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Mother’s Day Gift Guide | Serious Eats

Mother’s Day Gift Guide | Serious Eats

Gift Types

Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion

Serious Eats’ former drinks editor Maggie Hoffman has packed this book with 65 terrific make-ahead cocktail recipes. Entertaining guests while serving them libations should be stress-free, and this book makes it so.

Sorghum Syrup

Sorghum syrup is made from the pressed juice of sorghum grass, which grows prominently throughout the American South. This amber-colored syrup has a unique, nutty flavor that’s both sweet and savory. And since the 1960s, the Guenther family of Muddy Pond, Tennessee, has been making some of the best.

KitchenAid Pasta Attachment

This is hands down the KitchenAid attachment I use most often. It takes all of the frustration and fussiness out of making fresh pasta, and, unlike the manual alternatives out there, it’s incredibly easy and efficient to operate on your own. Hello, homemade ravioli!

Cacao Barry Extra Brute Cocoa Powder

It’s almost impossible to find good-quality Dutch cocoa in supermarkets, so make it easy for your favorite baker to whip up the best possible chocolate treats. This cocoa powder is unusually dark, with an earthy chocolate flavor for out-of-control brownies, devil’s food cake, and ice cream.

Pineapple Tumbler

Your mom might already be the ultimate entertainer, but this gift will make her parties even more fun. Sure, you can serve crushed-ice cocktails in a regular old glass, but these shiny pineapple-shaped tumblers really up the ante and make a tiki-themed evening feel special.

Sorghum’s Savor

Kentucky-based writer Ronni Lundy is an expert on the foods and foodways of the Mountain South. In her book Sorghum’s Savor, she explores the history and folklore, and the many uses, of the region’s staple sweetener. Recipes range from fried chicken to sorbet.

Durable 3-Quart Saucier

How do you make perfect caramels, ice cream, gravies, and reductions? A nifty pot called a saucier. The durable stainless steel is cladded with aluminum for even heating, essential for temperamental ingredients like caramel and egg custards. A curved bottom makes whisking a snap (no more lumpy gravy!), and the wide top encourages evaporation for fast sauce reductions. You can buy cheaper versions than this All-Clad saucier, but this is one piece of equipment in which quality really makes a difference.

Le Creuset Wooden Scraping Spoon

I have a problem with wooden spoons. I collect them like nobody’s business. But there are a few I always turn back to, and this one, from Le Creuset, is one of them. It’s gorgeous to look at; it has a flat front, which makes it great for scraping up fond or stirring vegetables; and it’s got a smooth, ergonomic grip that makes using it a joy.

OXO Pop Containers

Not all containers are built the same. OXO’s Pop Containers stack neatly in the cabinet, make it easy to see exactly what’s inside, and have a neat push-button top that forms a perfectly airtight seal, keeping your dry pantry goods fresher for longer.

Colorful Tea Towels

Heavy-duty kitchen towels have a tendency to accrue big, ugly stains. That’s why it’s nice to keep a separate set of more attractive towels for gentle drying, transporting too-hot-to-handle serving dishes, and lining bread baskets. These colorful, summery tea towels instantly brighten any kitchen or tabletop, while still doing a stand-up job at the tasks they were made for.

Terra Cotta Cazuela

Daniel’s owned these terra cotta dishes in several sizes for many years now. They’re attractive enough to go straight from the oven to the table, and versatile enough to be used as baking dishes for cooked foods or as serving dishes for snacks when you’re hosting guests.

Hawker Fare: Stories & Recipes from a Refugee Chef’s Isan Thai & Lao Roots

Hawker Fare is a wonderful introduction to some of the flavors that make Isan and Lao cuisines unique. The recipes are excellent, but what we find so compelling about the book is Syhabout’s story: a refugee who arrived with his family in the United States at the age of two, Syhabout went on to pursue a career in fine-dining. Only after establishing himself did he embark on a personal journey of discovery to find out more about the food of his forebears.

Bangkok: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Thailand

Bangkok is a great gift for anyone who loves cooking Thai food at home and wants to expand their culinary repertoire. It’s a steal for the noodle soups alone, but we particularly enjoy Punyaratabandhu’s seafood recipes, like the pan-fried salted king mackerel steak.

Unicorn Magnum Pepper Mill

I’ll admit it: I’m a pepper mill snob. I need my mill to produce a shower of evenly crushed peppercorns. I want to be able to control the size of those grains, from a rough crush to a fine powder. Not only that, I want my pepper mill to last. With a solid metal burr and a unique easy-to-load design, this is my favorite pepper mill of all time.

The Noma Guide to Fermentation

The hottest new nerdy book of kitchen geekery has to be The Noma Guide to Fermentation by Rene Redzepi and David Zilber. If you know someone who’s mixed koji up with dried fish to make a kind of fish sauce, this is the book for them. Also a good gift for anyone who’s into drying meats or pickling—it details methods and processes that take those hobbies a step further.

Pretty Pinch Bowls

These colorful bowls make setting up your mise en place a little more fun, but they’re also great for bringing extra seasonings to the table, like fennel seeds and pepper flakes for pizza.

OXO Stainless Steel Scraper

A good bench scraper is one of those tools people don’t think they need until they start using it. I use it for everything from transferring chopped vegetables or herbs from one place to another, to portioning dough, to giving my cutting board a quick clean. Next to my chef’s knife, the bench scraper is the tool you’ll see in my hand most often.

Smuggler’s Cove

This remarkable book, from Martin and Rebecca Cate of San Francisco’s Smuggler’s Cove, traces the birth and evolution of exotic drinks and tiki bars—bars that embodied an American escapist fantasy. A lively exploration of our country’s drinking history (and the current tiki scene), it’s essential reading for rum lovers, offering the best categorization we’ve encountered of the head-spinningly diverse spirit. The mai tai recipe is great, too.

Digital Electric Gooseneck Kettle

This is the electric kettle of my coffee-delayed dreams. It has an elegant gooseneck spout that makes pouring a thin, controlled stream easy (very helpful for Chemex and other pourover coffee methods), and a base with controls that allow you to set a specific temperature and hold it there.

Citrus Press

For years, I thought citrus presses were overhyped, absurdly specific, rarely useful, space-consuming, money-wasting gadgets. But it took only one use to see just how wrong I’d been—not only does a citrus press guarantee that you’ll get way more juice out of every lemon and lime you squeeze, but you can say good-bye to stinging papercuts and all those infuriating attempts at pinching slippery stray seeds from your salad dressings and cocktails.

Zingerman’s Gift Certificate

It’s hard to find a better-curated food catalog than Zingerman’s. They are righteous folks, they know seriously delicious food when they come across it, and they sell it at a fair price. Nothing in the catalog is cheap, but then again, good food rarely is. So whether you order cheese or olive oil or bread from Zingerman’s, you can be confident you’re going to be very happy when it arrives at your house.

Dish Towel and Apron in One

Kitchen towels are always welcome in any cook’s kitchen, but these can also double up as a half-apron in a pinch. Plus, they’re of a nice enough quality to show Mom that she didn’t just raise a practical child; she also raised one with an eye for flair.

Cast Iron Skillet

Old cast iron has a perfectly smooth nonstick surface that’s surprisingly easy to maintain. You can sear, bake, roast, braise, stew, and deep-fry in it, and there’s nothing more thoughtful than a gift that you have to expend a bit of effort to find (check out eBay, yard sales, and flea markets). Of course, these modern Lodge pans will do in a pinch if vintage isn’t in the cards.

Tajine

I’ve been lusting after one of these hand-painted ceramic tajines since seeing one in a cookware store a couple years ago. They require some special care, and possibly a heat diffuser to prevent cracking from intense direct heat, but I think they’re worth it just to look at, even if you never cook in them. If you do, a future of flavorful North African stews, presented beautifully at the table, awaits. They also come in a variety of designs and colors, meaning there’s the perfect pick for any home.

Uuni 2S Pizza Oven

There are a lot of custom-designed pizza ovens out there in various price ranges. I haven’t tested all of them, but my favorite so far is the Uuni 2S. It consists of a small stainless steel box with a pizza stone set inside it. You load up a hopper on the rear of the unit with wood pellets, light it up with a torch or lighter fluid, and let it preheat. About 15 minutes later, you’re ready to cook. This little powerhouse hits temperatures in excess of 900°F and bakes up Neapolitan-sized pizzas in just 60 to 90 seconds.

Elizabeth David on Vegetables

Published on what would have been the late British author’s 100th birthday, Elizabeth David’s On Vegetables will teach you how a bag of grocery store onions can be transformed into an unforgettable roasted side dish, and how some fresh shelled peas can yield the most vibrant soup you’ve ever tasted. Filled with recipes that are simple, straightforward, yet often revelatory, this book also features a few of David’s best essays, as well as gorgeous photography.

Paring Knife

Paring knives don’t need to cost a lot to do their job—questions of balance and build quality matter less in a knife that fits almost entirely in the palm of your hand. Of all the ones I tested, this inexpensive blade from Wüsthof came out on top, with a razor-sharp edge and comfortable grip. This is my new go-to paring knife, and I already have several of them at work and home.

Chinese Tea Set With Gaiwan

Do you know someone who’s getting into tea? Like, really into tea? This is the tea set to get for that person. It comes with a traditional Chinese brewing vessel (a gaiwan), a decanter, four tasting cups, and a beautiful wood tea tray with a rack to store all the pieces. At $120, it’s not cheap, but it’s a bargain compared to other well-made tea sets, especially when you consider the high-quality, paper-thin porcelain. For tea lovers looking to dig into tea ceremonies, this set has everything you need.

Presto Tilt-N-Fold Griddle

Presto’s Tilt-n-Fold model is very simple to set up and operate, and it has a compact design that makes it easy to store in kitchen cabinets when not in use. It has a large, smooth, nonstick cooking surface that heats mostly evenly, can be set at an angle to drain grease, and is easy to clean. We love the price, too.

Awesome Chef’s Knife

High-quality Swedish steel and Japanese design, along with great features like a perfectly balanced handle and blade and an ergonomic bolster, make the Misono UX10 Santoku the most-used knife in my arsenal.

Black Matte Dinner Plates

Get these if you want to up your Instagram game! These are the plates we use the most in our photo shoots—the matte texture makes a great surface on which to make any food pop.

Redbreast 15-Year Irish Whiskey

For those who find Scotch too smoky, bourbon too sweet, and rye too spicy, Irish whiskey is the ideal gift. Redbreast emerges from the barrels complex and substantial; some of the whiskey is aged in sherry casks, lending it a weight and dark hue, while some is aged in bourbon casks, imparting characteristic vanilla flavors. There’s a hint of fruit up front and spice on the finish.

Mandoline Slicer

Does your mom love to make fancy salads, crowned with delicate ribbons of carrots? Is she obsessed with serving the perfect potato gratin at holidays meals? There are some kitchen tools that make the difference between amateur-looking food and pro-level stuff. A small mandoline is one of them. This one, from Oxo, is compact, easy to use, and very sharp. It only has three thickness settings, but in my experience, that more than covers most home slicing needs.

Otherland Candle

This handpoured soy-wax candle will look beautiful on your kitchen table— and the scent of Champagne, saffron, and leather, is just fragrant enough to offset any accidental burnt foods that no one needs to know about. Plus, the packaging, which comes with a customizable matchbox makes the candle an impressive (and affordable) gift.

Embossed Rolling Pin

For the baker who has it all, embossed rolling pins can make even the most traditional shortbread seem exciting again. I love this large, open paisley pattern so much, I used it for the cookies on the cover of my book! Its design works well with many styles of dough, so it’s a great starting point before you experiment with pins that have a more intricate pattern.

Recipe Journal

Trying to get your mom to finally write down all those family recipes? This sleek Moleskin journal will get her organized and become a precious family heirloom in the process.

Salt Cellar

Proper seasoning is one of the most important parts of cooking, and if you’re still using plain table salt from (heaven forbid!) a saltshaker, you’re shooting yourself in the food. Using kosher salt from a salt cellar lets you feel exactly how much salt is getting into your food, whether it’s a tiny pinch or a big ol’ wallop.

Liquid Intelligence

Dave Arnold (you might know of his bar, Booker and Dax in NYC) won’t just accept the common assumptions about cocktail technique—his mission in this excellent book is to dig into the science of how the very best drinks are made. This is a must-read for inquisitive types who like to host cocktail hour at home.

Round Griddle

My mom’s signature dish is her homemade lefse, a Norwegian potato flatbread, rolled gauze-thin and cooked on a round griddle at a blazing hot heat. Her old one has finally crapped out after many years of service, and I want to treat her to the best model on the market. If you’re not into the Scandi thing, you can use this griddle to make crepes, injera, or regular old pancakes.

Electric Countertop Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker is a cooking vessel that just keeps on giving: Once you discover the time-saving feats it’s capable of, you’ll never look back. The good ones aren’t cheap, but man, is it ever worth having one. A countertop electric model gives you set-it-and-forget-it convenience. With the Breville Fast Slow Pro Cooker, not only do you have complete control over your pressure cooking (including any pressure level from 1.5 to 12 psi), you also have a slow cooker and a rice cooker built right in. It’ll even sear meat for stews.

The Apprentice

Insightful (and very well-written) memoir by the elder statesman of food and cooking in the United States. From his early memories of picking salad for his mother to his recollection of eating raw clams on a Connecticut pier, the book shows how food is not just a passion or a career; food, for Jacques Pépin, is life.

Rose and Orange Flower Water

Forget flowers, they’ll be dead by the end of the week, but these flower waters will last a lifetime. Mostly. Both rose and orange flower water will last just about forever on the shelf, and just a drop or two is all that’s needed to give any recipe an aromatic boost. Try a splash of rose water with a strawberry or rhubarb dessert, or orange flower water in a classic New York cheesecake, where their gentle perfume can work wonders.

Louie Mueller’s Beef and Jalapeño Sausages

When I had these Texas beef sausages delivered to Serious Eats World Headquarters, people were skeptical. The moment they took their first bite of these supremely juicy links, though, the office became totally silent. Louie Mueller’s beef and jalapeño sausages reduced the entire office to stunned, rapturous silence. And these suckers are so affordable, even with the shipping, that they’re perfect for serving at parties. You just might want to hand out bibs to protect everyone’s shirts. Phone orders only: 512-352-6206.

Meat Cleaver

This meat cleaver has a well-balanced weight, sharp edge, and solid construction—a boon since a lot of more-affordable cleavers like this one feel very cheap and after repeat use get wobbly around the handle.

Marble and Acacia Wood Cake Stand

Like a pretty Bundt pan, a beautiful cake stand has an aesthetic value of its own, even without a cake—but present it with Mom’s favorite cake on top, and it will also be a nice reminder of the day.

Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling

In this book, Meathead Goldwyn, the founder of AmazingRibs.com, distills decades of research on the art and science of barbecue and grilling into a single volume that shows not just the best ways to take food to live fire, but why the techniques work. Far more than a recipe book alone (though there are tons of bulletproof recipes), this text will teach your favorite barbecue lover the hard-tested fundamentals of outdoor cooking, giving them the confidence to cook anything, even without a recipe. The myth-busting and equipment tips alone were enough to get me hooked.

Lewis Bag

If you’re following my advice to buy your Mom some julep cups, you might as well go all the way and grab a canvas Lewis bag as well: It’s used to smash ice into a fine powder with a mallet. Unless, of course, she already owns an ice crusher.

Preserving the Japanese Way

If her first two books are any indication, Nancy Singleton Hachisu is poised to become the Julia Child of traditional Japanese home cooking. In this, her second book, she tackles the deeply fascinating—and even more delicious—world of Japanese preserving. From easy pickles made by packing foods in miso (kabocha squash! eggs! apple pears!) to homemade miso, salt-rubbed vegetables, and air-dried fish, this should be the next frontier in all your home preservation undertakings. I’m getting excited just thinking about it.

Fixed-Cup Spice Grinder

The sleek and minimalist design of the Krups means it’s easy to hold, handle, and store—perfect for anyone tight on space. Even without a removable bowl, cleanup is a cinch because spices never get trapped beneath the blade, and there are no unnecessary ridges or notches to clog with spices. The one-touch operation makes it easy to use, and it quickly yields a fine and consistent grind in both large, tough spices and smaller seeds.

Taketsuru Pure Malt Japanese Whisky

Anyone who appreciates Scotch (or good spirits in general) will embrace Nikka’s exquisite whiskies. The Taketsuru Pure Malt is named for the company’s founder, who studied in Scotland before bringing whisky distilling back to Japan. This bottling has a slight fruity character, with lingering sherry on the finish.

ThermoWorks Thermapen

The Cadillac of kitchen thermometers is indispensable when you’re roasting meat, cooking steaks, making candy, deep-frying, or carrying out any other task where precise temperature control is needed. It’s got a big display and a blazing-fast measuring time of under two seconds—you won’t find a better, easier-to-use thermometer out there.

Simple Coffee Maker

The Bonavita is one of the faster models we tested, and it earned high scores in nearly all of our tastings. A single switch governs all of its operations, making the brewing process incredibly simple.

Fancy Cheese Knives

Spending $50 on cheese knives feels a little silly, especially when a regular knife does the trick just fine. But that’s why they’re the perfect gift—arguably unnecessary, but nonetheless useful, they feel like a real luxury. I’m pretty sure they also raise your “real adult” status by at least 10 points. Especially when they’re these beautifully crafted Dubost Laguiole knives. I like the simplicity of the olivewood handles, but they do come in other colors and styles, with the same high-quality blades.

Be Your Own Bartender

This is a fun, interactive book featuring over a dozen flowcharts to guide you to the perfect drink for every mood and occasion.

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts

Where pastry wizard Stella Parks goes deep on science for Serious Eats, her book BraveTart explores the secret history of iconic American desserts, along with updated recipes for all the classics you know and love. The perfect cookbook for any mom with a sweet tooth.

Wooden Pizza Peel for Launching Pizzas

Wooden peels absorb excess moisture and have a rougher surface than metal, which means that your stretched and topped pizza dough will remain loose and easy to launch far longer, saving you from potential pizza-spilled-all-over-the-oven accidents. Though there are cheaper options around, I love my Perfect Peel Baker’s Board, handcrafted to last a lifetime from gorgeous solid cherrywood. They’ll even put initials or a logo on it if you’d like!

Breville Espresso Machine

If you want to start making legit espresso at home, this machine from Breville is a great investment. We like that it has a built-in burr grinder that will stay set at whatever dosage you’ve decided is best for your shot, as well as an adjustable pre-infusion time. Getting the hang of it—and dialing in—takes a while, but ultimately, the results are impressive.

ThermoWorks ThermoPop

In the inexpensive-thermometer department, the ThermoPop comes in an impressive package. An easy-to-read display rotates at the touch of a button, so you don’t have to twist your head to read it. It takes a few seconds longer to read temperatures than its big brother, the Thermapen, but it’s every bit as accurate.

Korean Fermenter Crock

These fermentation crocks come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but they all have the same smart design: An inner lid can be pressed down against the surface of the brine, ensuring the vegetables remain submerged (and thus don’t rot), while the lids lock into place to keep bugs out.

Carbon Steel Omelette Pan

A good carbon steel has many of the qualities that make cast iron great—it’s durable, it forms a completely nonstick surface if cared for properly, and it’s inexpensive—but it’s lighter and easier to maneuver, making it great for sautéing and searing everyday foods.

GelPro Floor Mat

If you love to cook and host parties, you’ll know that a lot of prep time is spent on your feet. Why not make at least the cooking part a bit more comfortable with one of these gel mats? It’ll provide some nice cushion under your feet, so when it’s time to put on your party shoes, you’ll be ready.

Snowe Flatware

Functional, but with an elegant twist: The width of the forks and spoons is just slightly smaller than that of your standard set, and they feel slightly longer in the hand. This set is a good and long-lasting upgrade to those starter Ikea sets.

Anova Precision Cooker

Sous vide cooking—cooking foods in vacuum-sealed pouches in precisely controlled water baths—is no longer the exclusive preserve of fancy restaurant kitchens. The Anova Precision Cooker is the best home water bath controller on the market, with an easy-to-use interface, Bluetooth support, rock-solid construction, a sleek look, and an affordable price tag to boot.

Recchiuti’s Chocolate Mendiants

These thin chocolate disks have a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth texture and a complex, pleasantly fruity bitterness. But it’s the scattered cacao nibs on top that take them from memorable to exceptional. The crunchy bits of bean are toasty and flavorful in their own right, but Recchiuti goes the extra mile, tossing them in caramel and fleur de sel for a brightly salty-sweet finish that electrifies each bite.

All-Clad Two-Quart Saucepan

This small 2-quart saucepan is perfect for making and warming sauces, cooking small portions of grain, and heating liquids.

Brooklyn Bartender

If you know someone who has a taste for a well-made cocktail, but lives far from the heart of the Brooklyn drinking scene, this book is the perfect gift. It features 300 innovative and classic drink recipes from the best bars of the borough; every cocktail we’ve tried from it so far has been killer. The drinks Carey Jones has selected aren’t dumbed down at all, but, for the most part, you’re not looking at mile-long ingredient lists, either.

Charcuterie

Ruhlman and Polcyn do a great job of demystifying one of the more abstruse cooking arts, and, while charcuterie may seem daunting, it can be gratifyingly easy. Start simple, with the pancetta, confit, rillettes, and duck prosciutto, and you’ll find yourself with a mold-inoculated curing chamber in no time.

Bourbon-Soaked Cherries

An ideal gift for any Manhattan, cherry, or all-around whiskey lover. These cherries trade the cloying sweetness of maraschinos for the boozy bass notes of great whiskey. Use them in your go-to whiskey cocktail, or to top a favorite dessert.

