Today's Stories

For The First Time In Its 167 Years, This Newspaper’s Reporting Is 100% Paid-For By Subscriptions

The Irish Times (like most outlets) always depended on advertising to fund its operations. This year, thanks to the strategy followed by its leaders (and the fact that it’s owned by a trust rather than an asset management firm), the paper’s 150,000 print and digital subscribers cover the newsroom’s expenses. - Press Gazette (UK)

Recent US Post Office Delays Are Hitting Publishers Hard

Recent USPS service problems aren’t exclusive to newspapers. But for a business where timeliness is baked into the value proposition, they can be uniquely damaging, leading subscribers to cancel and even, in some cases, threatening advertising revenue. - NiemanLab

The Broadway Director Who Helped Stage The Milan Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

Creative coordinator Sammi Cannold: “I think what would surprise people most is how mathematical it is. From the outside, it looks like pure spectacle and emotion. But behind the scenes, it’s geometry, timecode, safety protocols, wind calculations, the positioning of 35 cameras, traffic flow for hundreds of performers, etc.” - Playbill

How Russian Musicians Think About Russian Music

For some Ukrainian musicians, the new reality they have chosen is “no Russian words from my lips, no Russian music from my hand”, as Nazarii Stets, one of the players of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (UFO), founded and conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, puts it. - The Guardian

Workers At Hollywood’s Writers Guild Union Strike Against The Union

The union maintained that “Guild management has surveilled workers for union activity, terminated union supporters, and engaged in bad faith surface bargaining, showing no intention to come to an agreement on most of WGSU’s core issues.” - The Hollywood Reporter

An Evolving Notion Of Literacy That Explains Everything

Literacy literally restructured our consciousness, and the demise of literate culture—the decline of reading and the rise of social media—is again transforming what it feels like to be a thinking, living person. - Derek Thompson

Grand Rapids Ballet Lays Off Executive Director And Eliminates Position

“Grand Rapids Ballet has dismissed executive director Mary Jennings after less than two years in the role, replacing her with an interim CEO as the ballet rethinks its leadership strategy.” - Crain’s Grand Rapids Business

Why Frederick Wiseman Was The All-Time Best Documentary-Maker

Between 1967 and 2023, he made forty-seven features (nearly one a year), many of them running considerably more than two hours. His body of work, considered in terms of number of features and of total running time, is one that probably no one in his generation or younger can match.  - The New Yorker

How Consolidation Has Wrecked Publishing

Here’s the problem: Those Big Five control over 80% of the trade publishing market. Indie publishers exist, but they need more support—a lot more support—than they’re getting. - The Honest Broker

Judy Chicago Walks Away From “Nightmare” Google Project

The celebrated visual artist Judy Chicago has walked away from a major commission at Google’s headquarters project in the Loop, comparing an aspect of working with the tech giant as “a nightmare.” - Chicago Sun-Times

California City Reports $1.5 Million Embezzled From Its Arts Funding Agency

“The statement from (Fresno Arts Council), which handled public grants set aside by the local parks and arts tax for the past few years, said the arts council began securing records and initiating ‘appropriate next steps’.” Meanwhile, the City Council has removed the granting process from Arts Council control. - The Fresno Bee (MSN)

If The UK’s Biggest Institutions Are Struggling, There’s A Structural Problem

If the National Gallery – one of Britain’s leading attractions with over 4 million visitors a year – is struggling to balance its books, it indicates wider structural problems in the arts industry. - The Conversation

Russia Produces Great Artists. Why Not Great Science?

Russia produces world‑class artists and brilliant scientific inventors, yet few globally successful technologies. Why? - Nightingale Sonata

CBS’ Attempted Censorship Of Colbert Backfires Spectacularly – 10X Online Views As Typical Ratings

CBS lawyers tried to block Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas legislator James Talarico, but Colbert posted it online instead—where it exploded, drawing far more viewers than TV. By defying CBS and the FCC’s new “equal time” rule, Colbert turned attempted censorship into a viral publicity gift. - The New Republic

Algeria’s Most Famous Author Faces Legal Cases For Misusing A Terror Victim’s Story

Kamel Daoud's Goncourt-winning novel Houris is about a woman whose throat was slit at age 5 during a terrorist massacre and who can now barely speak. An Algerian woman — whose psychiatrist was Daoud’s wife — has brought legal cases accusing the author of using her life story for the book without permission. - The Guardian

