AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Creativity Is a Team Sport
Good Morning,
MIT researchers have landed on something: AI makes individuals more creative and groups less so (MIT). Creativity, it turns out, is social infrastructure.
Exhibit A: the Boston Symphony, where conductor Andris Nelsons and CEO Chad Smith haven’t had a meaningful conversation in two years (Boston Globe) — a world-class collective that stopped talking (Boston Magazine). Contrast Vienna, where Alessandra Ferri says she runs the State Ballet on vision rather than strategy (Hube) — leadership as chamber music, not an org chart.
Madrid renters facing eviction turned their apartment block into a stage and every news channel into an audience (The Guardian) to protest their landlords. In Moscow, art has moved into kitchens and living rooms — private shows, oblique theatre, a rerun of the late Soviet years (The New York Times) as the political climate has turned oppressive.
And Salzburg has unveiled 300 gold statuettes of Mozart, each with his favorite dog, Pimperl (AP).
All of our stories below.
- What Does A Future Vision For The Boston Symphony Mean?
It’s a story about many things, including music and money; excellence and equity; tradition and change. But mostly it’s about two questions: What should an orchestra be in a city like Boston in 2026? And even more important: Who gets to decide? – Boston Magazine
- Solving The Mysterious Deaths Of A Medici Couple 439 Years Ago
“In 1587, Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici and his wife, Bianca Cappello, died within hours of each other after days of agony. … Rumors of an assassination immediately spread, pointing to Francesco’s younger brother and rival, Ferdinando, as the perpetrator.” Or was it simply malaria? Here’s what DNA evidence reveals. – CNN (MSN)
- The Uncomfortable Truths About Vinyl Records
Vinyl record sales in the US have increased for 19 consecutive years, surpassing $1 billion in revenue in 2025. As vinyl’s popularity has surged, so has scrutiny of its environmental cost—and the music industry’s efforts to address it. – LongReads
- Salzburg Is Swarming With Little Golden Statues Of Mozart (And His Little Dog, Too)
“The Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday unveiled 300 gold-colored statuettes of Mozart, which are barely 50 centimeters (less than 20 inches) tall. … To give the statues a human touch, (artist Ottmar) Hörl depicted the composer with his favorite dog, Pimperl.” – AP
ISSUES
- Oh, Great — Now They’ve Found Legionnaires’ Disease Bacteria At The Met Museum, Too
“The Metropolitan Museum of Art has tested positive for traces of the bacteria linked to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, health officials announced Tuesday. The bacteria were previously detected at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, as authorities continue searching for the source of the outbreak.” – ARTnews
- Tasmania’s “Provocative” Museum Of Old And New Art To Open Branch In Bangkok
MONA, owned and run (in famously quirky style) by gambling mogul David Walsh in Australia’s island state, is slated to open its first satellite museum on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in the Thai capital in 2029. – Artnet
- Six Decades After It Was First Performed, Yoko Ono’s “Cut Piece” Is Still Frightening
Ono debuted the work at Carnegie Hall in 1964, sitting motionless onstage as people took turns cutting off her clothes with scissors. The Broad in Los Angeles is presenting Cut Piece twice this weekend across the street at REDCAT. The performer, known as MPA, is scared — but not of the scissors. – The Guardian
- Why Did Toledo Museum Of Art Cancel Its Exhibition Of Bongs?
The museum began work on “High Style: The Art of Cannabis Pipes” three years ago, thinking that increasing legalization and acceptance of marijuana made the timing good. Yet the show was cancelled this spring; museum management says it was for logistical reasons. The question: the logistics of what exactly? – The New York Times
- Major Collection Of Mexican Art, Including Kahlos And Riveras, Is Going On Tour. Angry Mexicans Fear It Won’t Come Back.