An Everlasting Meal

We don’t know if there’s a book about cooking that we’ve thought about more than this one by Tamar Adler, a former Chez Panisse cook who was once an editor at Harper’s Magazine. It’s about cooking simply, and enjoying the simple meals that naturally follow from thinking about your ingredients in cycles. We forget, sometimes, that the leftover stems from blanched broccoli are wonderful cooked with olive oil and piled on toast; that their cooking liquid could be the base of a soup; that the stems of greens like Swiss chard and kale make a lovely pesto. She reminds us that stale bread can make something delicious and that yesterday’s bean broth could be the start of a pasta dish today. This book sends the valuable message that dinner doesn’t always need to be a big deal.

Paleta Iberico de Bellota

The best ham on earth doesn’t come cheap, but this is the caviar of pork: jamón ibérico puro de bellota, from purebred Ibérico pigs raised on acorns for a ham that’s nutty and sweet, with meltingly soft fat.

Dansk Kobenstyle 2-Quart Casserole

A few months back, Kristina’s mom stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted a pair of Dansk Kobenstyle pots in the window of a cookware store in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. “Can you imagine doing a fondue party out of one of those?” she squealed. If there’s one thing Kristina’s mom loves, it’s a themed party, especially one with cheese involved. And Kristina has to agree that these little guys are perfect for all your entertaining needs—they look great on a table, and the lid doubles as a trivet to protect surfaces while you’re serving.

Metal Pizza Peel for Retrieving Pizzas

Wooden pizza peels are too thick to easily slide under a pie once it’s hit the oven. For that, you’ll want a thin-bladed metal peel. Basic models made of thin-gauge aluminum, like this Kitchen Supply peel, are just fine for the occasional baker, but they’ll bend and warp eventually. If you’re going to be making pizza multiple times a year for many years to come, you might want to spring for something a little more heavy-duty. I use the KettlePizza Pro Peel, which has a thick-gauge aluminum body that extends fully past the solid teakwood handle.

Pistachio Spread

Since first getting his hands on a jar of this pistachio spread, Sasha hasn’t shut up about it. Made from Sicilian pistachios, olive oil, sugar, and sea salt, it’s sweet, slightly salty, incredibly creamy, and just flat-out delicious. While it’s not cheap, this is one of those specialty products that are actually worth the price tag, and it makes a great gift. Spread it on bread, drizzle it over ice cream, or just eat it by the spoonful straight from the jar.

Smeg Toaster

After years of putting up with a cheap toaster that I picked up at the supermarket, I recently upgraded to this super fancy Italian job in cool mint. It’s sleek design and soothing pastel color transform the kitchen’s most boring appliance into a statement piece, and it really does a good job with the toast itself. Plus, I mean, it’s really dang pretty. If nothing else, you owe it to yourself to read this toaster’s priceless reviews.

Frankies 457 Olive Oil

Fancy olive oil always makes a good gift, but there’s a difference between fancy olive oil and good fancy olive oil. The house oil from Frankies 457 Sputino in Brooklyn is delicious (i.e. great on fresh bread and in dishes), is DOC cerified, and comes in a chic tin that prevents the light from spoiling the product.

Vietnamese Food Any Day

An eloquent ambassador for Vietnamese cuisine whose recipes are always reliable, Andrea Nguyen is one of our favorite cookbook authors. Vietnamese Food Any Day educates the reader about a variety of Vietnamese techniques and provides recipes that are eminently cookable—part of Nguyen’s goal with this book was to avoid calling for any esoteric or hard-to-find ingredients, so each and every recipe can be made with items that are easily found at a large grocery store.

Pretty Carving Board

What’s the point of perfectly roasting that turkey or prime rib if you don’t have a pretty surface to carve it on? I love this teak cutting board because it’s large enough for major projects, but lighter than thicker boards, making it easy to move from the kitchen to the dining room. It’s made from scraps of larger teak products, making this cutting board a good environmental choice as well.

Marble Pastry Slab

With their smooth surface and cool temperature, marble pastry slabs are a baker’s best friend. They’re great for rolling out pie crusts, laminating doughs, and tempering chocolate—plus, this one’s pretty enough (albeit heavy) to use as a serving platter.

Mortar and Pestle

A large mortar and pestle is one of the most underutilized kitchen tools. Not only is it faster than a spice grinder for small amounts of dry spices (particularly when it comes to cleaning), it draws out more flavor by crushing rather than shearing. It’s also the perfect tool for making pastes out of moist ingredients, like herbs, garlic, and shallots.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker

I tested dozens of stovetop pressure cookers before settling on Kuhn Rikon’s Duromatic. It has a heavy sandwiched-aluminum-and-steel base that gives you even heat, and a pressure gauge that makes telling exactly how much pressure has built up inside visual and intuitive.

Collapsible Freezer Lunch Bags

I don’t really consider myself a lunch-bag person, but when I have something cold to transport, there’s only one carrying case I reach for. These PackIt cooler bags come in a variety of sizes and styles, and all of them can be collapsed and chilled in the freezer overnight to provide refrigerator-level temperatures for a 12-hour period. I use mine most for bringing beers to the park or beach, or transporting raw meat to barbecues and campsites.

Ceramic Utensil Crock

To store tools like spatulas and whisks, a good old-fashioned crock will do the trick. We like this ceramic one, which looks extra pretty on the counter. Keep it right next to your stove so your most-used tools will be at an arm’s length whenever you need them.

Now & Again: Go-To Recipes, Inspired Menus + Endless Ideas for Reinventing Leftovers

This cookbook by Julia Turshen, author of Small Victories and Feed the Resistance, is full of simple, delicious meals for everyday eating, parties, and holidays. Better yet, each one includes a bunch of suggestions for how to remake it as leftovers. It’s a trove of great, creative ideas, and a must for any bookworm.

Wine Tote

This customizable (and monogrammable!) tote plus a bottle of Sancerre will make any wine drinker’s day.

Donabe Cookbook

This cookbook has been my guide to learning how to use my donabe cooker, and thus far it hasn’t let me down. It offers a wide range of recipes to help give you an idea of just how many one-pot dishes can be made using a donabe, plus background on the history and variety of donabe cookers.

Miracle-Gro Twelve Indoor Growing System

After previously lauding Aerogardens for how easy they make it to grow herbs at home (and how having a constant supply of fresh herbs has changed her cooking), Ariel’s upgraded to this larger system from Miracle-Gro. The increased size—it’s about as big as a side table—and bright lights allow you to grow a bounty of lettuces, herbs, and other greens, and you can program the app to turn the lights off and on according to your schedule. An expensive but excellent gift for anyone who loves fresh produce and fears their own black thumbs.

Granite Mortar and Pestle

With both parts made of rock-solid granite, the Thai mortar and pestle is (literally) a heavy hitter, and arguably the most versatile type of large mortar and pestle you can own. Its heft and weight, especially when combined with the stone-on-stone action that the all-granite build provides, make it ideal for one of its intended uses: making a Thai curry paste.

Baratza Virtuoso Coffee Grinder

Baratza’s Virtuoso coffee grinder is routinely picked by pros as the home grinder to beat and for good reason: Its well-made conical burrs produce a wide range of grind sizes, the results are consistent, the machine is solidly built from both metal and plastic, and it’s all backed up by good customer service.

Le Creuset Stoneware Rectangular Dish

When fall and winter roll around, I start thinking about rich, comforting casseroles, which means that these stoneware baking dishes get pulled out, filled, and popped into the oven at least once a week. They’re great-looking on the table and provide gentle, even cooking all around for really nice, crisp edges on your lasagna.

Acaia Pearl Coffee Scale

Coffee geeks will have a lot of fun with this coffee scale. It pairs with a smartphone through Bluetooth, and an accompanying app helps walk you through the brewing processes, like pourover and French press, calculating bean-to-water ratios and brew times. It can handle customization, so with each successive batch, you can really dial in on the variables to make the cup that tastes best to you. It can also be used as a basic kitchen scale with a maximum weight of two kilograms (about four and a half pounds), so it’s versatile beyond its primary purpose.

Messermeister Knife Case

Most professional cooks own a knife bag so they can tote their knives around from one job to another. But knife bags can be really useful storage options, as well. They’re compact, they can hold many knives, and they can be moved around as needed, which means you don’t necessarily need to have a dedicated knife drawer as long as you can find somewhere safe to stash your knives.

World’s Fair Barbecue Rub

Ariel discovered this spice mix 11 years ago, and it’s still one of her favorite things to give as a gift. It’s a perfect blend of everyday ingredients (shallots, garlic, paprika, and sea salt), but with unusual flavor notes from grains of paradise. She buys it by the pound to dump on meat, seafood, and even eggs, but you can start by picking it up a reasonably sized jar or bag.

The One-Bottle Cocktail

Organized by spirit—vodka, gin, agave, rum, brandy, and whiskey—with an additional section devoted to specific seasons and occasions, The One-Bottle Cocktail makes it easy to figure out how to polish off that lingering liter of rum and is guaranteed to expand your cocktail repertoire for your go-to bottle. It does so by forging surprising, nuanced, eminently sippable flavors from commonplace liquors and fresh fruits, herbs, and other seasonal ingredients, as well as vinegars, spices, and sodas. This is the kind of book that every home cocktail-maker should keep on their shelf.

Big Ice Cube Tray

If you like your whiskey with a giant ice cube, then you’ll really be into Mammoth Cubes—unlike ice cube trays from current competitor brands, these make eight cubes (not six) and are actually stackable, so they don’t require a section unto themselves in your freezer.

Joe Beef: Surviving the Apocalypse

This is a book for people who like to live extra large, and by that we mean people who are intrigued enough by the microwaved foie gras recipe to consider trying it some day. It’s a text that espouses an eating- and cooking-philosophy as much as it is a collection of recipes.

Small Baking Steel Griddle

These days, I keep this solid slab of steel permanently atop one of the burners of my stove. One side has a pebbled surface—ideal for getting extra-crisp, better-than-a-baking-stone crust on homemade pizzas. And, unlike a baking stone, this thing is going to last forever. The griddle arrives as shiny steel, but with just a few uses, it seasons up into a dark, slick nonstick surface that can be used for everything from pancakes to eggs to hamburgers to grilled cheese.

Joule Sous Vide Circulator

The ChefSteps Joule is the smallest circulator on the market. It’s sleek, compact design fits in a drawer and it heats quickly and accurately. It has the advantage of the ChefSteps community and legacy content built into its app, though its one downside is that it requires a smartphone or tablet along with a registered account to operate.

Buvette

Manhattan chef Jody Williams’s Buvette: The Pleasure of Good Food is as charming and inviting as the restaurant that inspired it. This is a book to get greasy and damp as you cook through its pages, and it’s a nightstand read, dreamy and warm, to flip through as you wind down. Channeling a traditional French bistro, with a bit of Italy and a touch of New York thrown in, the recipes are classics, both inspirational and totally doable. Some are so simple that they hardly count as recipes at all—they’re more like suggestions for how to better your day with a plate of food, from breakfast through dessert after a lingering, late-night supper. Perfect for your impossibly, effortlessly stylish friend.

Culinary Coloring Book

I’ve long been a fan of Jessie Kanelos Weiner’s vivid and imaginative watercolors—she’s done the art for several of our stories. But when Weiner released Edible Paradise: An Adult Coloring Book of Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables, I discovered a new affinity for her work. See, like many children, I grew up with coloring books. But, unlike most adults, I continue to buy them—and fill them—to this day. For that I can thank my mother, a licensed art therapist who has long promoted the pastime as a therapeutic outlet. Far from pushing a think-inside-the-box mentality, coloring provides a healthy space for self-expression and experimentation. And, for those who enjoy it, coloring can leave you with a profound sense of zen-like relaxation and accomplishment. Weiner’s fanciful landscapes are organized by season; they’re a riot of vegetation, edible plant life, and tantalizing market scenes. They’ll encourage your mom to paint (or pencil) the town red—in any colors she likes.

Anchovy Colatura

If you want to give the gift of umami, you owe it to your intended recipient to check out this aged Italian fish sauce. Hailing from the town of Cetara on the Amalfi Coast, colatura is made by aging anchovies and sea salt in chestnut barrels for roughly three years, producing a rich, deeply savory fish sauce that can be used as a flavor enhancer for meats, fish, or vegetables. Or, try it as the star of the show in spaghetti con la colatura.

Noodle Basket

If you make a fair amount of noodle soups at home, particularly for multiple people, you should pick up a couple of these baskets. (They’re also great for blanching small quantities of vegetables.) The baskets are cheap yet sturdy, and they’re smaller than a lot of the fancier ones out there, so they’ll fit in pots that are more home kitchen–sized.

Misono UX10 Chef’s Knife

A deft and nimble blade, Misono’s UX10 is one of the lightest-weight knives we tested. It’s razor-sharp right out of the box and handled every task we threw at it with ease, dicing an onion as if it were as soft as a blob of Jell-O and making paper-thin slices of smoked salmon as if the knife were a true slicer.

R. Murphy Duxbury Oyster Knife

I’ve used many, many oyster knives in my life, and the R. Murphy Duxbury knife is my hands-down favorite. It has a fat, grippy handle that’s easy to wield, and a short blade that tapers to a point and always manages to find the sweet spot on an oyster’s hinge. Pop! The slightly sharpened blade edges make slicing through the muscle and removing the top shell as smooth as butter.

Mercer Serving Bowl

With a neutral color and simple silhouette, this serving bowl is versatile enough to complement any table setting. It’s also big enough to accommodate a big salad or crowd-sized portion of stew.

Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking

I’ve never been to Zahav, the Philadelphia restaurant where Michael Solomonov serves his Israeli cuisine, but its namesake book has nevertheless changed the way I cook. His recipe for tahini sauce, which includes a novel technique for incorporating garlic and lemon, is alone worth the price of admission. I’ve loved the Yemenite beef soup (and the accompanying hot sauce), his wide focus on vegetarian-friendly dishes, and a host of homemade condiments that will elevate almost any meal, even if you don’t follow full recipes from the book.

Diaspora Co. Turmeric

This turmeric is as bright as a bar of gold, with a lovely, sleek label to match. Apart from the high-quality turmeric and nice packaging, the spice comes with a feel-good story: Diaspora Co. is run by queer women of color, and each jar purchased puts a much-higher-than-average amount of money back into the turmeric farmer’s hands.

Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking

Hoping to familiarize yourself with Jamaican food beyond jerk chicken and curried goat? Want to learn more about the evolution of Caribbean cuisine? Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking is the book for you. Suzanne and Michelle Rousseau share 150 bright and exciting vegetarian recipes inspired by the women who first taught the two sisters to cook. The recipes are accompanied by gorgeous photos, and a thorough history of Caribbean foodways. It’s an inspiring—and delicious—ode to the women who make Caribbean food great.

Fancy Glass Pitcher

I actually received this classic Waterford pitcher as a wedding gift, and my mom’s been eyeing it enviously ever since. I can’t say I blame her—it’s become a workhorse in my home. When I’m not using it to decant wine, it’s hard at work serving cocktails, ice water, and juices. And in between any special occasion, you can drop in some fresh flowers and use it as a vase.

D’Artagnan Porcelet Shoulder

It can be hard to find skin-on, bone-in pork shoulders for roasting, but luckily D’Artagnan has got us all covered with their fantastic porcelet shoulder. We think everyone should ditch the tired holiday spiral ham this year, and slow-roast a milk-fed piglet shoulder instead. We promise it won’t disappoint.

Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food

Beautiful photos accompany Nik Sharma’s impressive recipes. The best of the bunch embody the kind of inventive cuisine that draws from multiple cultures to produce dishes that can only be described as emphatically, joyously American, like the roasted carrots with sesame, caraway, chili, and nori. Great for cooks looking for inspiration yet still hopelessly devoted to classic, comforting dishes.

Staub Heritage Baking Dish

It can be easy to brush off appearances as unimportant, but tableside presentation is a big part of a baking dish’s appeal. If you want excellent performance combined with a handsome and classic design that will look great on your holiday table (or on your Instagram account), Staub is your best bet. This heavyweight dish heats evenly in the oven at temperatures up to 575°F (300°C) and has great heat retention, keeping food hotter longer when you’re serving. The generous four-quart capacity is ideal for large roasts and extra-deep casseroles.

Pedra Artisan Oval Platter

A large platter is a must-have for any household, especially during the holiday season. This oval platter has high enough sides to accommodate saucier dishes, while the gray-and-white hand-glazed finish gives it a one-of-a-kind feel.

Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread

Marco Colzani is a great Italian bean-to-bar chocolate maker, with a number of excellent products under his brand, Amaro. But it’s his spreads that have Ed addicted, particularly the Cacao Nocciole, or hazelnut-and-chocolate variety. Imagine a Nutella-like substance, but made with the freshest roasted hazelnuts and extra-chocolaty high-quality cocoa powder. It’s a lot to pay for a small jar, but my guess is that your mom is worth it, and more.

Wusthof Classic Chef’s Knife

If you’re dead set on a traditional German knife profile—characterized by a more curved blade that’s bigger and heavier than the Japanese options—the Wüsthof Classic continues to be a stalwart. It weighs more than most of the other knives tested, giving it a solid and sturdy feel, but it still handles well and has a sharp edge.

Wine Fridge

Take it from us: Living in hot urban apartments makes storing age-worthy wines nearly impossible, unless you don’t mind risking the life of a pricey Burgundy by putting it through years of extreme temperature swings. Anyone with an interest in building even a modest collection of special-occasion bottles should get a wine fridge. It’s a small investment that protects your real investment.

The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South

A wonderful gift for anyone who is interested in history, food, the history of food, and this terribly flawed but nonetheless beautiful thing we call America.

Plenty More

Plenty More highlights the versatility of vegetables with 120 inventive plant-based recipes. It takes a degree of commitment to cook through this book—many, though not all, of Ottolenghi’s recipes require extra time spent sourcing unusual ingredients or toiling in the kitchen—but the reward is food that is enigmatic and downright dazzling. The ideal gift for anyone who thinks vegetables are boring, and for those who know they’re not.

Chetna’s Healthy Indian

Chetna’s Healthy Indian is a bright, colorful ode to Indian home cooking. Written by Chetna Makan, an avid home cook and semifinalist on The Great British Baking Show, it offers an array of quick, wonderfully flavorful recipes. From a simple green bean, coconut, and tamarind salad to fish wrapped in floral banana leaf, this cookbook has something for everyone.

Jerusalem

One of the best cookbook gateways into Middle Eastern cuisine—an obsessive and personalized exploration of the many cultures and traditions that make up Jerusalem’s culinary world. What will you find here? A recipe for the best hummus of your life, for starters; messy-beautiful dips and salads; and the delicately spiced soups, grains, and vegetables Yotam Ottolenghi has become famous for.

Julep Cups

I don’t often recommend single-function items, but for the cocktail enthusiast, a couple of julep cups really are fun to have. There’s nothing like holding that metal cup frosted with ice on a blisteringly hot summer day—glass just doesn’t pull the effect off in the same way. If your Mom doesn’t have an ice crusher, check out my Lewis bag suggestion as well.

Serving bowl

There’s no such thing as too many serving bowls, and this simple two-tone piece goes with virtually everything. At 11.5 inches across, it’s the perfect size for mom’s favorite side dishes; in my house, it’s go-to for salads, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes, and pasta.

Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Heritage Bundt Pan

A Bundt pan is essentially a functional sculpture that can spruce up an open kitchen shelf quite nicely, even if it never gets any use. Give one to the baker (or bakeware admirer) in your life, and, as long as you promise shared cake, I’m sure you’ll be allowed to borrow it any time.

Fish Scaler

A hefty weight and a narrow head design make this an extremely efficient fish scaler. I’ve used it on smallish porgies, bigger black sea bass and fluke, and just about everything in between. It’s a significant improvement over the clamshell I used to use, and something about its design reduces the spray of scales.

Donabe Cooker

I got one of these traditional Japanese clay pots for my birthday this year, and it’s quickly become an obsession. Not only can you cook perfect plain rice in it every time, it doubles as a vessel for flavorful one-pot stews and hot pots, and an infinite variety of noodle and rice dishes. Anyone interested in Japanese home cooking should have one.

All-Clad Immersion Blender

A high-speed hand blender is great for whipping up silky soups and purées, making emulsions like mayonnaise and Hollandaise, or smoothing out sauces, all right in the pot. No need to dirty up an extra blender jar!

Vacuum Sealer

Know someone who’s interested in sous vide cooking? They’re gonna want this. And it’s handy for way more than just sous vide cooking. A vacuum sealer makes it really easy to save meats or other foods in the freezer, and it keeps air (read: freezer burn) off it all. The Oliso sealer uses a unique resealable-bag system, which means far less wasted plastic than a conventional cut-and-seal vacuum sealer.

An Amazing Bottle of Rum

Drinking Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Rum—with its dark caramel and vanilla on first whiff, and its rich and velvety-smooth feel as you sip—is like drinking a crème brûlée, but with a long, dry finish. Add an ice cube if you must, but it’s really worth it to give it a try without first.

All About Braising

Winter is all about slow-cooked braised dishes, and Molly Stevens’s text is the bible on the subject. Stevens first devotes dozens of pages to discussing the equipment and technique behind braising in incredible detail. Then she provides unfussy but impressive-sounding recipes to make the most of your newfound braising skills. A little hint: The vegetable recipes are some of the best.

Flavor King Pluot Jam

There are a lot of artisanal jams out there, some good and some grossly overpriced. Though I’ve tasted hundreds of them, I still haven’t had any as good as those made by Oakland’s June Taylor, who has been making what she calls “conserves” out of superb Northern California produce for more than 25 years now. The Dapple Dandy pluot conserve tastes like you’re taking a bite out of the juiciest pluot in the world, with just enough acidity to offset the sweetness.

