How to buy the perfect gift for anyone in your life, how to combat seasonal affect disorder, and more.

Lex Ashcroft's reads

Expiration dates are meaningless. Here's why. As many prepare for their next holiday feast, food scientists are repeating a decades old message: expiration dates are mostly useless for food safety. These labels confuse people by insinuating items are unsafe, instead of making clear the information pertains only to freshness. Writing for The Atlantic, Yasmin Tayag explains how a lack of federal oversight in food labeling and general lack of public awareness has led to the massive problem of food waste, while sharing practical recommendations from experts on what we can all do to help solve it.

Tips to combat seasonal affect disorder (SAD). SAD affects millions of Americans every year after daylight savings time ends, suggesting a strong link between your mood and the amount of light you get each day. Symptoms can include anxiety, low physical activity levels, and constant cravings for carbohydrates. Writing for The Conversation, Lina Begdache breaks down the complex connection between SAD and the brain's chemical messengers, why seasonal depression happens, and how simple treatments like exercise, spending time outdoors, and light boxes can combat those winter blues.

Allie Rudin's reads

The brilliance and weirdness of ChatGPT. Since opening to the public for testing last week, a new A.I. chatbot is making an impact. The tool, ChatGPT, was developed by OpenAI and represents the most advanced A.I. ever made available to the serious and silly prompts of internet users. From complex coding problems to hilarious prose, the applications of this tool are surprising and impressive. Writing for the New York Times' "The Shift," Kevin Roose explores the technology and implications of ChatGPT—from ethical quandaries to potential shifts in the labor market.

How to buy the perfect gift for anyone in your life. Who doesn't delight in watching someone smile at a present you thoughtfully selected? But those victories are sometimes hard-won—and you might in this moment be feeling time tick away to find that one tricky gift. Eliza Brooke discovers for Vox's "Even Better" the three qualities that make a great present, according to experts, and offers a guide to approach gift-giving for any recipient.