Another San Francisco Institution Cancels Its Next Show Due To Money Troubles

Lamplighters Music Theatre, the Bay Area’s Gilbert and Sullivan specialists, has called off its spring 2026 production of Patience. Company leaders blame not only the rising costs and shrinking audiences many organizations have experienced post-pandemic, but also the expenses caused by the personnel law AB5. - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)

Saudi Arabia Commissions World’s Largest Mural, Which It Hopes Will Be Visible From Space

The job — to create a painting 50,000 square meters large, roughly the size of nine football fields, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh — has gone to New York-based artist Domingo Zapata, who is reportedly getting an “unlimited budget.” - Page Six

Louvre’s No. 2 Official Says Ticket Fraud Is “Inevitable” At Large Museums

“Which museum in the world, with this level of attendance,” said Louvre general administrator Kim Pham, “would not at certain moments have some issues of fraud?” (He would not, however, name another museum with a similar problem.) - AP

How Will Academy Voters Decide Which Movie Should Win Best Casting Oscar?

“Yes, casting directors are finding the right person to carry the weight of the movie, but they are also responsible for nearly every face you see onscreen, creating the whole human environment of the film. Perhaps the casting award is most akin to the one honoring production design.” - The New York Times

Oscar-Nominated Co-Writer Of “It Was Just An Accident” Released From Iranian Prison

Mehdi Mahmoudian, who wrote the screenplay for the Cannes-winning film alongside director Jafar Panahi, has been released on bail after 17 days. He was among a group of people arrested for signing a statement condemning Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for ordering the violent crackdown on protesters last month. - The Hollywood Reporter

By Topic

An Evolving Notion Of Literacy That Explains Everything

Literacy literally restructured our consciousness, and the demise of literate culture—the decline of reading and the rise of social media—is again transforming what it feels like to be a thinking, living person. - Derek Thompson

The Anatomy Of (Enduring) Class Struggle

Despite years of Eat-the-Rich–type discourse, we seem to struggle with how money and power operate without falling into either conspiratorial exaggeration (the fantasy of Satan-worshipping elites ritualistically drinking baby blood is centuries old) or fawning admiration for the taste and sophistication of the rich and famous. - The American Scholar

Arguments For Why People Are Wothwhile

When we speak of dignity, worth, or the respect owed to persons, we are not engaging in idle abstraction. These concepts do real work. They justify constraints on what the powerful may do to the vulnerable. - 3 Quarks Daily

How Universities Became Centers Of Liberal Thought

In the past thirty or so years, the academy has replaced the church as the center of the liberal moral imagination, providing the sense of a community bound by ethics, a firmament of texts and knowledge that should inform action, and a meeting space for like-minded people. - The New Yorker

The Man Who Thinks The Enlightenment Was A Mistake

Rod Dreher emerged from the conservative blogosphere in the 2000s and won fans with his daily stream of testy opinions and unguarded anecdotal writing. He seems almost allergic to ideological consistency, has long had readers on the left as well as the right, and sometimes changes his mind over the course of a single paragraph. - The Atlantic

How Pokémon Became A Source Of Massive Soft Cultural Power

It’s a card game! It’s an app! It’s a movie! It’s a meme! It’s a stuffie (or a lot of stuffies)! But truly, what is Pokémon? - CBC

California City Reports $1.5 Million Embezzled From Its Arts Funding Agency

“The statement from (Fresno Arts Council), which handled public grants set aside by the local parks and arts tax for the past few years, said the arts council began securing records and initiating ‘appropriate next steps’.” Meanwhile, the City Council has removed the granting process from Arts Council control. - The Fresno Bee (MSN)

If The UK’s Biggest Institutions Are Struggling, There’s A Structural Problem

If the National Gallery – one of Britain’s leading attractions with over 4 million visitors a year – is struggling to balance its books, it indicates wider structural problems in the arts industry. - The Conversation

Russia Produces Great Artists. Why Not Great Science?

