to the calendar, signing permission forms, etc." —u/OneTimePSAStar"My husband has ADHD. He is an AMAZING father and fantastic at his job. But his brain is spent in the evenings when his meds wear off. Its been a process of us working together to get him to the point of managing. We use Cozi. Our kids are a bit older (13, almost 16, and almost 19) and we have been using it for years. Everyone has it on their phones and everyone is responsible for adding any plans they make. When we implemented the calendar I really drove home that if its not on the calendar its not happening. I also 'nagged' everyone into the habit of checking it first thing every morning so they know what the day brings. Kids want to have a friend over? Check the calendar before asking. If anyone asks me when, where, or what time something is happening I simply say "Check the calendar". We also use it for some 'reminders'. For example I put on there 'Check for drivers test dates' for 30 days before my middle daughters 16th birthday. Important info is added in the notes - who is driving? Do they need to bring anything? Its taken some time and mental labor on my part but these days it runs pretty smoothly. There were failures and missed appointments along the way but we all survived." —u/sdpeasha Point Remember GIF Giphy "We do it based on kids. I know sometimes like for dentist, you may take both, but one person does almost everything for one kids, and other person for the other. School clothes, permission slips, teacher gifts, etc and the. That person puts it in the other persons calendar too. Works pretty well." —u/mrsjlm"Because I’m a stepmom, my husband is the one who is in charge of the scheduling in the house. Our solution is twofold: an up-to-date Google calendar, and a dry-erase calendar of the month in the kitchen. The Google calendar is what my husband and I already used individually, so we keep our personal calendars separate and just share them with each other. He also created a calendar for his kids, to help me see the custody schedule and their sports events. While he’s mostly in charge of the kids’ digital calendar, I’m the one who writes up the dry erase calendar at the beginning of every month, which shows all of our events for the coming weeks. This way, even though I’m not in charge of the scheduling, I am putting things on the calendar so that I have visibility and nothing comes as a surprise. The night before any events or hectic days, we take a minute to go over who’s driving who where the next day. Sometimes I’ll ask my husband to text it to me even though we’re talking about it in person, so that the driving part is documented and I can double check the plan if needed." —u/Anon-eight-billion Erase Parks And Recreation GIF by PeacockTV Giphy "Shared notes on notes app on iPhone. There is shopping lists with check boxes and when one person adds something to any of the lists or notes the other person or anyone else it’s shared with gets a notification saying who has updated one of the lists." —u/Fit_Woodpecker_3333"Some reading that might help you both have a productive conversation together: The gender wars of household chores: a feminist comic and She Divorced Me Because I Left Dishes by the Sink ." —u/anonymous_redditor_0