Baratza Encore Coffee Grinder

There’s a lot to be said for Baratza’s entry-level Encore grinder, which comes in a lighter-weight, all-plastic housing. It packs the same motor as the more expensive Virtuoso, and it includes a slightly less effective burr set that grinds nearly as well as—and slightly more slowly than—the Virtuoso. Also worth knowing is you can upgrade the burr set in the Encore to the one made for the Virtuoso, if you do ever end up feeling like the Encore isn’t quite cutting it.

The Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook

While you certainly can make dumplings on your own, it’s always better (and more fun) with company. Give your mom the gift of this amazing compendium of dumpling recipes, along with a promise to join her in the kitchen for a good old-fashioned dumpling party.

Espresso Cups

Pretty espresso cups make a nice hostess gift and stocking stuffer on their own for coffee fiends. But when they’re Le Creuset, they’re even better—mostly because everything from the French heritage brand is aesthetically pleasing and built to last. Oh, and these cups might be the most affordable Le Creuset pieces on the market. So, if you want in on the trend for a moderate price, they make a good starter item.

Ultra-Deep Cake Pans

Whether you’re baking cakes from scratch or from a mix, giving the batter more room to grow will minimize doming, for thicker, more level layers. Light, reflective metal also minimizes browning to keep the cake crust delicate and pale. Because the pans are nonreactive, they can also be used with poke cakes that involve acidic liquids, like lemon juice.

Louie Mueller’s Brisket

Brisket is Texas’s best-known contribution to barbecue culture, and, though you can now get slow-smoked brisket in just about every major American city, you still need to go to the source to get brisket so good it will make you cry. But if you can’t make it to Texas, ordering Louie Mueller’s brisket is the next best thing. The Muellers have been smoking brisket since 1949. The key here? They ship the whole brisket, which means you get plenty of the critically important fatty half. Why is it critically important? Because we all know that fat is flavor. Phone orders only: 512-352-6206.

Elegant (But Dishwasher-Safe) Wine Glasses

These wine glasses feel fancy enough for an elegant dinner party—and you can throw them in the dishwasher after, which is a pretty rare attribute. Their sturdy construction means you (or your giftee) can expect to hang on to these for several years.

MAC Professional Santoku Knife

This santoku from MAC’s professional line is an absolute pleasure to use, no matter the task. It’s lightweight, well balanced, sharp as can be, and comfortable to hold. It made perfect carrot cuts, broke down a chicken with ease, and filleted a whole fish as if it were a fish-shaped block of butter.

Good Kitchen Shears

A good pair of kitchen shears is one of those things that are hard to appreciate until you have them. Sure, there are all the obvious uses, like opening food packages with a snip and cutting up poultry, but that’s just the start. Take another look at those things. Yes, that’s right, they’re also a nutcracker. Aha, yup, and a bottle opener. Did you see the flathead screwdriver built into them? Handy, right? Oh, they can also be used to unscrew stubborn jar tops. They’re way more than just a pair of scissors. Plus, the two blades come fully apart, so you can wash them really well—no icky chicken juice hiding in the recesses. Isn’t avoiding salmonella poisoning a gift worth giving?

The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science

A New York Times best-seller! The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, by J. Kenji López-Alt, is his column by the same name on this very website, blown up to 900-plus pages (and seven-plus pounds) of concentrated culinary science. Gorgeous color photos, detailed how-tos, and elaborate explainers cover ingredients, technique, gear, and the secrets of the universe underneath it all. May include puns.

Chef’s Press

If you love beautifully seared steaks, golden-brown grilled cheese sandwiches, and crispy-skinned fish and poultry, this is a great thing to have in your kitchen. Chef’s presses help you get even contact between ingredients and your skillet. They’re vented, so you won’t accidentally steam your food, and they’re stackable, so you can get a couple for weighing down heftier items.

Extra-Large Silicone Ice Cube Tray

Souper Cubes is the brainchild of two Serious Eaters, Michelle and Jake, who wanted to develop a better way to portion and freeze soups, stocks, and stews. The food-grade silicone mold features four one-cup cube molds, perfect for meal-prepping and stocking up on winter warmers for the long, cold months ahead.

Effie’s Oatcakes

They may not come in the most festive or glamorous packaging, but you can’t go wrong with Effie’s Oatcakes. Buttery, crumbly, nutty, and salty-sweet, they’re insanely addictive. Case in point: I’ve eaten three in the last 10 minutes. My advice? Purchase them in bulk so you can gift a few backages and hoard the rest for yourself.

Egg Cups

Any mom who loves soft-boiled eggs deserves the perfect cup to eat them from. These sturdy stoneware Le Creuset cups come in a range of beautiful colors. They’re totally classic, which is a good thing because they’ll also last for generations to come.

Modified Martini Glasses

Ah, martini glasses: so angular and sexy, so prone to making me look like a drunk as I struggle to keep a generously poured beverage within their confines. The traditional wide bowl, delicate stem, and sharply sloping sides are meant to enhance the botanical aromas of the gin, keep the drink frosty-cold, and provide a comfortable wall for a cocktail pick to lean against, respectively—but in practice, all those features feel like bugs for clumsy-fingered folk like me. So I sought out a design that wrapped up those attributes in a more user-friendly package, and discovered this lovely set of glasses. The broad mouth remains, but the conical shape has been softened and the stem fattened (which, if I’m being honest, will make me all the more inclined to actually use that stem instead of clutching the bowl for dear life). Got no space for uni-tasking glassware? These double nicely as pretty dessert dishes.

Portable Kitchen Timer

I can’t tell you how many times I burn bread crumbs or forget about the nuts I’m toasting in the oven. At least, I used to. That was all before I got myself a couple of these easy-to-use, loud kitchen timers that I can hang around my neck, so I never forget about something in the kitchen, even if I leave the room.

Vitamix Blender

Oh, man, do I love my Vitamix. Whether I’m making super-quick smoothies or the creamiest, smoothest purées and soups imaginable, the Vitamix is unparalleled in its power. Best gift I’ve ever received (thanks, dear!).

Tacos: Recipes and Provocations

My good friend Jordana Rothman cowrote this thoughtful ode to tacos with Chef Alex Stupak, and it’s a must-have for any Mom ready to take a deep dive into corn, masa, tortillas, and everything—modern and traditional—you can stuff into them.

Heilala Vanilla Extract

This is one of the more complex vanillas Stella’s come across. It has the same grassy, vegetal aroma of a freshly split vanilla bean with a flavor that’s both earthy and deep. It’s a double fold vanilla, which means you can get away with using half as much in your favorite recipes—something worth remembering when you consider the cost.

Stainless Steel Food Scale With Pull-Out Display

A good digital scale is an essential tool for bakers or home charcuterie makers. The OXO Food Scale comes with an easy-to-clean, removable stainless steel weighing surface; great accuracy and precision; and a backlit pull-out display to make measuring easy, even for large or unwieldy items.

Ice Cream Maker

Homemade ice cream tastes better than almost anything you can buy in a store, and it’s a snap to make. This ice cream maker, from Cuisinart, is all the gear you need: an easy-to-use workhorse that makes delicious ice cream every time. The simple construction means that there are few moving parts to break, and the wide mouth at the top makes it easy to add mix-ins and scoop out your ice cream when it’s at its fresh, creamy best.

6-Quart Instant Pot

The Instant Pot Duo60 is a fantastic value and performed almost as well as the top pick among countertop pressure cookers we tested. It’s easy to use, the company has a reputation for great customer service, and there’s an avid and helpful community of users online to boot.

Mixing Glass

This hand-blown and -etched mixing glass from Japan looks stunning on a bar cart and even better in action, whether you’re stirring a Negroni, a Martini, or a Manhattan. Mixing glasses made from two parts joined together sometimes split at the seam, but this version, made in one piece with a beaker-like spout, can stand up to heavy use.

Bread Knife

When I tested bread knives earlier this year, I was absolutely blown away by the cutting quality of Tojiro’s bread knife. It surpassed every other serrated knife I tested, cutting beautifully clean slices of even the most tender bread, and making quick, neat work of ripe tomatoes. It’s a must-have as far as I’m concerned.

Pasta by Hand: A Collection of Italy’s Regional Hand-Shaped Pasta

No pasta machine? No problem. This book is devoted to the art of handcrafted Italian dumplings, from yeasty spindle-shaped cecamariti to classic gnocchi to golden-brown parallelograms of deep-fried crescentine. If the adage “practice makes perfect” fills your mom with excitement rather than dread, this is the kind of book that will make her utterly determined to prevail.

Pastry Tips for Decorating

This epic set of stainless steel pastry tips is perfect for the home baker with professional-grade aspirations…or the food-enthused, arts-and-craftsy Mom in your life. With this kit in hand, nothing but practice stands between her and gorgeous piped flowers, leaves, stars, and beyond.

Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto

If you’re looking to give your mom the one definitive primer on pasta-making in its myriad forms, this is it: Superlative step-by-step photographs take the guesswork out of potentially intimidating fundamentals like mixing and kneading dough, as well as more intricate tasks, like pleating teardrops of corn- and cheese-stuffed culurgiònes. Better yet, Vetri arms you with the tools and knowledge that allow for controlled, intelligent experimentation and exploration before sending you into the fray.

Blade Protectors

At a certain point, you need to give up on proper knife storage and just think safety: How can I toss this knife into a drawer and not cut myself on it later when fishing around for matches? The answer is blade guards. It’s smart to put them on knives in a knife bag, but they’re also essential if you’re keeping any knives in a place where they’re free to bang around—they’ll protect the blade edges and you.

AeroGarden Harvest

Cooking with fresh herbs makes every recipe better. Cooking with fresh herbs that you grew all by yourself makes life better. The AeroGarden takes the guesswork out of growing herbs inside, with an automated light to keep your parsley and thyme thriving and weekly reminders for water and nutrients. Just prepare yourself for epic amounts of basil.

Baking Steel

I’ve cracked my way through quite a few baking stones. With the Baking Steel—a solid sheet of steel designed to replace a baking stone—that’s a thing of the past. Not only will it last forever, but, with superior thermal properties, it produces the best pizza crusts I’ve ever seen in a home oven.

Pizza Wheel

When it comes to portioning pizza, a knife simply won’t cut it. At least, not if you don’t want to drag cheese and toppings all over the place. For my money, nothing beats a traditional pizza wheel.

Best All-Around Pepper Mill

On more than one occasion, I’ve been tempted to try out the cool new pepper mill on the block, but none of the ones I’ve used have held up over time. That’s why I’ve settled on a good old classic, a wooden Peugeot pepper mill. The steel burrs last and deliver whatever grind I want, from fine-as-silt to chunky and coarse.

Straight-Sided Sauté Pan

When my little sister first moved out and started cooking on her own, this straight-sided sauté pan from All-Clad was the first gift I sent to her. It has a wide, flat base for searing off big batches of meat, and high sides so you can braise, stew, or simmer several meals’ worth of food directly in it. It’s the ideal vessel for stove-to-oven dishes like this Braised Chicken With White Beans, or a one-pot pasta dish like our Macaroni and Beef. Versatile and robust, it makes comfort food all the more comforting.

The Chili Cookbook

This isn’t just a chili cookbook. Robb Walsh digs deep into the beloved dish’s ancestry, tracing threads through Mexico City, San Antonio, and Santa Fe—as you might expect—but also Hungary, Greece, and the Canary Islands (off the coast of North Africa). Walsh is one of food writing’s best storytellers, so the book is satisfying even if you never whip out your Dutch oven and get cooking. You should, though: The fascinating tale is best enjoyed with a big bowl of chile con carne. (Walsh’s recipe from El Real in Houston is killer.)

Espro Press P5

Thanks to a few simple innovations in the filter and beaker design, this French press fixes some of the brewing device’s biggest drawbacks. The result is a cleaner batch of coffee that won’t accidentally over-steep.

The One True Barbecue

Race relations, religion, the New South versus the Old: These are just a smattering of the heavy issues Rien Fertel writes about through the lens of—well—smoked meat, in this new book. And, while you might be thinking, “Oh, man, another book about barbecue?”, this one stands out from the crowd thanks to Fertel’s superb writing and storytelling skills. In a book that’s part culinary history, part personal narrative, and part tale of an American road trip, Fertel travels throughout the South, documenting the men who have long stood behind the fires practicing the time-consuming pursuit of whole hog barbecue—the ones who have been keeping alive the embers of what once seemed like a dying art, and the ones who are inspiring a new generation of pitmasters today.

Countertop Seltzer Maker

Make your own seltzer water at home with this easy-to-use unit. It comes equipped with LED indicators displaying three levels of carbonation and a BPA-free bottle that locks into the unit with no twisting, and it requires no batteries or electricity to operate. This model fits 14.5-ounce and three-ounce CO2 cylinders, which can be traded in for just the cost of the gas at your local hardware or home-goods store.

Estela

We usually aren’t the biggest fans of the big and beautiful cookbooks put out by super fancy restaurants, in part because they have limited appeal to most home cooks, even if they are fascinating windows into the processes and methods of some of the best chefs in the world. We’ll make an exception for Estela by Ignacio Mattos, though, since it’s as inspiring as it is informative.

Ceramic Sangria Pitcher

If there is sangria on the menu, Kristina’s mom is ordering it. It’s an endeavor she’s tackled at home only a few times, but with this pitcher on hand, she might be more inclined to make it regularly. The pinched spout is a genius detail that keeps all the fruit and ice from splashing into your glass, and when it’s not filled with sangria, it can be used as a vase. We love a two-fer!

Mediterranean Mortar and Pestle

In the south of France, Italy, and other Mediterranean regions, marble mortars with wooden pestles (often made of olivewood) are quite common. It’s next to impossible to find this variety in US stores, unless you get lucky and find one at an antiques shop or estate sale. They can, however, be ordered online. We got ours through an Italian vendor on Etsy, and it’s an object of pure beauty. More importantly, it excels at making pesto and similar sauces, as well as emulsified sauces like mayonnaise and aioli.

Island Creek Oysters by Mail

Few things get me as excited as a good raw bar, but most of the time, I eat far less than I want because, after the first couple dozen oysters or so, it just gets to be too expensive. That’s even truer when the oysters are top-notch, like the briny little suckers from Island Creek up in Massachusetts. But here’s the good news: You can order Island Creek’s oysters online by the 50- or 100-count for much less than they cost at most restaurants, and have them in your hands the next day for an at-home shucking extravaganza. (Obviously, it helps to learn how to shuck first.)

Wine Carafe with Oak Stopper

I spent most of 2018 getting into wine, and one of my biggest takeaways was that most wines could benefit from a decant. Does a wine feel closed—like it has only one note on the nose or the tongue? Then it definitely needs to aerate in a decanter. This one is an inexpensive glass model with a chic wooden topper, from the Scandinavian brand Sagaform. It looks just as good on your bar cart or shelf as it does on the dinner table, and will give your Bordeaux a little room to breathe.

The Cocktail Chronicles

Having The Cocktail Chronicles at your side is like having a friend who always knows a good drink recipe for whatever you’ve got on hand. It doesn’t talk your ear off or suggest something with a dozen ingredients. Instead, it shares classics, recent spins on classics, and drinks you’ve never heard of but can easily mix up and enjoy, and the introductions are never preachy or boring. This book will appeal to full-on cocktail fanatics and newbies alike; there’s something delicious on every page.

Cast Iron Revolving Cake Stand

I can’t fathom decorating a birthday cake without this sturdy, heavy-bottomed stand. It speeds the process of crumb coating and decoration, while allowing for a whole new array of finishing techniques. It can also double as a lazy susan, so it’s often on my dinner table, piled with condiments and toppings, even when there’s no cake in sight.

Beyond Curry Indian Cookbook: A Culinary Journey Through India

Indian food has a reputation for being difficult and time-consuming, with hard-to-find ingredients and new techniques. I get it. It’s intimidating. But in this book, Serious Eater Denise D’silva Sankhé breaks Indian cooking down into simple techniques that any home cook can master to produce amazingly flavorful dishes with minimal effort. Over the course of more than 100 recipes, Denise introduces us to simple cooking from every region of India, focusing on home-style dishes that move well beyond the world of curries. I’m also super stoked that she’s included notes with every recipe on whether it’s vegan, vegetarian, and/or allergy-friendly.

Microplane

Another essential kitchen tool, the Microplane grater does fine grating work way better than those tiny, raspy holes on a box grater. Whether you’re quickly grating fresh nutmeg or cinnamon, taking the zest off a lemon, or turning a clove of garlic into a fine purée, the Microplane is the tool to reach for. It’ll make a great gift for the budding cooking enthusiast.

Intense Drinking Chocolate

This isn’t your standard hot cocoa. It’s a rich drinking-chocolate mix, made from organic, 74% cacao single-plantation chocolate from the Dominican Republic and 68% cacao wild-harvested chocolate from Bolivia. Whisk the ground chocolate with warm milk for an intense cocoa experience: It’s silky and deep, with hints of orange zest, cinnamon, and juicy berries, tempered by a subtly bitter edge.

Hero Dinners: Complete One-Pan Meals That Save the Day

Marge Perry and David Bonom’s cookbook is perfect for the giftee who loves to cook but hates a mess. Each recipe requires just one pan (or sheet pan), allowing the cook to enjoy precious downtime with family—and spend less time at the sink.

Tsukemono Round Pickle Press

The quick pickles common in Japanese cuisine that go by the name asazuke, or “morning pickles,” are typically made in a contraption similar to this one. The screwable tamper is spring-loaded, which exerts consistent pressure on sliced, salted vegetables, which presses out excess water and creates a highly seasoned brine, which then flavors the vegetables. The small size is perfect for anyone who wants to experiment with the technique.

Cuisinart Blender

The Cuisinart is an easy-to-use, powerful blender that aced many of our tests. This model’s dashboard is intuitive, and it features a built-in timer that counts down for you or can be programmed to stop after a certain number of seconds.

12-Inch All-Clad Stainless Steel Pan

The slope-sided skillet, like this one from All-Clad, is a chef’s best friend and one of the most versatile pans in the kitchen, whether you’re sautéing vegetables, searing meat, or cooking one of our dozens of one-pan meals. The best have solid stainless steel construction, with an aluminum core for even heat distribution.

Punch Bowl Set

We have this 10-piece punch bowl set in our office, and it’s been put to very good use. It’s big and impressive while still being affordable, which are the best qualities you can hope for in holiday-party decor.

Zojirushi Rice Cooker

A couple years ago, I managed to convince my wife of the necessity of buying a rice cooker. Not just any rice cooker: a Zojirushi. The only concession I was willing to make had to do with the size, since she wisely noted that we didn’t have the counter space for any rice cooker at all, let alone the kind of rice cooker that I had in mind. So I bought a little guy that fits, max, three cups of rice, but really is only usable for about two and a half. She’s since come around to the indisputable excellence of the cooker, and she loves everything about it, from the wonderful rice it makes to the “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” it plays when you turn it on. But since we’re moving to a bigger apartment with counter space enough for a small rice cooker, I think it’s high time we got an upgrade, so Mother’s Day seems like a perfect opportunity to get the 5.5-cup model.

All-Clad One-Quart Saucier

The low, sloping walls of this small 1-quart saucepan make whisking easy, perfect for making and finishing delicate sauces, and reducing small volumes of liquids. It’s also small enough to double as a butter-melter.

Le Creuset Cake Stand

If you’ve ever been given a homemade birthday cake, return the favor by buying your favorite baker this iconic cake stand. Its heavy base keeps cakes secure and makes all types of decorating techniques a breeze.

Rice, Noodle, Fish

Warning: Reading this book might lead to the purchase of some very expensive plane tickets. The Roads & Kingdoms crew will get you hungry for a journey to Japan, for onigiri basted with chicken fat, juicy one-bite gyoza, milky-white tonkotsu ramen broth, and briny sea urchin. Is Japan the best place on earth to eat? This book will convince you that it is.

[Header photograph: Shutterstock]

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Mbappe, Sancho, Alexander-Arnold lead soccer’s 36 best players age 21 or under

Editor’s note: With the past four Ballon d’Or winners — Lionel Messi, Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo (twice) — all over the age of 30 at the time of their victory, and other would-be winners such as Antoine Griezmann, Neymar and Eden Hazard well on the way to veteran status, there has never been a better time for the next generation to take over. So step forward, Kylian Mbappe, Jadon Sancho, Trent Alexander-Arnold and others!

For the second straight year (read the 2019 edition here), ESPN brings you the game’s next generation. Some of tomorrow’s stars have already made their mark on the big stage — you might remember what Mbappe did to help France win the World Cup two years ago — but all of them have one thing in common: They are the top talents aged 21 or under. So who makes the grade, what are their particular qualities and how can they get even better?

Compiling this year’s list is Tor-Kristian Karlsen, who has worked as a scout and executive for clubs across Europe, including Monaco, Zenit and Watford. He explains his methodology, before revealing the list.

Why 36?

From an initial “long list” of 75 players, those remaining are the ones who satisfied my two main criteria: appearances at the highest level and confirmed performance level over a sustained period. Chelsea’s Reece James, for example, was a contender, but the 20-year-old has made only 12 Premier League starts.

Meanwhile, only the absolute top players born in 2002, such as Ansu Fati and Eduardo Camavinga, were considered, whereas exceptional 2003-born talents — Rayan Cherki and Jude Bellingham among them — were noted for future reference.

What types of research were undertaken?

I used a sounding board consisting of professional scouts and sporting directors from several top European clubs before compiling the final ranking, as well as online scouting platforms such as WyScout and InStat. Personal preference also played a significant role.

Is there a reason that attacking players dominate the list?

In general, forwards get more playing time at a younger age than, say, central defenders, who tend to need more time to develop tactical awareness, positioning and understanding of the game. Beyond those who did make it, other defenders considered included Dan-Axel Zagadou, Boubacar Kamara, Jules Kounde, Ozan Kabak and Ibrahima Konate.