Russia produces world‑class artists and brilliant scientific inventors, yet few globally successful technologies. Why? - Nightingale Sonata

In Australia, Arts Education Enrollment Is Plummeting

A comprehensive review of national data shows a steady decline in arts subject enrolments at senior secondary level and a parallel contraction of creative arts degree courses in higher education since 2018. - Limelight

Head Of Arts At London’s Barbican Centre Is Out After Only 18 Months

Devyani Saltzman was named director of arts and participation in February 2024; she was one of seven senior leaders installed after the Barbican replaced the managing director model. News of her departure comes about a month after the arrival of new CEO Abigail Pogson, and Saltzman is not being replaced. - The Guardian

The British Museum Has Removed The Word Palestine And Palestinians From Its Middle East Displays

“Concerns were recently raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLIF), a voluntary group of solicitors, about references to ‘Palestine’ in displays covering the ancient Levant and Egypt, which risked ‘obscuring the history of Israel and the Jewish people.’” - The Guardian (UK)

How Russian Musicians Think About Russian Music

For some Ukrainian musicians, the new reality they have chosen is “no Russian words from my lips, no Russian music from my hand”, as Nazarii Stets, one of the players of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra (UFO), founded and conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, puts it. - The Guardian

Another San Francisco Institution Cancels Its Next Show Due To Money Troubles

Lamplighters Music Theatre, the Bay Area’s Gilbert and Sullivan specialists, has called off its spring 2026 production of Patience. Company leaders blame not only the rising costs and shrinking audiences many organizations have experienced post-pandemic, but also the expenses caused by the personnel law AB5. - San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)

Why Do We Have An Instinctive Attraction To Music?

People have relished music for so long that we have evidence, from forty thousand years ago, of humans making a flute-like instrument out of a vulture bone. We feel that even wordless music reflects our moods. - The New Yorker

What Musical Variations Can Teach Us About Divergent Creativity

It’s hard to imagine creativity without divergent thinking. How are you being exploratory? How are you being adventurous? A theme and variations is a very overt demonstration of that process, because the whole idea is to generate novel versions of the same source. - The New York Times

San Antonio Philharmonic Cancels Remainder Of Its Season

“After the loss of its musical director, the cancelation of multiple concerts and a dispute locking it out of what was touted to be its permanent performance space, the San Antonio Philharmonic has scrapped the remainder of its season, according to an email sent to its musicians.” - San Antonio Current

Chicago Symphony Is Deemed “World’s Busiest Orchestra” — What Exactly Does That Entail?

Basically, it means the CSO shows more scheduled performances than other orchestras in the comprehensive concert listings on the classical-music website Bachtrack. However, both Bachtrack’s editors and CSO management say that it’s not as simple as that description sounds. - Chicago Tribune

Judy Chicago Walks Away From “Nightmare” Google Project

The celebrated visual artist Judy Chicago has walked away from a major commission at Google’s headquarters project in the Loop, comparing an aspect of working with the tech giant as “a nightmare.” - Chicago Sun-Times

Saudi Arabia Commissions World’s Largest Mural, Which It Hopes Will Be Visible From Space

The job — to create a painting 50,000 square meters large, roughly the size of nine football fields, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh — has gone to New York-based artist Domingo Zapata, who is reportedly getting an “unlimited budget.” - Page Six

Louvre’s No. 2 Official Says Ticket Fraud Is “Inevitable” At Large Museums

“Which museum in the world, with this level of attendance,” said Louvre general administrator Kim Pham, “would not at certain moments have some issues of fraud?” (He would not, however, name another museum with a similar problem.) - AP

Architect Oscar Niemeyer’s Final Building Was A Diner In Leipzig

The great Brazilian modernist, best-known for the futuristic government buildings in Brasilia, had recently turned 103 when he drew the first sketch for what’s now called the Niemeyer Sphere. When he died almost a year later, he hadn’t finalized the design, but there were enough sketches and specifications to complete it. - The Guardian

The Cultural Debate About Wall Texts

“When curators withhold information about the works and the artists, they are reinforcing their own curatorial approach, which is a contradiction. Decontextualizing and dehistoricizing is practically a colonialist act.”  - Hyperallergic

America’s Post-Modernist Architecture Legacy

Postmodernism began as a critique of modernism's exhausted promises. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, many designers no longer treated modernism as radical or socially redemptive. Urban renewal projects accelerated the demolition of historic neighborhoods, and landmark preservation battles raised urgent questions about what the United States valued and, ultimately, protected. - Arch Daily

For The First Time In Its 167 Years, This Newspaper’s Reporting Is 100% Paid-For By Subscriptions

The Irish Times (like most outlets) always depended on advertising to fund its operations. This year, thanks to the strategy followed by its leaders (and the fact that it’s owned by a trust rather than an asset management firm), the paper’s 150,000 print and digital subscribers cover the newsroom’s expenses. - Press Gazette (UK)

Recent US Post Office Delays Are Hitting Publishers Hard

Recent USPS service problems aren’t exclusive to newspapers. But for a business where timeliness is baked into the value proposition, they can be uniquely damaging, leading subscribers to cancel and even, in some cases, threatening advertising revenue. - NiemanLab

