AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- How America’s Museums Are Celebrating The 250th
The exhibitions showcase both the traditional and the unexpected, from portraiture to multimedia installations, from founding documents to found objects. Across the country, the joy, sorrow and humor of the nation’s history are on display. – The New York Times
- America’s 250th Birthday Is Here. Americans Are Worried
Increasingly, historians are asking if they need to do more to meet the public’s hunger for meaning and inspiration. – The New York Times
- Uncertainty Can Be Toxic. But Understanding it Creates Possibility
Research suggests uncertainty can be more distressing than negative certainty. In one study, people were calmer when they knew they would receive an electric shock than when there was only a 50% chance of one. – The Guardian
- Legal Struggle Over Possession Of “Sistine Chapel Of Romanesque Art”
A set of 13th-century murals from the Sijena Monastery in Spain were taken to Barcelona for safekeeping during the Spanish Civil War and are now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia — which is defying a court order to return them, saying the artworks are too fragile to be moved. – ARTnews
- Obamas Will Take Their Production Company Independent After Netflix Contract Ends
“Barack and Michelle Obama‘s production company Higher Ground is transitioning to an independent operation following eight years at Netflix.” – The Hollywood Reporter
ISSUES
- How America’s Museums Are Celebrating The 250th
The exhibitions showcase both the traditional and the unexpected, from portraiture to multimedia installations, from founding documents to found objects. Across the country, the joy, sorrow and humor of the nation’s history are on display. – The New York Times
- Legal Struggle Over Possession Of “Sistine Chapel Of Romanesque Art”
A set of 13th-century murals from the Sijena Monastery in Spain were taken to Barcelona for safekeeping during the Spanish Civil War and are now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia — which is defying a court order to return them, saying the artworks are too fragile to be moved. – ARTnews
- Trump Wanted His “Heroes” Sculpture Garden Open For July 4. It Probably Won’t Even Be Started By Then.
Plans for Trump’s National Garden Of American Heroes still haven’t been submitted to the agencies which must approve it. The choice of site hasn’t even been finalized. Artists and foundries that applied to work on the sculptures haven’t heard anything back — and the statues are supposed to be finished by June. – CNN
- A History Of Controversy Over LACMA’s New Building
Enter Michael Govan, who joined LACMA in 2006. He wooed Swiss architect Peter Zumthor to conceive of a better LACMA, convinced the county to put in $125 million, and raised more than $500 million in private funds. Now, nearly 20 years later, Los Angeles has a new museum. What could be wrong with that? – LA Material
- The New LACMA: Audacious But Confusing
It is a free-form essay in concrete and glass, with no formal entrance, no front or back. Its undulating form has earned its share of abuse, and it has been compared to a pancake or an amoeba. If anything, it is a playful building, out for a 900-foot stroll. – The Wall Street Journal
MEDIA
- America’s 250th Birthday Is Here. Americans Are Worried
Increasingly, historians are asking if they need to do more to meet the public’s hunger for meaning and inspiration. – The New York Times
- Faculty Are Exiting Texas Universities, Claiming Censorship
The University of Texas ordered faculty in February to refrain from teaching ill-defined “controversial” topics in class. Nearly all Texas public university systems have conducted some kind of course-review process that screens instructional materials for gender and sexuality content. – InsideHigherEd
- This RAM Shortage Thing Isn’t Going Away
Yikes: “Everything from phones and laptops, to VR headsets and gaming handhelds have seen price increases due to the RAM shortage.” – The Verge
- Some Companies You Probably Love Are Taking Trademarks Too Far
“If you have a granola group, seed society, cherry circle, or risotto ring, and a lawyer league owns a trademark on one of them, they might just airdrop cease-and-desist letters like leaflets over a city in World War II.” – Slate
- Yale Report: Universities Themselves Are To Blame For Lowered Trust Of Higher Ed
High costs, murky admissions practices, uneven academic standards and fears about free speech on campuses, the committee said, are among the reasons for widening discontent over higher education’s worthiness. – The New York Times
MUSIC
- Book Bans And Attempts In U.S. Are At Record High, Says American Library Association
“The ALA on Monday issued its annual list of the books most challenged at the country’s libraries, part of the association’s State of America’s Libraries Report. … The (list) usually features 10 books, but this year has 11, with four tied for eighth place.” – AP
- Book Clubs Are Bringing GenZ Into Reading
Reading is experiencing a resurgence among Gen Z and millennials, many of whom are actively seeking alternatives to “doomscrolling” and the mental fatigue associated with constant social media use. – The Conversation
