Whether AI is already replacing jobs is a topic of considerable debate.
Technical layoffs hit their highest single month in total in May, and AI was the most cited reason, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas.
Due to the rapid adoption of AI-powered coding tools, software engineering is, in theory, the most vulnerable professional field to automation. However, researchers at venture firm Signalfire say hiring data shows a different picture.
Asher Bantock, head of research at Signalfire, said, “The argument given for many layoffs is consistently AI, and specifically they would say AI in relation to code; they might say one engineer can do the work of several engineers in the past.” “That’s a little inconsistent with what we’re seeing on the ground.”
Analysis from Signalfire suggests that engineering was the most flexible job in 2025, based on tracking the careers of millions of employees at over 80 million companies. Instead of focusing on layoffs, which are difficult to track because people often delay updating their employment status after a job cut, Signalfire examined hiring data as a more accurate indicator of real-time workforce trends.
According to the latest from Signalfire, overall hiring at big tech companies has declined by 25% compared to 2019 levels, with engineering roles seeing only a much smaller decline of 11%. talent status report”
In fact, in 2025 engineers comprised 55% of all new hires at the 12 companies classified by Signalfire as “Tech Majors” – Alphabet, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, Uber, Airbnb, Block, and Stripe. According to the report, this is a significant jump compared to 2019, when engineers represented only 46% of new hires.
Data from Signalfire shows that the continued need for engineers was even more pronounced among early-stage startups, which collectively brought on 7% more engineers in 2025 than in 2019.
Bantock argued that if AI were truly replacing engineering talent, engineering hiring would be the first to decline amid the current tech hiring contraction. Instead, data from Signalfire shows that the number of engineering employees is growing faster than most other job functions in the tech sector.
While Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned last year that AI would erase half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and that unemployment would rise to 20% within five years, the company’s head of economics, Peter McCrory, told TechCrunch in March that he had yet to see any significant AI-driven impact on the workforce.
McCrory said at the time: “There is at least no major difference in the unemployment rate” between workers who use the cloud to perform “the most central functions of their job in automated ways” – such as technical writers, data entry clerks and software engineers – and workers in jobs most exposed to AI that require “physical interaction and dexterity with the real world.”
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang went even further, rejecting the theory that AI would replace engineers. “Someone said AI will destroy all software engineering jobs,” Huang said in an interview. The interview took place at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in April. He then argued that the opposite is true. Now that all of Nvidia’s engineers are using agentic AI, he said, “Software engineers are busier than ever.”
Huang said that while agents are writing code on the fly, they are also constantly pressuring engineers to come up with ‘the next idea.’
At least for now, it seems that AI-equipped engineering has become a classic example of the Jevons paradox – the idea that greater efficiency does not reduce demand for a resource; this effect increases it as work expands to fill the new capacity. As Bantock said of engineering talent in this moment: “They are suddenly much more productive, and they have countless jobs to do.”
Vaughn Vreeland is a supervising video producer for NYT Cooking. An avid baker and home cook hailing from North Carolina, Vaughn can be seen making his latest creations on the NYT Cooking YouTube channel, Instagram and TikTok.
In an ideal world, the word ‘picnic’ evokes wicker and gingham, cucumber sandwiches and glass pitchers of iced tea, all backlit by golden-hour sunshine.
But in the real world, you’re batting away an army of flying critters and creepy crawlers trying to storm the hot fermented watermelon you forgot to put back in the cooler. Inevitably, something, or someone, is sticky. There’s never enough water; your friend forgot napkins, and why did the music stop?
Picnicking doesn’t have to be an ordeal, but you may be doing a few things wrong. Here are a few common mistakes — and some smart, easy fixes — that will make everyone’s alfresco dining more enjoyable.
1. Your menu can’t take the heat
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Why they’re perfect for picnics: Potato salad is a quintessentially picnic food but doesn’t always do well under the hot sun. This one skips the mayonnaise for a creamy (and vegan!) dressing that won’t spoil, while the pepperoncini add little bursts of brightness to each bite.
Whether you’re going for a snacking spread or a full-on dinner party, a smart picnic starts in the kitchen. So choose your ingredients and dishes wisely, and keep mayonnaise-based salads, leafy vegetables, soft cheeses, soft fruit and seafood to a minimum. If potato salad is a must-have in your picnic spread, choose a creamy, more stable recipe; I use whipped tahini as the base for my dressing, then add lemon, lots of herbs and pepperoncini for a bit of bite.