How Consolidation Has Wrecked Publishing

Here’s the problem: Those Big Five control over 80% of the trade publishing market. Indie publishers exist, but they need more support—a lot more support—than they’re getting. - The Honest Broker

Algeria’s Most Famous Author Faces Legal Cases For Misusing A Terror Victim’s Story

Kamel Daoud's Goncourt-winning novel Houris is about a woman whose throat was slit at age 5 during a terrorist massacre and who can now barely speak. An Algerian woman — whose psychiatrist was Daoud’s wife — has brought legal cases accusing the author of using her life story for the book without permission. -...

A Rare Edition Of Shakespeare’s First Folio Was Stolen And Damaged. Now That It’s Been Recovered, Should It Be Repaired?

When in 2010, Durham University got back the Folio which had been stolen in 1998, the book’s leather cover, boards and end papers were gone, as were an engraving, a eulogy by Ben Jonson, and the final page of Cymbeline. The volume has never been repaired, and there are good reasons why. - BBC...

The Machines Are Coming for Your Plot Twists

What seemed preposterous in a 1962 novel—story-writing machines—is now Silicon Valley gospel. As AI churns out narratives, we're left wondering: who's really telling the story, and does anyone care about the difference? — 3 Quarks Daily

Workers At Hollywood’s Writers Guild Union Strike Against The Union

The union maintained that “Guild management has surveilled workers for union activity, terminated union supporters, and engaged in bad faith surface bargaining, showing no intention to come to an agreement on most of WGSU’s core issues.” - The Hollywood Reporter

CBS’ Attempted Censorship Of Colbert Backfires Spectacularly – 10X Online Views As Typical Ratings

CBS lawyers tried to block Stephen Colbert’s interview with Texas legislator James Talarico, but Colbert posted it online instead—where it exploded, drawing far more viewers than TV. By defying CBS and the FCC’s new “equal time” rule, Colbert turned attempted censorship into a viral publicity gift. - The New Republic

How Will Academy Voters Decide Which Movie Should Win Best Casting Oscar?

“Yes, casting directors are finding the right person to carry the weight of the movie, but they are also responsible for nearly every face you see onscreen, creating the whole human environment of the film. Perhaps the casting award is most akin to the one honoring production design.” - The New York Times

Oscar-Nominated Co-Writer Of “It Was Just An Accident” Released From Iranian Prison

Mehdi Mahmoudian, who wrote the screenplay for the Cannes-winning film alongside director Jafar Panahi, has been released on bail after 17 days. He was among a group of people arrested for signing a statement condemning Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for ordering the violent crackdown on protesters last month. - The Hollywood Reporter

Stephen Colbert Says CBS Censored Talarico Interview On His Late Night Show

Colbert said that CBS lawyers had told him “in no uncertain terms” that an interview he had planned for Monday’s show with State Representative James Talarico of Texas would not air on the show, even though the lawmaker was already in Mr. Colbert’s studio. - The New York Times

“Train Dreams” And “Adolescence” Lead 2026 Independent Spirit Awards

Train Dreams, Clint Bentley’s feature about an isolated logger in the early-20th-century Pacific Northwest, led the film categories with three wins. In the television categories, Adolescence, a British crime drama about a 13-year-old boy accused of stabbing a classmate to death, took four of the six prizes. - The Hollywood Reporter

Grand Rapids Ballet Lays Off Executive Director And Eliminates Position

“Grand Rapids Ballet has dismissed executive director Mary Jennings after less than two years in the role, replacing her with an interim CEO as the ballet rethinks its leadership strategy.” - Crain’s Grand Rapids Business

At 85, Choreographer Lucinda Childs Is Still Busy

“I’m not, um, young,” she says. “And I do have help. I don’t go in without somebody there who can help to translate and who understands my movement. But my favorite thing is to make things.” - The New York Times

Bring Back Ski Ballet!

