Google founder’s flying-car crash

On the agenda today:

• Inside the rise and spectacular crash of Larry Page’s flying-car company.
• Young people are suffering from financial whiplash — and the pain will haunt them for decades.
• Tech companies are ransacking university AI programs in search of rare talent.
• The battle over buzzy new weight-loss drugs is putting lives at stake.

The big RTO battle

The memo also echoed other recent edicts that focus on the importance of IRL interactions in career development.

Last month, Disney told employees they were expected to be back to the office four days a week. And Amazon said it wants all employees back in the office at least three days a week by next month, setting off both internal opposition and support, and a scramble to get office space ready.

Salesforce boss Marc Benioff caused an uproar when he suggested new employees were less productive, with the company later stepping up RTO requirements. And Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg said that an internal analysis showed people who were hired to work remotely were less productive. Meta later stopped offering remote work in new job postings.

What do you think? Does WFH hurt career development? Let me know at insidertoday@insider.com.

A ‘Willy Wonka fun house’ gone wrong

A dozen former Kittyhawk employees told Insider that Kittyhawk found itself torn between the conflicting visions and shifting priorities of its billionaire founder and his handpicked CEO. In the end, the internal chaos proved unsustainable.

The spectacular rise and fall of Kittyhawk.

Experts say the financial scars of the pandemic era run deep. And as overlapping crises only intensify in the next few decades, the behaviors young people develop around money will stick around.

How the cycle of scarcity and splurging will reshape the economy.

• A new survey shows young workers hate their jobs — and employers should be really worried

We spoke with a dozen professors, students, and industry professionals about how companies are raiding college campuses to mine for talent, offering six-figure salaries and unimaginable resources. “The student population is getting cleaned out,” one dean from Cornell said.

Inside the AI talent wars.

• 44 of the most promising generative-artificial-intelligence startups of 2023, according to VCs
• Y Combinator’s latest class is a feeding frenzy for VCs looking to back AI startups: ‘There’s hysteria for a reason’

Doctor offices are overwhelmed by patients asking for the drugs for cosmetic reasons. Celebrities and influencers are raising the drugs’ profile even further. But people who need the treatment the most are stuck in the middle.

More on the $100 billion tug-of-war.

• ‘Everybody is on it’: A ‘game-changing’ weight-loss drug is NYC’s hottest new trend

Solving traffic, a landlord reckoning, & more

• The wild traffic hack that could pave the way for self-driving cars.
• Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls was caught on camera fighting an Amazon worker last year.
• Landlords who bought thousands of apartments are facing a reckoning.
• Inside the five-hour psychological interview that can make or break your career at one of the finance titans.
• Housing is so unaffordable that banks are losing money on each mortgage.
• I Airbnb tiny houses in my yard. It’s now my primary income.
• Why people think they shouldn’t have to tip more.
• A worker quit a six-figure job so she won’t have to return to the office full time.

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