When I was five, the year was 1992. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was my whole world, I was getting ready to start kindergarten, and the most pressing issue on my mind was what to put on my Christmas list (Answer: A Sega Genesis). I took piano lessons around that age, but gave it up after a few years because I was more interested in other things (like my Sega Genesis).Five-year-old Armenian-American Alec Van Khajadourian has taken a slightly different approach. His natural talent, passion, and work ethic have turned him into one of the most skilled pianists of his age in the entire world. In other words, he's a prodigy.The child began showing his natural talents at the age of two. By age three-and-a-half, his piano teacher discovered that Alec has "perfect pitch" which is a rare and unique ability some people seem to be born with that allows them to correctly identify any note they hear. Think of it like photographic memory for music. Only about 1 in 10,000 people have the ability, which comes from a combination of genetic predisposition and early exposure to music.When he was four, he performed his first recital alongside fifth graders (usually age 10-11). By five, he had won multiple international music competitions.“When he started walking, he’d go right to the piano, tapping keys and smiling from ear to ear,” his father said in an interview. “We could tell right away that he had a special connection to music, and his skills have developed incredibly quickly.”His parents have been posting some of Alec's incredible performances online to a social media account they manage, including one where he attempts an extremely challenging piece while wearing a blindfold.The selection, one of Alec's favorites, is "Flamenco" by W. Gillock. It's an extremely inventive and upbeat piece that's fun to play and relatively easy to learn due to its composition and symmetry, but it requires some advanced hand, wrist, and finger techniques to pull off at a high level.It also helps if you have your eyesight available. But that doesn't seem to hinder Alec very much in this clip. See on Instagram After a video of Alec showing off his incredible perfect pitch skills went viral, local news stations around the country started picking up his story.People just couldn't believe what those tiny hands could do on the ivories, and they got so much joy out of watching how much Alec loves to play."bravo to this young boy! The future looks bright" one commenter wrote."Cuteness overload and a little prodigy!" someone said."So cool, keep up the good work dude!" added another. See on Instagram Did you know that there's actually a specific definition of the word "prodigy"?I always thought a prodigy was any young kid who showed exceptional abilities in a given field. While that's accurate, the true definition is a little more specific.Prodigy specifically refers to a child under the age of 10 who can perform at the level of a highly-trained adult.Watching Alec play, it's clear that at the age of five he's well beyond the level that most adults could reach without serious training. The finger movement, wrist positioning, and playing speed are remarkable. And he does it all while his arms are too short to reach the whole set of keys—watch him slide up and down the bench so that he can play the full scale. It's incredible.The obvious question that Alec's parents get a lot is whether they're pushing him into it. They say that Alec is completely self-driven and motivated, and that their job is to nurture his talent—as long as he wants them to.“As long as it brings him joy, we’ll continue to support him," Alec's father said.In interviews, they say Alec is really a normal five-year-old in most ways. He plays with the family dog, loves video games, and goes to pre-school. But his entire demeanor changes when he sits down at the piano. He brings an intense focus to his craft while still managing to take joy in playing.“It makes me feel good,” Alec told NBC Los Angeles. “It feels calm.” - YouTube www.youtube.com What's next for Alec? Well, his whole life, for starters. But more immediately, he's been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall and Disney Concert Hall.The pianist was four years old when he decided he one day wanted to play at New York City's Carnegie Hall, one of the most storied and legendary musical venues in the United States. When his skills began going viral, it wasn't long before he received an invite to perform there. Achieving his lifelong dream before he even turns six—not bad!He'll play at the NY Classic Debut Awards Gala Concert in July 2025.Alec is also beginning to compose his own music. For reference, Mozart wrote his own first composition when he was only five and, suffice it to say, it still slaps. - YouTube www.youtube.com I've always wondered why we're so fascinated with child prodigies.It's inherently fun and surprising to see tiny people excelling at things far beyond their years. But I think it's also enjoyable to imagine what it would be like to find something you're passionate about and extremely good at from a young age. For many of us, it takes years and years, decades even, to find even one or the other—let alone both.Prodigies, especially in the social media age, always face a critical transition at some point. When the novelty of their young age begins to wear off and people stop being amazed at their precociousness, what do they do? Do they double down on their craft and solidify themselves as a true master, or do they take the opportunity to let go of the fame and go live a more "normal" life?Alec has a bright future ahead of him in music, that much is for sure. We can't wait to see where his talents take him, on the piano or otherwise.

The late 90s and early 2000s were certainly interesting times to come of age in America, and elder Millennials were the guinea pigs. We are part of what is known as a micro-generation, often referring to ourselves as the Oregon Trail Generation or Xennials due to our very unique experience of coming of age during the Internet's infancy. Because we were the first teenagers exposed to the Internet in school and out, there were very little restrictions on what we were allowed to do online. It was essentially the Wild West and we were pretty oblivious to the dangers as were our parents, so no one was checking to see what we were doing. During a chat with my Gen Z kids recently, they recalled all the restrictions placed on them around electronics with access to the Internet. One bravely dared to ask if my parents were as strict about Internet use in the 1900s. oregon trail 80s GIF Giphy They love to pull the 1900s card as if we were all churning butter on our front porches waiting for our pa to come back from town in a horse drawn carriage. I play along by talking in a drawn out old timey southern accent (I'm from Pennsylvania) to say something along the lines of, "Back in my day we had to walk up the Internet hills both ways while waiting for our dialup connection. Ma and Pa didn't even know how to turn the dang flabbin computer on I reckon so we talked to a lot of strangers in a far off land called an AOL chatroom and told them our ASL." Surprised students with books and open mouths against orange background.Photo credit: CanvaAfter explaining that ASL stood for "Age, Sex, Location" and not American Sign Language they were genuinely concerned. My younger one asked if we gave out accurate information and their older brother confidently said something about the use of a VPN. The looks of absolute horror that came across their faces when I broke the news that there was no VPN and I wasn't sure they existed then were truly something to behold. Suddenly, I was being scolded by two teenagers telling me how dangerous it is to share you location with strangers on the Internet. One of them even threatened to tell my mother, though I'm not quite sure what they thought the result would be thereTheir questions, shock, and seeming disappointment grew when I shared we would meet some of these strangers at the mall and some friends even had them pick them up from their houses. My youngest Gen Zer gasped at that revelation, asking, "How are y'all still alive? Didn't you watch Unsolved Mysteries with that creepy guy telling you all about kids disappearing?" Surprised by what he sees on the tablet!Photo credit: CanvaOf course we watched Unsolved Mysteries and of course we didn't think those things could happen to us. The perk of being a teenager is truly believing that you're invincible while also never fully thinking through the consequences of impulsive decisions. Thankfully, myself and all of my high school and college friends made it to the other side without ending up another story for Robert Stack to tell. Our late adolescence is also likely the reason many elder Millennials are so vigilant with our children's Internet access. We know what we were doing while unsupervised on the Internet and how quickly technology can develop, leaving parents in the dark and teenagers exposed to dangers. But having the conversation really opened the floor to deeper discussion about Internet safety and additional precautions I took while raising them in a world immersed in the quick paced advancements of the World Wide Web. Internet Web Surfing GIF Giphy I'm the first to admit that they have reached the age where they have completely surpassed my knowledge of all things Internet. My oldest son rolls his eyes as I call him "Tech Support" when I can't figure something out just as I rolled my eyes when my parents would call me after class to ask where they were supposed to type a web address. Technology is inherently for the young. Sure, old fogies like me and older can catch on and use it, but we're slower at jumping on the bandwagon. We don't particularly like a lot of change and we also don't want to be left behind, which usually keeps us in the same role with our parents that we put our children in with us–show me how you work this thing.

