ArtsJournal Classic

AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only

DANCE

    IDEAS

    • Good Morning

      Today’s AJ highlights: In Washington, the debate over the Kennedy Center’s business model has reached a point of absurdity, with critics warning that corporate aesthetic preferences are determining what counts as art at the nation’s premier center (Washington Post). This tension between commerce and culture is mirrored in the film industry, where Netflix is reportedly pushing for action movies that restate their plots multiple times in dialogue to keep phone-distracted viewers engaged (Variety).

      The existential impact of Artificial Intelligence is being felt across the culture. Researchers argue that AI is a tool being used with “astonishing alacrity” to hollow out democratic institutions (Gary Marcus) , while others question if the next wave of technology will fundamentally change the nature of human attention (Big Think). The line between human and machine is further blurred by the rise of AI “singers” like Sienna Rose, whose synthesized tracks are built from refined white noise (BBC).

      Travel bans and visa pauses are currently stymying international musicians, creating a logistical mess for U.S. audiences and producers (The New York Times). And we look at the Poverty of the Novelist, where even accomplished authors earn mere fragments of a living wage (The Guardian).

      All our stories below.

    • The Trump-Kennedy Center Regime’s Odd Notion Of An Arts Business Model

      The notion that unstated corporate aesthetic preferences should determine what the public encounters as art — indeed, what counts as art at the nation’s art center — is absurd. It’s why we don’t (yet) have touring musicals about a young couple discovering the bold, zesty flavor of Cool Ranch Doritos. – Washington Post

    • The Playboy Publisher Who Published The Greats And Shaped American Literature

      Toward the end of his life, the versatile Bennett Cerf — believing that growth was essential — acquired rival publishing house Knopf. A few years later, he arranged for Random House to become a subsidiary of the RCA Corporation, then an electronics and communications leviathan. This move, Cerf soon recognized, was a mistake. – Washington Post

    • We Think Time Always Moves Forward. This Is A Relatively New Concept

      This picture of time is not natural. Its roots stretch only to the 18th century, yet this notion has now entrenched itself so deeply in Western thought that it’s difficult to imagine time as anything else. And this new representation of time has affected all kinds of things, from our understanding of history to time travel. – Aeon

    • What If AI Changes The Very Nature Of Our Attention?

      What if the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t designed to feed that addiction — but to fundamentally change it? What if the future of AI demands young people’s attention, curiosity, and creativity in ways we haven’t experienced before? – Big Think

    ISSUES

    MEDIA

    MUSIC

    • The Private Museums Grappling With America’s Real History

      The Legacy Museum, which opened almost eight years ago, is perhaps the closest thing America has to a national slavery museum. Crucially, however, it is completely privately funded, receiving no state or federal financial support. – The Atlantic

    • The Poverty Of Being A Novelist

      I’m a novelist, and I was paid £1,000 and £500 respectively for my last two books. The latter was shortlisted for an international literary award. That’s £1,500 earned in 10 years. – The Guardian

    • In Praise Of The Boarding School Novel

      “Because they distill and contain all the pain and pleasure of being young into one crucible, … they are such rich source material for novelists. Fiction thrives on change, and what bigger, more painful transformation is there than becoming a teenager?” – LitHub

    • In The US, We Write Essays, And Often Think, Backwards

      We think we already know what we want to find, and that enables LLMs to “hElP” with predictable, middling, brain-anesthetizing results. “But a chief delight of being human is witnessing the world’s capacity to surprise.” – The Atlantic

    • Wikipedia Makes Licensing Deal With Big AI Companies

      Wikipedia’s human traffic dropped 8% year-over-year, according to data the Wikimedia Foundation published in October 2025. Research from Profound analyzing 680 million AI citations found that Wikipedia accounts for 47.9% of ChatGPT’s top-10 most-cited sources. – Shelly Palmer

    PEOPLE

    • Good Morning

      Today’s AJ highlights: In Washington, the debate over the Kennedy Center’s business model has reached a point of absurdity, with critics warning that corporate aesthetic preferences are determining what counts as art at the nation’s premier center (Washington Post). This tension between commerce and culture is mirrored in the film industry, where Netflix is reportedly pushing for action movies that restate their plots multiple times in dialogue to keep phone-distracted viewers engaged (Variety).

      The existential impact of Artificial Intelligence is being felt across the culture. Researchers argue that AI is a tool being used with “astonishing alacrity” to hollow out democratic institutions (Gary Marcus) , while others question if the next wave of technology will fundamentally change the nature of human attention (Big Think). The line between human and machine is further blurred by the rise of AI “singers” like Sienna Rose, whose synthesized tracks are built from refined white noise (BBC).

      Travel bans and visa pauses are currently stymying international musicians, creating a logistical mess for U.S. audiences and producers (The New York Times). And we look at the Poverty of the Novelist, where even accomplished authors earn mere fragments of a living wage (The Guardian).

      All our stories below.

