Category Archives: New Utopia

It wouldve been so easy for The Orville not to come back. Over two brief seasons, the spacefaring comedy-drama had generated solid but unremarkable reviews and ratings. Its creator and star, Seth MacFarlane, had other irons in the fireFamily Guy, American Dad!, a TV adaptation of the Ted movies. Fox had already shuffled two seasons around the calendar, and plans for a third were put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted production. And in 2020, MacFarlane, whose animated shows had been tentpole programming at Fox for decades, split with his longtime corporate bosses and inked a $200 million deal with NBC.

But like its plucky namesake starship, last seen dodging laser beams during a climactic set-piece battle, The Orville has survived for a third season.

Its the most fun writing job Ive ever had, MacFarlane told me recently over Zoom. I love telling these stories, and its a wonderful group of people I love working with.

The forthcoming season, which premieres on Hulu June 2 and is subtitled New Horizons, marks a bit of a shift for the series. The crew composition continues to evolve, with Anne Winters joining the cast as a young navigator. And MacFarlane says the move to Hulu comes with a more cinematic visual style. But the biggest adjustment comes not from within the shows universe, but in the real worlds streaming TV landscape.

When The Orville, which mimics the style and many of the conventions of Star Trek, premiered in 2017, there had been six official Star Trek shows released in the previous 51 years. In less than five years since, CBS All Access and Paramount+ have aired six more, including four that premiered in the three years since The Orville finished Season 2. And the Star Trek shows have had to compete against a constellation of socially conscious spacefaring dramas: big streaming swings like For All Mankind, The First, and Away, and later seasons of The Expanse, among others.

Given all that, the biggest question for The Orville entering its third season is this: Is there still a place for this show when spaceand Star Trek in particularis busier than its ever been?

The Orville, in its premise, setting, visual language, and choice of subject matter, is a Star Trek show in all but name. Even some of its senior creative figures, like executive producers Brannon Braga and David A. Goodman, are Trek veteransthough they often try to soft-pedal the similarities between projects. When I asked Braga and Goodman what theyd learned from their previous experience, Goodman laughed and said, Wait, Brannon worked on Star Trek?

The last time MacFarlanes Captain Ed Mercer and his crew signed off, they held an interesting place in that wider universe. The history of Star Trek has many fault lines and watershed moments, but one of the biggest came between Star Trek: Enterprises ending in 2005 and the J.J. Abramsdirected Star Trek reboot four years later. Before that point, Star Trek had mostly revolved around one premise: Presented with a problem, how would the best of humanity react? The original series and The Next Generation got hundreds of hours worth of mileage out of this setup. And because of creator Gene Roddenberrys intractable opposition to serialization, these shows became mind-bendingly successful in syndication.

After Roddenberrys death in 1991, the writers of the various Star Trek series got a little more freedom to experiment, particularly on Deep Space Nine and Enterprise, which began to portray a darker, more cynical side of humanity over longer story arcs. Deep Space Nine introduced an organization called Section 31, which in small doses hinted at a hidden and mostly unremarked-upon cost to maintaining Roddenberrys sometimes cartoonishly optimistic secular humanist utopia.

The rebooted movies, and particularly Paramounts new crop of TV shows, took Deep Space Nines spicy twist and embraced itjuiced it, more likeuntil Star Trek was just like any other sci-fi franchise. If Deep Space Nine added much-needed seasoning to a classic dish, parts of Discovery and especially Picard made the entire meal out of salt.

Against that context, The Orville was a refreshing return to the original premise: mostly episodic, overwhelmingly hopeful, socially conscious middlebrow sci-fi.

The thing I think was important to bring in [from Star Trek] was the type of storytelling, Braga told me, which was stand-alone stories, well told, driven by this high concept, with a certain optimistic spirit and a certain depiction of the future.

When I reviewed The Orvilles first few episodes five years ago, I confronted it as a combination of parody and homage, the work of a comedian playing with beloved storytelling conventions. But MacFarlane and Braga never intended The Orville to be a parody; two seasons in, its become more of a pastiche.

We never approached it as a satire or a parody, which I think would have been the immediate assumption, seeing Seths name on it, Braga said. The story always came first and the comedySeth says its comedy frostingwas part of it, but it wasnt the main driver.

That was part of the paradigm from day one, MacFarlane said. The story has to work as a story, and then you can hang a bunch of jokes on it and youre fine. With this show, it was really about finding the tone. The tone, to me, started to really come together at the end of Season 1, and then developed even more fully in Season 2.

The tone MacFarlane refers to is an intriguing mix of old-school Star Treks resolute moral seriousness and a heavy dollop of goofy humor. The crew of The Orville, especially Captain Mercer, are well-intentioned but definitely not the best and brightest. They bicker over inane problems, they play pranks, they go to work hungover, and they carry out multiyear running gags about having to pee.

In one of the best episodes of Season 2, Sanctuary, the crew encounters a colony of female aliens from a heavily patriarchal species. Mercer invites the alien leader to peruse the ships collection of art created by the women of Earth, and she immediately seizes on Dolly Parton as Earths great feminist poet, who speaks with the might of 100 soldiers. This is the voice of our revolution. Minutes later, theres a climactic gunfight set to 9 to 5.

Its silly, but the jokes are in service of a narrative and a message. And while MacFarlane admits the show struggled to strike the right balance between story and humor early on, he cited the most recent episode of Black Mirror, Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too, as an inspiration for The Orville going forward, praising its blending of serious sci-fi and rompish comedy.

The idea in Season 3 was to really lean into that, MacFarlane said. That tone is to not lose whats funny about these characters, but make sure that its also real, that were not writing a sci-fi story and then surgically looking for spots to add jokes, which was kind of what we were doing at the beginning of Season 1. We stopped pressuring ourselves to do that and really let the story take precedence.

That turned out to be the key to unlocking The Orvilles potential and the key to appreciating it for what it is: a drama, occasionally interrupted by jokes.

I was known as the king of torture on 24, said Jon Cassar, who directed, among other Orville episodes, last seasons two-part Identity and the Season 3 premiere Electric Sheep. Comedy wasnt at the forefront. I think I said that: Really? You really want me to do this show? This is a Seth MacFarlane show. And I remember them saying, Drama first. We want to play this like a straight-up one-hour drama. Thats the most important thing.

As MacFarlanes show filled a lane left open by the Abrams movies and Discovery, though, Paramount delivered a rapid-fire response with several new Star Trek series. They dug Anson Mounts Captain Pike and the Enterprise out of the vault for Strange New Worlds, which returns to the franchises original episodic format and wide-eyed tone. And because theres so much humor to be mined from watching C+ students deal with problems of galactic importance, Paramount+ has ordered two additional seasons of the animated series Lower Decks to go with the two that have already aired. For two seasons, The Orville gave Star Trek diehards something they couldnt get on first-run TV. Now theres competition.

Up until very recently, we were the only show that was occupying anything near that space and tone in sci-fi, MacFarlane said. I think even now The Orville is very much in its own space. Its got its own vibe. But [how the show holds up to the competition is] not decided by us. Thats decided by the viewers.

Even among all that noise, MacFarlane still believes The Orville offers something unique. And at the end of our conversation, he touched on the quality that makes the show work.

It really is still about these people, MacFarlane said. On any show you tune in to watch the people. Are these people I want to hang with each week?

For all the aliens and special effects and wild makeup youd expect from Star Trek, what makes these shows successful is that viewers like spending an hour a week with the crew. Many years ago, my colleague Brian Phillips praised The Next Generation by writing, the show offers a fantasy of smart friends working together and supporting each other thats designed to make you want to join them. Thats true of every successful Star Trek show, and why the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trio is one of televisions most beloved friendships, or why Avery Brookss portrayal of Ben Sisko still resonates a generation later.