The privately-owned Gelman Santander Collection, whose 68 pieces include 10 paintings by Frida Kahlo along with works by Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, and others, is scheduled to spend two years touring Europe. Some citizens, unconvinced that the art will come home, are suing to keep it in Mexico. – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
MEDIA
- How Madrid Renters Are Using Art To Protest Landlords
When their homes came under threat, they instinctively reached for the tools they had to hand: their social and cultural capital. That’s how an apartment block in Madrid became a stage, broadcast on every news channel. – The Guardian
- Arts And Culture In Moscow Are Starting To Resemble The Late Soviet Years
Art shows in apartments or offices, open to friends only, featuring artists forbidden to exhibit publicly. Philosophy clubs in people’s kitchens and living rooms. Small theater companies careful to refer to sensitive topics (like the Ukraine war or Putin) obliquely or not at all. A pervasive climate of fear. – The New York Times
- Trump Administration Removes Mentions Of Slavery From Site Of George Washington’s House In Philadelphia
“The original panels” — removed on Wednesday following a court decision — “were put in place in 2010 and told the story of how nine slaves lived in the home along with George and Martha Washington in the 1790s, when Philadelphia was briefly the nation’s capital.” – AP
- Foreign Artists Are Skipping The US Because Of Broken Visa Process
The time it takes to process a visa has dramatically increased. The number of available interview slots at U.S. embassies is backlogged. Application costs have surged. And there’s an added layer of uncertainty: paperwork can be perfect, fees can be paid, and yet artists still can be turned away at the border. – NPR
- What Happens To Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center Without Robert Wilson?
“’Bob was always saying he didn’t want Watermill to become an institution,’ said Charles Chemin, Watermill’s new artistic director. ‘He didn’t want to create a Bob Wilson school. But Watermill is filled with the vision of Bob Wilson, with his unique form of composition and his unique way of collaborating.’” – The New York Times
MUSIC
- The Difference Between A Book And The Idea Of A Book
There is the book a writer writes, which is to say the actual words on the page, and then there is what I call its hologram—the shimmering, ethereal version of the book that the author must pitch to their publisher, and which their publisher then pitches to the public. – LitHub
- The Future Of Writing In The Age Of AI
“It reminded me of what happened when the internet came of age and you saw a difference in the texture of novels: something about the research process that had become expansive and yet somehow just a little more hollow than the pre-internet novel.” – Yale Review
- PEN America’s Co-CEO Defends Article On Israel That Prompted Organization’s President To Resign
“The article, ‘A Silent Moratorium,’ explores the harassment and professional challenges that Israeli and Jewish authors have experienced since the (Gaza War). … The chief executives knew the article could be controversial, … but the idea for it had come out of conversations with writers starting last year, and it felt ‘critical’ to pursue.” – The New York Times
- No, AI Is Not Killing Reading
AI summaries differ in speed, scale, and uncertain accuracy, but not in their basic educational function. They compress and translate. They can provide a map before we enter unfamiliar territory. – AI In
- Utah’s Board Of Education Bans Stephen King’s “Different Seasons”
“It’s a collection that includes stories which inspired the acclaimed movies ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘Stand By Me’. Libraries in (four) school districts removed the book. Under a 2022 Utah law, that means it can be removed from schools statewide, since at least three districts banned it.” – Utah Public Radio
PEOPLE
- Creativity Is a Team Sport
Good Morning,
MIT researchers have landed on something: AI makes individuals more creative and groups less so (MIT). Creativity, it turns out, is social infrastructure.
Exhibit A: the Boston Symphony, where conductor Andris Nelsons and CEO Chad Smith haven’t had a meaningful conversation in two years (Boston Globe) — a world-class collective that stopped talking (Boston Magazine). Contrast Vienna, where Alessandra Ferri says she runs the State Ballet on vision rather than strategy (Hube) — leadership as chamber music, not an org chart.
Madrid renters facing eviction turned their apartment block into a stage and every news channel into an audience (The Guardian) to protest their landlords. In Moscow, art has moved into kitchens and living rooms — private shows, oblique theatre, a rerun of the late Soviet years (The New York Times) as the political climate has turned oppressive.
And Salzburg has unveiled 300 gold statuettes of Mozart, each with his favorite dog, Pimperl (AP).
All of our stories below.
- What Does A Future Vision For The Boston Symphony Mean?