Nothing is “nutty” in the Olympics now. Ski ballet was a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992, but "unlike the other two freestyle disciplines, aerials and moguls, ski ballet didn’t graduate to full Olympic medal status.” - The New York Times

Behind The Scenes Of The Lion Dance

“Because information about lion dancing in English is scarce, Chan led a group of Kei Lun Martial Arts members on a research trip to China in 2000. They studied with skilled craftspeople in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.” - The New York Times

For The First Time, A Male Dancer Plays The Evil Fairy In New York City Ballet’s “Sleeping Beauty”

In 2023, principal Taylor Stanley asked management if they’d permit a male-identifying dancer to play Carabosse; they said no. This year, they said no again. So Stanley went over their heads to choreographer Peter Martins, who’s fine with it. Now Stanley is making quite a meal of the role. - The New York Times

The Messy, Sordid Controversy Underlying The Olympic Ice Dancing Competition

Or, how France’s Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier Beaudry (who’s actually Canadian) ended up paired at all, then became the gold medalists despite having been together only since March. - AP

The Broadway Director Who Helped Stage The Milan Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

Creative coordinator Sammi Cannold: “I think what would surprise people most is how mathematical it is. From the outside, it looks like pure spectacle and emotion. But behind the scenes, it’s geometry, timecode, safety protocols, wind calculations, the positioning of 35 cameras, traffic flow for hundreds of performers, etc.” - Playbill

A Verbatim Play Reimagines One Of The Most Notorious TV Debates Of The AIDS Era

In Kramer/Fauci, director Daniel Fish stages a transcript of the 1993 C-SPAN debate between Larry Kramer, the legendarily combative writer and AIDS activist, and the more mild-mannered Dr. Anthony Fauci, then the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. - The New York Times

How Minneapolis’s Theater Community Has Been Dealing With The ICE Occupation

It hasn’t been easy: some artists are scared to come to the theater, as are many audience members, and some shows have had to be cancelled. (Alex Pretti was shot two blocks from one theater on a two-show Saturday.) Yet performances are happening when and where they can — including, sometimes, in clandestine locations....

A Theater Company Of Ukrainian Veterans Wounded In The Russian War

Some have lost an arm, others their legs, yet others their eyesight or voice. They’ve spent a year rehearsing a parody of Virgil’s Aeneid. One company member describes the work as both “rehabilitation and socialization.” - Deutsche Welle

Australia’s Great Theatrical Trilogy Is Being Staged Complete For The First Time In 40 Years

Playwright Ray Lawler’s most famous work, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1955), was a turning point in Australian theatre history. In the 1970s, Lawler wrote two prequel plays – Kid Stakes and Other Times – to form The Doll Trilogy. Melbourne’s small-but-ambitious Red Stitch is staging them together for the first time since 1985. - ArtsHub (Australia)

Playwright Tracy Letts On Why He Wrote “Bug” (And Why Now’s A Good Time For Reviving It)

“I was studying this issue of conspiracy theories and what makes people susceptible to a conspiracy theory. There’s a real terror of (not conforming) in our culture, and we will gladly believe somebody else’s nonsense if it means we don’t stick out from the group.” - WBEZ (Chicago)

Why Frederick Wiseman Was The All-Time Best Documentary-Maker

Between 1967 and 2023, he made forty-seven features (nearly one a year), many of them running considerably more than two hours. His body of work, considered in terms of number of features and of total running time, is one that probably no one in his generation or younger can match.  - The New Yorker

Actor Shia LaBeouf Arrested In New Orleans After Alleged Mardi Gras Fistfight

He is charged with two counts of simple battery following incidents in the midnight hours of Tuesday morning. This is, of course, by no means his first run-in with law enforcement. - AP

Michael Silverblatt, A Radio Interviewer Who Really Knew His Subjects’ Work, Dies At 73

Michael Silverblatt, the longtime host of the KCRW radio show "Bookworm" — known for interviews of authors so in depth that they sometimes left his subjects astounded at his breadth of knowledge of their work — has died. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo)

Frederick Wiseman, Dean Of Documentary Filmmakers, Has Died At 96

“Among the world’s most admired and influential filmmakers, … with subjects ranging from a suburban high school to a horse race track, his work was aired on public television, screened at retrospectives, spotlighted in festivals, praised by critics and fellow directors and preserved by the Library of Congress.” - AP

Actor Robert Duvall, 95

“(The) Oscar-winning actor … disappeared into an astonishing range of roles — lawmen and outlaws, Southern-fried alcoholics and Manhattan boardroom sharks, a hotheaded veteran and a cool-tempered mob consigliere — and emerged as one of the most respected screen talents of his generation.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

How Toni Morrison’s Courage And Daring Shaped The Way We Think

“She became the only black woman ever to win the Nobel prize in literature. But the facts remain: she is difficult to read. She is difficult to teach. Notwithstanding the voluminous train of profiles, reviews and scholarly analysis … she is difficult to write about.” - The Guardian (UK)

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City of Bellingham Whatcom Museum seeks Museum Executive Director

City of Bellingham Whatcom Museum seeks Museum Executive Director. Estimated base salary in the range of $140,000 to $168,000.