The crew of The Orville is mostly not that smart, but theyre still a part of that tradition. And Season 3 promises to test that family dynamic as the crew deals with the aftermath of a war with the robotic Kaylon. Among the survivors is The Orvilles science officer, Isaac, who after being sent to study humanity, decided to side with his flesh-and-blood friends against his people. Winterss character, by contrast, comes to The Orville after suffering immense personal losses in the war and struggles to adjust to sharing the bridge with a Kaylon.

As much as The Orville chimes in on contemporary political issues through allegory, though, its always been at its best when the original question of the serieshow do normal people stand up to extraordinary circumstances?is at the forefront.

The very first time we all met together collectively, Seth said were doing a science-fiction piece, but what we are is people who happen to be in space, said Penny Johnson Jerald, who plays Dr. Claire Finn. Weve always been people first, and its on the page. We lift the words and emotions off the page so viewers can enjoy and be a part of it. It truly helps to like your fellow cast.

We have a group chat, said Adrianne Palicki, who plays first officer Kelly Grayson. We are always constantly in contact with each other, which is a rarity on any show, especially after youve wrapped.

That chemistry gives the crew of the Orville an unexpected warm and fuzzy tone, almost reminiscent of Ted Lasso. (Perhaps if American TV viewers had latched onto this band of endearingly semi-competent work buddies instead, internet discourse wouldnt be so hysterical. Dare to dream.) And they somehow manage to portray that earnestness without coming off as cloying or phony.

A lot of television I see is a lot more dark and gritty in its interpersonal relationships and depictions thereof, MacFarlane said. I live in a pretty intense industry. I dont go to work every day and fight with my coworkers and get into spats and deal with high drama. Its actually pretty pleasant. So I dont think its that unrealistic.

Thanks to streaming and a bucket-of-crabs-type scramble for corporations to gobble up franchises and squeeze every last drop of blood from every stone, the viewers that MacFarlane defers to have never had more options for spacefaring drama and action. But watching a TV show is ultimately a question of time commitment. In terms of storytelling and visuals, The Orville holds its own with any of its contemporaries. But what makes an episodic TV show stickincluding the older Star Trek seriesis whether the characters are worth spending time with. Here, The Orvilles band of weirdos and misfits sets itself apart. You can go boldly wherever you want, as long as you like who youre going with.

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The Orville Is Back. How Does It Fit Into a New Space TV Landscape? - The Ringer

EXCLUSIVE: It looks like a homecoming parade may be in order for Conrad Green: Deadline hears the veteran reality show producer is in advanced talks to return toDancing with the Stars as its executive producer.

Green was the EP/showrunner of the competition show when it first launched on ABC in 2005. He was also part of the original BBC Worldwide Prods. team of Dancing that pitched the format to ABC.

ABC 2022 Fall Schedule Has Bachelor In Paradise, Abbott & Big Sky Move, AMLT & Wonder Years Held

He departed DWTS at the end of the 18th season to exec produce the Fox reality series Utopia. Altthough the show was short-lived, he signed an overall with the network in 2015.

Green would replace executive producer Andrew Llinares,who parted ways withDWTS before a 31st season of the show was ordered. In April, DWTS received a two-year pickup for Seasons 31 and 32 to debut exclusively on Disney+ this fall in the U.S. and Canada. It will bethe first live series to debut on the service.

Fall 2022 Primetime TV Grid: No Fox (Yet) As Nets Play It Safe With Much More Of The Same

Deadline hears that some of the DWTS pros and judges alreadywere told about Greens possible return and are elated about the news.

Greens recent credits include exec producing ABCs remake of The Gong Showand Ultimate Tag on Fox. He earned nine Emmy nominations during his stint onDancing with the Stars.Previously, hewas an executive at BBC in London, where he developed and produced new entertainment formats. Green also served as a series editor for the first season of the UK version of Big Brother,and the series producer of Popstars.

Green is repped by ICM Partners.

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Dancing With The Stars: Conrad Green In Advanced Talks To Return As Exec Producer - Deadline

Everywhere one looks in Africa, theyll notice a new planned city cropping up that promises to be a utopia not plagued by the challenges the continents cities currently face.

Kenyas Konza Tecnocity which promised to be the biggest smart city south of the Sahara is still struggling to prove to investors why they should inject capital in it nine years after it was conceived.

In 2010, Nigerias Eko Atlantic City promised to house 250,000 citizens on land reclaimed from the sea but it is still empty.

Ghanas Hope City and Ethiopias Wakanda City aimed to transform urbanization. Akon city in Senegal promises to run on Akoin cryptocurrency, despite unsupportive government regulations around crypto. None has made tangible progress.

Last week, 11,000 delegates from 100 countries including 53 African countries gathered in Kenyas western lakeside city of Kisumu to rethink the feasibility of elevating Africas major towns into cities.

The ninth edition of the Africities Summit prodded this idea which, according to policy experts, would create more jobs and unlock economic potential in the continents rural zones.

In his opening remarks, Kenyas president Uhuru Kenyatta urged participants to make the conference a questioning forum on how national governments can support a mobilization of resources to unlock effective delivery service in intermediary cities.

Time is ripe for scaling up the role of intermediary cities as the next frontiers of African urbanization and development, said Kenyatta.

But is time actually ripe for more African cities?

He added thatan unprecedented rate of urbanization has seen 1,086 intermediary cities become home to 174 million people representing 36% of our continents total urban population and contributing about 40% of our continents GDP.

While the overarching message was that the continent needs to upscale its towns to be at par with the rest of the world, the problem with that narrative is that deep within Africas existing cities there are enormous hurdles.

From Lagos to Dar es Salaam, Dakar to Mogadishu, Windhoek to Asmara, Africas cities are grappling with the challenges of poor sanitation, disorganized and unsafe public transport, insufficient water, pollution, dirty energy sources, insecurity, unemployment, corruption, poor drainages and expensive housing.

Even as delegates spoke on intermediary cities potential to create business opportunities, the snags in the big cities are already making Africa score low in the global index of ease of doing business. Many cities score high on the global corruption index chasing away foreign investors.

Combating the threats of radicalization, terrorism, armed robbery, and petty theft in Africas urban areas has been one of the toughest tasks for governments.

With little progress to show in tackling these constraints, Africas march into making intermediary cities the new centers for economic development will only end into a stumble.

While the idea of decongesting large cities is a commendable one, making life in existing cities better should be at the forefront of the discourse especially now that Africa has the highest population growth rate in the world.

Africa needs $170 billion per annum to meet its infrastructure needs but has a deficit of about $110 billion.

The danger is that the structures in the capital cities will be replicated in new cities.

In the whole of Africa, only one cityKigaliseems to understand the whole concept of sustainability of cities as it has shown real efforts in addressing the muddle. This is a model the rest of the nations can follow because it also takes into account what future cities may look like. But no country is taking notes from the Kigali Innovation City.

Most cities dont even do an Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) audit to control pollution and carbon emissions, but will be fast to construct skyscrapers and expressways that only raise city temperatures as they use high-carbon cement in their construction.

When hit by the sun, carbonated cement emits carbon dioxide (pdf) which raises the temperatures of the surrounding environment. Most carbon capture technologies have failed.

Globally, cities produce between 71% and 75% of total greenhouses gas emissions (GHG) and the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), a global umbrella of organisations that defends the interests of cities says the battle against climate change will be lost or won in cities.

Former President of Seychelles Danny Faure spoke of the need for bankable strategic infrastructure based on data.

It is important that we back up our interventions based on facts and data that shows us where we are in terms of development. Most city public transport in Africa is yet to go cashless, causing traffic congestion where petty thieves thrive.

By 2040, two-thirds of the people who move to urban areas will be moving to intermediary cities. Amid growing investment needs, the challenge for Africa will be how to guarantee basic social services and higher quality of life that is already lacking in main cities.