You're getting ready to cook dinner, so you start pulling ingredients out of your pantry. As you pick up a package of pasta, you realize you bought it a long time ago, so you search for a date. The "best by" date passed two months ago. Is it okay to eat it? Will it make you and your family sick? Is it worth taking a risk? Is there really a risk at all with pasta? That's only the beginning of the questions when it comes to dating food items. What's the difference between "sell by" and "best by" and "use by" and "expiration" dates? What if the package just has a date with no words or letters to indicate which of those it is? Does "best by" mean it just isn't fresh past that date? Does "expires" mean it might kill you if you eat it? What if a food just has a date but no other indicators on it? Photo credit: Canva You're not alone. Food packaging dates are befuddling because get this: there are no real regulations or national standards that determine how they're decided. In reality, a lot of foods—especially dry packaged foods—can be safely consumed well past any of those dates. They may lose optimal freshness, and they might taste stale, but generally speaking, the dates don't mean what people think they mean. In fact, they don't really have a well-defined meaning at all. Is this a package date? Sell by date? Use by date? Best by date? Photo credit: Canva“It is a complete Wild West,” Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFed (a nonprofit trying to end food waste) told CNN. "Many consumers really believe that they are being told to throw the food out, or that even when they don’t make that choice, that they’re sort of breaking some rule." According to America's Test Kitchen's science editor Paul Adams, the dates on foods are almost entirely about freshness and taste quality and not about safety. The USDA website states, "Manufacturers provide dating to help consumers and retailers decide when food is of best quality. Except for infant formula, dates are not an indicator of the product’s safety and are not required by Federal law." - YouTube www.youtube.com Which brings us to the handful of foods whose expiration dates actually do matter and that you shouldn't overlook or ignore because there is some food safety risk involved. No one wants listeria, salmonella, botulism, or other forms of foodborne illness (more commonly known as food poisoning). Along with baby formula, it's important to pay attention to dates on fresh meat and fish, deli meats, and unpasteurized cheeses. But for the vast majority of other foods, using your senses to check for signs of spoilage and having a sense of how long certain foods will last once opened will tell you more than the date on the package will. Your senses can tell you a lot about whether food is good to consume.Photo credit: CanvaSigns of spoilage include an "off" smell or taste, a change in color, and changes in texture (many foods develop a slippery or slimy feel when they start to spoil). If you see signs of mold, in some cases the whole package should be thrown out (such as bread) or the moldy parts can be cut off (such as hard cheeses, cutting off an inch past the mold). For fresh fruits and vegetables that start to get moldy, a general rule is if it's hard/firm, you can cut the moldy part off plus an inch, and if it's soft/squishy, throw it out. (The USDA has a helpful chart to see which foods can still be used with mold cut off and which should be tossed.)Knowing how long foods generally last once opened or purchased will also help you gauge when a food is too iffy to consume. FoodSafety.gov has a handy cold food storage chart that you can even download as a PDF if you want to print it out and put it in your kitchen for quick reference. — (@) And, of course, there's the wise adage, "When in doubt, throw it out." But with the few exceptions listed above, dates on packages aren't the primary thing that should lead you to doubt.

Boring.

RFK Jr says studies of prisons have shown what happens when you switch out processed foods with good foods: 85% drop in assaults.75% drop in the use of restraints.38% drop in violence.100% drop in suicides in one study. Incredible. They have been keeping us mentally ill by… pic.twitter.com/u1iDxg1qgs — Patri0tsareinContr0l (@Patri0tContr0l) June 27, 2025

We now have clear evidence that the COVID-19 mRNA shots have devastated the reproductive capacity of humanity. In animal models, they destroy >60% of women’s finite egg supply. In human data (n=1.3M), vaccinated women have ~33% fewer successful pregnancies than unvaccinated. https://t.co/3M3NmopGAn pic.twitter.com/zy81FCejQY — Nicolas Hulscher, MPH (@NicHulscher) June 25, 2025