American athlete Jordan Stolz is gaining recognition in Europe for his speedskating prowess, while former Olympian Alysa Liu is making a comeback to figure skating after retiring at 16, and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla motivated his team to drastically increase vaccine production during the pandemic. Meanwhile, the HBO finance drama "Industry" has garnered attention for its boundary-pushing storytelling, and concerns are growing about the influence of health influencers on social media.
Jordan Stolz, a speedskating phenom from Kewaskum, Wisconsin, is being compared to Michael Phelps and is poised to elevate his sport in the United States, according to Time. Despite his potential to bring speedskating into the mainstream, Stolz remains relatively unknown in his home country. "Walk into a Piggly Wiggly," Stolz told Time, "nobody knows who you are." However, in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, he is recognized and treated with special attention. "I feel like every KLM flight I get on, all the flight attendants know me," Stolz said. "They treat me a little bit extra nice."
Alysa Liu, a 21-year-old figure skater, is preparing for an Olympic comeback in Milan after retiring at the age of 16, Time reported. Liu is known for her unique hairstyle, featuring horizontal blonde and brown stripes, with a new blonde stripe added each year since 2023. At 13, she became the youngest U.S. women's champion and the first U.S. woman to land three triple axels in a single competition. At 14, she was the first U.S. woman to land a quadruple jump in competition. Liu competed in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, finishing sixth before her retirement.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla faced the challenge of rapidly increasing vaccine production, Fortune reported. Bourla asked his employees to compress years of vaccine development and manufacturing into months, anticipating resistance due to the seemingly impossible task. Before the pandemic, Pfizer produced approximately 200 million vaccine doses annually. At the height of the pandemic, production needed to surge to roughly 3 billion doses annually. Bourla considered scaling manufacturing to that level as daunting as developing a vaccine in short order.
The HBO series "Industry," created by former investment bankers Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, is in its fourth season and continues to push storytelling boundaries, according to Time. The finance drama has shifted from its London trading-floor origins to explore themes of power, class, gender, race, and personal morality. The fourth episode of Season 4, titled "1000 Yoots, 1 Marilyn," has been noted for its shocking and depraved content.
Concerns are rising about the impact of health influencers on social media, Nature News reported. In 2025, nearly 80% of U.S. adults said they were likely to search online for answers to health questions, according to one survey. Another survey found that 75% of 18-29-year-olds use social media for health information and advice. Deborah Cohen, a medically trained journalist, examines the problems and opportunities arising from this shift in her book "Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked Our Health." Many of the supplements promoted on social media have unproven health benefits.
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