And then there is the challenge of Google mapping. Peri-urban areas in Africa are not well mapped on Google Maps meaning online car hailing companies like Uber, Bolt, Tag Your Ride, Little, Yookoo Rider, Lefa and Smart Cab cannot operate in intermediary cities.

Again, how can Africa finance all that is needed to improve its existing cities? African Union High Representative for Infrastucture Development Raila Odinga says Africa needs an African Infrastructure Fund to fund the monetary deficit needed to build Africas infrastructure.

Africa needs $170 billion per annum to meet its infrastructure needs but has a deficit of about $110 billion dollars, he said at the summit. There is money in the form of sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurance funds, but most governments have shown low commitment in stamping out corruption which eats into every round of project financing.

Africa needs to first focus on improving its existing cities, before it begins creating new ones.

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Here's the problem with the narrative of creating more cities in Africa - Quartz Africa

Summer is coming, and mystery and thriller lovers are looking for that perfect beachy read to savor with an umbrella drink in hand. How about a story set in paradise?

Suspense novelists have long been attracted to idyllic settings. What is it about the concept of paradise that inspires dark fiction? Is it the vicarious joy of writing about white sand beaches and shimmering blue water? Is it the irresistible lure of an escape from reality? Or maybe we writers like the diabolical appeal of inflicting mayhem on a cast of unsuspecting tourists.

To me, the most appealing aspect of a writing a suspense novel set in paradise is the challenge of creating a story world where nothing is as it seems. Seaside vacation settings provide an immediate contrast between the sparkly promise of utopia and the sinister forces that inevitably throw someones best laid travel plans off course.

So if youre looking for something to toss in the beach tote, the following suspense novels will take you from the white sands of the Caribbean isles to the windswept cliffs of New Zealand. Adventure awaits, but dont expect a smooth trip.

They All Fall Down by Rachel Howzell Hall

When Miriam Macy gets a surprise invitation to participate in a reality show on a luxurious private island in the Sea of Cortez, she jumps at the chance to get away from the mounting legal problems that have followed her messy divorce. She has barely stepped off the boat, however, when her dreams of fame and fortune are dashed, and she realizes she will be lucky to make it off the island alive. Guests begin turning up dead one after another. Isolated from help and with only her ingenuity and some ever-shifting alliances to save her, Miriam must figure out who is behind the murders or end up becoming the next victim.

Halls Anthony Award-nominated story is told with wit and dark humor, and her vivid writing makes you feel the steamy walls of the jungle closing in as the heroine struggles to make it through the survival game from hell.

The Beach by Alex Garland

The novel opens with Richard, a young backpacker in Thailand who stops at a low-budget guest house and discovers a map to a mysterious destination known as the Beach. Curious about the tropical utopia that is a legend among backpackers, Richard sets out with a young French couple to locate the forbidden island. They arrive to find pristine beaches, turquoise lagoons, and an idyllic community of other wayward travelers. The illusion of paradise is shattered as Richard discovers toxic relationships among the communes inhabitants and deadly forces lurking in the surrounding rainforest.

Dubbed by the Sunday Oregonian as Generation Xs first great novel, The Beach inspired the 2000 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh

When a teen girl vanishes while jogging near New Zealands soaring cliffs, the quiet rural community of Golden Cove wants answers.

After returning to her coastal hometown, Anahera Rawiri gets pulled into the investigation of the girls disappearance by Will Gallagher, a veteran cop. Together, they unearth a string of secrets and deceptions that some Golden Cove residents desperately wanted to keep buried.

This noir mystery showcases Nalini Singhs twisty prose and her talent for writing about the rugged beauty of New Zealands South Island. A Madness of Sunshine is a page-turner until the last shocking revelation.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reids novel revolves around an end-of-summer party in Malibu. The year is 1983, and everyone who is anyone among Southern Californias sun-kissed elites wants an invitation to the annual blowout at the cliffside home of the famous Riva family, whose members include a famous surfer, photographer, and supermodel. In a story deftly told through flashbacks and multiple viewpoints, Reid builds layer upon layer of suspense until the reader knows that when the fateful evening finally arrives, each key guest is on a collision course and the legendary party is destined to go up in flames.

Filled with eighties vernacular and throwback fashion, Reid gives us an entertaining glimpse into the storied Malibu surf scene of decades past.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

In another novel centered around a party, the characters in Lucy Foleys The Guest List gather on an island off the coast of Ireland. There to celebrate the wedding of a magazine publisher and her TV celebrity groom, the guests are at first dazzled by luxury party favors and expensive booze. But the festive atmosphere evaporates when someone turns up dead and the guests find themselves cut off from outside communication and isolated on an island with a murderer.

Like a classic Agatha Christie novel, The Guest List is a locked-room mystery, complete with shifty characters, salacious secrets, and subtle clues for the seasoned mystery reader to piece together.

The Reef by Nora Roberts

If you like a dash of romance with your mysteries, dive into The Reef, a novel set in the azure Caribbean waters near St. Kitts.

Marine archaeologist Tate Beaumont embarks on a real-life treasure hunt, determined to find a jeweled amulet known as Angeliques Curse. Despite her initial misgivings, Tate reluctantly teams up with salvagers Matthew and Buck Lassiter. As they get closer to finding the priceless artifact, their plans are thwarted by shady people and long-submerged secrets from the Lassiters past.

With its dramatic island backdrop, The Reef is a classic romantic suspense novel by the wildly popular author who helped invent the genre.

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen

Carl Hiaasens Skinny Dip opens with Joey Perrone plunging off the deck of a luxury cruise ship while cursing her husband. Joey survives her meticulously planned murder andwith the help of jaded former cop Mick Stranahanembarks on a mission to get revenge that takes her to the Florida Everglades. On her quest, Joey encounters one zany twist after another until she finally gets her chance to even the score with her homicidal husband.

Hiaasens trademark dry humor and ecological story turns make this the perfect book to read on a lounge chair in the sand.

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Seven Suspenseful Novels In Which Paradise Is Not What It Seems - CrimeReads

Experience the natural beauty of the Paznaun-Ischgl region with this new MTB trail in the Austrian Alps

The Paznaun region is a utopia for mountain-bike enthusiasts, with more than 754 km of mountain bike trails across the entire region with unrivalled natural beauty and stunning views along the way.

This summer, experience the new Dias-Kappl Flow Trail. Beginning at the top station of the Dias cable car, the Flow Trail winds its way down a length of 3.7 kilometres to the Egger Chapel. The first section leads along beautiful forest and meadow paths to gently get into the flow before descending into thicker woodlands. From the valley station of the Gongall cable car, the nature trail begins with rapid approach curves and bouncing waves through the Kappl forest area.

A total of 333 metres of depth, divided into 38 curves, extend to a longitudinal gradient of almost 10 % and put bikers in a state of flow. From the Egger Chapel, a well-signposted path leads along the municipal road to the valley station of the Dias cable car.

The trail is classed as easy and is suitable for all mountain bike abilities, ideal for families or beginners.

For more information on Ischgl

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New MTB trail in the Austrian Alps - InTheSnow

We get it: Piecing together a cohesive look for a bathroom upgrade can be downright overwhelming. Allow us to help. Whether youre eager for a glamorous, Regency-style spa space or a pretty, preppy retreat, look to these materials palettesinspired by local designers workfor style ideas that make a splash.

Adding a dose of Hollywood Regency to graphic mid-mod style is nothing less than spellbinding, especially in this high-contrast bathroom by Renee Bergstrom of Haven Designs.

