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Today's Stories

What If Getting Better Is a Con?

Technique aims to bring efficiency to everything in life. Anytime we use machine logic and apply it to humanity, we are in the realm of technique. For example, we don’t refine our morning routine so much as “hack” it. We don’t make the most of a vacation; we optimize our time off. - Plough

Trump Has Outsourced America’s 250th Birthday History To Hillsdale College

On the “America 250” website created by the White House, the account of the nation’s founding is outsourced to Hillsdale College, a far-right institution that was a member of the advisory board for Project 2025. - Los Angeles Times

What If Efficiency Doesn’t Make Us Better?

The problem with the technologies of 2025 — household, work or personal — is that we don’t have control over whether we use them, which perhaps is part of why we don’t see Americans gaining any more leisure time despite the wild advances of the past two decades. - The New York Times

Why A Labor Movement For Musicians Is So Difficult

 If the industrial, mechanical-reproduction era was a historical anomaly for musicians—as the “recording artist” emerged as a new way of making a living—perhaps so, too, were the aggressive, confrontational labor unions of the same period a temporary departure from the preindustrial guilds and associations focused on mutual aid and credentialing. - The Baffler

The Radical 1960s Language Experiment That Left Students Unable To Spell

The Initial Teaching Alphabet was a radical, little-known educational experiment trialled in British schools (and in other English-speaking countries) during the 1960s and 70s. Billed as a way to help children learn to read faster by making spelling more phonetically intuitive, it radically rewrote the rules of literacy for tens of thousands of children. - The...

Inside The CIA’s Art Collection

What these paintings represent about the CIA’s relationship to the art world, though, is more complicated. On these walls, the intersection between US art and politics is especially busy. - Hyperallergic

Why Is Hollywood Stuck On Rerun?

Hollywood, it appears, is stuck on repeat, sucked with an ever-more deafening gurgle into a death cycle of creative bankruptcy desperately presented as comfort food. - The Guardian

Tate Modern Is 25 Years Old. It’s Just Launched An Ambitious Endowment Campaign. Good Idea?

The gallery’s reserves have dropped sharply – from £22.6m in 2022–23 to £10.9m at the end of 2024. Government support is also in decline: the grant-in-aid the Tate received in 2023–24 was £50.8m, down from £54.2m the previous year. - Apollo

Can Ken Burns Tell A Definitive Version Of American History?

Since his 1990 series “The Civil War” drew record viewership to PBS and crossed over into pop culture, Burns has proven time and again that there’s a robust market for interrogating history with the clear eyes of a journalist and the heart of a patriot. - The Wall Street Journal

Can Japan Build A National Fandom Around Home-Grown Ballet?

Fans are actually pretty dialed in, but to international touring companies. "The country has struggled to build world-class companies and hold on to the top talent it trains. The National Ballet of Japan wants to change that.” - Financial Times

Don’t Expect A Michael Douglas Comeback

“I’d been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set.” - The Guardian (UK)

No Translation? No Problem

Are you happy to watch Cormac McCarthy’s characters speak both English and Spanish, since they live on the border, or do you seek out translation? What about the Igbo in Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie’s books? Keep reading, maybe figure it out in context, or use Google Translate? - LitHub

Google’s AI Summaries Of Recipes Are Going Away

Food writers were losing revenue at a terrible clip - but also, were the summaries any good? - Nieman Lab

Stravinsky’s Arrangement Of The Star-Spangled Banner Alarmed The Boston Police

They “issued Stravinsky a warning, claiming there was a law against tampering with the national anthem. (They were misreading the statute.) Grudgingly, Stravinsky pulled it from the bill.” - Open Culture

What Human Audiobook Narrators Think About The Rise Of AI

They’re not fans. One: “'I’ve narrated really raunchy sex scenes – AI doesn’t know what an orgasm sounds like,’ she says. ‘Birth scenes as well – I’d love to know how they plan on getting around that.’” - The Guardian (UK)

What The Paramount Capitulation Means For Freedom Of The Press

“What’s clear, in any case, is that big corporations undoubtedly threaten journalistic independence.”- Salon

Carla Maxwell, Who Figured Out How To Keep Modern Dance Companies Going, Has Died At 79

Maxwell took over the José Limón Dance Company after he died, but no one expected her to keep it going - much less for almost four decades. - The New York Times

The TikTok ‘Ban’ Will Morph Into A Sale And A New App

“The Trump administration says it’s close to working out a sale to a group of ‘non-Chinese' investors, including Oracle, with current majority owner ByteDance maintaining a minority stake.” - The Verge

Reading Aloud To Each Other Isn’t Just For Little Kids

It’s all a win for families (and sometimes adults as well): “Reading aloud engages kids in the story rather than their getting tangled up in the mechanics of reading. As a result, they can have deep discussions, build on current reading levels, and later have conversations with peers.” - Slate

We Have To Trick Our Brains To Align Short-Term Fun With Long-Term Achievements

Basically? Only connect. "Our brains are equipped with a social processing system that is engaged in thinking about other people’s minds and helps us understand and connect with them — including people who have labored on similar causes before us.” - The New York Times

By Topic

What If Getting Better Is a Con?

Technique aims to bring efficiency to everything in life. Anytime we use machine logic and apply it to humanity, we are in the realm of technique. For example, we don’t refine our morning routine so much as “hack” it. We don’t make the most of a vacation; we optimize our time off. - Plough

What If Efficiency Doesn’t Make Us Better?