And nothing ruins a sandwich quite like soggy lettuce, so instead of romaine, opt for a thinly sliced cabbage slaw, as in this picnic hoagie. It provides the same crunch and vegetal respite as lettuce, but it stays crisp longer. Doubling the roasted red pepper spread gives you enough to use as a dip for guests with little, if any, extra work.
2. You’re cutting food on-site
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Why they’re perfect for picnics: Who doesn’t love a saucy, crunchy sandwich? The red pepper spread is complex, slightly sweet and a bit spicy. Leave the leafy greens behind and make cabbage slaw — it offers all of the crunch without getting soggy from the sauce or the sun.
No chopping at the function! When coming up with the menu, prioritise minimally messy crowd-pleasers like a smattering of chips and dips, charcuterie boards with cured meat, grapes, sliced firm cheeses and precut vegetables. Slice any sandwiches into manageable segments and place them cut-side up. That lets your guests grab them without making a mess or touching three other portions along the way.
3. You’re not thinking about ice enough
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Why it’s perfect for picnics: Refreshing, boozy and highly sippable, this batch cocktail makes eight to 10 servings, enough for a sizeable crowd. It also takes well to being paired with frozen fruit, which acts as ice (and doubles as a fun treat when you’re finished).
Suzette Louis-Jean, an event planner and the owner of La TAS Events in New Jersey, prefers dry ice to keep things chilled, but regular ice in an insulated bag or cooler works just fine. The more important part is how you pack it: Place the ice at the bottom to keep anything delicate from getting crushed. (Our friends at Wirecutter came up with a great method, along with a helpful diagram.)
The most frustrating part about ice is also the most obvious: It melts. To keep the party going well after you’ve arrived with your chilled cooler, ask your most reliable (and punctual) friends to bring two bags each. Overestimate how much you’ll need: You can really never have enough ice.
And please keep in mind that frozen fruits are another brilliant way of chilling your punch, lemonade, tea and other fruit-friendly drinks. Add frozen cherries and pineapple to your tropical drinks or frozen peaches to your iced tea. If you want to plan ahead, freeze lemon wedges and cucumber slices for spa water. It won’t dilute the drinks and often enhances the flavour. It’s also adorable.
4. You’re using the wrong gear
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
If picnicking is to become your summertime personality, it might be worth investing in some key items that make travelling easier. Airtight storage containers prevent leakage, and stackable ones are especially good for picnicking, as are lidded baking vessels, like loaf pans or 9-by-13 pans.
Rimmed baking sheets or plastic cutting boards are particularly effective ways to secure container foundations. Pack your items as flat as possible, rather than stacking them vertically and leaving gravity to topple them all. Lay things on their bigger, flatter sides and stack upward. Pad and secure your containers with things that have multiple uses — like kitchen towels — to keep the food from tumbling around too much.
Credit…David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist. Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.
Why they’re perfect for picnics: These sturdy brownies are great to take just about anywhere and are a much more viable way to celebrate than a cake you spent forever on, only to see the buttercream weeping. I like to precut them, then place each square on its side to show off its cross section.
5. You’re not asking for help
If you go through the trouble of making all of that food, count on your friends. (People are often delighted to be appointed to meaningful tasks, research suggests.) Ask them to bring the rest.
What’s often forgotten:
Trash bags
Paper towels
Portable speakers
Hand wipes
Sunscreen
Bug spray
Drinking water
Seltzer
Chargers
Bottle openers
Keep in mind that the weather and your environment will always have an impact. Bugs will happen; wind will happen. Don’t be too hard on yourself if it isn’t perfect.
“It’s about the thoughtfulness that goes into it,” Ms Louis-Jean said. “A picnic is a state of mind. Remember that you are the vibe. You are the special ingredient.
West Ham midfielder Matías Fernandes’ pursuit of a summer move to Manchester United continues, but Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in the Portuguese star.
Man United are interested in Portugal and West Ham midfielder Matisse Fernandes. (Photo: Getty Images)
Manchester United are facing stiff competition from Tottenham Hotspur for West Ham star Matías Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder is understood to be set for a move to Old Trafford this summer.