- Letters That Keats Sent His Beloved, Stolen In The 1980s, Are Found
“The customer told them that the books had been bequeathed to him by his grandfather, who had kept them in a box at his retirement home in South Carolina.” – The New York Times
- At The LA Times Book Festival, Prizewinners Tout The Power Of The People
One winner: “The people banning books are never the good guys in history, and it’s up to us in this room and beyond — as readers, as book lovers — to fight back.” – Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)
- Writers Who ‘Use’ AI Are Truly Missing The Point
“The hard work of writing is, for people like me, a critical aspect of the whole effort, bringing one’s self to the task of communicating effectively and clearly.” – Wired
PEOPLE
- How America’s Museums Are Celebrating The 250th
The exhibitions showcase both the traditional and the unexpected, from portraiture to multimedia installations, from founding documents to found objects. Across the country, the joy, sorrow and humor of the nation’s history are on display. – The New York Times
- America’s 250th Birthday Is Here. Americans Are Worried
Increasingly, historians are asking if they need to do more to meet the public’s hunger for meaning and inspiration. – The New York Times
- Uncertainty Can Be Toxic. But Understanding it Creates Possibility
Research suggests uncertainty can be more distressing than negative certainty. In one study, people were calmer when they knew they would receive an electric shock than when there was only a 50% chance of one. – The Guardian
- Legal Struggle Over Possession Of “Sistine Chapel Of Romanesque Art”
A set of 13th-century murals from the Sijena Monastery in Spain were taken to Barcelona for safekeeping during the Spanish Civil War and are now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia — which is defying a court order to return them, saying the artworks are too fragile to be moved. – ARTnews
- Obamas Will Take Their Production Company Independent After Netflix Contract Ends
“Barack and Michelle Obama‘s production company Higher Ground is transitioning to an independent operation following eight years at Netflix.” – The Hollywood Reporter
PEOPLE
- How America’s Museums Are Celebrating The 250th
The exhibitions showcase both the traditional and the unexpected, from portraiture to multimedia installations, from founding documents to found objects. Across the country, the joy, sorrow and humor of the nation’s history are on display. – The New York Times
- America’s 250th Birthday Is Here. Americans Are Worried
Increasingly, historians are asking if they need to do more to meet the public’s hunger for meaning and inspiration. – The New York Times
- Uncertainty Can Be Toxic. But Understanding it Creates Possibility
Research suggests uncertainty can be more distressing than negative certainty. In one study, people were calmer when they knew they would receive an electric shock than when there was only a 50% chance of one. – The Guardian
- Legal Struggle Over Possession Of “Sistine Chapel Of Romanesque Art”
A set of 13th-century murals from the Sijena Monastery in Spain were taken to Barcelona for safekeeping during the Spanish Civil War and are now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia — which is defying a court order to return them, saying the artworks are too fragile to be moved. – ARTnews
- Obamas Will Take Their Production Company Independent After Netflix Contract Ends
“Barack and Michelle Obama‘s production company Higher Ground is transitioning to an independent operation following eight years at Netflix.” – The Hollywood Reporter
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Uncertainty Can Be Toxic. But Understanding it Creates Possibility
Research suggests uncertainty can be more distressing than negative certainty. In one study, people were calmer when they knew they would receive an electric shock than when there was only a 50% chance of one. – The Guardian
- How AI Will Accelerate Human Creativity
The most successful organizations of 2026 and beyond will not be those that simply use AI to do more things faster. Instead, they will be the ones that use AI as a creativity accelerator, freeing up human capacity for the work that only we can do: imagining, connecting, and creating meaning. – Fast Company
- The Board That Built Apple – And A Personal Computing Revolution – Is Turning Fifty
“The Apple I marked a great leap forward in convenience by coming already assembled, albeit without a monitor, a keyboard, or even a case; the purchase price of USD $666.66 (closer to $4,000 today) just got you the board. But what a board.” – Open Culture
- What It Means That Hampshire College’s ‘Experimental’ Liberal Arts Education Is Saying Goodbye
“The shuttering of Hampshire College … feels different, not so much another liberal arts domino falling as the symbolic end of a whole tradition of progressive education in the US.” – New York Review Of Books
- This Absolutely Unhinged Theme Park Presaged The Rise Of Silicon Valley
“From elephants to enterprise software — is there a better metaphor for the last half-century of radical change in San Mateo County? But mostly we should mark this anniversary so we don’t forget perhaps the most bonkers destination in Bay Area history.” – San Francisco Chronicle