New York Theatre Ballet seeks Managing Director

Managing Director opportunity at NYTB, leading growth, operations, partnerships, governance, and teams, delivering expansion, innovation, and compliance across the dance community.

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Columbia Museum of Art – Executive Director

The Columbia Museum of Art (CMA), in Columbia, South Carolina, an AAM-accredited institution, seeks an Executive Director to build upon its 75-year legacy.

The British Museum Has Removed The Word Palestine And Palestinians From Its Middle East Displays

“Concerns were recently raised by UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLIF), a voluntary group of solicitors, about references to ‘Palestine’ in displays covering the ancient Levant and Egypt, which risked ‘obscuring the history of Israel and the Jewish people.’” - The Guardian (UK)

The Zombie Internet Is Here To Eat, Or Rot, All Of Our Brains

What are the consequences of a “human-free” internet? - Fast Company

Why Are Murals Of A Murdered Ukrainian Refugee Appearing Across The United States?

The murals are all part of Elon Musk’s effort to blame Democrats for crime - and they’re appearing on buildings across the United States. - Chicago Sun-Times

Tracey Emin On What Young Artists Need To Do In A World Riddled With Stolen ‘Generative’ AI

“Keep a diary, get a camera, learn to print your own photos. Don’t put it all in your phone, because everything in your phone belongs to someone else. And if you want to write a secret to someone, send a letter.” - The Guardian (UK)

University Of North Texas Can’t Handle An Art Show With Anti-ICE Content

“Victor Quiñonez, the artist behind the exhibition, said he learned about the university’s decision when students messaged him on social media to say the windows of the gallery in Denton, northwest of Dallas, had been covered and the door locked.” - The New York Times

Large Software Analysis Says Turin And Philly Paintings Aren’t Actually By Van Eyck

The AI-supported “findings supported scholars who had suggested that both versions were studio paintings – produced in the artist’s workshop but not necessarily by him,” but surprised some art historians, who now wonder whether an original exists somewhere. - The Guardian (UK)

It’s Not Easy Being The One Charged With Creating New Stained Glass Windows For Notre Dame

Tabouret: “It’s not very French to change stuff, so I thought that interesting as well as brave and fresh. They specifically wanted figurative painting, which also isn’t very French.” But church authorities eventually gave her a lot of artistic freedom. - The Guardian (UK)

How Bach Helped This Abuse Victim Stay Alive

“Every night, I would sit in my room listening to recordings of Bach, then Horowitz and Ashkenazy, pretending to play along. It was pure escape, pure fantasy. I could hide inside the music. ... The Chaconne specifically was like an ancient key that slid into my heart.” - The Guardian (UK)

How Did Milan’s Olympics Opening Ceremony Measure Up, Artistically Speaking?

“Do you know what’s more tubular than snowboarding? Giant tubes of paint descending from the ceiling! More sweeping than curling? A beautiful recital of a poem by a man in a long coat! More thrilling than a hockey brawl? A dance-off between two competing clusters of contemporary dancers!” - Vulture

Toronto’s Royal Conservatory Of Music Accused Of Enabling A Predatory Piano Educator

“I was left with a feeling of tremendous shame. Even after gathering the courage to speak up, I was ashamed that I was a victim, ashamed that I was unable to stop it. Ashamed that even after finally speaking up, I was disregarded, ignored, discarded.” - Toronto Star

A.O. Scott Annotates The Court Order Freeing The Five-Year-Old Held By ICE

“Judge Biery’s decision … is much more than dry judicial reasoning. It’s a passionate, erudite, at times mischievous piece of prose. … In fewer than 500 words, Judge Biery marshals literature, history, folk wisdom and Scripture to challenge the theory of executive power that has defined Trump’s second presidency.” - The New York Times

This Opera Lampooning Trump Features Zombies, Vampires, And A Libretto By A Nobel Prizewinner

Elfriede Jelinek, winner of the 2004 Nobel Prize for Literature, and composer Olga Neuwirth, who received the 2022 Grawemeyer Award, have created Monster’s Paradise — now premiering at the Hamburg Opera — with an Ubu-like President-King who looks very familiar and gets eaten by the monster Gorgonzilla. (Yes, there are also zombies and vampires.)...

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