But a free report indicates that the Hammers insist on a significant proportion of any agreed price up front. It is also claimed that Spurs have offered a superior package overall.
Fernandes is said to have a higher wage offer than United, and the 21-year-old is keen on the move. It is therefore clear that the Reds will need to offer Fernandes a higher wage, more money in front of West Ham, and a bigger overall financial package to the Hammers, as well.
West Ham have slapped an £85m price tag on Fernandes, but that would be the starting point for talks with a club that needs to raise the cash to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Manchester City’s £120m plus bid for Elliott Anderson shows the market for the midfielder is huge. Top midfielders are in high demand, and clubs will reap the most cash in possession of these players.
Anderson was seen as a dream signing at Old Trafford, so it is no surprise that United are also considering Fernandes. The Portuguese star may have more upside than the England international, as he is two years younger, so he should continue to improve.
Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal have also been linked with Fernandes, so United may need to act quickly if they are to secure his signature.
Mateus Fernandes is a key transfer target for Manchester United. (Photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
And his former coach Vasco Cebra has spoken about him. Radio Renasenka: Why Fernandes is so sought after by Europe’s biggest clubs
He said, “He’s got a huge range of abilities. I mean he’s got technical quality and he’s a kid with a great heart and mentality.
“We expected, and I especially expected, that he would reach the top teams rapidly, but it would be wrong to say that I hoped that after two years, he could be in Real Madrid’s plans. He was really young when he came through us.”
Cebra backs Fernandes to succeed in the Premier League. He added: “I expected him to reach the Premier League level in a very short period of time. He really had a mindset and a daily commitment, both in training and in matches, that made me believe he could reach a very high level.”
Midfield is a priority position that United are looking to strengthen and the Reds have already agreed a deal to sign Ederson from Atalanta. The Brazilian will join after an initial fee of £35m between the two clubs plus £3.8m in add-ons.
Now Open is a yearlong series celebrating some of 2026’s most exciting new restaurants. Throughout the year, we’ll check in with teams in Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C., to hear what it’s really like behind the scenes of a buzzy opening.
Then, we’ll host exclusive meals at these restaurants as part of Dinner Party, presented by Capital One. Read along for challenges, candid reflections, and advice from the proprietors behind some of the country’s hottest new openings.
After opening in 2016, Tail Up Goat quickly became D.C.’s go-to fine dining restaurant for celebrations of all sizes, racking up national accolades including a Michelin star and James Beard Award nods. But after nearly a decade of service and a wave of new challenges for the hospitality industry, the restaurant’s owners knew they needed to make a big change.
Rather than give up the lease to their Adams Morgan spot, co-owners Jill Tyler and Jon Sybert decided to shift the concept into a counter-service model called Rye Bunny. Guests file into the restaurant and order before shifting into table service that feels exactly like your standard restaurant experience.
Tyler and Sybert say this fresh concept gives guests access to the same top-notch seasonal dishes—just in a format that they believe is better for both guests and staff. As the couple launches their reimagined concept, we checked in with Tyler to learn more about how they melded Rye Bunny to fit changing dining habits while supporting the team’s mission to make hospitality careers more sustainable.
Liz Provencher: After running Tail Up Goat for nearly 10 years, what made you decide to shift into a more casual concept?
Jill Tyler: We were coming up on our 10-year lease and deciding what was next. I don’t know that we were sure it was restaurants. The last five years, post-pandemic, have been incredibly challenging in many, many ways, and we weren’t really sure what we were going to do. Then my friend Arjav, who has a restaurant in Austin called Birdie’s, said, “
You need to open a counter-service restaurant. It’s the only way restaurants will work in the future. This is what you should be doing and the model you should be looking at.”
Were you immediately sold?
I was really reticent. At that point, I’d only ever seen counter service equal fast-casual, and that’s not what I wanted to run. There are many great things about that side of the business. And it can be very profitable, especially looking at some of the D.C. IPOs in the last 10 years. But it wasn’t what I love about what I do. So I went to Austin and staged with him. An hour into my stage, he was like, “What are you going to do?” And I said, “I’m going to open a counter-service restaurant.”
So what changed your mind?