1. Marella cast-iron soaking tub in Black Semi-Gloss $8,560, Rejuvenation2. Brushed Gold circle mirror $220, Havenly3. Avondale Martini table $368, Serena & Lily4. Keeley pivot-ing sconce in Hand-Rubbed Antique Brass $699, Thomas OBrien for Visual Comfort, at Circa Lighting5. Tricorn Black paint Sherwin-Williams6. Contemporary double post free-standing tub faucet in Brushed Brass Randolph Morris, $669, at Vintage Tub & Bath7. Terra bathroom vanity set $3,950, Bemma, at Perigold8. Utopia 8-light crystal Sputnik chandelier in Satin Brass $575, Livex Lighting, at Build with Ferguson9. Kavala porcelain tile in White $32 per box, Adessi Contemporary Tile, at Floor & Decor10. Laurus Black Zebra marble bowl $210, Scully & Scully11. TurningArt wall art, Silent by Susana Paz in Walnut frame from $199, West Elm

You can add plenty of timeless traditional style to a new build, as this space by Emily Tucker of Emily Tucker Design attests. Just stick to scallops, marble, and classic blue-and-white beauty all over.

1. Bryce flush mount fixture in Plaster White $639, Kate Spade New York for Visual Comfort, at Circa Lighting2. Etoile hand shower with porcelain handle in Nickel $1,165, Waterworks3. Linen travel pouch in Sky Blue $69, Mark & Graham4. Blue Celeste field tile from $47 per square foot, Ann Sacks5. Lulworth Blue paint Farrow & Ball6. Freestanding oval marble bathtub $88,380, Lusso, at Waterworks7. Wave Bath Collection essential towel set $258, Serena & Lily8. Scallop side table $698, Serena & Lily9. Bianco Carrara hexagon mosaic tile price upon request, Decorative Materials10. Blue block-print kimono robe $195, Heidi Carey11. French Blue Hydrangea watercolor $328, Caitlin Wilson

For this retreat, designer Beth Strongwater of Studio Strongwater sought spa-like serenity. The recipe for aah? Cloud whites, blond woods, and natural textures galore.

1. Everlasting bouquet in All the Neutrals $45, Pickletown Flower Co2. Nelson Ball Bubble pendant $645, Design Within Reach3. Vetralla Englishcast freestanding tub $3,599, Victoria & Albert, at QualityBath4. Eldridge rounded rectangle mirror in White Oak $529, Rejuvenation5. Oak Bok side table $689, Ethnicraft, at6. Coconut milk bath soak $20, Herbivore7. Decorative vase sea sponge from $48, Cailini Coastal8. Sheepskin $599, Room & Board9. Chet ceramic soap dish/sponge holder $10, Crate & Barrel10. Freestanding bath vanity with single reinforced acrylic sink in Nature Oak-AV $1,779, Angeles, at Moreno Bath

To zhush her clients existing stone bathtub, designer Emily Tucker reached for a tropical wallcovering; paired with rattan accessories, it says vacay at a glance.

1. Paloma narrow chandelier $1,199, Arhaus2. Amiata Freestanding Englishcast soaker tub $4,874, Victoria & Albert, at QualityBath3. Jana Bone urn price upon request, Made Goods4. Concrete fluted planter in Terra Cotta $249, Pottery Barn5. Herons in Marsh peel-and-stick removable wallpaper from $23 for 2-by-3 feet, Spoonflower6. Super Soft bath mat in Sand $65, Food527. Olive of Marseille soap on a rope $14, Fer Cheval, at Burke Decor8. Temescal organic towels from $18, Coyuchi9. Stacked planter in Earthenware $138, West Elm10. Desert Sun cane floor mirror $449, West Elm11. Kaemon Beaded Leaf wall decor price upon request, Made Goods

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48 Bathroom Style Ideas That Make a Splash - 5280 - 5280 | The Denver Magazine

Finally, someone's been combing the blockchain and calling out scammers on their BS. In doing so, software engineer Molly White managed to not only catalyse the downfall of the Cryptoland scams, but generally spread awareness about the dangers of 'Web3,' so scammers are less likely to indoctrinate more impressionable, would-be investors.

White is an avid Wikipedia contributor who's passionate about free and open knowledge and resources. The Byte (opens in new tab) pointed us to her blog, the awesome, satirically named 'Web3 is going just great (opens in new tab).' In it, she highlights the missteps, hacks, and dodgy work arising from Web3a blockchain dominated 'new internet' for anyone unaware.

In fact, it's White who's been attributed to aiding in the downfall of the disturbing case of Cryptoland (opens in new tab)the "world's first crypto island" marketed as a utopia for blockchain investors. The project poured millions into going physical but now appears to be inactive after a whole expose from White (opens in new tab) that caused a bunch of investors to jump ship. The Seychelles island they planned to take over is even back on the market (opens in new tab).

If you've a level of sympathy for the poor cryptodegens, remember: this is the same scam that when pressed on Twitter about what the age of consent would be on their magical blockchain island, the official Cryptoland account replied with "Mental maturity should be more than enough! 😉 (opens in new tab)"

Sickening. Good riddance.

"Most of my disdain is reserved for the big players who are marketing this to a mainstream audience as though its an investment, often promising to be a ticket out of a really tough financial spot for people who dont have many options," says White.

White describes their actions as "very predatory," and she's gained a lot of media attention for calling these blockchain scams out.

We've seen the marketplace halting transactions due to rampant NFT counterfeiting (opens in new tab), and so many other stories that show the possible horrors of investing in the blockchain. And yet all this is amazingly still so prevalent. Even during the current cryptocurrency crash (opens in new tab), crypto mining energy usage has barely dropped (opens in new tab).

With people like White around, at least, more of these blockchain scams might start to deteriorate.

Her site even contains a 'Grift Counter' that keeps a tally of how much money has been lost to scams so far as you scroll down the timeline, so you can keep monetary tabs on the crypto-dystopia we're creating for ourselves. Check it out if you fancy a cry.

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This lady is helping put cryptocurrency scams where they belong: in the bin - PC Gamer

The year is at its midway mark, which means theres still a good deal of new music still to come. Grab your swimsuit and took a look at 37 new releases to anticipate in the coming months. (As of May 21, all release dates have been confirmed. But as usual, everything is subject to change.)

TBA

100 gecs Laura Les and Dylan Brady are set to return this year with the follow-up to their breakthrough 2019 album 1000 gecs. The new one, called 10000 gecs, is set to include the new single MeMeMe and Doritos & Fritos. According to a recent feature, the album will showcase the artists as they ease up on Auto-Tune, though not absurditylook forward to a song called Doritos and Fritos. Read Pitchforks Cover Story This Is Your Brain on 100 gecs. Evan Minsker

June 3

Adrian Quesada, the guitarist, producer, and Black Pumas co-founder, pays tribute to the Latin America balada music from the late 1960s and early 70s with Boleros Psicodlicos. The record includes appearances from iLe, Gabriel Garzn-Montano, Girl Ultra, Angelica Garcia, Gaby Moreno and more. In addition to original compositions by Quesada, the album features covers of balada classics including La Lupes Puedes Decir de M and Jeanettes El Muchacho de Los Ojos Tristes. Quinn Moreland

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Adrian Quesada: Boleros Psicodelicos

September 9

In September, the Afghan Whigs will release their ninth album, How Do You Burn? The groups first album in five yearsfollowing 2017s In Spadesfeatures contributions from a series of familiar faces: Susan Marshall, who sang on the Whigs album 1965; Van Hunt, who toured with the band in 2012 and appeared on Do to the Beast; Marcy Mays, who sang on My Curse off 1993s Gentlemen; and the late Mark Lanegan, who performed in Dullis Twilight Singers and the Gutter Twins, and sings backup on two tracks. According to Dulli, it was Lanegan who picked the albums title. Quinn Moreland

The Afghan Whigs: How Do You Burn?