Notes: – Players included must be age 21 or under on May 1. The top 10 have been ranked, with the rest listed in alphabetical order. – With uncertainty about the coronavirus‘ effect on the transfer market, valuations are based on the writer’s pre-COVID-19 estimations.

– ESPN FC on YouTube: Tor-Kristian Karlsen talks to Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens – Stream ESPN FC TV, 30 for 30 soccer stories on ESPN+ (U.S.)

Presenting the best players on planet football, age 21 or under ESPN

Jump to: The top 10 | Aouar | Alexander-Arnold | Camavinga | David | Davies | De Ligt | Donnarumma | Fati | Felix | Foden | Greenwood | Guendouzi | Haaland | Hakimi | Havertz | Hudson-Odoi | Isak | Kulusevski | Malen | Martinelli | Mbappe | Mount | Odegaard | Osimhen | Pulisic | Rice | Rodrygo | Saka | Sancho | Soumare | Tonali | Torres | Upamecano | Valverde | Vinicius | Zaniolo

The top 10

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Joao Felix is amongst the top ten players under 21.

10. Joao Felix (FW; Atletico Madrid / Portugal) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €95m

In terms of culture changes, going from a free-flowing Benfica side to the tactical discipline instilled by Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid is about as stark as it gets in European football. So it is no surprise that Felix got off to a slow start after arriving in Spain last year, with four goals and one assist in La Liga. However, the talent that saw him cost €126m has not gone away, and he remains a top prospect.

Strengths: As a second striker, he erupts in creativity when on the ball, and when dropping deeper, he is an inventive playmaker. Although Cristiano Ronaldo comparisons are premature and imprecise, it would be a surprise if Felix did not establish himself as a leading performer at the top level. His refined touch excites fans, who also appreciate his fluid, intelligent movements, as well as his dangerous shot and finishing abilities.

How he can improve: Even though his undisputed talent is on show in patches during every game, as with many young talents the search for consistency is his main challenge.

– Kundert: Meet ‘new Ronaldo’ Joao Felix

Federico Valverde won the Silver Ball at the 2017 Under-20 World Cup. Xaume Olleros/Getty Images

9. Federico Valverde (MF; Real Madrid / Uruguay) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €75m

Valverde arrived in Madrid at age 18 and played for the club’s B-team before going on loan to Deportivo for a season that ended in relegation. More disappointment followed when he missed Uruguay’s 2018 World Cup squad, but since then he has established himself for club and country. With Luka Modric in the twilight of his career and Toni Kroos very much a veteran himself, Valverde is set to run Madrid’s midfield for the foreseeable future.

Strengths: Not only does Valverde possess the technical ability and passing skills to seamlessly slot into one of the world’s best midfield units, but he also has the pace and agility to escape crowds and the determination to pose a goal threat. In addition, a tenacity and whatever-it-takes attitude — as shown by his sending off in the Spanish Supercopa final — gives his game an edge. Potentially one of the world’s top box-to-box midfielders.

How he can improve: Poor decision-making and youthful enthusiasm can tempt him to try audacious attacking runs with the ball, when a more experienced player would keep possession and build from the back.

– Marsden: Valverde decisive as Madrid hold off Atletico

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Erling Haaland still has room for improvement despite his fine form.

8. Erling Haaland (FW; Borussia Dortmund / Norway) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €90m

This time last year, Haaland was known best as the son of former Premier League midfielder Alfie and had barely featured for Red Bull Salzburg. Many goals later — he scored nine in one game at the Under-20 World Cup — he is a star striker for Borussia Dortmund, who signed him in January after activating his €20m buyout clause, and is already being linked with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United.

Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and a host of other guests every day as football plots a path through the coronavirus crisis. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only).

Strengths: Haaland plays the centre-forward role with intensity, chasing every ball and showing great speed over medium and long distances. He is very strong and possesses a powerful shot with his left foot. His finishing skills are impressive, too, and give him an end product in front of goal that belies his age.

How he can improve: At 6-foot-4 and over 190 pounds, Haaland should pose a greater aerial threat — in 11 games for Dortmund, he has not scored a header — while there is also room for improvement in his hold-up game. If he progresses in those areas and can deal with mounting expectation and non-scoring spells, he could become the most dominant centre-forward of the next decade.

– Karlsen: How Haaland became soccer’s most-wanted teenager

Gianluigi Donnarumma was just 17 years and 189 days old when he made his Italy debut in 2017. Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images

7. Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK; Milan / Italy) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €60m

While outfield players might expect to get chances to play in their late teens, the specialized nature of their position means opportunities can be harder to come by for goalkeepers. As such, the fact that Donnarumma debuted for Milan at 16 and has since played more than 200 times for club and country, where he inherited icon Gigi Buffon’s position, shows just how good he is.

Strengths: Whereas the physical aspect has never been an issue for a goalkeeper who stands 6-foot-4, Donnarumma has also developed technically; quick to get down and make saves, his distribution is precise and, without being extravagant, he takes an extra touch, when under pressure in possession, to make the right pass. He has also stood out during a period for Milan that has featured on-pitch underachievement and off-field controversy.

How he can improve: His aggressive style works to his advantage most of the time, but he can be prone to overestimating his own reach when dealing with crosses.

– Miller: Donnarumma among the best homegrown stars

Matthijs de Ligt was 17 on his international debut in March 2017, the youngest Netherlands debutant since 1931. Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images

6. Matthijs de Ligt (DF; Juventus / Netherlands) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €85m

After playing so well in Ajax’s impressive Champions League semifinal run last season, De Ligt had his pick of Europe’s top clubs and chose to join Juventus. Life in Italy has not been smooth sailing for the centre-back and his early games featured several errors, but he has started 17 of 26 Serie A matches and will benefit from the guidance of central defensive legends Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

Strengths: At his best, De Ligt displays presence and leadership qualities beyond his years. His distribution is excellent, and he is able to dominate both boxes; scoring the derby winner against Torino showed his prowess. He has worked to win doubters over after moving from Netherlands to Italy, and an assured display in the 2-0 win against Inter further showed his progress.

How he can improve: Perhaps too keen to impress at his new club, De Ligt has been uncharacteristically rash in tackles and committed himself too early. When he is composed, though, he is the same defender who made such an impression in the Champions League last season.

– Kuper: Why ambitious De Ligt chose Juventus

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains what makes Kai Havertz so exciting and discusses where his future lies.

5. Kai Havertz (MF; Bayer Leverkusen / Germany) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €95m

Among Havertz’s claims to fame is missing a Champions League game in 2017 because of a school exam, but he has done plenty before and since on the pitch — including becoming the youngest player to make 100 Bundesliga appearances — to show the talent that will surely see him move to one of Europe’s top clubs soon. He has 10 goals and eight assists in all competitions this season.

Strengths: An elegant attacking midfielder, capable of touches that wrong-foot opponents and creating space to play a penetrating pass, Havertz plays with an ease and confidence that almost borders on arrogance. Left-footed, but very comfortable with his right, he never seems hurried and has vision and ability to pick a pass, combined with the stamina to make well-timed runs into the box.

How he can improve: To fulfill his enormous potential, you could argue that Havertz needs to add aggression to his game, especially in terms of winning challenges and recovering balls in midfield.

– Schoenfeld: Everyone knows Havertz is destined for the top

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Vinicius Jr. has impressed him enough to secure a top 5 ranking.

4. Vinicius Junior (FW; Real Madrid / Brazil) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €80m

Given he signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world as a 16-year-old and cost almost $50m in May 2017, Vinicius Junior has been known as a promising youngster for several years and made his Brazil debut in September. He has not yet reached double figures for league starts in a season, but scored the opening goal in El Clasico against Barcelona in early March.

• When does the transfer window reopen? • Karlsen: Possible coronavirus impact • Best ever transfers: 100-51 | 50-1 • This summer’s top free agents • January transfer grades • Latest completed major transfers

Strengths: His change of pace, balance and rapid movements make him next to impossible to read and stop; many right-backs look silly when they allow too much space. Although Vinicius is not a regular in the Real Madrid starting lineup, his playing time has increased and his display against Barcelona proved he can handle the grandest of occasions. The fact that he is starting to understand that back-heels and trickery are often of little use is another sign of maturity.

How he can improve: Decision-making still remains an issue, as the opening goal against Barcelona showed. Whereas he should have cut the ball back for a better-placed teammate, he instead went for the near-post finish that — fortunately for him — was deflected in.

– Hunter: How Vinicius turned the title race in Madrid’s favour

Trent Alexander-Arnold made his international debut in June 2018 and was included in England’s squad for the World Cup. John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images

3. Trent Alexander-Arnold (DF; Liverpool / England) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €100m

Alexander-Arnold combines effective defending with an ability to set up goals that is unmatched by any other Premier League full-back. He has assisted on 24 goals in the Premier League since the start of 2018-19, and only Kevin De Bruyne has created more chances than his 75 this season, although Alexander-Arnold’s most famous assist was surely a quickly taken corner against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League.

Strengths: Alexander-Arnold is a gifted all-around footballer, to the extent that he could do an excellent job as a box-to-box midfielder. Not only does he have a good touch on the ball, he can also pass, strike set pieces, cross and shoot with a range and variety of techniques normally reserved for players further up the pitch; his precisely executed switch-of-play ball to Andy Robertson on the opposite flank is a fine example of what he can do.

How he can improve: While full-backs are often singled out for having lost the fine art of defending in one-on-one situations, Alexander-Arnold has made steady progress in this area over the past year.

– Reddy: Why Alexander-Arnold will not stop

Jadon Sancho came through the youth ranks at Watford and Manchester City before moving to Borussia Dortmund in 2017. Getty

2. Jadon Sancho (FW; Borussia Dortmund / England) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €125m

Over the past 12 months, Sancho’s form and progress have been so impressive that he is being linked with a $125 million move away from Dortmund, with Manchester United the reported favourites for his signature. He has scored 26 times and assisted 29 other goals in the Bundesliga alone since the start of 2018-19, and the winger’s outstanding form has made him a regular in the England team.

Strengths: From mainly playing in bursts, Sancho has grown close to the finished article and capable of influencing throughout a game. Quick, technically proficient and able to score and create goals, he can play on either flank but is even more of a threat when he moves centrally. The ease with which he lays off passes to overlapping full-backs and dinks weighted through balls behind opposing defences make him a joy to watch. Sancho loves playing football, and it shows.

How he can improve: Previously criticised for a lack of tactical discipline, Sancho is becoming more diligent in his defensive work.

– Schoenfeld: Sancho will be a star, on his own terms

Before joining PSG in 2017, Kylian Mbappe scored 27 goals in 60 games for Monaco. Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images

1. Kylian Mbappe (FW; Paris Saint-Germain / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €175m

That last year’s No. 1 retains the top spot shows that Mbappe has been so good for so long at such a young age. In the two years since helping France win the World Cup at 19, he has scored more than 70 goals for club and country and arguably usurped Neymar as PSG’s main man. But with Real Madrid rumours ongoing, how much longer will he remain in Paris?

Strengths: Is there anything he cannot do? Every bit the complete forward — Mbappe tends to play wide on the right for France and in a more central role for PSG — he is exceptionally strong and quick. He can finish with power or with skill, he can head the ball, he is tactically disciplined and he reads the game better than most. His movements are smooth, smart and incisive.

How he can improve: There are no sides of his game worth trading, at the risk of ending up with a lesser player.

– Laurens: PSG is Mbappe’s team, not Neymar’s

The next 26 (in alphabetical order)

Houssem Aouar has nine goals and seven assists in all competitions this season. Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

Houssem Aouar (MF; Lyon / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Inheriting the No. 8 shirt at Lyon might be considered daunting enough, given the distinction with which Juninho Pernambucano wore it for almost a decade, but to take it as a teenager is even more noteworthy. But the jersey has not proven too heavy for Aouar. He has played more than 130 games for the club in all competitions and, in the Champions League, has assisted six goals in 12 matches.

Strengths: Most of Lyon’s attacking flow goes through Aouar, who plays with the panache of someone five years his senior and links everything together once he gets on the ball. Though not overly physical, his solid frame makes him hard to knock off the ball. He has an excellent first touch, is never in a hurry, is hard to dispossess and hardly ever gives possession away. He is also adept at finding space in and around the opposing penalty area.

How he can improve: He’s 5-foot-9, which is average height for an attacking midfielder and playmaker, and the development of his heading ability has never been a top priority.

Eduardo Camavinga’s first senior goal came in December 2019 when he scored for Rennes at Lyon. Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Eduardo Camavinga (MF; Stade Rennes / France) Age: 17 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Born in Angola before moving to France as an infant, Camavinga has burst onto the scene in the past year with a string of impressive displays that has earned him admiring looks from big clubs, not to mention a France Under-21 call-up. Rennes’ fine season — they are third in Ligue 1 — has been due in no small part to their teenage sensation, who has started 24 of his side’s 28 league games.

Strengths: A once-in-a-generation talent who could easily have found a place among the Top 10 despite not turning 18 until November, Camavinga plays with ease and can fill every role in the centre of midfield, though he is mainly used in a defensive role. Never in a rush, he plays mainly with one or two touches and sets off on ball-carrying duties only when necessary. The attention has not gone to Camavinga’s head, either, because he remains hardworking and disciplined.

How he can improve: The left-footed teenager is ahead of the normal curve of development even for a top talent; until now, he has done more than can be expected of him.

– Laurens: Camavinga’s form has top scouts circling

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David have impressed him.

Jonathan David (FW, Gent / Canada) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €35m

David was born in New York, grew up in Ottawa and has played all his professional club football in Belgium since signing for Gent in 2018. He starred for Canada at last summer’s Gold Cup, leading all scorers with six goals and being named in the tournament best XI, and has since netted 18 goals in 27 games in the Belgian first division.

Strengths: Initially seen as a threat on counterattacks for his pace and direct style, David has developed his game over the past six months and boasts impressive finishing ability. While he is liveliest with smart movements when the ball enters the last third — in which he often finds pockets of space — he has also improved his ability to hold the ball up and bring teammates into play.

How he can improve: While David has hardly put a foot wrong and has impressed in the Europa League, his next logical step is a move to a higher competitive level.

Alphonso Davies became the third-youngest player in MLS history when he made his Vancouver debut in July 2016. Getty

Alphonso Davies (DF; Bayern Munich / Canada) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €45m

The former Vancouver Whitecap moved to Germany only in January 2019 and did not make his first Bundesliga start until the end of October, two weeks after he opened the scoring for Canada in a shock win against the United States. Davies’ rise as a dynamic left-back for Bayern has been meteoric and a fine performance at Chelsea in the Champions League announced him on the big stage.

2 Related

Strengths: Converting the onetime winger into a left-back has been a huge success for Bayern, for whom Davies is no less of a threat when he begins offensive surges from a deeper position. Thanks to his pace and athleticism, it is easy to forget that he is also a fine footballer, who comfortably fits into Bayern’s possession game with neat close control and quick feet to get out of tight corners.

How he can improve: Davies is learning fast and shows no lack of willingness adapting to the ins and outs of his new role. That said, he is very much reliant on pace to resolve defensive situations, rather than conventional defending.

– Marshall, Bell: Is Davies the best player in CONCACAF?

Ansu Fati scored his first Barcelona goal against Osasuna in August 2019. Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Ansu Fati (FW; Barcelona / Spain) Age: 17 Estimated transfer value: €50m

Fati was the second-youngest player in Barcelona history when he made his debut at age 16 years and 298 days last August, and just 23 days later, he became the third-youngest in competition history to make a Champions League appearance. Spanish Under-21 honours followed, while no less a judge than Lionel Messi has said that Fati “is a fantastic player and has what it takes to succeed.”

Strengths: Equipped with exceptional pace and close control, he is almost impossible to stop when there’s space to take on defenders in one-on-one situations. Though mostly recognised for his qualities on the ball, he has already scored a headed goal, and his movement when not in possession is remarkably developed for a player of his age. He does not seem fazed by expectation or the attention he has attracted.

How he can improve: Because he has such faith in his quick feet and ability to take on opponents, he can be caught in possession and give away the ball unnecessarily.

– Lowe: Is Fati the answer for Barcelona, post-Messi?

In December 2017, 17-year-old Phil Foden became the youngest Englishman to start a Champions League game. Matt McNulty – Manchester City/Manchester City FC via Getty Images

Phil Foden (MF; Manchester City / England) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €30m

Foden has been a future star since he was named best player at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup and broke into Man City’s first-team squad. He has been used sparingly by Pep Guardiola but has Premier League and cup winners’ medals. With David Silva leaving the club, Foden should be set for an integral role at the Etihad Stadium. He might come to be equally important for England.

Strengths: Blessed with a highly advanced footballing brain and wonderful abilities on the ball, Foden is perfectly suited to the patient, sophisticated possession game favoured by Guardiola and most other top European clubs. He might have featured more regularly, but starting at Manchester United in the Premier League was a sign of the regard in which he is held.

How he can improve: Foden’s next challenge is to make the permanent transition from an outstanding talent to a fully fledged senior player who can make a 90-minute impact on games.

Mason Greenwood scored his first Manchester United goal 12 days before his 18th birthday. OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images

Mason Greenwood (FW; Manchester United / England) Age: 18 Estimated transfer value: €30m

When Man United’s incredible Champions League win at Paris Saint-Germain is recalled, it might be most significant as Greenwood’s debut. In the year since, he has hit double digits for goals, made his England under-21 debut and been called a more natural finisher than Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who compared the teenager to Robin van Persie.

Strengths: In a short sample size, Greenwood, who can play as a central striker or on the right wing, has demonstrated the force and venom of his left foot by scoring some outstanding efforts in the Premier League and in Europe. He is a natural, instinctive footballer, not just for his nonchalant finishing skills but also for his remarkable balance and sublime ball skills.

How he can improve: He has hardly put a foot wrong, but when being played as a centre-forward — and especially considering his size and athleticism — he will be expected to pose a greater threat in the air.

Matteo Guendouzi was eligible to represent Morocco, but has pledged his future to France. Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images

Matteo Guendouzi (MF; Arsenal / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €30m

It was a baptism of fire for Guendouzi at the Emirates Stadium, where he made his Arsenal debut against Manchester City a month after arriving at the club. Since then, the former Lorient player has featured in 55 of 66 Premier League games for the Gunners, scored his first senior goal in a Europa League tie and been called into the full France squad, although he has yet to debut.

Strengths: Guendouzi has found things challenging under Mikel Arteta’s management, but his potential is still evident. Good at recovering balls from defensive midfield, he takes up smart positions and has a relatively high pass-completion rate: 88% overall in the Premier League, and 81% in the opposition defensive third. At his best, he is an efficient player who is physically strong and covers a lot of midfield ground.

How he can improve: He could benefit from breaking forward from midfield more often and being even more assertive in his pressing game.

At age 19, Achraf Hakimi started all three of Morocco’s games at the 2018 World Cup. Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Achraf Hakimi (DF; Borussia Dortmund, on loan from Real Madrid / Morocco) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €50m

He came through the youth ranks at Real Madrid and remains on the Bernabeu books, but it has been in Dortmund that Hakimi established himself over the past two seasons. A regular creator of chances from his position at right-back, the Moroccan international has 10 assists in 25 Bundesliga games this season, while his four Champions League goals have shown his finishing prowess.

Strengths: His forward runs are full of pace, timing and conviction; indeed, there are few more productive right-backs in European football. During a season in which he has established himself as one of the most exciting players in his position, plenty of top clubs are monitoring Hakimi and wondering whether he will get playing time at Real Madrid.

How he can improve: His tremendous attacking potential means he can leave too much space when charging forward and get caught high up the pitch against teams playing on the break.

At 18 years and 135 days, Callum Hudson-Odoi set a record as the youngest Englishman to play a competitive international. Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Callum Hudson-Odoi (FW; Chelsea / England) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €45m

Not 20 until November, Hudson-Odoi has packed plenty in to his career. He was part of England’s Under-17 World Cup-winning squad in 2017 and has since risen through the ranks to represent the senior side. At Chelsea, meanwhile, he impressed to the extent that Bayern Munich tried to sign him, only for him to suffer an Achilles injury before committing his future to the Stamford Bridge club.

Top players under 21: Nationality

England 8 France 6 Brazil 3 Italy 3 Canada 2 Netherlands 2 Norway 2 Spain 2 Sweden 2 Six countries 1

Strengths: The unpredictable winger, who loves setting off down the left before cutting inside on his favoured right foot, is one of the game’s most exciting wide players. Beyond striking characteristics that include a change of pace, quick footwork and being hard to mark in one-on-one situations, he also understands and reads the game, often working out opposing defenders as games develop.

How he can improve: Hudson-Odoi must learn to be more consistent, rather than showing his undeniable ability in patches. He should also add more goals, assists and chances created to his game.

– Williams: Hudson-Odoi repays Chelsea’s faith

In a January Copa del Rey win against Real Madrid, Alexander Isak scored two goals and assisted another. Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Alexander Isak (FW; Real Sociedad / Sweden) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €20m

Isak’s story is an example of a next big thing who bounced back after overcoming challenges early in his professional career. Success in Sweden led to a high-profile move to Borussia Dortmund in 2017, but Isak struggled to make an impact. After a goal-laden loan spell at Willem II, he joined Real Sociedad, where he has impressed, often as a substitute.

Strengths: Standing at almost 6-foot-3, the powerful centre-forward is deceptively quick, can finish with both feet and is hard to stop in one-on-one situations. Only 20, he is fast becoming indispensable for Sweden and is finally beginning to realise the undoubted potential that was evident when he emerged several years ago.