Restaurants are kind of broken, so I wanted to build something that worked. Even if it might have worked when we were new and everyone wanted to see the new thing for a year, it wasn’t a sustainable business. We knew the things that were critical to us: providing competitive wages, PTO, and healthcare. All these things make it a much more expensive business to run, so we started with our non-negotiables and then tried to figure out how we could build a sustainable business that occupies the middle responsibly.
Going out to eat is now expensive. It’s a treat to do regardless of what level you’re doing it at. So for us, it was like, Okay, how do we responsibly occupy a middle space that might be something where neighbourhood folks come in every other week and for other people it’s a special occasion?
And how do we do that in a way that aligns with our values and who we want to be as owners? That’s how we ended up with Rye Bunny. Jon and I want to run something where we build a community—and that means we have to be more accessible, so that’s why we’re here.
Rye Bunny operates with a counter-service model. Farrah Skeiky
What were the major pain points you wanted to solve with this new concept?
The main pain point at Tail Up Goat post-pandemic was that everything was pricier. You have yearly rent increases; you have inflation that’s done a number on food and wages; and healthcare premiums are going up anywhere between 12 and 17 per cent every year, year over year. All the things that were important for us to provide became much pricier.
Dining habits also just changed. We were no longer seeing one or two turns on a weekday. We were filling reservations between 6 and 8 p.m., but we never got back to seating until 10 p.m. So much of it changed in a way where the pieces just didn’t fit back together.
Why do you think counter service is a more sustainable model?
One of the main things we had to figure out was labour. We were running a $100,000 payroll every two weeks, which is not sustainable. This model allows us to run with fewer people. Compared to Tail Up Goat, our back-of-house team has one fewer person in the morning and one fewer person in the evening, but we’re still putting out this amazing food. But on the front-of-house side, we don’t have hosts anymore, and we’re running with one fewer manager and two fewer servers, so we’ve cut our team quite significantly.
With this counter-service [and] full-service hybrid model, you still have a server and a team of people taking care of you once you sit down. I don’t think it feels lacking. We didn’t want to open a business that pulled back on hospitality because that’s our favourite part of going out to eat. It’s just repackaged in how it all comes together.
Giving back to the community also appears to be important to you and Jon, and I know that you offer limited reservations with a fee that’s donated to charity. Can you tell me more about that?
Before COVID, we had been able to give $100,000 in cash to organisations that we wanted to support in D.C. through event fundraising efforts a few times a year. It was truly remarkable when I look back. But after that, there were just never any more pennies to rub together to do something like that, so it was really important to me that we had some sort of giving plan baked in.
There are so many wonderful organisations, but I don’t think we’re doing our best, most impactful work by just saying yes to every [charitable] gift card or event request. So Jon and I really wanted to pick two organisations that were important to us and make those the focus. We knew if we selected local organisations, throughout the course of the year, [we’d be] able to get up to $10,000 in their coffers. That makes a really big difference for those organisations and allows them to grow their work.
Knowing we were going to be a walk-in-only restaurant, I realised there was an opportunity for a fairly nominal fee. Again, $25 is not the most expensive. If four of you are going out, that’s six bucks each. You can skip the line and go straight to a table, and that fee is donated to our nonprofit partners.
We’re working with Dreaming Out Loud, which is an incredible organisation that does urban farming and food and security work in [D.C.’s] Wards 7 and 8, and the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, which is working with folks facing deportation in the DMV area. They are both causes that are important to Jon and me and reflective of the ethos of our staff overall.
As white owners from a place of privilege, we believe it’s crucial to clearly communicate our identity, values, and commitment to supporting our community.
So far, is this hybrid service model helping support the type of employee-centred business you want to run?
Yeah, I think it will. It’s still early days. We’re one P&L in, so we’ll see how everything develops over the next year. We’re also not fully operating yet. We added a sixth day in June and the seventh in July because we wanted it to be a sustainable opening. Openings were kind of wild, so slowly adding them as the staff felt really good about it was our plan. But so far, it seems like it’s going to be much more sustainable.
Since you mentioned opening craziness, how has this opening differed from Tail Up Goat?
I’m 10 years older. So I joke that I definitely feel it differently. But I’m also 10 years wiser. Part of the magic of Tail Up Goat when we opened was, gosh, we were so naive. The three of us had never opened restaurants before.