June 3

Country music is a good fit for Angel Olsen, who writes of the highs and lows of temptation, heartbreak, sin, and redemption. She looks to the genre on her new albums loose, lightly twangy singles All the Good Times and Big Time. The record, Big Time, is a satisfying twist for Olsen, who remains a force with her inimitable voice and unique insight into the human heart. Allison Hussey

June 17

Bartees Stranges follow-up to his debut 2020 LP, Live Forever, is also his first record for the storied British indie 4AD. A genre-busting jaunt through pop punk, R&B, indie rock, hip-hop, emo, and country, Farm to Table features the early single Hold the Line, written for George Floyds daughter, and Tours, an acoustic lament that ruminates on the loneliness Strange felt when his service-member parents would leave home on tours of duty. Read Pitchforks profile Hes Just Bartees Strange, Baby. Matthew Ismael Ruiz

Bartees Strange: Farm to Table

July 15

The British 90s alt-rock revivalist Beabadoobee welcomes listeners back into her world with a new album called Beatopia. Pronounced Bay-A-Toe-Pee-Uh, the record is 14 tracks long and includes a collaboration with PinkPantheress titled Tinkerbell Is Overrated. The follow-up to 2020s Fake It Flowers was led by Talk, and Beabadoobee said the single is about doing things that arent necessarily healthy or great for you but you cant help indulging. Rest assured, listening to Beabadoobee qualifies as healthy and good for you. Quinn Moreland

July 15

Hellfire, the UK group Black Midis third record for Rough Trade was written while isolating in London after releasing 2021s Cavalcade. Hellfire is led by the single Welcome to Hell, which explores the horrors and excesses of war. If Cavalcade was a drama, Hellfire is like an epic action film, the bands Geordie Greep said in a statement. Revisit Pitchforks 2019 Rising interview Get to Know Black Midi, a New Type of British Guitar Band. Quinn Moreland

June 10

BTS are celebrating their ninth anniversary as a group with the release of Proof, the K-pop titans first anthology collection. The three-disc set includes many of the groups biggest hits, plus deep cuts, demos, and a few previously unreleased tracks. The BTS anthology album that embodies the history of BTS will be released as they begin a new chapter, the groups management company said of the compilation. The anthology album Proof... reflect[s] the thoughts and ideas of the members on the past, present and future of BTS. Eric Torres

September 9

Its been seven years since Built to Spill last released an album of original music. Doug Martsch and the rest of his indie rock band will return soon with When the Wind Forgets Your Name, their Sub Pop debut and the follow-up to 2015s Untethered Moon and their 2020 covers record Built to Spill Plays the Songs of Daniel Johnston. Martsch mixed the album himself with help from L Almeida, Joo Casaes, and Josh Lewis. If lead single Gonna Lose is any indication of what to expect, fans are in for more of the bands trademark fuzzy hooks and burning guitar solos. Nina Corcoran

Built to Spill: When the Wind Forgets Your Name

TBA

On stage at the iconic Madison Square Garden for his One Night in Space performance, Burna Boy became the first Nigerian artist to headline the venue and, in the midst, announced his next album Love, Damini. This next record will come on the heels of his Grammy-winning 2020 record Twice as Tall, which further cemented his status as a global popstar. In the time in between albums hes remained extremely active, releasing singles like Kilometre and Want it All and popping up on remixes such as Asakes Sungba and Black Sherifs Second Sermon. Alphonse Pierre

TBA

Another year came and went without another Cardi B album, and, though shes teased fans with singles like Up and Bet It, she still hasnt announced any new info about when her next full-length is set to appear. After last years appearances on summertime pop singles from Lizzo and Normani, Cardi has more recently flexed her Bronx bona fides alongside Kay Flock, DougieB, and Bory300 on the drill track Shake It. Shed noted that her little 15 minutes lasting long as hell on I Do, and shes probably still laughing. Allison Hussey

August 12

Cheat Codes is the long-awaited joint album from Danger Mouse and Black Thought. It is led by the song No Gold Teeth and features guests including A$AP Rocky, Run the Jewels, the late MF Doom, Michael Kiwanuka, and more. Cheat Codes arrives after Black Thoughts recent solo trilogy, Streams of Thought, and is Danger Mouses first hip-hop record since his 2005 collaboration with MF Doom, Danger Doom. Quinn Moreland

Danger Mouse & Black Thought: Cheat Codes

July 29

Lets clear up some confusion about Florist: 1) It is a band composed of Emily Sprague, Jonnie Baker, Rick Spataro, and Felix Walworth. 2) Yes, technically Sprague released a solo album under the moniker, 2019s gut wrenching Emily Alone. 3) The projects self-titled fourth album is both full-length and full-band. The foursome recorded the 19-track album in June 2019 while holed up in a rental house in New Yorks Hudson Valley. We called it Florist because this is not just my songs with a backing band, Sprague says. Its a practice. Its a collaboration. Its our one life. These are my best friends and the music is the way that it is because of that. Quinn Moreland

TBA

Since releasing her long-awaited fifth album Miss Anthropocene in 2020, Grimes has been hard at work on an epic space opera called Book 1. She teased the project earlier this year after sharing the one-off single Shinigami Eyes and announcing her next EP, Fairies Cum First, which was billed as a prelude to Book 1. Grimes discussed her forthcoming LPand some other thingsin a recent chat with Vanity Fair. According to the interview, Grimes 15-track fairycore album is set in the distant future, and contains as yet unreleased tracks like Marie Antoinette 2077, 100% Tragedy, and Sci-Fi, which she wrote with the Weeknd and his producer Illangelo. Madison Bloom

June 24

British musician Hollie Cook co-produced Happy Hourher follow-up to 2018s Vessel of Lovewith her General Roots band members Ben Mckone and Luke Allwood and executive producer Youth. Making this music that I love, I do turn deep inside myself, Cook said in a press statement. It makes me explore a lot of human truths and feelings that we should not shy away from, and it feels like a release to turn them into songs. Quinn Moreland

August 19

Freakout/Release is the first full-length in three years from electronic outfit Hot Chip. The London band recorded its eighth album at the Relax & Enjoy Studio in East London and has shared the first single Down, which samples Universal Togetherness Bands More Than Enough. The follow-up to 2019s A Bath Full of Ecstasy features contributions from Cadence Weapon, Soulwax, and Lou Hayter. Eric Torres

Hot Chip: Freakout/Release

July 15

Cooked up in London with Alan Moulder and Flood, The Other Side of Make-Believe is Interpols seventh studio album. Frontman Paul Banks took enough time away from Muzzhis band with Josh Kaufman and Matt Barrickto record Interpols follow-up to 2018s Marauder; it features early singles Toni, Somethings Changed, and Fables, which Banks described as evocative of classic R&B with a nod to the golden age of hip hop. Matthew Ismael Ruiz

Interpol: The Other Side of Make-Believe

July 22

Its already been a wild year for Jack White, and thats not only because hes single-handedly trying to get major labels to start pouring money into the vinyl pressing business. Almost immediately after the release of his recent album Fear of the Dawn, he played a hometown concert in Detroit where he got engaged and surprise-married on stage. This summer, with all that behind him, hes putting out a second album featuring the singles Love Is Selfish and Queen of the Bees. Evan Minsker

June 24

The cozy embrace of time at home with a growing new family inspired The Spur, the lead track to Joan Shelleys first studio LP since 2019s Like the River Loves the Sea. Shelleys tunes have always felt like warm, empathetic dispatches, but here, she expands on her acoustic-guitar foundation. Her fuller band arrangements, which feature contributions from Meg Baird, Nathan Salsburg, and producer James Elkington, abet the Kentucky singer-songwriter in pushing her songs toward stirring emotional ends. Bill Callahan joins Shelley singing on Amberlit Morning, a dreamy duet that puts his velvety baritone and her clear lilt in exquisite complement. Allison Hussey

June 10

California pop-punks Joyce Manor are gearing up to release 40 oz. to Fresno, their first new album in four years. The follow-up to 2018s Million Dollars to Kill Me is produced by Rob Schnapf, who previously worked with the band on Cody, and features Motion City Soundtracks Tony Thaxton on drums. The album title is a play on Sublimes 1992 classic 40 oz. to Freedom that the band lifted from an auto-corrected text message. That tongue-in-cheek spirit can be heard on Gotta Let It Go, the albums youthful lead single that harkens back to Joyce Manors early days. Nina Corcoran

