AJ Four Ways:
Text Only (by date) | headlines only
- Good Morning
Today’s Highlights: San Francisco Ballet is facing intense public pressure to cancel its upcoming performances at the Kennedy Center to avoid aligning with an institution critics say has been “politicized” (San Francisco Chronicle). Reports indicate that the U.S. has withdrawn from 66 international institutions, a move experts warn “weakens the global protective frameworks” that artists and cultural workers rely on for freedom of expression (Artnet). And the Washington National Opera’s decision to part ways with the Kennedy Center is getting a “groundswell of support” for patrons who had stopped attending during the recent administrative takeover (Washington Post (Yahoo)).
Educators are raising alarms as Gen Z arrives at college unable to read full-length books, forcing institutions to lower standards as students struggle to complete assigned reading at record levels (Fortune (MSN)). And new research reveals that AI models “memorize” the books they ingest on a massive scale, a finding that could cost tech companies billions in upcoming copyright battles (The Atlantic).
Finally, we look at the friction between national branding and artistic independence. South Africa’s right-wing culture minister has axed the country’s Venice Biennale proposal—a performance mourning Gaza’s dead—arguing that international platforms must be used to “sell our country” rather than highlight global tragedies (Hyperallergic).
All of our stories below.
- Pressure Mounts On San Francisco Ballet To Pull Out Of Kennedy Center Performance
Supporters argue that performing at the center now risks aligning the Ballet with an institution they say has been politicized under Trump’s leadership. – San Francisco Chronicle
- We’re Increasingly Interacting With Non-Humans. This Is Changing Our Human Interactions
We ask for help from artificial customer service representatives. Some of us accept friend requests from bots and are, thereafter, influenced by the content they post. This is a momentous change to the nature of the public square. – 3 Quarks Daily
- Trump Withdrew The US From 66 International Institutions. This Is Damaging To Culture
“Disengagement” from institutions that uphold freedom of expression and artistic freedom “weakens the global protective frameworks on which artists and cultural workers depend.” – Artnet
- AI Could Mean The Death Of Canadian Culture
If Canada wants its cultural policy to survive the age of slop, it will have to insist that what claims to be human—and Canadian—be verified as such. Sovereignty, in this context, is not just about protecting domestic production from foreign influence. – The Walrus
- Students Are Arriving In College Unable To Read. Colleges Are Struggling To Adapt Their Standards
As Gen Z ditch books at record levels, students are arriving to classrooms unable to complete assigned reading on par with previous expectations. It’s leaving colleges no choice but to lower their expectations. – Fortune (MSN)
- I’m A Musician. I created An Album Using AI To See If It Worked
We have gone from clapping to drumming, and from using drum machines in recording studios to generating “new” sounds with AI. Yet now that I have completed these experiments, I realise that one thing remains the same. – The Conversation
- The 3000 Imagineers That Make Disney Ideas Real
The theme parks and cruise ships Vaughn’s team designs cost billions of dollars, dwarfing the budgets of movies that cost several hundred million dollars at most. When they succeed, they bring in revenue for decades and imprint Disney characters into children’s memories. – The Wall Street Journal
- Oops: Turns Out AI Models “Memorize Books They Ingest. This Could Cost Them Billions
This phenomenon has been called “memorization,” and AI companies have long denied that it happens on a large scale. – The Atlantic
- Ticketmaster Tries To Get FTC Suit On Ticket Gouging Dismissed
Ticketmaster is urging a federal judge in Los Angeles to throw out the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s case accusing it of working with resellers to gouge fans, saying the law it is accused of violating applies only to resellers, not ticketing platforms. – Reuters
- The Scam Artist And The Masterpiece
Thomas Doyle already had 11 convictions to his name for various swindles. His latest alleged fraud involves a London gallery owner and Bruce Springsteen’s manager. – The Wall Street Journal
- SAG-Aftra Negotiator: Let’s Make Using AI Really Expensive
Here’s the thinking: A lack of cost savings could dissuade employers from using AI-generated performers instead of real actors like Emma Stone or Viola Davis. “In my opinion, if synthetics cost the same as a human, they’re going to choose a human every time.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Hamnet Is No Shakespeare In Love
It’s far worse: It does wrong by Shakespeare. “Hamnet changes many details and events in Shakespeare’s life to tell its story, but it is in its prestigeiness that it truly does Shakespeare dirty.” – Slate
- Why It’s Good For The Washington National Opera To Part Ways With The Kennedy Center
Financially, it’s likely to be good for the Opera. “The news of the split could inspire a groundswell of support from longtime patrons who pumped the brakes on their operagoing in 2025 amid the Trump takeover. It may even serve to restore projects that were thought lost.” – Washington Post (Yahoo)
- New York’s New Mayor Says Theatre Should Be For Everyone, Handing Out Free Tickets
“’The shared laughter in a crowded theater, the eager debrief after a musical, the heavy silence that hangs over all of us in a drama — these are moments that every New Yorker deserves,’ Mamdani said.” – The New York Times
- South African’s Right-Wing Culture Minister Axes The Country’s Venice Biennale Proposal
The proposal by artist Gabrielle Goliath was a performance to mourn Gaza’s dead after Israel’s actions against the area. A spokesperson said that it wasn’t focused enough on South Africa: “We need to use our platforms to sell our country to the world.” – Hyperallergic
- In A Last-Minute Decision, CBS Cut Best Original Score From The Golden Globes Broadcast
Welp, podcasts are in, music is out; sorry to “Alexandre Desplat for Frankenstein, Ludwig Goransson for Sinners, Jonny Greenwood for One Battle After Another, Kangding Ray for Sirat, Max Richter for Hamnet and Hans Zimmer for F1: The Movie.” – The New York Times
- The Writers Who Saw All Of This Coming
In case you need a list of dystopian novels to read instead of, hm, the news. – The Guardian (UK)
- Those Teeny Tiny Microphones Are Ruining The Red Carpet
“Even if tiny mics are a trend that’s crossed over from influencer culture, they’ve become yet another obnoxious staple of the film industry that favors a viewer’s pleasure over decorum. Not everything needs to be kitsch, dumbed down, or turned into a competitive status symbol.” – Salon
- Young Dylan Thomas, It Turns Out, Was A Serial Plagiarist
“The young Thomas was an enthusiastic contributor to Swansea Grammar School’s magazine after joining as an 11-year-old in 1925, but Gallenzi found at least a dozen examples where Thomas had copied wholesale from work published in other magazines.” – BBC
- Jerome Lowenstein, Doctor Who Helped His Tiny Literary Press Pick A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book, Has Died At 92
“His detour into literature began in 2000, when he was asked by Martin Blaser, the chairman of N.Y.U.’s department of medicine, to join him and Danielle Ofri, who had worked with Dr. Lowenstein when she was a resident at N.Y.U., to start the Bellevue Literary Review.” – The New York Times
- How Did Mystery Author Louise Penny Build Such An Intense, Huge Fan Club?