There was so much stuff I’d never seen. I had never really managed a P&L in any meaningful way before we opened Tail Up Goat. My perspective has shifted a lot just growing up in the space, too. I put value on different things. I think it’s easier this time to trust what we’re doing and let some of the noise not get in—and that’s taken 10 years to learn.
Today’s Afghan proverb illustrates the relationship between power and persuasion.
Among the many proverbs that have emerged from the crossroads of Central and South Asia, few are as influential as this Afghan proverb: “What can be killed with sugar should not be killed with poison. “It’s easy to understand but the underlying importance teaches a lesson or two about why force should not be the answer everywhere.
Whom sugar can kill…
This saying begins with a contradiction. Poison is designed to kill, while sugar is associated with pleasure, hospitality, and nourishment. One would naturally assume that poison is the strongest weapon. This saying reverses that expectation. It suggests that if a person can be defeated, persuaded, controlled or influenced through sweetness, it is unnecessary to adopt harsh methods. Wisdom lies in recognising that direct force is often less effective than indirect influence.
Sugar often accomplishes what poison cannot.
History provides countless examples. Empires have conquered territories through armies, but they have also often held onto those territories through incentives, privileges, and alliances. Businesses usually do not force customers to buy a product. Instead, they attract them through advertising, rewards, and carefully crafted experiences. Politicians know that winning hearts can be more valuable than winning debates. In every case, “sugar” often accomplishes what “poison” cannot.
Force creates fear; fear is not the solution
This saying highlights a reality that many people only learn through experience: humans are not always motivated by fear. They are often driven by desire. Fear can compel obedience, but only temporarily. Desire can create willing cooperation. A person threatened with action may protest as soon as they can. A person who believes they are receiving a benefit may continue to volunteer.
Why afghan proverb very true
Consider the workplace. A manager who constantly criticises employees may secure short-term compliance. Workers act because they fear the consequences. Yet morale drops, creativity suffers and resentment increases. Another manager provides recognition, encouragement, and opportunities for advancement. Employees are motivated not by fear but by aspiration. The second manager achieves better results without resorting to pressure. The same principle also applies to education. Teachers who rely solely on punishment can maintain discipline, but those who inspire curiosity often lead to deeper learning. Students work harder when they want success, not when they just want to avoid failure.
But sweetness also means flattery
Sweetness is not always true. Sugar can be used strategically. Flattery, gifts, praise and promises can become instruments of influence. Throughout history, individuals have been induced to act against their own interests because someone offered them something attractive. Many frauds succeed not because victims are intimidated, but because they are enticed. A scammer promises money. A dishonest leader promises glory. A corrupt official offers benefits. The target willingly accepts what seems good, but later the hidden consequences are revealed. In this sense, the proverb reminds us that our desires can become weaknesses. People often imagine themselves to be immune to obvious threats. They believe that if the poison is presented openly, they will recognise it. Yet few people are equally alert when encountering something pleasant. The sweet offer seems harmless. The compliment feels genuine. The reward seems worthy. The proverb suggests that these attractive possibilities can sometimes be more dangerous than the dangers visible.
A lesson about efficiency
There is also a lesson in efficiency. Why put in more effort when a simple approach will suffice? An experienced negotiator understands this intuitively. If two parties can reach an agreement through negotiations, why is the conflict increasing? If goodwill can solve a problem, why create animosity? Why engage in costly conflict if cooperation can be achieved through a small concession? This practical mindset has deep roots in traditional societies. Resources are limited. Energy is precious. Successful leaders learn to accomplish objectives with the least possible resistance. This proverb presents that philosophy in a memorable form. This saying also talks about emotional intelligence. Many conflicts persist because people focus on what they want rather than what motivates others. He believes that pressure is the solution when understanding would be more effective. Imagine that two neighbours are involved in a dispute. Threatens a legal action. The other takes time to understand the concerns involved and propose mutually beneficial solutions. The second approach is often successful because it addresses underlying interests rather than superficial conditions. So the “sugar” in the proverb can represent empathy, diplomacy, and insight. These qualities may appear soft, but they can be remarkably powerful. “What can be killed with sugar should not be killed with poison” is a meditation on the power of attraction over coercion. It teaches that persuasion can outperform force, that incentives can outweigh threats, and that understanding human desires is often the key to achieving any objective. At the same time, it urges caution. What makes us happy can also deceive us. The things we most readily welcome can sometimes have the greatest impact on us. This saying endures because it recognises a fundamental truth about human behaviour: people are not always swayed by what they fear. Mostly, they conquer what they want.