Joyce Manor: 40 oz. to Fresno

August 26

Three years after her breakthrough, Crushing, Julia Jacklin will return with a new record. Pre Pleasure is Jacklins third album and is led by the single Lydia Wears a Cross. Jacklin recorded the album in Montreal alongside co-producer Marcus Paquin. For the first time I stepped away from the guitar, and wrote a lot of the album on the Roland keyboard in my apartment in Montreal with its inbuilt band tracks, Jacklin said in a press statement. I blu-tacked reams of butcher paper to the walls, covered in lyrics and ideas, praying to the music gods that my brain would arrange everything in time. Revisit Pitchforks Rising interview Julia Jacklin Was Finally Breaking Beyond Australias Indie Rock Scene. Then the Pandemic Hit. Quinn Moreland

Julia Jacklin: Pre Pleasure

June 24

Barbarism is the debut solo LP from former Priests lead singer Katie Alice Greer. The new record follows Greers trio of solo EPs: Freaky 57, 3 Colors, and No One Else on Earth. She announced her upcoming album earlier this year, sharing lead single FITS/My Love Cant Be. Greer also released a music video for the track that she directed, produced, and edited herself. The glitchy clip spoofs vintage news broadcasts, with Greer starring as every character. Madison Bloom

Katie Alice Greer: Barbarism

July 15

Special is the follow-up to Lizzos 2019 breakout LP Cuz I Love You. The singer announced the album last month with the release of About Damn Time, which she issued with a Christian Breslauerdirected music video partially set in a Stressed & Sexy support group. About Damn Time can lead into so many conversations, Lizzo told Zane Lowe following the singles release. Its about damn time I feel better, its about damn time we get out this pandemic. Its about damn time we to get the first Black female Supreme Court Justice. Theres so many things. Its about damn time we popped the champagne. Its about damn time the tequila got here. Last summer, Lizzo dropped her Cardi B collaboration Rumors, marking her first new track in over two years. It is currently unclear whether or not the song will appear on Special. Madison Bloom

July 29

Surrender is Maggie Rogers follow-up to her 2019 debut Heard It in a Past Life. Rogers recorded the LP at New Yorks famous Electric Lady Studios, Peter Gabriels Real World Studios near Bath, England, and in her parents garage. She announced the record with an album trailer and accompanying poem. More recently, Rogers released lead single Thats Where I Am, which arrived with a music video featuring cameos from pals David Byrne and Hamilton Leithauser. Madison Bloom

June 17

During lockdown, Nick Cave wrote a series of psalms, one a day for a week. Cave and his longtime collaborator Warren Ellis set those seven spoken-word pieces to music and will be releasing them under the title Seven Psalms. The seven psalms are presented as one long meditationon faith, rage, love, grief, mercy, sex and praise, Cave wrote in a statement. A veiled, contemplative offering borne of an uncertain time. The B-side of the album features a 12-minute instrumental piece recorded during the sessions that produced 2021s Carnage. Quinn Moreland

TBA

Normani has taken her time with the rollout for her first solo record, sharing her attention-grabbing debut Motivation in 2019 before recruiting Cardi B for the slinky, luxurious Wild Side last July. Shes delivered those two powerhouse singles with stunning choreography and eye-popping visualsfull-suite treatments that bode well for anything else on the way. Shes nodded to titans like Janet Jackson and Aaliyah as shes developed her own lane, maintaining a hold as one of the most promising young forces in the pop landscape. And, just last week, she shared another new track, Fair. Allison Hussey

June 17

Ugly Season follows Set My Heart on Fire Immediately, Mike Hadreas stunning 2020 entry as Perfume Genius. Hadreas reunited with producer Blake Mills for the new album, which comprises songs he wrote for The Sun Still Burns Here, an immersive dance piece made with choreographer Kate Wallich. The new LP includes two previously-released songs from the performance: Eye in the Wall and Pop Song. In addition to the 10-track record, Hadreas will issue an accompanying short film created by visual artist Jacolby Satterwhitethe director of Solanges film When I Get Home. My visual narrative serendipitously mirrors the lyrical direction in his music, Satterwhite said of the short in press materials. Its a creation myth. How do you architecturally mold and render an idealized version of utopia? Its about making something that you desire so beyond your scope that its hard to grapple into a concrete form. Madison Bloom

Perfume Genius: Ugly Season

June 3

Its been three long years since Post Malones last album, Hollywoods Bleeding and the Posties are hungry. Their cravings will hopefully be satiated by a new album called Twelve Carat Toothache. Post Malones fourth studio album will include his single with the Weekend, One Right Now. Malone also revealed that the album will feature collaborations with Doja Cat, the Kid Laroi, Roddy Rich, and Fleet Foxes Robin Pecknold, with whom he performed Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol on Saturday Night Live. Quinn Moreland

June 10

The Range, the electronic project of James Hinton, is gearing up to release Mercury, his first new album in six years. The follow-up to 2016s Potential includes the singles Relegate, Bicameral, Urethane, and Ricercar. In a statement, Hinton explained that the latter track is one of many in which he edits lyrics as a way to say something that [he] would never be able to say out loud. The Range promises, once again, to play around with a wide range of samples on Mercury, from a reworked Chief Kamanawanalea break by the Turtles to UK grime artist MIKs track Ice Rink. Nina Corcoran

June 24

New York avant-pop singer-songwriter Regina Spektor hasnt put out an album since 2016s Remember Us to Life. After announcing a new box set edition of her debut, 11:11, the singer-songwriter unveiled Home, before and after, which arrives this summer. Spektor recorded and co-produced the LP in upstate New York with producer John Congleton and has shared two singles from the album so far: the piano ballad Becoming All Alone and the experimental pop song Up the Mountain. Eric Torres

June 24

Soccer Mommy has built anticipation for her third album, Sometimes, Forever, with the singles Shotgun, Unholy Affliction, and Bones. The new album was produced by Oneohtrix Point Never architect Daniel Lopatin a collaboration that Sophie Allison originally believed to be a pipe dream but it turned out that Lopatin was a fan of Color Theory. Alphonse Pierre

Soccer Mommy: Sometimes, Forever

August 26

Following her 2019 debut, Beware of the Dogs, Australian songwriter Stella Donnelly will be releasing a new album titled Flood. Led by the single Lungs, Donnellys album was born from a period of transience that found her moving frequently. During this period, she became interested in birdwatching; a flock of Banded Stilts adorn the cover, their black and white frames forming an abstract mass. Donnellys commune with nature allowed her to lose that feeling of anyones reaction to [her], she wrote in a statement. I forgot who I was as a musician, which was a humbling experience of just being; being my small self. Quinn Moreland

July 29

In the past decade, Cocteau Twins Elizabeth Fraser has slowly become more and more of a visible presence in music. She put out records in collaboration with Oneohtrix Point Never and Jnsi, played some Massive Attack shows, and scored some TV series. Suns Signature, the new project from Fraser and her partner Damon Reece, is the first release of music thats been gestating in one form or another for a long time. Underwater is the name of a single she released in 2000, while others have been performed live. Golden Air marked the first proper introduction to the project. Evan Minsker

Suns Signature: Suns Signature EP

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Ever since SZA dropped her breakout album Ctrl in 2017, weve been impatiently waiting for the next one. But the immediate future just brought big collaborations: A song with Kendrick Lamar for the Black Panther cut All the Stars, another with the Weeknd and Travis Scott for the Game of Thrones track Power Is Power, and, unfortunately (but inevitably), a Maroon 5 single. Her first single as a lead artist since 2017 didnt arrive until 2020, when she dropped the Neptunes-produced Hit Different (featuring Ty Dolla $ign) and Good Days. Earlier that year, she insinuated that Top Dawg Entertainment had been holding up the release of her new music, and, in 2021, SZA self-released three tracksNightbird, Joni, and I Hate You via an anonymous SoundCloud account. She issued the latter on official platforms months later, after a fresh string of collaborations, Kiss Me More, Fue Mejor, and No Love, to name a few. Madison Bloom