How he can improve: Isak tends to score in streaks, and his great runs of form are often followed by lean spells. Though not uncommon for a young forward, it might be a sign that he needs to develop more confidence in his abilities.

Dejan Kulusevski made his Sweden debut in a European Championship qualifier against Faroe Islands in November. Andrea Staccioli/LightRocket via Getty Images

Dejan Kulusevski (MF; Parma, on loan from Juventus / Sweden) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €35m

On loan at Parma from Atalanta during the first half of this season, Kulusevski’s form was so impressive that Juventus signed him in January, less than a year after his Serie A debut. He has since been sent back to Parma, where he has five goals and seven assists in 22 league games. That form also saw him earn his first cap for Sweden, against the Faroe Islands in November.

Strengths: A strong-running wide midfielder or forward with power, an intense pressing game and pace to match an excellent left foot, Kulusevski has been compared to Arjen Robben. However, in contrast to the Dutchman, who was initially more of an out-and-out winger with the ability to turn opposing full-backs inside out, the Swede is more about work ethic and strength than finesse, though he does enjoy a touch off his heel and a perfectly weighted through ball.

How he can improve: Not unlike other supremely talented left-footed players, developing his right foot is on his to-do list. Kulusevski also needs to work on how to keep possession in tight spaces.

Last September, Donyell Malen scored all of PSV’s goals in a 5-0 win against Vitesse. Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images

Donyell Malen (FW; PSV Eindhoven / Netherlands) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €35m

One that got away for Arsenal? Malen was on the Gunners’ books as a teenager, but moved to PSV in 2017 and has been a prolific scorer ever since; he hit double figures last season and has 17 goals in 25 games in 2019-20. He has also broken into Ronald Koeman’s promising Netherlands squad, marking his international debut with the winning goal against Germany.

Strengths: Malen’s development over the past year has made many scouts believe he is in the process of outgrowing the Eredivisie. His profile certainly fits the bill for a top European club: He is direct, always looking for the shortest way to goal and quick off the mark. Additionally, he has a sharp finishing technique, possesses excellent dribbling skills and makes incisive runs.

How he can improve: As a confident and goal-fixated striker, he often looks for a hopeful finish rather than showing more selflessness and passing to a better-placed teammate.

As well as Brazil, Gabriel Martinelli is eligible to play for Italy. Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images

Gabriel Martinelli (FW; Arsenal / Brazil) Age: 18 Estimated transfer value: €20m

The past year has been a whirlwind for Martinelli, who has gone from the lower tiers in Brazil with Ituano to starting for Arsenal in the Premier League. He was a regular in squads under Unai Emery before the Spaniard was sacked, and has continued to feature for Mikel Arteta. Playing mainly as a left-sided forward, Martinelli has scored 10 goals in 26 games in all competitions.

Strengths: Martinelli’s improbable jump from Ituano to Arsenal is credit to him and the English club’s scouting department. His pace, unpredictability and intensity have seen him make a real impression, but you wonder whether the energetic forward, who doesn’t mind doing a shift defensively, can maintain this speed of development.

How he can improve: Still rough around the edges, he must improve his passing to reach the next level. His ability in the air also leaves a lot to be desired.

Mason Mount has six goals and four assists in the Premier League this season. Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Mason Mount (MF; Chelsea / England) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €35m

After a year on loan at Dutch club Vitesse, Mount impressed last season at Derby under Frank Lampard and has since made the breakthrough at Chelsea — he first joined the club as a 6-year-old — after Lampard took over at Stamford Bridge. Mount has also become a regular in Gareth Southgate’s England squad, scoring his first international goal against Kosovo in November.

Strengths: The busy, mobile central midfielder is never afraid to ask for the ball and thinks ahead for his next move before receiving it. Mount is creative, plays with intuition and can spot an early switch of play. He has repaid Lampard’s confidence with some stunning performances and is one of the most impressive Premier League newcomers this season.

How he can improve: While he does appear very bright and full of spark early on in games, his impact can drop toward the end of the 90 minutes.

– Marcotti: Mount among Chelsea’s impressive kids

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Tor-Kristian Karlsen explains why Martin Odegaard nearly didn’t make it into the top 30 players under 21.

Martin Odegaard (FW; Real Sociedad, on loan from Real Madrid / Norway) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €50m

It looked as if the promise that led Odegaard to earn his professional debut at 15 might go unfulfilled, but while he has not done enough to feature regularly for Real Madrid, loans in Netherlands brought valuable playing time and this season has seen him play a key role in La Real’s quest for Champions League qualification. He also scored against his parent club in a surprise Copa del Rey win.

Top players under 21: League

Premier League (England) 10 La Liga (Spain) 8 Bundesliga (Germany) 6 Ligue 1 (France) 5 Serie A (Italy) 5 Eredivisie (Netherlands) 1 First Division A (Belgium) 1

Strengths: The silky touch, the high football intelligence, the brilliant left foot, the ability to weight a defence-splitting pass and the elegant turns have always been in Odegaard’s toolkit, but this season he has added greater consistency, end product in front of goal and maturity. Though sometimes fielded on the right wing, he is arguably more efficient as a typical No. 10.

How he can improve: To make it in Madrid, Odegaard must demonstrate more presence on the pitch and ensure the breaks between his constructive involvements become even shorter. He still appears slightly less concerned about the nuts and bolts of the game than its art and beauty.

– Hamilton, Fernandez-Abascal: Odegaard is more than a trivia answer

Victor Osimhen’s club career began with Wolfsburg in Germany, before he moved to Charleroi in Belgium, then Lille in France. Getty

Victor Osimhen (FW; Lille / Nigeria) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €30m

Osimhen was one of the stars of Nigeria’s Under-17 World Cup triumph in 2015, when he was top scorer with 10 goals — including the winner against Mali in the final — and won the tournament’s Silver Ball. His subsequent club form was inconsistent, but a move last year to Lille proved a catalyst; only three players have scored more than his 13 goals in Ligue 1 this season.

Strengths: Osimhen is a no-frills centre-forward, who will run and chase a lost cause knowing that his impressive pace, intense pressing and alert mind often give him the chance to make something out of nothing. At a time when many strikers want the ball to their feet, he prefers running behind defences. He is direct, sharp and clinical in his finishing.

How he can improve: At times, he is so eager to make runs behind opposing defenders that he does not even consider the option of retaining possession to allow his team to move higher up the pitch.

Christian Pulisic is one of only two Americans to score a Premier League hat trick. Getty

Christian Pulisic (FW; Chelsea / U.S.) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Pulisic has been a U.S. international for four years and made more than 120 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, but in the past year has taken the next step in his career with a $70 million move to Chelsea. Early returns included a hat trick at Burnley before injury slowed his progress. The face of his national team, the Pennsylvania native remains a top prospect.

Strengths: Though he tends to look most comfortable as an inverted winger on the left, Pulisic can comfortably slot into any position behind a striker. An intelligent, modern player with excellent close control and a magnificent first touch, his low centre of gravity and ability to turn either way with the ball mean one thing: He is a nightmare to mark.

How he can improve: Very similar to other young, creative players, he mainly comes to life when he gets on the ball, giving room for improvement when he is not in possession.

– Burley: Pulisic has shown Lampard he is good enough

Declan Rice scored his first West Ham goal in a January 2019 win against Arsenal. Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images

Declan Rice (MF; West Ham / England) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €65m

After being released by Chelsea at 14, Rice broke through across London at West Ham, where he has played in central defence but predominantly as a midfielder. He earned international honours initially for the Republic of Ireland before switching allegiance to England in 2019, a year in which he was also nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

Strengths: In modern football, there are few disciplined, tidy defensive midfielders who enjoy mopping up loose balls and keeping things simple in possession. Rice, though, does just that, and very well; he is the kind of reliable linchpin that most teams could use. He is a dependable, efficient performer who can play with both feet and has a range of passing that keeps improving.

How he can improve: The beauty of Rice is that he just does his job. You do not necessarily want him to be more adventurous going forward or to try stuff he has not yet mastered; his role is to keep things solid, so more creative teammates can benefit.

Rodrygo made his debut for Brazil against Argentina in November 2019. Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Rodrygo (FW; Real Madrid / Brazil) Age: 19 Estimated transfer value: €50m

Six months younger than his fellow countryman and Madrid teammate Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo is another young player to have followed the well-trodden path from Brazil to the Bernabeu. His early impressions have been positive for Los Blancos: Rodrygo scored within a minute after coming on for his debut in September, and then notched a Champions League hat trick six weeks later.

Strengths: If solely down to natural talent and potential, Rodrygo would be near the top of the ranked section. However, he remains a work in progress, and despite flashes of brilliance, his Real Madrid career has yet to properly take off. At his best, this is an incredibly talented forward who is probably most efficient when cutting in from the left — he does it pretty well from the right, too — utilising close control, technical skills and speed on the break.

How he can improve: After a promising spell in the first team at the end of 2019, he was demoted to Real Madrid Castilla. That leads to the question of whether manager Zinedine Zidane has been unimpressed with his attitude in training. Rodrygo also needs to build his upper-body strength to cope better with the European game’s physicality.

Bukayo Saka was a substitute for the 2019 Europa League final at the age of 17. David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images

Bukayo Saka (DF; Arsenal / England) Age: 18 Estimated transfer value: €50m

Since debuting in November 2018 for Arsenal, Saka has made a meteoric rise and this season has seen him established as a regular in the Gunners’ starting lineup under Mikel Arteta. He has begun to chip in with goals, but his most consistent threat comes with the quality and precision of his crosses from the left side, which have led to nine assists in all competitions in the 2019-20 campaign.

Strengths: Already a hit at the youth level for England, Saka has become one of Arteta’s most trusted performers. Reinvented as a left-back from an out-and-out winger, the pacy and tricky Saka is Arsenal’s main outlet on the left, offering width and a constant option to switch play. Never short of effort, he catches the eyes with his eagerness to run at defenders and wholehearted application to defending and attacking.

How he can improve: Saka is still a learner when it comes to direct defending against an opponent and taking up the right positions. There is also work to be done on his upper-body strength — he can get brushed off the ball too easily — while his crossing game also needs to improve.

Boubakary Soumare’s first professional club game was for Lille against Metz in November 2017. David Aliaga/MB Media/Getty Images

Boubakary Soumare (MF; Lille / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €30m

After coming through the youth ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, Soumare opted to leave the Ligue 1 giants at 18 in order to find more playing opportunities with Lille. The move worked out for the 6-foot-2 midfielder, whose displays this season at home and in the Champions League have earned him France under-21 honours and drawn attention from clubs across Europe.

Strengths: Through his outstanding physique, agility and work ethic, Soumare has developed spatial understanding and, matched with fine tactical sense, is often well positioned to pick up second balls. He also features two good feet, from which he is able to execute a wide variety of passing.

How he can improve: Given his strength and excellent progression in possession, he could become more of a goal-scoring threat if given the license to roam.

Sandro Tonali was part of the Italy squad that reached the 2018 European Under-19 Championship final. Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images

Sandro Tonali (MF; Brescia / Italy) Age: Estimated transfer value: €40m

When Andrea Pirlo says a 19-year-old is the best player in Serie A, you know you are watching a serious talent. Tonali has been a key player for Brescia for several years, but after helping his club win promotion last season he has taken his game to a new level in Italy’s top flight. He is a full Italian international and will surely be snapped up by one of the big clubs very soon.

Read all of the columns written by former scout and sporting director Tor-Kristian Karlsen.

Strengths: He combines playmaking abilities with an energetic, all-action style of play; one minute he can be organising from a deep regista role, while the next he is rolling up his sleeves to do some dirty work. Because of his club allegiance, comparisons have been drawn to Pirlo, but while there are similarities, Tonali is more of a grinder. What they have in common, however, is an excellent right foot, with which they can pick a pinpoint forward pass, almost without looking.

How he can improve: One criticism is that he sometimes tries too hard and, instead of letting the game settle, is prone to forcing the forward pass when more caution is needed. And though not fundamental to his position, there is room for improvement in his aerial game.

Ferran Torres collected his first winners’ medal in club football when Valencia won the 2019 Copa del Rey. Silvestre Szpylma/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Ferran Torres (FW; Valencia / Spain) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €55m

Previous Valencia youth players to reach the highest level include David Silva and Isco, and Torres might also have what it takes. He was the first player born in the 2000s to play in La Liga, and among the club records he owns is youngest Champions League goal scorer. He was part of Spain’s Under-17 and Under-19 European Championship-winning teams in 2017 and 2019, respectively.

Strengths: Extraordinarily these days, Torres is a right-footed forward who prefers playing on the right wing. He is one of the best crossers in Europe, and when being doubled up by defenders, his favourite move involves evading two markers by going right between them while nutmegging one! Atypically for an easy-on-the-eye wide forward, he has the physique and size to go with delightful skills. His superb technique also means he brings first-class playmaking abilities when moving infield.

How he can improve: One scout I spoke to recently, who is a big fan, pointed out that he would like to see Torres be a bit more “aggressive” and “cynical” in his style of play.

Dayot Upamecano was named to the team of the tournament at the 2015 European Under-17 Championship. Oliver Hardt/Bongarts/Getty Images

Dayot Upamecano (DF; RB Leipzig / France) Age: 21 Estimated transfer value: €40m

A key part of Leipzig’s impressive form in the Bundesliga and Champions League, Upamecano has logged consistent displays in central defence and been linked with Europe’s biggest clubs. He has played at every age group level since under-16 for France and, with the European Championship delayed by 12 months, has extra time to force his way into Didier Deschamps’ plans for next summer.

Strengths: Few players stir up more debate within the scouting community than Upamecano, who emerged at Leipzig after Ibrahima Konate — another candidate for this list — was injured. Those defending him point to presence beyond his age, willingness to sacrifice in duels and eye-catching physical attributes, whereas those unconvinced refer to a catalogue of costly errors, a tendency to play aimless long balls and his propensity to give away unnecessary fouls.

How he can improve: With understanding of the game such an important component of the role, centre-backs peak later than those in other positions, so Upamecano has time on his side to become more consistent and less reckless.

Nicolo Zaniolo was included in a senior Italy squad before he had played in Serie A. Andrea Staccioli/LightRocket via Getty Images

Nicolo Zaniolo (MF; Roma / Italy) Age: 20 Estimated transfer value: €50m

After moving to Roma from Inter in the summer of 2018, Zaniolo was thrust into the limelight when he made his Giallorossi debut at Real Madrid in the Champions League. His Serie A bow followed and consistently good performances resulted in a call-up to the Italian national team. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in January, slowing his progress.

Strengths: He can seem deceptively uncoordinated and gangly at first glance, but behind the lanky appearance hides a near-complete, modern footballer. The versatile attacking midfielder with a sweet left foot has the intelligence and playmaking brain to be fielded as a trequartista — linking midfield or attack — as well as the smooth one-on-one skills to drive opposing full-backs dizzy from a wide-right position.

How he can improve: The immediate priority is for Zaniolo to completely recover from injury, then it is a matter of fine-tuning his physical attributes to become more explosive and resistant to heavy challenges.

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Wall St warns rescue scheme will exclude many companies

A swath of midsized US companies will be excluded from a government programme to help them through the Covid-19 crisis if rules capping their debt levels are not made more flexible, bankers, lawyers and analysts say.

The Main Street Lending Program — which will be managed by the Federal Reserve and backed by the US Treasury — is a pillar of the US economic response to the coronavirus pandemic. It is designed to help medium-sized companies across America access liquidity in the coming months. 

The warning from Wall Street cautions that the $600bn plan — which applies to companies with up to 10,000 employees or up to $2.5bn in annual revenue — could suffer from limited access.

The problem, according to executives and analysts, is the definition of ebitda, a measure of profit that stands for “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.” MSLP rules limit recipients of the government-backed loans to total debt, including MSLP borrowing, of either four or six times ebitda, depending on the loan type.

But ebitda as defined in loan agreements often excludes a number of expenses in addition to the four included in the acronym. Which costs are cut out varies by industry, bank and borrower. Common exclusions include restructuring and merger integration costs as well as stock compensation expenses.

Imposing the standard definition would mean that many mid-market companies already have more leverage than the programme allows, lending industry insiders say.

Ian Walker of Covenant Review, a credit research firm, looked at every company that has issued a term loan in the past 12 months, and found that 90 per cent of them already had debt of greater than four times standard or “as reported” ebitda. A third had greater than six times reported ebitda. 

“Of all the companies I have talked to, not one would meet the leverage rules,” said a lawyer at a major Wall Street firm. A third of the midsized businesses in the US are owned by private equity and virtually all of these would exceed the leverage limits, the lawyer noted, adding that the Fed “has been told about the ebitda problem multiple times”.

The Fed has said that it is seeking comment from industry and will make changes “to make sure the programme supports the economy as effectively and efficiently as possible”. 

Dave Zion, of Zion Research, said that the definition of ebitda in loan agreements could run to thousands of words. “Sometimes they might as well skip all the other letters and just use “r”, for revenue,” he said.

Many of the companies interested in securing help through the MSLP are too large to tap a loan programme run by the Trump administration for small businesses. That scheme, known as the Paycheck Protection Program, was swamped with demand, forcing Congress to replenish it with $310bn on top of the $350bn allocated initially. 

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The MSLP is unlike the PPP in that the loans will not be forgiven. Instead, it will provide four-year loans with a low interest rate. The Fed will own 95 per cent of the loans, leaving the remaining 5 per cent of the risk with the banks that originate them. 

Under the MSLP’s “new loan” facility, a company can borrow up to $25m so long as its total debt does not rise above four times ebitda. Under the “extended” facility, companies’ existing terms loans may be increased by up to $150m, up to a leverage limit of six times ebitda.

A Wall Street bank executive said that it remained unclear whether the ebitda definition would be as-reported or adjusted, and that “on an ‘as reported’ basis there isn’t a whole lot of borrowing capacity left for loan issuers before they hit six times.”

In a letter to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury, the Loan Syndications and Trading Association, an industry group, said it recommended that the MSLP “use an ebitda definition that is consistent with that used in the borrower’s existing credit agreements” as standardised ebitda “could give a distorted view of true cash flow and therefore leverage”.

Mr Walker of Covenant Review said that while he was usually suspicious of generous definitions of ebitda, in the current crisis “you are not trying to solve for over-leverage, you are trying to solve for a liquidity problem caused by a pandemic . . . leverage will not be the best indicator of whether these loans are going to be paid back or not”.

Additional reporting by Laura Noonan.

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North Carolina: Latest updates on Coronavirus

Updated April 20 at 5:04 p.m. ET

North Carolina has reported 199 deaths related to COVID-19 and 6,840 confirmed cases of the disease, according to the The News & Observer. At least 429 people are currently hospitalized for the disease. 

The first case was identified on March 3 and the state has run over 79,000 tests so far. The state sits at number 20 on the list of U.S. coronavirus cases per state. Cases by county can be found in an interactive map on the state’s Department of Health and Human Services website. 

Between March 25 and April 15, the number of coronavirus cases in North Carolina increased by triple digits every day, often topping 300, The News & Observer reported. For a few days after April 15, state health officials suspected the rate of spread had started slowing, thanks in part to stay-at-home orders that have been in place across the state for more than a week. 

But an increase of nearly 400 cases on Friday (April 17) has made it clear that the virus is still rapidly spreading through the state. 

Where cases are popping up

Seven counties in North Carolina have yet to report any coronavirus cases. Mecklenburg County has the most cases, with 1,210 and 29 deaths. The Triangle region (Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties) has reported around 1,300 cases and 19 deaths. 

One of the state’s more recent deaths related to the coronavirus was an 81-year-old male inmate at the Federal Correctional Complex at Butner. At least six correctional institutions in North Carolina have reported positive cases of the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported last week. 

On April 8, Gov. Cooper announced that at least 60 people had tested positive for the virus in a nursing facility in Orange County. Two of those 60 people have died and seven are hospitalized, The News & Observer reported. Two more of the coronavirus-related deaths reported on April 13 were linked to an outbreak at a nursing home in Franklin County. There are now at least 28 outbreaks at nursing homes and seven at residential care homes in North Carolina, The News & Observer reported. 

On April 9, the governor signed an order that added new restrictions for senior care communities, including limiting group meals and increasing the monitoring of employees’ and residents’ temperatures. 

Social distancing and store closures

Beginning April 10 at 5 p.m., Gov. Roy Cooper ordered that retail stores must limit the number of people in the store to 20 or less at one time, The News & Observer reported. Stores must also mark 6-foot distances where people gather, such as in checkout lines. 

North Carolina has been under a statewide stay-at-home order since March 30 at 5 p.m. The order bans gatherings of more than 10 people and allows only essential businesses to remain in operation. Schools have been closed since March 23.   

Experts think the stay-at-home order might be effective as researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation now think the virus will cause around 251 deaths in the state, down from 2,400, The News & Observer reported. 

On April 16, Gov. Cooper said North Carolina isn’t ready to reopen yet, The News & Observer reported. “Yesterday I laid out what’s required for North Carolina’s path to gradual re-opening, and it’s good the White House has shared similar guidance, but we still need the federal government to help with testing and personal protective equipment,” Cooper said.

Tests & obtaining the right equipment

On Friday (April 17), Gov. Cooper announced a partnership with state’s three medical universities to increase testing and tracing, The News & Observer reported. “This research is part of a coordinated statewide effort to learn more about what percentage of people have no symptoms and to better understand the true number of COVID-19 infections in our state,” Cooper said. More tests and contact tracing is needed before the state can begin to ease the stay-at-home orders, he said. 

The governor also said the state still needs help from the federal government with obtaining testing supplies and protective equipment. 

On April 8, Cooper announced that he would be signing an executive order that authorizes more equipment and resources for fighting the pandemic and increases the number of available hospital beds. 