Password manager maker LastPass is informing customers that their personal information and customer support case records were recently stolen during a hack of one of its technology partners, marking the company’s latest data breach in recent years.
In an email shared with TechCrunch by an affected customer, LastPass said the breach occurred at market research firm Clue, not its systems. However, hackers abused their access to obtain a tonne of data about LastPass customers.
LastPass is the latest in a growing list of cybersecurity companies
that have reported data breaches as a result of the breach at Clue, which the company disclosed last week. Several other affected companies include HackerOne, Recorded Future, and Tanium.
In a blog post sharing information about the incident, LastPass said that the hackers took customers’ names, phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses, as well as customer support case data and sales-related data.
LastPass said that the company’s own infrastructure, including customers’ password vaults, remained unaffected.
It is not yet known what the contents of the customer support tickets were, although they likely contained pieces of potentially private or sensitive information. Customers typically contact customer service when they have a billing issue or need assistance gaining access to their accounts. Previous incidents involving customer support tickets have involved credentials and government-issued identification documents.
LastPass spokespeople did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment or questions about the incident, including how many customers are affected by the incident.
LastPass’s website states that it has more than 33 million users and approximately 1.6 million paying customers as of 2024.
LastPass previously experienced a data breach in 2022, in which hackers stole the entire store of the company’s customer password vault, which is used to store their sensitive credentials, such as passwords, tokens, and other personal and credit card numbers.
While the vaults were encrypted with a master password known only to the customer, the breach allowed hackers to crack the vault offline using the weakest master password and subsequently access the secrets inside. Many crypto thefts later Linked to the LastPass breach When hackers were suspected of breaking into the victim’s password vault and stealing his wallet keys.
Clue CEO Jason Smith said in a blog post that the company had identified the hackers in its system on June 12. A hacking and extortion group called ‘Icarus’ took credit for the breach and publicly threatened to release the stolen data if a ransom was not paid.
Smith did not respond to TechCrunch’s email regarding the incident, including how many customers were affected or whether the company has been in contact with the hackers.
the breath with the mind, and man with the source from which we came and to which we return. The world has tried to practise yoga to relieve pain and calm the restless mind, and yoga has generously provided these benefits.
Science now confirms what the sages silently knew: Steady the breathing, and you steady the heart. But yoga was never just about health; it is a way of life, a daily practice of restraint, awareness, gratitude and service. Yoga whispers to a weary world: slow down, breathe, come back to yourself, and you will find the divine waiting there.
It’s a miracle how far this gift travelled. Across the Gulf in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and even Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, yoga is practised and loved by thousands, led by certified teachers, and is hailed by the Government of India and its embassies as a living bridge between civilisations.
Nouf Marwai, Saudi Arabia’s first certified yoga instructor and founder of the Arab Yoga Foundation, was awarded the Padma Shri in 2018; she is the first Arab recipient of this honour and now leads the Saudi Yoga Committee. His statement is evidence of a quiet truth: yoga does not conflict with one’s faith, because it asks nothing about faith and everything about sincerity. The practice does not change the mind; it clears it. A Muslim who breathes consciously becomes a better Muslim; A Christian who sits quietly prays more deeply; a Hindu who serves with awareness comes closer to God.
Long before the term ‘interfaith’ was coined, India’s Sufi and Nath yogis sat together not as strangers but as seekers. It is narrated in our shared heritage that the Chishti saint of Punjab, Hazrat Baba Farid Ganj-e-Shakar, met the wandering yogis of his age and exchanged the secrets of breath: a yogi’s pranayam and a Sufi’s habs-e-dum, guarding every breath in the memory of the beloved. Each recognised in the other a fellow climber from the same mountain, but by a different route. The disciplines of posture, breathing and stillness of mind of Gorakhnath and Nath yogis flowed to the spiritual soil of India and met with Zikr and Murakba, the Sufi science of Sufi meditation. That meeting brought not confusion, but compassion. This legacy is our civilisational heritage: unity without uniformity, unity that respects difference.
Beneath our many names, the human heart beats with a longing for God. The mat and prayer rug, asanas and sajdas, om and zikr are all the body’s ways of expressing the soul’s one word: return.