June 24

Tim Heidecker might be the busiest man in showbiz. The comic, actor, musician, and fake film critic seems to draw from an endless well of material. His latest endeavor is High School, a forthcoming 10-track album that the polymath produced alongside Drew Erickson, Eric D. Johnson, and Mac DeMarco. Last month, Heidecker detailed High School, which boasts an appearance from Kurt Vile on a track called Sirens of Titan. He also dropped the breezy lead single Buddy. The new LP follows Heideckers 2020 full-length Fear of Death, which featured Weyes Bloods Natalie Mering, the Lemon Twigs, Foxygens Jonathan Rado, and others. Madison Bloom

Tim Heidecker: High School

July 22

Prolific rocker Ty Segall is gearing up for another album. Hello, Hi follows last years Harmonizer and 2019s First Taste. Segall largely self-recorded the LP at his California home. He shared the albums title track last month and revealed the tracklist, which features song titles like Cement, Saturday Pt. 1, and, naturally, Saturday Pt. 2. In between Harmonizer and Hello, Hi, Segall released his soundtrack for Whirlybird, a 2020 documentary from Matt Yoka. Madison Bloom

Ty Segall: Hello, Hi

June 17

Yaya Beys music is R&B at its core, but with elements of neo-soul, rap, reggae, and jazz. Bey wrote and produced her new album, Remember Your North Star, with some help from Phony Ppls Aja Grant and DJ Nativesun. The album follows her 2020 project Madison Tapes and 2021 EP The Things I Cant Take With Me. Alphonse Pierre

Yaya Bey: Remember Your North Star

Read more:

The 37 Most Anticipated Albums of Summer 2022: Angel Olsen, Lizzo, Bartees Strange, Nick Cave, and More - Pitchfork

In the endless need for speed, digital leaders continue their shift from project to product orientation. However, this shift is not a set it and forget it initiative. It requires nurturing and continuous evolution that often leads CIOs to wonder: is our team doing this because its trendy, or are we in this to drive meaningful change?

Defining and rolling out a product operating model is just the beginning of a long road wrought with blind turns and detours.And your ability to drive meaningful change will ultimately hinge on your ability to navigate three realities once the table is set.

Successful product owners have a unique combination of business acumen, technical know-how, and leadership skills. An absence of maturity in any one of these traits can spawn an existential crisis for product-based IT. In our conversations with CIOs, one of the most common things we hear is that there arent enough qualified product owners.

Many organizations have spun up product management bootcamps or digital academies to buck the trend and equip their teams with the tools they need to be successful product owners. Amir Arooni, EVP and CIO at $13 billion Discover Financial Services, launched a technology academy to give his engineers a more diverse skillset and to curb the view that developers are like workers on a production line that churn out code, rather than creative problem-solvers who can help innovate. This training program coupled with a product orientation in IT is paying dividends: a recent mobile pilot resulted in a productivity increase of almost a third with no increase in headcount.

Other organizations may choose to source product owners directly from business units and functions, combining them with IT counterparts in a cohesive unit that breaks down the perceived wall between business and IT.

Whether you pursue a product management bootcamp, source product owners from business units, or pursue something entirely different, be prepared to invest in training to ensure new product teams have the skills to succeed.

Evolving your IT operating model in a vacuum, without bringing business units and functions into the fold, can create small wins, but it will ultimately fall short of the transformative outcomes you seek. For outsized returns in implementation, engage BUs and functions early and allow them to put their fingerprints on the following components of the operating model:

If the goal of shifting to product-based IT is to have autonomous and empowered product teams that pursue the highest-value opportunities, you cant let finance slow you down with rubber-stamp processes. Digital leaders need to build a close partnership with finance to demonstrate the benefits of a product-based funding model for them and the organization at large.

In a recent conversation with Maya Leibman, EVP & CIO of American Airlines, she noted that traditional, project-based funding models were designed to make you give up. There were so many mountains to climb, it had almost become a game of endurance. She went on to say that prior to adopting product funding, many teams would use maintenance dollars for projects just to avoid the approval process.

American Airlines new product-based funding model provides a persistent stream of funding and reduces unnecessary approvals. The boarding experience product team, for example, adds up the technology and process costs that go into maintaining and enhancing the boarding experience annually, then receives those funds to spend at their discretion to mature the experience. Not only did this improve speed and throughput, but it also provided finance more visibility into costs and new ways to prioritize investments. Ross Clanton, American Airlines Managing Director of Technology Transformation, highlighted a breakthrough that occurred in the finance department as a result of the new funding model: They could see into the black box of run costs now, not just the grow costs we submitted in the project-based model.

Shifting to a product operating model is a major cultural and operational change. When implemented well and improved continuously, it can result in faster time to market, more innovation, and better customer experiences. But the road is not easy, and CIOs need to be ready to get their hands dirty. Accounting for the realities above in your plans can help you bypass many traffic jams on the road to product utopia.

See the article here:

3 ways to avoid traffic on the road to product-based IT - CIO

All the men are gone. Usually this is conceived as the result of a plague. Less often, the cause is violence. Occasionally, the men dont die and the sexes are just segregated in different geographical regions. Or men miraculously vanish without explanation.

Left to themselves, the women create a better society, without inequality or war. All goods are shared. All children are safe. The economy is sustainable and Earth is cherished. Without male biology standing in the way, utopia builds itself.

Im describing a subgenre of science fiction, mostly written in the 1970s-90s. It was once so popular it was almost synonymous with feminist SF. In 1995, when the Otherwise Award, a literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore ones understanding of gender, gave five retrospective awards, four of the works were set in such worlds: Suzy McKee Charnass Motherlines and Walk to the End of the World, and Joanna Russs The Female Man and When It Changed. The fifth was Ursula K Le Guins The Left Hand of Darkness, about a world whose inhabitants are all of the same sex.

Recently there has been a revival of the genre in radically different form, with titles including Lauren Beukess 2020 novel Afterland, Christina Sweeney-Bairds 2021 thriller The End of Men, and my own new release, The Men. I think the way that these contemporary novels diverge from their earlier counterparts tells us something useful about gender politics in the 21st century. Part of the story, too, is a growing opposition to the basic premise, a conflict in which my novel has been recently embroiled.

The women-only utopia has a modest prehistory, going back to the myth of the Amazons and early feminist works such as Christine de Pizans 1405 The Book of the City of Ladies. But in its strict form as a single-sex utopia, it begins with Charlotte Perkins Gilmans Herland of 1915. Here, in an uncharted and unspecified wilderness, three male explorers stumble on a plateau the local savages fear as a realm from which no man returns. With their aeroplane, they are able to land there, and are instantly taken prisoner by the all-female inhabitants. The book then becomes a tour of the features of the womens ideal society.

Women excel in all occupations. Older women gain prestige instead of losing it; the women are physically formidable and easily subdue their male captives. Charmingly, the narrator says of the national costume: I see that I have not remarked that these women had pockets in surprising number and variety. Their babies never cry.

Much less charmingly, were assured the Herland women are Aryans, and their society is focused on the perfection of their race. In fact, many of the hallmarks of fascism are here: the paganism, the obsession with cleanliness, the emphasis on gymnastics, the eugenics. The Herlanders also have no erotic or even romantic feelings for each other; they have bred those dirty things out.