In a daily media briefing on April 2, state Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said North Carolina received a third shipment of medical supplies from the national stockpile. The state’s orders have exceeded $100 million and they still haven’t received everything they’ve asked for, The News & Observer reported. 

Cooper has also activated additional National Guard personnel to help transport supplies and help with additional medical facilities should they become necessary. 

The state’s Department of Health and Human Services is actively recruiting volunteer health care workers to assist with clinic operations and provide medical supplies if they’re available.

Unemployment and easing financial burden

More than half a million North Carolina residents have been filing for unemployment in the weeks since businesses began shutting down, The News & Observer reported. That’s about 10% of the state’s workforce. The unprecedented numbers of claims seems to be clogging up the state’s processing system and causing frustrating delays. Last Thursday (April 9), the governor issued an executive order that aims to speed up the processing time for unemployment claims by allowing some regulations to be ignored. 

On March 31, Gov. Cooper signed an order that prohibits utility companies from shutting off service to customers who can’t pay their bills over the next 60 days, WXII reported. The governor urged internet and phone providers to do the same, and encouraged mortgage companies and landlords to work with residents who are unable to make payments because of job loss due to COVID-19. 

What to do if you think you have COVID-19

If you think you have the coronavirus or have been confirmed to have COVID-19, the DHHS recommends the person stay at home until the symptoms resolve, unless you need medical attention, in which case you should alert the hospital or other medical facility of your condition before arriving.

Individuals in a high risk group, which includes people 65 and older or those with underlying health conditions or a weakened immune system, should try to stay at home as much as possible.

To get updates about the coronavirus in North Carolina, text “COVIDNC” to 898211. The North Carolina COVID-19 hotline number is 888-892-1162. 

Coronavirus science and news:

Originally published on Live Science. 

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Go Corona ! Corona Go !

OCD in the times of a worldwide pandemic. Yeah that’s perfect! The coronavirus has left my privileged ass a bit confused – I’m pretty cosy and safe in my apartment with access to fancy food that gets delivered to my doorstep but hey, there’s more to life than being stuck at home right?! What about all the trips I had planned this year (and well next if we’re being real), all the expensive food and cocktails I was gonna blow my money on while going out with friends, all the money I was gonna make too! I feel attacked! Well, not really actually – It’s Day 45 of us being in lockdown and I’m honestly doing pretty good right now. I had 2 rough days in the middle where nothing made sense but it’s all good now. Yes there are frequent recurring concerns of what if I get it? What if I die? What if I don’t make any money for 2 straight years? What if I get real fat? What if my work industry completely changes and I can’t cope, and more disconcertingly, I don’t want to cope? But when you actually sit down, you can find answers for pretty much all of it – not the technical stuff obviously – like when the vaccine will come out etc but most others things are very manageable thanks to my privilege and sheer luck of being born in a decent financial section of society and how hard my parents worked to give me this life from which I could launch to do so bloody well for myself and also my saving skills (thanks to my middle class upbringing) which is why I can go for quite some time if I don’t make any money (THANK YOU DADDY – for helping me mould myself into my own sugar daddy)

If I get it I should hopefully come out of it alive – I’m a fairly healthy human with fairly good habits of eating and physical activity and have mostly been pretty at ease mentally in my life. And I’m insured so that helps too. If I die then well I can’t really plan for anything beyond that. If I get fat? I don’t think I will. Again, because I have pretty good eating lifestyle I’d say, barring my alcohol consumption. I mostly eat clean and really enjoy doing my regular yoga sessions which may not be as many as one would hope but I feel quality matters more than quantity – when I do my yoga I am completely in it, willing it to have the best effect on my body and mind and that is what matters to me. I do yoga about twice a week currently for 1.5 hours each time. So yes I might gain some weight in this lockdown but it won’t be very drastic. Obviously I won’t get lean and fucking fabulous like I usually do during the summers because of my swimming but my yoga will keep me supple and calm and that’s what I probably need anyway right now. In my opinion I do think that influencer marketing will eventually bounce back to it’s original status or maybe even come out stronger but that’s a waiting game. If it does, but it’s changed to such a huge point that I don’t feel relevant I’ll be forced to look at other sides of me and do the things that I’ve been putting off until now – like focus more on my yoga practice, slow down in life and actually enjoy the money and privilege I’ve accumulated and build from there. For now I just have to sit back down, enjoy the fancy food that gets delivered to my doorstep, enjoy the video chats with my family and friends, enjoy the cocktails Aman makes for me, enjoy my yoga and try to think less of the near or far future because NOBODY has the answers for it and planning for it won’t do much either because honestly, what outcome should you be planning for anyway? The only one thing I have been doing is diversifying my investments here and there. And I’m having more fun than I should be probably. Time will tell what was a good decision and what wasn’t.

Incase you haven’t figured out what this blog post is for – it’s mostly for me to come back to when my mind wanders again and I start to freak out. I thought it would be a good idea to have the rationalisation written down somewhere and also share it with whoever was interested. Meanwhile we just keep washing our hands with soap. And in my case I wash my entire body with it and sing Go Corona! Corona Go!

I’d love to know what thoughts you’ve been dealing with. What keeps you up at night

Hope you enjoyed the post! Stay connected with me over Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest |

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Premier League clubs to play on neutral grounds if games resume

The 2019-20 Premier League season will be played to a conclusion behind closed doors at neutral venues if football can return safely, sources have told ESPN.

The move comes amid fears over mass gatherings of supporters, which was a key factor in the decision to abandon plans to play out the campaign on a home and away basis.

Following a video conference involving all 20 Premier League clubs on Friday, the determination to complete the season, which has been suspended since March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was re-stated by the league.

– Stream new episodes of ESPN FC Monday-Friday on ESPN+ – Stream every episode of 30 for 30: Soccer Stories on ESPN+ – Ogden: What the Premier League will look like after restart

Sources told ESPN earlier on Friday that the Premier League is set for a decisive vote on May 8 as talks continue over ways to finish the 2019-20 season.

During the Friday meeting, the government-backed plan for football to return this summer — named Project Restart — was laid out to clubs by the Premier League hierarchy and the criteria included the insistence that all of the remaining 92 fixtures must be played at neutral venues.

Sources have told ESPN that the venues include some current Premier League stadiums, Wembley Stadium and one other unnamed ground.

With issues such as relegation yet to be decided, and with Liverpool needing just two wins to clinch the club’s first title since 1990, concerns over thousands of fans congregating outside their team’s stadium for key games has led to the authorities ruling out the staging of home and away games.

The decision has also confirmed the reality that Liverpool will be unable to clinch the title at Anfield.

• Euro 2020: Postponed until 2021 • Champions League: Suspended indefinitely • Premier League: Suspended indefinitely • La Liga: Team training to begin in May • Bundesliga: Planned to restart in May • Ligue 1: PSG declared champions • Serie A: Team training can resume May 18 • Copa America: Postponed until 2021 • MLS: Suspended through June 8

Sources have told ESPN that, with social distancing measures likely to be in place for months, the need for fans to stay at home is of paramount importance and that the selection of match venues would be made in order to ensure supporters do not travel to games.

The decision has opened up the prospect of fixtures such as Everton versus Liverpool being played at the likes of Wembley or Old Trafford, or Tottenham versus Manchester United being staged hundreds of miles away at Newcastle’s St James’ Park or Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium.

Stadiums will also be selected due to their ability to ensure social distancing measures between players, staff and all other essential workers at the fixtures.

Secure perimeters around the stadium and the COVID-19 infection rate in the local area will also be factors in selecting grounds for fixtures.

The Premier League has ruled out the use of the National Football Centre at St George’s Park for staging games, with stadiums the preferred and most suitable option.

While no date has been set by the Premier League for a resumption of the season, it is understood that early-June is the target if the U.K. government relaxes its current lockdown measures on May 7.

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Tesla pulls a slick sales move in China, lowers Model 3 price to fit new subsidy limit

Tesla has just dropped the price of its Model 3 in China so that it continues to be eligible for subsidy money. The news comes days after the Chinese government announced that it was reducing subsidies.

The electric vehicle company announced the move earlier today, Reuters reports. Previously the standard Tesla Model 3 cost 323,800 yuan ($45,800), but with a 10% price reduction and a 20,250 yuan ($2,900) subsidy, it now costs 271,550 yuan ($38,463).

[Read: Tesla’s self-driving tech will pivot to subscription service — good shit, or just shit?]

In 2015, the Chinese government said it would get rid of the subsidies by 2020, but last week it said that it would just lower the upper limit by 10%. Now, in China, only vehicles costing less than 300,000 yuan ($42,479) are eligible for the subsidy.

In attempts to get more drivers out of gasoline vehicles and into cleaner electrically powered cars, many governments offer money towards their purchase for private buyers. But there are restrictions, usually an upper price limit.

Generally speaking, EVs are a little more expensive compared to their gasoline counterparts. At the lower end of the market, subsidies — coupled with an EV‘s lower running costs — can be enough to help drivers make the shift.

Cutting subsidies isn’t uncommon, and they won’t be offered forever. Earlier this year, the UK government cut its electric vehicle grant for the 10th time.

But it’s a good sales move from Tesla to keep the vehicle affordable for more people for the time being.

Read next: Researchers tested 47 old drugs that might treat the coronavirus — these were the results

Corona coverage

Read our daily coverage on how the tech industry is responding to the coronavirus and subscribe to our weekly newsletter Coronavirus in Context.

For tips and tricks on working remotely, check out our Growth Quarters articles here or follow us on Twitter.

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How A Life-Changing Accident Inspired This Jewelry Designer To Launch Her Own Brand

A life-changing car accident in 2011 was the turning point for Philadelphia native Joie DiGiovanni to reevaluate what mattered to her professionally. The impact from the crash left her with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, Raynaud’s Syndrome, and indeterminate colitis. While many of her autoimmune conditions are either currently in remission or under control with biologics, it was in her healing process that reaffirmed her true calling—jewelry design. 

Courtesy of Joie DiGiovanni

Courtesy of Joie DiGiovanni

DiGiovanni can trace the origins of her love affair with jewelry back to her childhood. “The women in my family had beautiful jewelry,” she tells me. “But it was always reserved for special occasions, which made me feel so restricted. I loved to mix and match, layer and wear jewelry not just with evening gowns, but also with jeans and sneakers.  So, I set out to create a jewelry line that had the quality and sophistication of a renowned jewelry house, but that was affordable and easy to wear.” DiGiovanni launched her eponymous brand in 2013 while working simultaneously in retail sales at regional chain, South Moon Under, where she would often wear her designs. 

“Shoppers would come into the store and purchase my jewelry right off of me,” she tells me. DiGiovanni was then asked by corporate to do a trunk show that was incredibly successful, which led to a capsule collection that was sold at twenty locations. “I officially went full time with my jewelry line in 2016 with an investment from my family, cashing in personal stocks, and eventually as I grew, I was able to get small business lines of credit to help fuel the growth. I am lucky to have a family that believes in me and supports my dreams and aspirations.” 

DiGiovanni is known for her colorful and detailed designs that are timeless yet modern. “My signature pieces are my ruby, emerald and sapphire necklaces, made of beautiful hand-picked faceted high-quality stones. I love layering and mixing metals, different colored gemstones and leather pieces to create a unique look and feel for each day depending on my mood.  Color, layering and mixing and matching are the core of my brand and aesthetic,” explains DiGiovanni. She’s also known for incorporating pearls, butterflies, and cannabis leaves into her designs. 

Founder, Joie DiGiovanni

Courtesy of Joie DiGiovanni

“Pearls transcend time and all ages,” states DiGiovanni. “Growing up, I always loved when my grandmother would put on her fine pearls. I wanted to create a pearl line that was fun, wearable, and for any age. Pearls symbolize royalty and beauty, but they aren’t perfect—they each have their own flaws, but that is what makes them unique.” As for butterflies, she has always had a soft spot for them as they symbolize both beauty and freedom. “I named my butterfly line “Volare,” which means to fly in Italian.  I wanted to make the line very unique, all individually set stones in vibrant colors that sparkle and exude happiness.  Since I was a little girl, I always wore a beautiful antique butterfly pendant my mother gifted me.”

DiGiovanni created her “Lit Collection” to pay homage to the medicine that cannabis and CBD has provided her to soothe the chronic pain she has suffered as a result of her car accident. “This is one of my favorite collections,” says DiGiovanni. “The details in each piece are amazing and it took about 4 different versions until the pieces came out exactly how I envisioned. Each stone is set individually with details in each gold leaf.  I love this collection and I wear three studs and a pot leaf pendant every single day.”  

Joie DiGiovanni Butterfly Earrings

Courtesy of Joie DiGiovanni

Lit Collection Earrings with Emeralds

Photo by James Graves

Joie DiGiovanni Stacking Ring Suite

Courtesy of Joie DiGiovanni

Details matter to DiGiovanni. “I am a perfectionist. Every detail counts. Everything I produce is handmade—from the knotted leather to fine metal where each gemstone is handset and assembled by hand,” explains DiGiovanni. Her production and manufacturing takes place in Philadelphia so that she has control over the entire process and quality assurance.  As a result, she rarely gets requests for repairs.

“I use only AAA quality pearls and each one is hand selected by my supplier and then further by me. The lariats are assembled on an unbreakable wire so that they can be tied together without any fear of breaking. Each pearl is bailed on metal and attached securely to the wire. The leather pieces are all made from natural leather and hand knotted.  Each pearl is hand drilled by my sister (who is her business partner). The fine metal pieces are all casted, each stone hand selected for perfection and then hand set by my small manufacturer.”

Joie DiGiovanni Jewelry

Photo by James Graves

Joie DiGiovanni Jewelry

Courtesy of Joie DiGiovanni

Joie DiGiovanni Jewelry

Photo by James Graves

Despite being told that she would not be able to deliver high-quality designs at an affordable price point unless she went overseas, DiGiovanni was determined to keep her business in the U.S. “The thought of mass-producing with zero insight into the supply-chain or how their employees are treated was something that scared me and I knew that was not going to work for my brand,” she tells me.  After extensive research, DiGiovanni was able to find a transparent supplier in New York City and a manufacturer in Philadelphia who hand-makes all of her fine jewelry pieces. “It was always very important for me to have my jewelry made here in the United States for job creation, quality control, and oversight.” 

Like many businesses, the pandemic has had a huge impact on DiGiovanni’s business. “All my retail partners have closed their doors during this scary time and are scrambling to figure out how to sell online,” shares DiGiovanni.  “Virtual trunk shows are now becoming a way to keep brands and stores at the forefront of consumers’ minds while they are stuck at home.” DiGiovanni believes the pandemic will change how consumers shop, in particular her base. “I believe women are going to want items that are meaningful, have stories behind them, that bring joy and happiness, and with a strong emphasis on products being produced in the United States and on craftsmanship.”

Joie DiGiovanni Jewelry

Photo by James Graves

Joie DiGiovanni Jewelry

Photo by James Graves

Joie DiGiovanni Jewelry

Photo by James Graves

Despite the current challenges, DiGiovanni remains hopeful for the future. “I see the brand staying strong in the coming years.  My jewelry line is small, well managed, the pieces have no seasonality, and can be worn year-round.  In fact, the way I run my business is ideal for weathering this situation. I keep one sample of each piece and from there my clients custom order so they can be a part of the process and choose metals, change stones, and even take existing jewelry they don’t wear to make new pieces that they will love. I offer a truly customizable experience, which I can do virtually if necessary,” explains DiGiovanni. The experience is one of the reasons such a large portion of DiGiovanni’s customer base is repeat business. 

In addition to her own designs, DiGiovanni collaborates with bloggers, influencers, and boutiques. A recent collaboration with Ariel Ginsburg (aka Ariel Peche) was so popular that it became a permanent part of DiGiovanni’s collection.“We named each piece after members of our families,” she tells me. Family is a big part of DiGiovanni’s business. In fact her sister Dara, who has Asperger syndrome plays an integral role in the company. “My sister helps hand make the gemstone pieces and drills all of the pearls. I believe in giving back to those navigating through their own journey with the spectrum. So we give a portion of our revenue year-round to local charities that support developmental disabilities.”  

Just like family, paying it forward is a vital part of DiGiovanni’s brand. “I have been doing virtual trunk shows with some of my retailers and giving a portion of the proceeds to Philabundance, a charity that is helping to feed families during this pandemic.  I am also donating a portion of sales from my website to Philabundance.  I believe the most important thing we can do is try to give back and help those less fortunate than us.”

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In The Fight Against COVID-19, 12 Million Surveys Ask One Key Question: Are You Symptomatic?

A woman passes by a world map showing countries infected with the new Coronavirus, COVID-19, during … [+] a press conference at the National Police headquerters, in Panama City, on March 10, 2020. – The Panamanian Government announced the first death by COVID-19 in the country. (Photo by Luis ACOSTA / AFP) (Photo by LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

It is no stretch to say that data has become one of the world’s most valuable resources. And, in the fight against COVID-19, it is proving all but essential.

To help supply the world with the data it needs to successfully fight the disease, Dynata, the world’s largest first-party survey platform, reaching over 60 million individuals globally, has taken the initiative to gather data by asking people visiting their survey platform a simple question: “Are you or anyone in your household experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19?”

“We believe that to solve the biggest challenge of our time, we need to tap our collective power,” says Gary S. Laben, CEO of Dynata. “We are doing our part by leveraging Dynata’s strength — our ability to reach 62 million panelists globally — to collect and update the largest amount of self-reported COVID-19 symptom data possible.”

Survey respondents are given the opportunity to choose from a list of symptoms known to coincide with COVID-19, such as fever, fatigue, dry cough, difficulty breathing, and loss of taste or smell. According to medical professionals, it is the combination of symptoms — particularly the combination of a dry cough and a loss of taste or smell — that are most predictive of the presence of the disease.

Of course, it is the scale of Dynata’s respondent pool that makes their effort meaningful. Every day, Dynata collects approximately 350,000 symptom responses globally, with 150,000 of these responses coming from the United States.

“The size of this data far surpasses that from a traditional scientific survey sample which requires selecting a much smaller sample size designed to represent a particular population and often with a lag in time reporting,” says Laben. “Therefore, we believe this to be a more useful approach for detecting epidemiological trends.”

The scale of their symptom data allows researchers to examine both international and local trends. For example, the two maps shown below depict 2-week rolling averages of COVID-19 symptoms across the world and at a borough level in New York City, as of April 30th, 2020.

Map #1: International prevalence of dry cough plus loss of taste or smell symptoms

Dynata COVID-19 Symptom Map

Map #2: Prevalence of dry cough plus loss of taste or smell symptoms in New York City

Dynata COVID-19 Symptom Map

The team at Dynata hopes their data will help governments and healthcare systems stay one step ahead of the virus by identifying potential hot spots before patients overwhelm their local healthcare system’s capacity. They also believe their data can assist governments in making decisions to reopen businesses, schools, and other community resources. To this end, they are making all of their data and findings open to the public and downloadable here.

In fact, Dynata is already partnering with researchers at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government to make sense of the data.

“The high frequency nature, geographic detail, coupled with a ‘wisdom of crowds’ approach of the Dynata Global Symptom map fulfills a definite void until there is widespread testing,” says Marcella Alsan, Professor of Public Policy at Harvard. “The information Dynata is providing is very complementary to other efforts to track the epidemic and can be used for real societal benefit.”

The researchers at Harvard are particularly interested in understanding cultural differences in attitudes toward disease mitigation efforts. Preliminary evidence, for example, shows that people in India are much more likely to endorse giving up their own rights, suspending democratic procedures, enduring economic losses, and giving up personal privacy to fight the disease than people in Japan or Western countries such as the Netherlands.

“We are combining Dynata’s weekly and daily trackers with our own surveys to study the tradeoffs between civil liberties, economic losses, and public health in many countries,” says Alsan. “We find, for example, that there is wide variation in what types of liberties people are willing to give up across the world in the setting of a pandemic.”

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Investors Chronicle: Keystone Law, BP, HSBC

BUY: Keystone Law (KEYS)

Keystone should see counter-cyclical demand for services such as litigation and insolvency, writes Nilushi Karunaratne.

The key distinction between Keystone Law and its listed law firm peers is its platform model. A network of self-employed lawyers contract with the group, working from their own base but connecting to the central office using proprietary software. Growth is driven by continued recruitment of senior lawyers — so-called “principals” — with an existing client base. The group added net 51 new principals in the year ending January 31, bringing the total to 328.

Gross profit rose 14 per cent to £13.2m, but the margin dropped 0.4 percentage points to 26.7 per cent. Keystone attributes this to a one-off piece of higher margin litigation work in the prior year.

Billing and cash generation have thus far held up in face of the Covid-19 pandemic, but there has been a “meaningful decline” in new instructions from clients. Keystone believes it has sufficient liquidity to weather any disruption — excluding £2m in lease liabilities, it started this year with £4.4m of net cash. Meanwhile, the variable cost base should offer protection. Rather than fixed remuneration, lawyers are paid 60-75 per cent of case fees and only once the group itself has been paid.

Panmure Gordon expects the coronavirus crisis will impact recruitment, projecting a 3 per cent decline in lawyer numbers this year. It anticipates adjusted pre-tax profit of £2.7m and earnings per share of 7.1p in 2021, down from £5.8m and 14.9p in 2020.

SELL: BP (BP.)

The BP board has stuck with the higher dividend handed out by Bob Dudley despite the sky falling in for energy companies, writes Alex Hamer.

BP’s earnings crashed in the first three months of 2020 because of the collapse of the oil price in March and the drop in demand, which hit downstream sales. The company has maintained its 10.5 cents quarterly dividend, however, even as its debt shoots up well beyond the 20-30 per cent gearing goal.

BP’s main profit figure, underlying replacement cost profit, fell by two-thirds to $800m compared to the first quarter of 2019. Its profit before tax for the period swung from $4.8bn last year to a $4.5bn loss because of impairments and the worse performance.