It’s a story about many things, including music and money; excellence and equity; tradition and change. But mostly it’s about two questions: What should an orchestra be in a city like Boston in 2026? And even more important: Who gets to decide? – Boston Magazine
- Solving The Mysterious Deaths Of A Medici Couple 439 Years Ago
“In 1587, Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici and his wife, Bianca Cappello, died within hours of each other after days of agony. … Rumors of an assassination immediately spread, pointing to Francesco’s younger brother and rival, Ferdinando, as the perpetrator.” Or was it simply malaria? Here’s what DNA evidence reveals. – CNN (MSN)
- The Uncomfortable Truths About Vinyl Records
Vinyl record sales in the US have increased for 19 consecutive years, surpassing $1 billion in revenue in 2025. As vinyl’s popularity has surged, so has scrutiny of its environmental cost—and the music industry’s efforts to address it. – LongReads
- Salzburg Is Swarming With Little Golden Statues Of Mozart (And His Little Dog, Too)
“The Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday unveiled 300 gold-colored statuettes of Mozart, which are barely 50 centimeters (less than 20 inches) tall. … To give the statues a human touch, (artist Ottmar) Hörl depicted the composer with his favorite dog, Pimperl.” – AP
PEOPLE
- Creativity Is a Team Sport
Good Morning,
MIT researchers have landed on something: AI makes individuals more creative and groups less so (MIT). Creativity, it turns out, is social infrastructure.
Exhibit A: the Boston Symphony, where conductor Andris Nelsons and CEO Chad Smith haven’t had a meaningful conversation in two years (Boston Globe) — a world-class collective that stopped talking (Boston Magazine). Contrast Vienna, where Alessandra Ferri says she runs the State Ballet on vision rather than strategy (Hube) — leadership as chamber music, not an org chart.
Madrid renters facing eviction turned their apartment block into a stage and every news channel into an audience (The Guardian) to protest their landlords. In Moscow, art has moved into kitchens and living rooms — private shows, oblique theatre, a rerun of the late Soviet years (The New York Times) as the political climate has turned oppressive.
And Salzburg has unveiled 300 gold statuettes of Mozart, each with his favorite dog, Pimperl (AP).
All of our stories below.
- What Does A Future Vision For The Boston Symphony Mean?
It’s a story about many things, including music and money; excellence and equity; tradition and change. But mostly it’s about two questions: What should an orchestra be in a city like Boston in 2026? And even more important: Who gets to decide? – Boston Magazine
- Solving The Mysterious Deaths Of A Medici Couple 439 Years Ago
“In 1587, Grand Duke Francesco I de’ Medici and his wife, Bianca Cappello, died within hours of each other after days of agony. … Rumors of an assassination immediately spread, pointing to Francesco’s younger brother and rival, Ferdinando, as the perpetrator.” Or was it simply malaria? Here’s what DNA evidence reveals. – CNN (MSN)
- The Uncomfortable Truths About Vinyl Records
Vinyl record sales in the US have increased for 19 consecutive years, surpassing $1 billion in revenue in 2025. As vinyl’s popularity has surged, so has scrutiny of its environmental cost—and the music industry’s efforts to address it. – LongReads
- Salzburg Is Swarming With Little Golden Statues Of Mozart (And His Little Dog, Too)
“The Mozarteum Foundation on Wednesday unveiled 300 gold-colored statuettes of Mozart, which are barely 50 centimeters (less than 20 inches) tall. … To give the statues a human touch, (artist Ottmar) Hörl depicted the composer with his favorite dog, Pimperl.” – AP
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Studies: How AI Affects Creativity
We have found that although AI can enhance individual creativity, it reduces collective creativity. To explain why this occurs, we should first clarify what we mean by creativity. – MIT
- What If Americans Just Don’t Want To Participate In Community?
Over and over again, Americans choose to sever bonds that connect us with each other: We move away from our hometowns, we leave our churches, we quit our unions, we quit our parties, we stay in instead of going out, we donate instead of volunteering, we let friendships fade away. – Matt Pearce
- How Foucault Anticipated What’s Happening Today
“What Is an Author?” predicted a future where old ideas about authorship would give way to new questions about technology and power. “What are the modes of existence of this discourse?” Foucault asked. “Where does it come from, how is it circulated” and — perhaps most important — “who controls it?” – The New York Times
- The Canadians Who Want To Stop AI In Its Tracks
Canadians are hugely wary: a Leger poll found 85 percent of respondents want the government to regulate the technology. But that number doesn’t convey just how frightened many are. – The Walrus
- Silicon Valley’s Science Fiction Problem
Steve Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder, gave expression to this ethos in 2017 when he said: ‘We are the people who make fantasies real.’ It sounds inspiring, but it is important to know which parts of those fantasies they’re choosing, and which parts they’re leaving out. – Aeon