The golden age of the genre, roughly coinciding with the era of second wave feminism, could scarcely be more different. Here the keynote is freedom, and lesbian polyamory is the order of the day. Solo travel features prominently: the authors are captivated by the idea of women hiking alone into the wilderness without the threat of rape. No regret is expressed about the loss of men, which is always in the distant past. Indeed, the topic is often treated with a bracing gallows humour.

Alice Sheldons 1976 novella, Houston, Houston, Do You Read? (published under her pen name, James Tiptree Jr) gives the idea in its most trenchant form. Three male astronauts return to Earth after several hundred years in space. Learning that all human men have died centuries ago, they assume they will be masters of the helpless women who remain. Instead, the women test them by giving them disinhibiting drugs, watch them flail around blurting out rape fantasies and assaulting girls, then politely inform them they will be euthanised: We simply have no facilities for people with your emotional problems. However, they do thank the doomed men, saying: You have brought history alive for us.

Joanna Russs novel The Female Man (written in 1970 but first published in 1975) is considered the masterpiece of the genre. Here, four versions of the author inhabit four parallel worlds. One is ours, where the protagonist is Joanna. The second is a more conservative New York, where the anxiously conventional Jeannine works to catch a husband she doesnt truly want.

The third world is Whileaway, Russs utopia, where all men died of a plague 800 years earlier. Here, Janet fights duels, roams the wilderness, and is cheerfully promiscuous while adoring her wife, Vittoria, who, she boasts repeatedly, is much admired by Whileawayans for her big ass. Whileaway is a joyous, irreverent creation. Russ makes no apologies for stocking it with her own predilections (were left in no doubt of her opinion of big asses). Its people grumble all the time and are often jerks; it is above all things free though it does have capital punishment for people who dont do their share of the work. Even if its not your idea of paradise, you never doubt Russ would be happy there, which is more than you can say for most utopias and their creators.

Only towards the end of the novel are we introduced to the fourth world, a gender-apartheid society where men and women are locked in perpetual war. Here, Jael is fixated on revenge against men because of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child. After tearing a would-be rapist apart with the steel claws implanted in her fingers, she comments: I dont give a damn whether it was necessary or not I liked it. In an aside, she announces that this world is the past of Whileaway; its men didnt die of plague, but were exterminated. She approves: In my opinion, questions that are based on something real ought to be settled by something real without all this damned lazy miserable drifting. Im a fanatic. I want to see this thing settled Gone. Dead.

The 21st-century revival is a very different animal. First, instead of being a dimly remembered political event, the mass death comes now. It has no good aspects. Men die horribly in front of us. Women are plunged into collective grief. Technological society falls apart for lack of skilled workers, and the world goes into decline. Women, meanwhile, are just as violent as men, and no more cooperative or empathic. The only result of generations of indoctrination into female roles is that girls are crap at engineering.

Another difference is that, in almost all these stories, at least one man is saved. The best known example is the comic Y: The Last Man, by Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra, published from 2002 to 2008. Here, all male mammals die from plague except our hero, Yorick, and his pet monkey. Only yesterday an unsuccessful stage magician, Yorick is suddenly the most important person in the world, as his DNA holds the key to the survival of humanity. Hes hunted across post-apocalyptic America by various groups, notably a cult of rabid feminists intent on exterminating every last man. Of course, he is also desired by randy women wherever he goes.

In Lauren Beukess 2020 novel Afterland, a threatened male is again the focus, after 99% of all male humans are killed by a flu that triggers prostate cancer. Survivors are incarcerated by the government and prevented from reproducing until a cure is found. The few free men are pursued by baby-hungry women and hunted by profiteers who want to harvest their sperm. The main character has broken her son out of a research facility and is fleeing with him through a post-apocalyptic world.

Christina Sweeney-Bairds The End of Men (2021) shows the male plague through a kaleidoscope of viewpoints. None, however, find the new world an improvement. As in Afterland, theres an intense focus on sperm: though only 90% of men die of plague, there is somehow a critical shortage. The government enacts a form of eugenics, restricting the precious substance to mothers it deems fit. This move may be uncomfortably reminiscent of the politics of Herland, but the impression is not that Sweeney-Baird is a fan of eugenics; she is imagining things she thinks would happen if there were a male plague, not suggesting what should happen.

All three of these works are apolitical. In their different ways, they are thrillers, and the reception of these works in most quarters has correspondingly been about their success as such, not their politics, and has been mostly positive.

The exception is the reaction of a group of critics who are hostile to the genre. You might think this would be about the fantasy of male genocide. In fact, its the erasure of trans identities. The line between male and female in these books is always based on traditional notions of biological sex; trans women share the fate of cis men. In the old utopian versions, female societies are always better; this is seen as implying that gender traits are biological. In some second wave works, trans characters are described with open bigotry; Joanna Russ later apologised for the (mercifully brief) depiction of trans women in The Female Man. But this is not the main point: the premise itself is seen as bioessentialist and harmful to trans and non-binary people.

Even a recent book by a trans author, Gretchen Felker-Martins Manhunt (2022), has drawn criticism online. In this novel, a plague transforms men into mindless, cannibalistic monsters who roam the woods, raping and killing. Trans women must stave off transformation by constantly taking hormones they can only get by killing men and eating their testicles. Meanwhile, theyre being hunted by TERFs (trans-exclusionary radical feminists), who see them as man-monsters waiting to happen. The book is written to graphically convey the terror of transphobia. Still its been attacked by some on Twitter for its bioessentialist premise. Although producers of the TV version of Y: The Last Man hired trans writers to make the story more inclusive, it too was considered problematic.

My own book has been the focus of attacks, even before its publication. Once again, it is the premise that matters. In my novel, all male humans disappear inexplicably in a single moment, and the resulting female society has a utopian odour. Its no Whileaway; the plot is largely about the grief of people left behind. But fossil fuel emissions plummet, its easier to elect leftwing politicians, and, yes, lesbian polyamory is the order of the day. In the book, trans women are treated as women, trans men as men, and their problems are viewed sympathetically, but it has the hated premise. The attacks on it escalated to the point that a writer, Lauren Hough, had a prize nomination from an LGBTQ arts organisation rescinded for defending it online.

Critics of the genre make important points, but I wouldnt have written my book if I didnt believe their criticisms were too sweeping. The more thoughtful versions of the narrative dont affirm a gender binary, but try to dismantle it by erasing sex as a category. Russs Whileawayans are better and happier not because they are biologically female, but because they are free from sexism. The premise also interrogates the belief that excluding certain people is a means to a peaceful society. Exclusion as social policy is a time-honoured tradition in America (think mass incarceration and racial segregation) and on the rise worldwide.

Its also the idea behind excluding trans women from womens changing rooms. Making people ask hard questions about it is crucial to all campaigns for justice.

Finally, Russs and Sheldons utopias (and, I hope, mine) are fraught with doubt. They present the reader with impossible choices between accepting abuse and becoming as great a monster as your abusers; between rape and genocide. They are not works of dogmatic certainty like Gilmans. They dont even claim to know the nature of gender. All they know is that patriarchy is killing us, and something has to give.

I believe theres something potently transformative about utopian fiction. Too many of us now are trying to make a political revolution without hope. Our narratives of justice are all about punishment. We squabble about what constitutes punching up or punching down, but are poor in solutions that dont involve punching. In our art, we dont imagine better worlds, only more and grimmer apocalypses, and the people in them only long for the patriarchal world order that gives us supermarkets, indoor plumbing and hormone patches.

When you put down Y: The Last Man or Manhunt (or Station Eleven or World War Z), its with a sigh of gratitude for the status quo. When you put down The Female Man, its with the unsettled, heady feeling that a freer world is just out of reach but also with a consciousness of the violence that lurks behind most promises of freedom. We still have no answers and every utopia is riddled with asterisks. Lets mind the asterisks and listen to the criticisms but lets dream our dreams.

The Men by Sandra Newman is published by Granta Books (14.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

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The end of men: the controversial new wave of female utopias - The Guardian