The oil price crumbled on March 9 after Saudi Arabia increased supply despite demand plummeting from Covid-19. The upstream division’s underlying operating profit actually came ahead of analyst expectations even at $1bn less than last year with a figure of $1.8bn.

Rosneft earnings fell into the red, while the downstream earnings missed expectations because of lower refining margins and poorer retail sales. BP also saw a $3.7bn working capital build in the quarter largely because of unsold downstream products, which it expects to reverse in the coming quarters. Its net debt as of March 31 was $51.4bn, up $6bn from the end of 2019.

Incoming finance chief Murray Auchincloss said the divestment programme was still aiming for $15bn by mid-2021. The company has $10.1bn of announced deals, but has had to hand the buyer of its Alaska assets, Hilcorp, new options to complete the $5.6bn deal, for which a $4bn up front payment was expected this year. Mr Auchincloss said the remaining $5bn in the divestment plan would likely come more from selling infrastructure and real estate instead of upstream assets.

Panmure Gordon analyst Colin Smith said it was no surprise BP would see its divestment plan hit by the current situation. But, Mr Smith said, this combined with the uncertainty over prices the rest of the year and the state of the balance sheet, may make the dividend maintenance look like “hubris” in retrospect.

BP has cut spending for this year by around 25 per cent, to $12bn. Mr Auchincloss — currently the upstream finance boss — said this would knock around 70,000 barrels of oil per day from 2020 production.

SELL: HSBC (HSBA)

Investors should not lose sight of the damage caused to both interest margins and loan growth, writes Alex Newman.

HSBC this week revealed a fivefold increase in its first-quarter loan loss provisions, in the first concrete sign of the damage the Covid-19 crisis is already inflicting on the operations of UK-listed lenders.

When the group published full-year results in February, management suggested slowing growth and credit issues could result in virus-linked loan impairments of up to $600m (£480m) in Hong Kong and China this year. Just over two months on, that initial estimate has been blown away by a $3bn charge for the first quarter alone, some 73 per cent worse than consensus forecasts.

HSBC said the expected credit losses reflected both a deteriorating economic outlook and a single charge “relating to a corporate exposure in Singapore”, which investors are likely to interpret as a nod to the bank’s exposure to Hin Leong, the scandal-hit oil trader under investigation for disguising $800m of losses.

“The impact and duration of the Covid-19 crisis will probably lead to higher ECL and put pressure on revenue due to lower customer activity levels and reduced global interest rates,” HSBC said in its updated outlook for 2020. The lender added that it plans to reduce operating expenses to offset the drop in revenue, although a complex group-wide restructuring announced earlier this year will remain on hold until the crisis abates.

It’s unclear that those measures will be enough. While first-quarter operating expenses dipped 5 per cent, the cost of the huge impairments meant profits fell 48 per cent year on year, to $3.2bn. Those provisions are likely to include major revaluations of credit extended to oil and gas clients, which HSBC highlighted as a source of “heightened risk”. The bank’s $25.8bn exposure to the sector — as outlined in full-year disclosures — amounts to just over a fifth of HSBC’s common equity tier-one (CET1) capital, according to calculations by RBC.

On that front, the cancellation of the final dividend for 2019 — at the Bank of England’s request — meant that capital ratios held up at 14.6 per cent. But the road ahead remains decidedly gloomy. The reduction in interest rates around the world will result in “material downward pressure on net interest margins in future quarters”, while negative movements are set to cause “mid-to-high single-digit” growth in risk-weighted assets.

“We expect the strategic targets to be revisited once the longer-term consequences of Covid-19 on activity levels and rates is clearer,” said analysts at UBS, who now view a double-digit return on tangible equity target in 2022 as “unlikely”.

Chris Dillow: The austerity threat

Will the coronavirus lockdown lead to another round of fiscal austerity? Former chancellor George Osborne has warned that it could. “We’ll be going back into a period of retrenchment and trying to bring public-sector debt down,” he told the CBI recently.

There’s no question that government borrowing will increase sharply; The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts net borrowing this fiscal year of £273bn, which would push the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product (GDP) up to 94.6 per cent, its highest since 1959. Although these numbers are subject to a massive margin of error, nobody doubts the direction the public finances are heading in.

What they do doubt, however, is whether austerity is necessary.

Certainly, history suggests that high debt need not be a problem. The UK came out of the second world war with government debt equal to almost 250 per cent of GDP. Not only did this not lead to any financial crisis, but we saw the strongest sustained economic growth in our history over the following 30 years.

In fact, there are five good reasons not to embark upon fiscal austerity next year.

One is that we cannot be certain how strong the economy will be. Yes, there’s likely to be a surge in demand when the lockdown is lifted. But will this carry through? With unemployment likely to stay high, it might not. This argues for at least delaying any decision to tighten significantly.

Second, there’s the question of where to cut. One reason why chancellor Rishi Sunak eased back on austerity before the coronavirus crisis was that public services were already fully stretched. That won’t change.

Third, there’s the fact that conventional monetary policy can do little more to support the economy in the face of either fiscal tightening or any future demand shock. Unless you are willing to consider unconventional measures such as subsidies to banks to encourage lending or direct transfers from the Bank of England into our bank accounts, this means there’s a case for fiscal policy to at least not depress demand.

Fourth, with real interest rates negative in real terms, we don’t need spending cuts to reduce the ratio of debt to GDP. We can do so even while running a modest deficit. If we assume that trend GDP growth is about 2 per cent, then simple maths tells us that with real interest rates at -2 per cent we can reduce the debt-GDP ratio over time with any primary deficit (that is, borrowing before interest costs) less than 3.7 per cent of GDP. Last year, there was actually a small surplus on the primary balance.

Finally, of course, recent history tells us that austerity doesn’t always reduce debt. In June 2010, the OBR forecast that the debt-GDP ratio would be 67.4 per cent in 2015-16. In fact, it turned out to be 79.9 per cent. One reason for this overshoot was that austerity is to some extent counterproductive. Holding down public spending depresses economic activity (relative to what it would otherwise be) and so reduces tax revenue. Which poses the question: if austerity didn’t reduce government debt then, why should it do so in the 2020s?

This leaves another possibility. As John Maynard Keynes said in 1933: “Look after the unemployment, and the Budget will look after itself.” This strategy worked after 1945. It might well do so again.

Chris Dillow is an economics commentator for Investors Chronicle

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Ayrton Senna’s F1 cars through the years

On the 26th anniversary of his death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, we look back at the cars Ayrton Senna drove throughout his illustrious Formula One career.

Senna is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers in racing history and he raced in some of the most iconic cars ever seen in F1. We start, of course, at the very beginning…

American driver Juan Manuel Correa on the F2 crash that left him with life-altering leg injuries and claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert; his recovery; and his hopes of a comeback. Listen to the latest episode

1984

Toleman TG183B

A young Senna got his break with the little Toleman team, but the first model he raced was the car which had contested the previous season.

Senna would record a pair of sixth-place finishes in South Africa and Belgium, but the TG183B’s final race would be one for the history books — the 1984 San Marino Grand Prix was the only F1 event Senna ever failed to qualify for.

Ayrton Senna made his debut at the 1984 Brazilian Grand Prix with the car Toleman had used for the previous season. Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

The upgraded TG184 was introduced for following event in France, the fifth of the season. Its most famous performance would come with Senna at the wheel one race later.

Toleman TG184

A rookie Ayrton Senna rose to prominence with Toleman in 1984 after finishing second at the Monaco Grand Prix. Mike Powell/Getty Images

The rookie Senna announced himself to the racing world at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix. The team’s new car was a step forward and Senna would be given an immediate chance to show his talent. Starting 13th with the rain pouring at the Monaco Grand Prix, Senna carved through the field.

The Brazilian caught and passed race leader rival Alain Prost just before the red flag was waved on lap 32. Senna initially celebrated a win, but the rules stated that positions must revert back to the lap prior to a race being called off. Senna had to settle for second position rather than first, but he had underlined his superstar potential.

Senna would visit the podium twice more, finishing third in Great Britain and Portugal, earning the attention of Lotus.

Mike Powell/Getty Images

1985

Lotus 97T

The iconic John Player Special livery and Ayrton Senna’s famous helmet colours were paired together in 1985. Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

Senna’s meteoric rise continued with the beautiful Lotus 97T, decked out in the iconic black and gold of John Player Special, in his sophomore year. Lotus was not the team it had been in the late 1970s and was still hurting from the death of team boss Colin Chapman in 1982, but Senna’s first season saw something of a resurgence.

The Renault-powered 97T would be competitive. Senna, who had replaced Williams-bound Nigel Mansell, would win his second race with the team, mastering heavy rain to win by over a minute at the Portuguese Grand Prix. Another victory followed at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchams circuit later in the year.

Seven pole positions across the year helped forge Senna’s reputation as a fearsome qualifier, which would remain one of his most revered traits throughout his career.

1986

Lotus 98T

Ayrton Senna joined Lotus in 1985 after his breakout rookie season with Toleman. Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

With his status as a future superstar now unquestionable, Senna threw his weight around ahead of the 1986 season. With ’85 teammate Angelo de Angelis leaving for Brabham, Senna vetoed the signing of British driver Derek Warwick. Little-known Scot Johnny Dumfries took over the role of No.2 driver instead.

In the season often considered the peak of the turbo era, there was pressure on Lotus and Renault to build Senna a championship contender. Renault’s EF15B engine would be one of the most powerful to ever run in a Formula One car.

Despite Senna recording eight pole positions across the season, Lotus was unable to convert that raw power into a title challenge. The Brazilian would have to settle for victories in Spain and Detroit. He finished on the podium on six other occasions but car reliability issues ultimately left him to settle for another fourth-place finish in the championship.

This would be the last Lotus to carry the John Player Special livery and its last with Renault, which withdrew from F1 at the end of the season.

1987

Lotus 99T

Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

Another famous colour scheme replaced Lotus’ John Player Special look, with the blue and yellow livery of Camal being introduced for 1987. Honda, who would become a key part of Senna’s career, joined as engine supplier.

The bulky 99T was fitted with active suspension which helped Senna to bumpy street circuit victories in Monaco and Detroit (Lotus’ last win in F1), although the system contributed to a car which was ultimately tricky to set up on a lot of that year’s courses. Senna would claim just one pole position throughout this season, but despite the 99T’s flaws he was competitive enough on Sundays to finish a career-best third in the championship.

Greater things awaited Senna, however, and his three-year stint at Lotus had caught the attention of Ron Dennis and McLaren.

1988

McLaren MP4/4

Ayrton Senna’s McLaren tenure started with arguably the greatest F1 car ever made, the MP4/4. Pierre-Yves Muel/TempSport/Corbis via Getty Images

Senna’s rise continued with a move to McLaren for the 1988 season and he was gifted the best car of his career. Some consider the Honda-powered MP4/4, designed by Steve Nichols, the greatest F1 car ever built and it remains one of the most dominant of all time.

MP4/4: Why McLaren’s ’88 car achieved legendary status

In this car Senna had one of his most legendary performances, at the Monaco Grand Prix. Senna out-qualified Prost by 1.427 seconds and would later liken the lap to an outer body experience.

“I was kind of driving it by instinct,” Senna later said. “I was in a different dimension. I was like, in a tunnel well beyond my conscious understanding.”

“That was the maximum for me; no room for anything more. I never really reached that feeling again.”

In his determination to humiliate Prost, Senna ignored calls during the race to slow down and crashed while leading comfortably on the Sunday.

Footage of that moment featured prominently in the 2010 documentary about Senna’s career.

The DNF did not matter in the grand scheme of the season, where the MP4/4 won all but one of the 16 races. Seven of them belonged to Senna and were enough for his first championship.

In a quirk in the rules, Prost actually out-scored Senna across the season 105 points to 94. However, only a driver’s 11 best results were counted towards the championship – in those stakes, Senna scored 90 to Prost’s 87.

1989

McLaren MP4/5

Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

McLaren’s dominant ’88 season had allowed it to put a lot of effort into developing the MP4/5. Turbcharged engines were banned and naturally-aaspirated engines made compulsory, meaning this was fitted with a 3.5 V10 Honda engine.

It was less dominant than its predecessor, winning 10 of the 16 races.

The MP4/5 is the subject of one of the most famous moments in F1 history, a major flashpoint in the legendary Senna-Prost rivalry.

While the teammates vied for position at the penultimate round, the Japanese Grand Prix, they made contact and came to a stop at the final chicane on lap 46. Prost retired from the race on the spot but Senna’s car was pushed back to the race track, pitted for repairs and won the race. However Senna was disqualified from the race result for his push-start, which handed the title to Prost.

Senna was outraged and vowed to never forget the perceived injustice of the decision.

Ayrton Senna signals for marshals to give him a push-start after colliding with Alain Prost during the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix. TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP via Getty Images

In something of a reversal of the previous year, Senna enjoyed the better season on paper, winning six races to Prost’s four. The relationship had reached breaking point and Prost moved to Ferrari for 1990.

1990

McLaren MP4/5B

Same colours, new teammate – Ayrton Senna was joined by Gerhard Berger in 1990, with rival Alain Prost switching to Ferrari. Sutton/Getty Images

With Prost gone, Senna set his sights on a second world championship, with the affable Gerhard Berger taking Prost’s seat. Prost had taken designer Nichols with him to Ferrari and McLaren entered the year with a modified version of the MP4/5, named the MP4/5B.

Once again it enjoyed a pace advantage in qualifying, which suited Senna perfectly, but it was well-matched by that year’s Ferrari. Senna again won six races and arrived back at the penultimate round in Japan with a chance to win the title, still seething from what had happened a year earlier.

Another infamous moment followed in the race. Senna had a slow start from pole position and Prost took the lead on the run down to Turn 1. Their cars wouldn’t make it any further than that, as Senna ploughed into Prost as the Frenchman moved across to take the right-hander. Both drivers retired from the race, meaning Senna was champion.

Allsport UK /Allsport

1991

McLaren MP4/6

Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

Powered by a Honda V12, the McLaren was the benchmark for the rest of the F1 field again in 1991. It remains the last F1 car to win a world championship with a fully manual transmission or a V12 engine.

Prost failed to win a race all year and was sacked before the final race following a dispute with Ferrari, helping pave the wave for Senna to become a triple world champion. The Brazilian won the opening four races and three more in the second half of the campaign as he finished comfortably clear of Nigel Mansell.

Senna’s most memorable win of the campaign was his first and only victory on home tarmac, the Brazilian Grand Prix. He lost third and fifth gear in the closing stages and was so exhausted from the effort of keeping it in the race he had to be dragged out of his car after finishing.

The MP4/6 would be Senna’s final championship-winning car, as McLaren’s period of domination came to an end — it would not win a title again until 1998. He would race a modified version of the car in the opening two races of the following season.

1992

McLaren MP4/7A

Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

This car was originally slated for introduction at the fourth race of the year, but a new rising power prompted a change of tact. The Renault-powered, Adrian Newey-designed Williams FW14 was a marvel. After seeing Williams win the opening two rounds, McLaren boss Ron Dennis brought forward the launch of the MP4/7A by a month.

With the new car Senna claimed three victories — in Monaco, Hungary and Italy — in what was his least competitive season since leaving Lotus. The first of those wins saw him hold off a charging Mansell around the streets of Monte Carlo in what has gone down as a classic F1 battle.

Mansell and Williams claimed the title that year and the era of dominance officially came to a close as McLaren’s Honda partnership finished. McLaren and Honda would re-form its partnership in 2015 for an ill-fated three-year partnership.

1993

McLaren MP4/8

Ayrton Senna’s final year at McLaren was with an uncompetitive Ford engine. Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

With Honda gone, McLaren’s 1993 car was powered by Ford. Although Prost and Williams ultimately won the season comfortably Senna achieved some remarkable results early in the year, winning three of the opening six races and leading the championship until the seventh.

However, the car gradually dropped off the pace, while the Williams got stronger. Senna went eight straight races without visiting the podium in the MP4/8, which was the longest such spell of his entire career.

One of his three wins is arguably his most renowned, the 1993 European Grand Prix at British circuit Donington Park. In soaking conditions Senna passed Michael Schumacher, Karl Wendlinger, Damon Hill and Prost on the opening lap.

He would cap his McLaren tenure with wins at the final two rounds, Japan and Australia, his last before switching to the Williams team which was now the dominant force in F1.

1994

Williams FW16

Ayrton Senna would start just three races with the Williams FW16. Hewitt/Allsport

Senna’s switch to Williams promised so much but ultimately ended in tragedy.

The Newey-designed car was an evolution of the 1993 Williams Prost had claimed a comfortable title with, but without a key ingredient. The active suspension system Williams had pioneered in the previous two years had been banned and preseason soon revealed shortcomings with the FW16.

Newey would later say: “The 1994 car was not a good car at all at the start of the year. It was very difficult to drive. We developed the aerodynamics using active suspension and we developed them [to work] in a very small [set-up] window.

“Having had active suspension for two years, when we then lost it we had more trouble re-adapting to passive suspension than other people who hadn’t been on it for very long.”

Senna retired from the first two races, won by Benetton’s Michael Schumacher. Senna’s frustration at the start of the year was heightened by a suspicion Benetton was running illegal traction control software on its car, an allegation never proven.

Changes were made to the FW16 for the third race, the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, but the world never got to see if they could have rebooted Senna’s title campaign. After claiming pole and leading away at the start, Senna crashed and was killed at the Tamburello corner at the beginning of the sixth lap.

Senna’s teammate, Damon Hill, was narrowly beaten to the title by Schumacher at the final race of the season.

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Lessons For The World On How Estonia’s Digital State Is Coping With Coronavirus

Kersti Kaljulaid, Estonia’s president. Photographer: Peti Kollanyi/Bloomberg

© 2017 Bloomberg Finance LP

“Its government is virtual, borderless, blockchained, and secure. Has this tiny post-Soviet nation found the way of the future?” So asked The New Yorker in the standfirst of its 2017 article on Estonia, the Digital Republic. If the way Estonia is governed is new to you, after reading the 7,500 or so words of Nathan Heller’s article you’ll likely conclude that it is, indeed, the future. If the digital republic isn’t new to you, you’ve very likely already concluded it is.

Coronavirus is shaking the world out of all sorts of complacencies. Governments’ capacity – or lack of it – is suddenly under the microscope, which is making the case for digital government reforms in the image of Estonia not just attractive, which they have always been, but vital.

Like all countries, Estonia is suffering. It is facing the same immediate threat as many other countries and in response is isolating itself and its inhabitants from the virus, including, most dramatically, Saaremaa, a small island off its coast, where a high percentage of the population are thought to have contracted the virus. (A volleyball tournament on 4th and 5th March involving Power Volley Milano seems to be the reason the island’s 33,000 people have been so hard hit.)

I’ve written before on why Estonia’s digital state shows the way for government reforms in the U.K. My call for these radical reforms was more in hope than expectation. There is a great deal of inertia within any government, and the U.K. doesn’t have the magic mix that made Estonia’s reforms possible; namely, a blank slate for a young set of reform-minded officials on tight budget, finally free of Soviet occupation and on a mission to improve the lives of its citizens.

I’m not the first person to take a look at how Estonia is reacting to the crisis. The New Yorker (again) makes the case for why Estonia was poised to handle how a pandemic would change everything: “Its economy is bound to tech, its government is digital, and most services in the country either are or can be provided electronically – in fact, it’s nearly impossible to overstate the extent of Estonian digitization. People vote online and use digital prescriptions; a single piece of I.D. securely stores each Estonian’s personal information, including health, tax, and police records; one can even establish residency and begin paying taxes in the country digitally—effectively immigrating online.”

It’s a good article, but it doesn’t get into the nitty gritty of how a digital state is making a practical difference to the lives of its citizens at this most challenging time.

Hack the Crisis

The most newsworthy reaction to coronavirus was ‘Hack the Crisis.’ Perhaps hackathons are a little passé, but it has been effective.

Ideas included “a platform for connecting vulnerable, at-risk people with volunteers via a call center; an online tutoring service for school children in quarantine; an add-on to smartwatches to help people check for coronavirus symptoms; an online display of what food stocks are available in local supermarkets; and an app to map the spread of coronavirus, which invites people to self-report cases.” 

Suve was also created at the event organized by Garage48 and Accelerate Estonia. She is a chatbot that’s able to answer citizens’ questions related to the crisis situation and she’s already been rolled out across government websites. Share Force One was also created in the hack. It’s a workforce sharing platform that connects B2B sides for temporary workforce exchange and is being run in partnership with Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Next up, Estonia is “teaming up with Mistletoe Singapore, the European Commission and other local and international supporters, to organize a 100-hour free online accelerator for startups with potential to have a strong impact on shaping today’s and the post-crisis world.” Salto Growth Camp: EMERGEncy includes the Estonian President, Kersti Kaljulaid, as a mentor, as well as founders from Bolt, Skype, Pipedrive, Veriff, Testlio and other Estonian high-growth startups and scaleups.

This is What State Capacity Looks Like

Hackathons and accelerators are all well and good, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The thing that really sets Estonia apart from countries like the U.K. in dealing with coronavirus isn’t so easily replicable.

First, a note of caution though. The economic fallout will be severe for every country in the world and Estonia is as reliant on global supply chains as any country, whether in purchasing their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), ventilators, or, presumably, the vaccine, when it finally comes. And Estonia, like many countries – though worryingly not the U.K., which is opting for a centralized approach – is planning to integrate its contact tracing app with Apple and Google’s joint COVID-19 tracing tool for iOS and Android.