This practice, then, is the yoga for inter-religious harmony, not to weaken any tradition, but to discover the stable point where all traditions touch. In a world divided by borders, it offers a wordless peace that needs no translation. It heals the body so that the heart can be free.
When we breathe together, we cannot hate each other. May every breath drawn be a prayer for peace.
Both ITV and BBC Sport have star-studded line-ups for their commentary, presenter and pundit teams at the 2026 World Cup.
With 104 matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico, fans will be able to watch 54 games on BBC television, while ITV Sport will cover 29 group stage matches from its Brooklyn studio.
And fans can look forward to some fresh insight from former Premier League stars, some household names, as well as BBC Sport coverage.
Gabby Logan will host the BBC’s coverage of England v Ghana, with Wayne Rooney in the pundit team and Alan Shearer on co-commentary.
Here are the pundits and commentary lineups to watch for this summer’s tournament:
Pandit
BBC Sports
Alan Shearer
Wayne Rooney
Micah Richards
Joe Hart
Paul Robinson
Steph Houghton
Alan White
Danny Murphy.
Scott Brown
Rachel Corsi
James McFadden
Oliver Giroud
Gail Clichy
Cesar Azpilicueta
Benny McCarthy
Ashley Williams
Thomas Frank
Hasan Kachlool
Darren Kane
ITV Sport
Roy Kane
Ian Wright
Gary Neville
Patrick Vieira
Karen Carney
Ange Postecoglou
John Mata
Emma Hayes
Duncan Ferguson
Joby McEnuff
Bradley Wright-Phillips
Christina Uncle
Gary Lineker – The former BBC presenter appeared as a pundit during ITV’s coverage on Saturday, June 20.
Commentator
BBC Sports
Guy Mowbray
Steve Wilson
Steve Bower
Jonathan Pearce
Robin Cowan
Steven Wyeth
Liam McLeod
ITV Sport
Sam Materface
Jon Champion
Seb Hutchinson
Joe Speight
BBC Sport has unveiled its World Cup 2026 line-up. (The BBC)
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Ethan Thornton dropped out of MIT at the age of 19 to pursue weapons manufacturing. First, a hydrogen-powered system he prototyped with parts from Home Depot and Amazon didn’t work — “Hydrogen was a bad bet in general,” he told me at TechCrunch last week. The StrictlVC incident in Los Angeles. Three years later, his company, Mach Industries, is running a six-arm programme and, earlier this month, closed a $300 million Series C round at a valuation of $1.8 billion. The startup has now raised about $485 million in total.
Thornton grew up in Burnet,
Texas, a town of about 6,500 residents, is in a family with deep military ties. Around 2017 or 2018 – when he was still in his teens – he began, by his account, to be “really, really concerned” about the rise of China and what he saw as an impending major-power conflict. That concern eventually turned into a conviction that unmanned systems would redefine warfare and that the US was moving too slowly to meet this moment.
What that looks like, in practice, in mid-2026, is six simultaneous weapons programmes and a company that has a lot to prove rather than focusing on one thing, getting it right, and then expanding. Thornton knows that Mac’s diffuse focus creates some lingering questions for outsiders. “It’s very hard,” he said, volunteering Thursday night. But he doesn’t think defence rewards the kind of single-minded focus that rocket launches require. “It’s a chess game you’re playing with an opponent,” he said, adding that “hundreds of different products have to be shipped if we want protection.” Pick just one, he suggested, and you’ve already lost the game.
These are not ordinary products. MAC is working on a vertical-takeoff strike aircraft; a long-range anti-ship missile; two stratospheric systems; an inexpensive surface-to-air interceptor designed to shoot down drones; and – announced earlier this week – a 40-foot, nearly 4,000-pound Navy logistics-and-strike aircraft that flies almost vertically and can range more than a thousand miles with a payload of a thousand pounds. Takes flight.
That last flight is a significant advance for a company whose largest plane to date has been nearly 13 feet long. And none of the six are yet in full-rate production. Thornton says MAC has won about 13 government contracts, most of which are in the middle stages of defence procurement – past preliminary design and in testing at the government threshold but far below the rate-manufacturing level that fewer than 10 industry-wide programmes have ever reached.