Her publisher sure didn’t help, at least not at first. But then the community “was nurtured and deepened by the connections that Louise made through her own efforts, touring, doing events in the U.S. and Canada, meeting readers face to face, and then also building a social media presence.” – CBC
- How Do You Move On From An Iconic, Long-Term Role?
Kit Harington’s timing was perhaps challenging. Game of Thrones finished; he went into rehab; then the pandemic hit. “When things started up again after the lockdown, Harington told his agent he wanted a ‘no swords’ rule for vetting potential jobs.” – The New York Times
- What Do You Do For A Sequel When Your Spy Drama Was Groundbreaking, But Ten Years Ago?
“This second Night Manager season arrives at a moment when spy dramas have moved on, and in a grubbier, more down-to-earth direction than the one the first season ushered in.” – Slate
- Love Island Got A Little Too Hot For TV
That is to say, climate change makes fools of us all, including reality TV shows: “Filming for Love Island: All Stars has been postponed after the villa was evacuated due to wildfires.” – BBC
- Hamnet Wins Best Picture For Drama At The Golden Globes, Raising Its Oscar Odds
“Chloé Zhao recovered from looking shellshocked to quote Paul Mescal, saying that making Hamnet made him realize that being an artist is about being vulnerable and being seen for who we are, not who we ought to be, and giving ourselves fully to the world.” – The New York Times
- Golden Globes Live Updates
In case you want to know, the Los Angeles Times has you covered. (So does Variety.) – Los Angeles Times
- Why Is Ticketing Fraud So Widespread – And So Hard To Fix?
Digital tickets fixed physical ticket counterfeiting, sure. But “digital tickets didn’t eliminate fraud. They just changed the face of it—and in the process, blew the doors open for a new generation of scammers.” – Fast Company
- How A Writer Got Sucked Into The Ranks Of Broadway Superfans
“There was what I would not call lying to my family but obfuscating about where I was and what I was doing, as if I were having an affair. (An affair would have been easier to explain.)” – The New York Times
- Turns Out Movie Director Ben Wheatley Is Also Prolific Musician Dave Wheldon
The director of indies and Meg 2: The Trench says, “Before it might have been playing games or doomscrolling. [Making music] is a more productive and creative way of calming down.” – The Guardian (UK)
- National Portrait Gallery Swaps Trump Portraits And Removes Reference To His Two Impeachments
The caption for the previous photo read in part, “Impeached twice, on charges of abuse of power and incitement of insurrection after supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, he was acquitted by the Senate in both trials.” – Washington Post (Yahoo)
- Bela Tarr, Hungarian Director Beloved By Cinephiles, Has Died At 70
“Susan Sontag once claimed she would be ‘glad to see’ Béla Tarr’s 1994 masterpiece Sátántangó ‘every year for the rest of my life.’ No small compliment given that the film is more than seven hours long.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Why Are So Many Writers Dropping Out Of Adelaide’s Famous Writing Festival?
“Nearly 50 authors, commentators, and academics have dropped out of this year’s Adelaide Festival in Australia after the Festival announced that they were canceling an appearance by Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah over ‘cultural sensitivity’ concerns.” – LitHub
- ‘Don’t Forget My Old Soul’<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/01/dont-forget-my-old-soul.html" title="‘Don’t Forget My Old Soul’” rel=”nofollow”>
When I saw this eye-popping video for the first time, it bowled me over. I’ve rewatched it several times and am still marveling at it. But is this work a piece of AI-slop? Is it “kind of meaningless in [its] calculated reality,” as Doug McLennan has written of the genre? - Actor And Director Timothy Busfield Accused Of Child Sex Abuse
A judge in New Mexico issued a warrant for his arrest. “Busfield was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse after two child actors said he had touched them inappropriately over a period of years.” – The New York Times