Priit Tohver Advisor for Digital Services Innovation in the Ministry of Social Affairs, explains: “In Estonia we are indebted to all the hard work that has already been put into developing contact tracing apps around the world. It is clear, however, that without integrating with the Apple and Google API, these solutions will never achieve their full potential. Fortunately the approach supported by the API aligns well with our privacy-preserving principles.”   

Privacy and security are front and center to the Estonia model, which ironically has been the most common objection to their digital reforms from many in other countries over the years. The criticism tends to be civil liberties objection to having ID cards, although they are no longer necessary because digital apps have effectively replaced the need for a physical card. Nevertheless, central to a capable state is the need for everyone in the country to have a digital identity, but this is infinitely more secure than the hodgepodge approach that countries like the UK take to managing and securing data. In Estonia, where and how data is collected, stored and deleted is central to every interaction and process, as well as who can access it and when.

E-Government in the Time of Coronavirus

State capacity requires a functioning government. That is proving tricky for many countries who have only ever done it in physical parliaments. Estonia has been doing e-Cabinet since the early 2000s, with government business easily conducted securely online. And while the postponement of English local elections for a year is the right decision in the circumstances, this wouldn’t have been necessary in Estonia, where i-Voting has been possible since 2005. At the last parliamentary elections in March 2019, 44% of Estonians voted online.

While i-Voting is much cheaper (€2.32 versus €20.41 per vote), the move has always struck me as something that shouldn’t be decided by just value for money. Most obviously because of the added trust people have in a system where other citizens physically count the votes, but also because of the pleasure people get from the ritual of visiting the polling booth with others. Nevertheless, coronavirus has revealed the value of at least having a backup system in place to keep democracy functioning even when we can’t easily leave the house.

Estonians have been using digital signatures in their interactions with the government since 2002. While countries like the U.K. are being forced to try to move to interactions online, Estonians are afforded a higher level of security by way of their digital identity card through the physical smart card reader, or increasingly directly through their computer and phone through apps. (Incidentally, the card can also be used as a way of confirming your identity directly with the private sector where you need to prove your identity, such as for loyalty schemes.)

Back in 2015, Estonia planned to digitalize all educational materials by 2020, which is why they were ready to swiftly launch Education Nation with Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, and make the switch to teaching and learning fully online. They have also made the resources available for free to the rest of the world.

As reported from Germany: “Teacher training in e-learning started around 10 years ago, according to the country′s deputy education minister, Marts Laidmets. Estonian educators also have access to a wide array of online tools to connect pupils, teachers and parents. Those include eKool, a school management network that has more than 200,000 active users on a normal day, and Stuudium, a suite of apps with educational materials, assessment tools and messaging. Much of Estonian schooling is already in the cloud, and 87% of schools use tools like eKool and Stuudium, whether for lesson plans, homework, absence management or recording grades.”

Estonia was also ready to keep the wheels of justice turning post-lockdown. It’s e-Justice system ensures court proceedings are both one of the cheapest to run and one of the fastest in Europe.

Here is how it works: “As soon as a citizen has securely authenticated themselves and accessed the e-justice platform, they can submit any kind of cases online. The data will be shared between institutions that are linked to the case and courts can start proceeding related documents. These interactions are based on the once-only policy which means that duplicates of information are not allowed in state databases.”

“The e-file platform also allows courts to send citizens different documents, while notifications ensure judges that all files have been successfully delivered. Every document is timestamped and contains a secure electronic signature. Furthermore, classified information can be encrypted by the courts to make sure that no third party would be able to access the data.” 

While other countries are struggling to get court systems online (and even throwing people in jail for not paying their parking fines without a functioning court system), Estonia is already using AI to solve simple disputes of small claims disputes of less than €7,000.

In a recent interview, the potential for a digital state was set out by Indrek Õnnik, Global Affairs Director at Government CIO Office, on how Estonia is dealing with coronavirus. The Estonian Police and Border Guard Board sends you a message via your virtual personal assistant to inform you that your passport is expiring in 6 months. In response, you might decide to book an appointment for five months through your virtual assistant, but the personal assistant immediately alerts you that you’ll need a passport with more than 6 months’ left on it because you’ve booked a trip to Thailand that requires it. The personal assistant then applies for the passport straight away and a phone notification prompts you to take a photo on your smartphone. You take the photo, but the AI has identified that you’ve smiled in it and prompts you to take another one. You do and your passport arrives in 5 days.

In the same interview, he also posits a future scenario where the borders have to close again but you’re stuck in another country. Rather than panic, you alert the embassy online through your smartphone, which automatically organizes the safest and most efficient way for you to get home. This is Estonian’s vision of the near future.

It’s perhaps in healthcare and welfare where the weaknesses of government systems feel most acute right now. In the U.K., for example, the gaps in support aren’t being filled because of a lack of adequate data – particularly for some self-employed and company directors who’ve paid themselves in dividends. It’s not a lack of present will, but a lack of state capacity.

In terms of welfare, Estonia’s automated and (relatively) accurate registries automatically share information so people get what they’re entitled to. As President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid explains in a recent HBR podcast, unlike in many other countries, Estonian citizens who were sick with coronavirus didn’t have to report to anyone physically, which avoided it spreading that way as it did in the early stages in some countries that weren’t on top of this straight away. Instead, people were away able to immediately apply for social security online.

Digitalization, privacy and data protection are baked into the health system. Estonia already has digital prescriptions and patient files are digitized, so doctors have access to all relevant health records, including from specialists. This means that they’re better able to identify those who are at risk from coronavirus than in countries where information is siloed and reliant on paper trails.

Towards a Digital State

Estonia’s digital state would not exist without an equally competent private sector, but that’s not the blockage in countries like the U.K. As President Kaljulaid in the HBR podcast says of the remarkable efficiency of the state: “We didn’t know that the public sector was supposed to be falling behind.”

So, what next? President Kaljulaid believes, I think correctly, that the current situation will speed up the need for reforms rather than overthrow the established order: “It’s more an accelerator than a total game-changer, because all these measures that we need to take: vaccinations, social distancing, more services online which allows you social distancing, wearing protective masks, for example, on public transport. These are all things that we had before. We simply did not apply them. Nothing has emerged, which would say the world will be totally different.”

The Estonian government isn’t perfect. For example, it lags countries like the UK on innovations like Open Data which lets companies build services on the back of government data without the need for government involvement. But we could and should want to excel at both, and this pandemic has thrown into sharp relief why governments across the world need a digital upgrade.

To (probably) quote sci-fi writer William Gibson: “The future has arrived — it’s just not evenly distributed yet.“

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25 Live Video Stats Marketers Need to Know in 2020

In the past year or so, live video has quickly become one of the most popular types of online content, especially on social media.

Not only is Facebook Live thriving, with one in five videos being live streams, but other major platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and — most recently — LinkedIn, have embraced similar features.

Aside from the older social media platforms allowing live streams, some emerging platforms, like Twitch.tv, now cater specifically to live stream viewers.

While people find live streams entertaining because they offer them a chance to see raw, authentic footage, view behind-the-scenes video from their favorite influencers, or interact in live Q&As with industry experts, brands also find this content beneficial for boosting awareness.

For example, many companies have sponsored or hosted the live Q&As I noted above. Alternatively, they’ve also sponsored live product tutorials from social media influencers. Aside from smaller Q&As and tutorials, some brands have even created entire virtual events that rely on live streams.

When it comes to live video, there are many creative opportunities that could allow brands to reach and interact with their audiences. But, because this tactic is still somewhat new, many companies might not know where to start when brainstorming live content.

Like with any new trend, brands might also wonder, “Is streaming live video worth my time, or is this strategy just built on hype?”

To give you a bird’s eye view of the live video landscape, here are 25 stats that you should keep in mind if you’re considering live video.

25 Live Video Stats That Marketers Need to Know

Growth in Live Video

In 2019, internet users watch 1.1 billion hours of live video. (StreamElements)

The video streaming market is projected to hit 184.3 billion by 2027. (Grand View Research)

In 2018, 47% of live streaming video viewers worldwide are streaming more live video compared with the year before. (IAB)

Also in 2018, 44% of live video viewers said they watch less live TV “as a result of live streaming.” (IAB)

67% of consumers were streaming live video worldwide by the end of 2018. (IAB)

By the end of 2020, live streaming is expected to account for 82% of all internet traffic. (Go-Global)

How Live Streaming Benefits Brands

More than 35% of marketers use live video as part of their social media strategy. (Social Media Examiner)

52% of live stream viewers prefer free, ad-supported content over subscription content. (IAB)

82% of people prefer live video from a brand over standard social media posts. (Livestream)

67% of audiences who watch a live stream event will purchase a ticket to a similar event. (Livestream)

80% of people would rather watch live video from a brand than read a blog. (Livestream)

Live Streaming Platforms

In May 2019, YouTube Live videos were watched for 284 hours. This was a monthly record for YouTube. (StreamElements)

Non-gaming content has been a major growth driver for Twitch representing 11% of the hours watched in December 2019 compared to 8% in December 2018. (StreamElements)

In Q2 of 2019, Twitch users watch 2.9 trillion hours of live content. (StreamElements)

In Q1, Twitter hosted more than 1,200 live-streamed events. (Twitter)

Source

70% of consumers prefer to watch live video on YouTube over other platforms. (Livestream)

60 of the most-viewed YouTube live streams happened in the last two years. (Think With Google)

“Facebook Live Stream” saw a 330% increase in searches between 2016 and 2018. (Mediakix)

One in five Facebook videos is a live broadcast. (Facebook)

Live Stream Audience Behaviors and Content Preferences

On average, 1.05 million viewers were on Twitch at any given time in Q4 of 2019. (Statista)

70% of consumers who live stream do so at least once per day. (IAB)

67% of people say the quality of the video they’re watching is the most important factor of a live stream. (Livestream)

The most-watched live streams have to do with news coverage, while concerts and live conferences tie in second. (Livestream)

87% of people will watch a live stream if it includes behind-the-scenes content. (Livestream)

Almost half of Gen Z watches their favorite shows live on social media. (eMarketer)

Planning Your Live Video Strategy

From the stats above, we can see that live video isn’t going away any time soon.

But, before you start your first live video, you’ll want to plan out your live event ahead of time to ensure that it’s both valuable and professional looking to your audience.

You’ll also want to determine which platform will allow you to reach audiences that most align with your brand. For example, if you’re interested in gaining awareness from a more general audience, Facebook Live might be a great option due to the platform’s age and its number of users. On the other hand, if you want to reach gamers or Gen Z, you might want to test out a Twitch stream.

If you’re interested in creating your own live campaigns, but don’t know where to start, here’s a great guide to help you.

Trying to pick out the right live streaming platform for your brand? Check out this post that directly compares Facebook Live and YouTube. You can also read up on one of the fastest-growing live platforms, Twitch, here.

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Tags: 2020, 25, live, Marketers, Stats, Video

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‘Strava Wankers’ pokes fun at the worst people in society — tryhards

Welcome to Riding Nerdy, TNW’s fortnightly dive into bicycle-based tech, where we go into too much detail and geek out on all things related to pedal-powered gadgets.

Since lockdown measures around the world have forced gyms and health clubs to close, many more people are exercising outside, where it’s free. The side effect is that everyone has seemingly pivoted to fitness tracking app, Strava.

Seriously, the amount of notifications telling me my Facebook friends have just joined Strava has been kind of surprising. Not because I don’t have any friends, but because I don’t really expect this kind of behavior from them. 

If they’re getting out and trying to keep moving despite the lockdown, more power to them. But there are some that are taking things a little too far, and need calling out. 

There’s certain unspoken etiquette when it comes to Strava, and it simply boils down to one principle: “Don’t brag.” 

For cyclists, the biggest power flex on Strava is to wake up at 6AM, knock out 248.8 km without stopping, on your own, and post the activity under its default name: “Morning ride.” Sure. Take a few pictures if you see things that are genuinely worth sharing, otherwise, just get your head down and get on with it.

But it seems a whole swathe of Strava users didn’t get the memo.

Enter Twitter account, Strava Wankers. 

According to a recent interview with The Independent, the creator of Strava Wankers, known as “Annie,” (not her real name), started the account in 2015 as a “bit of a piss take.” Poking fun at members of her local running club who became obsessed with taking Strava Segments (virtually constructed portions of a course that users compete to be the fastest at). 

Example of a Strava Segment. This is the Box Hill segment in Surrey, south west of London. It’s one of the world’s most ridden segments, over 90,000 Strava accounts have been recorded riding through this section of road.

Their obsession became so destructive that some runners worked in teams, passing their fitness tracking watches like relay batons, to reclaim the crown as king or queen of the segment. What a sad little life.

Come on!! Own up!! How many of you have had the other half drive infront of you to get the KOM?! https://t.co/BVLknOkKuS

— StravaWankers (@stravawankers) August 20, 2015

Since then, the account has exploded and has amassed more than 47K followers, at the time of writing.

If you ask me, this Twitter account is providing us with a public service. Policing the virtual fitness world, subtly telling those that take it all a bit too seriously to “Reign it in pal.” 

Like cocky little Myles here.

Calling all Swansea based #stravawankers.

Time to go grab yourself a Crockett Hill crown.

Let’s see who can be the next person to take this crown from cocky Miles. #stravawanker pic.twitter.com/yWtB8Gu3i6

— StravaWankers (@stravawankers) April 28, 2020

Or maybe the guy that got dressed in full aero kit to ride in his kitchen.

Getting those kitchen aero gains! #stravawanker pic.twitter.com/s5RNDIM3Ad

— StravaWankers (@stravawankers) April 27, 2020

A run that felt easy? Was it because you sat down for an hour?

…and the other 56 mins sat in Hyde Park, presumably?

No wonder it felt easy. #stravawanker pic.twitter.com/rrRuYxn8gy

— StravaWankers (@stravawankers) April 26, 2020

Or how about the rider that “got the King of the Mountain (KOM),” but didn’t because their Garmin didn’t record it properly. A KOM or QOM is awarded to the man or woman that completes a segment fastest. Remember, if it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen.

What’s the best excuse you have ever used?

“I got the KOM but……”#stravawanker pic.twitter.com/XzhnV3VvVa

— StravaWankers (@stravawankers) April 18, 2020

But now, it’s got to the point where Strava “athletes” — seriously, that’s what Strava calls its users — are posting literally anything they do, because they’ve seemingly got nothing better to do. 

This could actually be some seriously high level form of counter-trolling of those that are actually probably quite fit, but go on about it a bit too much. Or maybe not…

Like this guy that tracked his walk to his front door to collect his pizza delivery. Good effort mate?

@stravawankers pic.twitter.com/ySEZYMWIOp

— Esther (@estherxth) April 29, 2020

What about good guy George collecting litter?

George putting his daily exercise to good use

#stravawanker pic.twitter.com/mmGcOmtghg

— StravaWankers (@stravawankers) April 22, 2020

It might seem a bit offensive, calling out people who are just trying to get some exercise and work on their fitness. But it’s all just a bit of fun, and it only pokes fun at people that can probably take it on the chin.

Speaking to “Annie” myself, she told me that she hopes people will see the humor in it. 

It’s certainly not about belittling those that might need encouragement. It’s more about poking fun at the obsession of those that chase Strava Segments for self-validation, and the KOM culture the platform has created. 

Starting out on the road to improving your fitness can be incredibly daunting.  In many ways though, the Twitter account makes the community seem a lot more fun, approachable, and less alienating for newcomers.

“Annie” wants to make light of the situation, and emphasizes the fact that going out for a run or ride is not about gathering kudos or KOMs, but it’s about bettering yourself. There’s no shame in going out and running slow. 

“But the main thing is that it’s a bit of fun. That’s definitely it,” she added. In days like these, that seems like an undeniably good thing.

Disclimer: Before you @ me, don’t. There’s probably been days when I too have been a Strava Wanker, I am guilty. But you know what they say, it’s always darkest before the dawn, or something.

Read next: Drug discovery might be the best use of AI to tackle the pandemic

Corona coverage

Read our daily coverage on how the tech industry is responding to the coronavirus and subscribe to our weekly newsletter Coronavirus in Context.

For tips and tricks on working remotely, check out our Growth Quarters articles here or follow us on Twitter.

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Tags: Fun, people, pokes, society, Strava, tryhards, Wankers, Worst

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After 25 Years of Streaming, the World Can’t Live Without It

Glaser believed it was time for a commercial service. When he launched his on April 25, 1995, the first customers were ABC News and NPR; you could listen to news headlines or Morning Edition. It wasn’t the user-friendliest—you had to download his Real Audio app to your desktop and then hope it made a successful connection to the browser. At that point, it worked only on demand. But in September 1995, Progressive Networks began live streaming. Its first real-time broadcast was the audio of a major league baseball game—the Seattle Mariners versus the New York Yankees. (The Mariners won.The losing pitcher was Mariano Rivera, then a starter.) The few who listened from the beginning had to reboot around the seventh inning, as the buffers filled up after two and a half hours or so. By the end of that year, thousands of developers were using Real.

Other companies began streaming video before Glaser’s, which introduced RealVideo in 1997. The internet at that point wasn’t robust enough to handle high-quality video, but those in the know understood that it was just a matter of time. “It was clear to me that this was going to be the way that everything is going to be delivered,” says Glaser, who gave a speech around then titled “The Internet as the Next Mass Medium.” That same year, Glaser had a conversation with an entrepreneur named Reed Hastings, who told him of his long-range plan to build a business by shipping physical DVDs to people, and then shift to streaming when the infrastructure could support it. That worked out well. Today, our strong internet supports not only entertainment but social programming from YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and others.

I can’t imagine sheltering in place without streaming. Take the online event last weekend to commemorate composer Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday. Since it couldn’t take place in an actual theatre, it was hastily packaged as an internet spectacle, captured from the chic quarantine quarters of Broadway’s top crooners. Technical difficulties delayed the start for almost an hour, reminiscent of the choppy online launch of the Wax cult movie some decades ago. But once it got going, it had an intrepid sort of magic, merging consummate professionalism with feisty DIY. The highlight was a boozy performance of the Sondheim classic “The Ladies Who Lunch,” rendered in Zoom-like fuzziness from the respective living rooms of three awesome divas, Christine Baranski, Audra McDonald, and a gloriously insouciant Meryl Streep. Yes, the show was thrown together, but in another sense it was very long in the making. Twenty-five years long.

One day we will hug again. Until then, see you in stream-land.

Time Travel

In April 2003, Apple introduced the iTunes Store. After the keynote presentation, I went backstage to talk to CEO Steve Jobs. “The Internet is perfect for the delivery of music,” he told me. “It’s like it was built for the delivery of music. Napster proved that. So why wouldn’t all the music be delivered that way?”

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Tags: 25, Business, live, Plaintext, Streaming, tech culture, World, years

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Betsy DeVos Took My Paycheck For Unpaid Student Loans During Coronavirus Emergency

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

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A new class action lawsuit claims that U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is illegally seizing paychecks from student loan borrowers during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Here’s what you need to know.

Student Loans: Debt Collection

The CARES Act – the $2.2 trillion stimulus package to provide financial support to Americans in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic – provides several protections for federal student loan borrowers from March 13, 2020 through September 30, 2020. Among other benefits, this includes:

That last provision – no student loan debt collection on defaulted student loans – is at the center of this lawsuit, which was filed yesterday in federal court in the Washington, D.C. on behalf of student loan borrowers who claim their wages are being seized to pay their federal student loans. The Education Department has not yet responded to the lawsuit.

“The Trump Administration is taking money from borrowers who are living on the edge of poverty, in the middle of a pandemic, and in violation of the law. It’s completely outrageous,” Seth Frotman, executive direction of the Student Borrower Protection Center, said. “We will continue to do everything in our power to stop Betsy DeVos from further driving struggling borrowers into despair. This lawsuit shines light on how she has been operating a student debt collection machine that is accountable to no one—and it must be stopped.”

Student Loan Default: Wage Garnishment

Can the federal government garnish your wages if you default on your federal student loans? Yes. The federal government can lawfully withhold up to 15% of a borrower’s paycheck to collect on past-due student loan debt. The latest student loan debt statistics show that in 2018, for example, the U.S. Department of Education legally garnished $840 million through wage garnishment. Last month, the Education Department garnished wages of approximately 285,000 federal student loan borrowers.

What happens if your wages are garnished? Do you have any recourse?

If your wages were garnished for a federal student loan debt after March 13, 2020 (the effective date of the CARES Act), you are entitled to a refund of the amount garnished. This is because the CARES Act stops the federal government from garnishing your wages, tax refund or Social Security benefits, for example, to satisfy defaulted student loan debt. If your wages were garnished prior to March 13, 2020, unfortunately you cannot receive a refund.

After September 30, 2020, absent an extension of the CARES Act or replacement legislation, the U.S. Department of Education can lawfully resume wage garnishment for past-due federal student loan debt. Importantly, the CARES Act only applies to federal student loans, not private student loans. Private debt collectors can seize your stimulus check or wages, for example, if you have past-due private debt such as private student loans, credit card debt or medical debt. Governors from some states such as Oregon, Washington and Illinois have issued executive orders which prohibits private debt collectors from seizing stimulus checks.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and 40 members of Congress sent a letter to DeVos demanding that the Education Department stop any ongoing illegal garnishment of wages to collect federal student loan debt and to provide a clear timeline for when borrowers who have been impacted can receive a full refund.

Helpful Resources: Student Loans

Here’s everything that’s happened to your student loans in 2 weeks

How to pay your student loans during Coronavirus

How to get financial relief for your student loans during Coronavirus

How to get relief for your private student loans

Should you pay off student loans during COVID-19?

How to apply for unemployment

These companies are hiring despite Coronavirus

What you need to know about paid sick leave during Coronavirus

Do you qualify for paid sick leave?

How to contact your student loan servicer

5 ways to lower your student loan payments during Coronavirus

Student loan refinancing rates are incredibly cheap

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