He says that we should see operational deployment of several systems by the end of this year, and his goal is to push three of the six into rate manufacturing in the same window — which would mean going from hundreds of units per month to hundreds of thousands in a factory that Thornton says Mack plans to stand up soon.
It’s an aggressive timeline placed on top of already aggressive stakes. But Mac’s underlying thesis is that the US can’t produce more than China, so it has to make more of it – just as Ukraine has sought a first-mover advantage against Russia, despite producing more. “I don’t think we’re going to beat China,” Thornton said. “The US continues to perform well time and again compared to China, which focuses on creativity and productisation,” he said.
Thornton argues – as do other defence tech startups –
that the real hurdle isn’t building different platforms – it’s the supply chains that support them. “The hard part is actually getting the stuff into the building,” he said: jet engines, solid rocket motors, and radar. Mack built and ran two jet engines in about eight months, a process he says traditionally takes four years; it acquired Exquadrum, a 24-year-old solid rocket motor company, in May for $50 million, beating out about eight other bidders by its account. Now almost half of Mac’s revenue comes from selling not only vehicles but also parts.
Mac’s approach is entirely different from some of his peers. Shield AI, founded in 2015, spent years as essentially a product company around its V-BAT drone before unveiling a second platform, the autonomous X-BAT Fighter, last October — and even that is being positioned as a big, deliberate bet, not a portfolio. Saronic, founded in 2022, builds only autonomous surface vessels with an integrated autonomy stack in hull sizes ranging from six feet to 180 feet.
Both have been rewarded for that discipline: Shield AI raised $2 billion this year at a $12.7 billion valuation; Saronic raised $1.75 billion to $9.25 billion.
The company’s strategy is very similar to that of Anduril, which is bigger, older, and a company against which every other defence tech startup is measured, objectively or not. Thornton himself makes the comparison, although he argues that there is a meaningful difference between the two companies. “Anduril’s playbook has been very top-down, starting with the software stack,” he said. “We’re very bottom up, starting with the hardware stack and then wrapping software around it.”
It’s a difference, yes, but Mach is still essentially operating in Anduril’s shadow. Anduril raised $5 billion in May at a valuation of $61 billion – more than 30 times that of MAC – and in March landed a 10-year, $20 billion army enterprise contract with a maximum cap, consolidating more than 120 separate procurement activities. Whatever Mac is building toward, Anduril got years and tens of billions of dollars in advance.
Thornton says that the field is not zero-sum.
He points to the scale of the problem: China reportedly makes about a thousand cruise missiles a day; The US builds one approximately every three days. “X company and Y company and Z company could all be manufacturing these things and it still wouldn’t be enough production,” he said. They also argue that the Pentagon would not structurally allow a monopoly, deliberately keeping two or three vendors alive in each category rather than choosing one winner.
Whether that’s a generous read of the competitive landscape or not, I told him that Anduril’s most famous co-founder, Palmer Luckey, has never publicly acknowledged Mac, as far as I can tell. Thornton dismissed any suggestion that Anduril has no interest in making room for Mach, telling me he respects Lucki and that they are “on the same team”, fighting for the same goal of Western sovereignty.
His investors, including Sequoia, Khosla Ventures and Ribbit Capital, are clearly indifferent. Founder-genius framing – Take away the Texas workshop and the MIT dropout story, including this one, and what’s left is a really interesting experiment led by a founder who, at least, seems to know what he doesn’t know.
Thornton has stated candidly that the hardest part of running a Mac changes every six months: first engineering, then sales, and now mass manufacturing, which he expects to dominate the next year. He says he tries to spend four or five hours a day thinking and “battling for the future,” sometimes taking colleagues off work to do the same with him – which, he admits, “can sometimes frustrate them.”
Regarding who puts pressure on him – who keeps a fast-rising founder honest – Thornton said the most valuable feedback doesn’t come from investors or even his executive team, who can end up in the same echo chamber as the CEO. “It comes from people who are actually doing the work,” he said.
He described regular company-wide forums, his COO’s idea, where employees get microphones and ask him anything. It started with Thornton quietly recruiting a few trusted aides to ask aggressive questions. Since then, it has become harder to control – and, he suggested, all the more useful for that. “I basically stand there for about an hour and have people in the company ask me the most invasive possible questions,” he said. It looks like he’s enjoying it.