    • The Trump-Kennedy Center Regime’s Odd Notion Of An Arts Business Model

      The notion that unstated corporate aesthetic preferences should determine what the public encounters as art — indeed, what counts as art at the nation’s art center — is absurd. It’s why we don’t (yet) have touring musicals about a young couple discovering the bold, zesty flavor of Cool Ranch Doritos. – Washington Post

    • The Playboy Publisher Who Published The Greats And Shaped American Literature

      Toward the end of his life, the versatile Bennett Cerf — believing that growth was essential — acquired rival publishing house Knopf. A few years later, he arranged for Random House to become a subsidiary of the RCA Corporation, then an electronics and communications leviathan. This move, Cerf soon recognized, was a mistake. – Washington Post

    • We Think Time Always Moves Forward. This Is A Relatively New Concept

      This picture of time is not natural. Its roots stretch only to the 18th century, yet this notion has now entrenched itself so deeply in Western thought that it’s difficult to imagine time as anything else. And this new representation of time has affected all kinds of things, from our understanding of history to time travel. – Aeon

    • What If AI Changes The Very Nature Of Our Attention?

      What if the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t designed to feed that addiction — but to fundamentally change it? What if the future of AI demands young people’s attention, curiosity, and creativity in ways we haven’t experienced before? – Big Think

    PEOPLE

    • Good Morning

      Today’s AJ highlights: In Washington, the debate over the Kennedy Center’s business model has reached a point of absurdity, with critics warning that corporate aesthetic preferences are determining what counts as art at the nation’s premier center (Washington Post). This tension between commerce and culture is mirrored in the film industry, where Netflix is reportedly pushing for action movies that restate their plots multiple times in dialogue to keep phone-distracted viewers engaged (Variety).

      The existential impact of Artificial Intelligence is being felt across the culture. Researchers argue that AI is a tool being used with “astonishing alacrity” to hollow out democratic institutions (Gary Marcus) , while others question if the next wave of technology will fundamentally change the nature of human attention (Big Think). The line between human and machine is further blurred by the rise of AI “singers” like Sienna Rose, whose synthesized tracks are built from refined white noise (BBC).

      Travel bans and visa pauses are currently stymying international musicians, creating a logistical mess for U.S. audiences and producers (The New York Times). And we look at the Poverty of the Novelist, where even accomplished authors earn mere fragments of a living wage (The Guardian).

      All our stories below.

    • The Trump-Kennedy Center Regime’s Odd Notion Of An Arts Business Model

      The notion that unstated corporate aesthetic preferences should determine what the public encounters as art — indeed, what counts as art at the nation’s art center — is absurd. It’s why we don’t (yet) have touring musicals about a young couple discovering the bold, zesty flavor of Cool Ranch Doritos. – Washington Post

    • The Playboy Publisher Who Published The Greats And Shaped American Literature

      Toward the end of his life, the versatile Bennett Cerf — believing that growth was essential — acquired rival publishing house Knopf. A few years later, he arranged for Random House to become a subsidiary of the RCA Corporation, then an electronics and communications leviathan. This move, Cerf soon recognized, was a mistake. – Washington Post

    • We Think Time Always Moves Forward. This Is A Relatively New Concept

      This picture of time is not natural. Its roots stretch only to the 18th century, yet this notion has now entrenched itself so deeply in Western thought that it’s difficult to imagine time as anything else. And this new representation of time has affected all kinds of things, from our understanding of history to time travel. – Aeon

    • What If AI Changes The Very Nature Of Our Attention?

      What if the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t designed to feed that addiction — but to fundamentally change it? What if the future of AI demands young people’s attention, curiosity, and creativity in ways we haven’t experienced before? – Big Think

    THEATRE

      VISUAL

      • We Think Time Always Moves Forward. This Is A Relatively New Concept

        This picture of time is not natural. Its roots stretch only to the 18th century, yet this notion has now entrenched itself so deeply in Western thought that it’s difficult to imagine time as anything else. And this new representation of time has affected all kinds of things, from our understanding of history to time travel. – Aeon

      • What If AI Changes The Very Nature Of Our Attention?

        What if the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t designed to feed that addiction — but to fundamentally change it? What if the future of AI demands young people’s attention, curiosity, and creativity in ways we haven’t experienced before? – Big Think

      • Research Paper: How AI Is Destroying Institutions

        If you wanted to create a tool that would enable the destruction of institutions that prop up democratic life, you could not do better than artificial intelligence. Authoritarian leaders and technology oligarchs are deploying AI systems to hollow out public institutions with an astonishing alacrity. – Gary Marcus

      • The Physics Of Plur1bus

        For real: How does “The Joining” work? Science has thoughts. – Wired

      • Time Didn’t Used To Be Linear

        Seriously: We decided it was in the 18th century. “In 1765, the scientist-philosopher Joseph Priestley, best known for co-discovering oxygen, invented what was arguably the world’s first modern timeline.” – Aeon

      WORDS