The problem with the technologies of 2025 — household, work or personal — is that we don’t have control over whether we use them, which perhaps is part of why we don’t see Americans gaining any more leisure time despite the wild advances of the past two decades. - The New York Times

Google’s AI Summaries Of Recipes Are Going Away

Food writers were losing revenue at a terrible clip - but also, were the summaries any good? - Nieman Lab

We Have To Trick Our Brains To Align Short-Term Fun With Long-Term Achievements

Basically? Only connect. "Our brains are equipped with a social processing system that is engaged in thinking about other people’s minds and helps us understand and connect with them — including people who have labored on similar causes before us.” - The New York Times

Museums Are Collecting People’s Goals And Hopes For The 250th Birthday Of The United States

And it’s weirdly hopeful, deeply compelling stuff. “People were especially motivated to share their input when they were told that their contributions would be archived for posterity” (assuming the country & institutions, ah, survive). - Hyperallergic

I Observe. Must I Translate?

Human beings with a lot to say like to make noise. So do crickets, dogs, mice, other insects, rabbits when frightened or being killed, moose, and many, many others. Some of their noises are effective. Some fail to have an effect. - Harper's

Trump Has Outsourced America’s 250th Birthday History To Hillsdale College

On the “America 250” website created by the White House, the account of the nation’s founding is outsourced to Hillsdale College, a far-right institution that was a member of the advisory board for Project 2025. - Los Angeles Times

What The Paramount Capitulation Means For Freedom Of The Press

“What’s clear, in any case, is that big corporations undoubtedly threaten journalistic independence.”- Salon

The TikTok ‘Ban’ Will Morph Into A Sale And A New App

“The Trump administration says it’s close to working out a sale to a group of ‘non-Chinese' investors, including Oracle, with current majority owner ByteDance maintaining a minority stake.” - The Verge

Brad Pitt Is Fooling You

“The cumulative effect of F1 and its press tour have been a carefully tuned charm offensive meant to obscure, if not outright bury, the alleged violent particulars of his behavior toward ex-wife Angelina Jolie.” - Vulture (Internet Archive)

Not A Huge Surprise, But That One AI-Generated ‘Band’ Was An Elaborate Hoax

"A Canadian who duped journalists in an elaborate AI music hoax says he apologizes to anyone hurt by his experiment but that it's been ‘too fascinating’ to turn away from.” - CBC

Is Digital Security Even Possible In An Age Of Dictatorship?

Likely not, but people, and groups, persist in countries where the consequences can be dire. For instance, “the government of El Salvador has created an entire infrastructure to have not only social, but also digital control of the citizenry.” - Wired

Why A Labor Movement For Musicians Is So Difficult

 If the industrial, mechanical-reproduction era was a historical anomaly for musicians—as the “recording artist” emerged as a new way of making a living—perhaps so, too, were the aggressive, confrontational labor unions of the same period a temporary departure from the preindustrial guilds and associations focused on mutual aid and credentialing. - The Baffler

Stravinsky’s Arrangement Of The Star-Spangled Banner Alarmed The Boston Police

They “issued Stravinsky a warning, claiming there was a law against tampering with the national anthem. (They were misreading the statute.) Grudgingly, Stravinsky pulled it from the bill.” - Open Culture

A Strad That Disappeared At The End Of WWII May Have Resurfaced

“The case of the Mendelssohn Stradivarius highlights the opaque trade for rare instruments, in which details about provenance, or the history of previous ownership, are often not well documented or, in some cases, intentionally obscured.” - The New York Times

Recents Faves From The NYT’s Classical Music Writers

Recordings, live performances, and uncovered treasures have them hooked. - The New York Times

The Viola Would Like Your Attention, Please

"Often demoted to an accompanying role in musical textures, the viola’s chronic absence as a solo instrument has meant that violists have had to persuade their contemporaries to write for this unusual instrument.” - The New York Times

Eight Paris Concert Halls Most Classical Fans Never Think Of

You’ve heard of several of them — the Musée d’Orsay, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Les Invalides — but probably had no idea that they host high-level classical concerts. Others probably aren’t on your radar yet, like Bal Blomet and La Scala Paris. - Bachtrack

Inside The CIA’s Art Collection

What these paintings represent about the CIA’s relationship to the art world, though, is more complicated. On these walls, the intersection between US art and politics is especially busy. - Hyperallergic

Tate Modern Is 25 Years Old. It’s Just Launched An Ambitious Endowment Campaign. Good Idea?

The gallery’s reserves have dropped sharply – from £22.6m in 2022–23 to £10.9m at the end of 2024. Government support is also in decline: the grant-in-aid the Tate received in 2023–24 was £50.8m, down from £54.2m the previous year. - Apollo

Chaco Canyon Is Under Serious Threat From The Federal Government

“Chaco Culture, which includes Chaco Canyon National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. The network of archaeological sites once operated as a major center of the Chacoan culture ... between the years 850 and 1250.” - Hyperallergic

After Epically Bobbling A Venice Biennale Selection, Creative Australia CEO Faces Calls To Resign

An external review “recommended a review into Creative Australia’s governance processes, better training for future board members, and the urgent appointment of a board member with deep visual arts expertise.” Many in the visual arts community want to go a whole lot farther. - The Guardian (UK)

Gallery Powerhouse Blum Will Lay Off Staff And Close, Citing Market Downturn

Founded as Blum and Poe in 1994 in Santa Monica, Calif., by Tim Blum and Jeff Poe, the gallery represents some of the most high profile, and expensive, artists working today, including Yoshitomo Nara and Mark Grotjahn, whose artworks have traded for more than $10 million. - Artnet

The Benin Bronzes: Who Created Them, Who Has Had Them When, Who’s Returning Them To Whom Now And Why

The Netherlands turned over 119 objects to the Nigerian government, while the MFA Boston gave their two directly to the Oba of Benin. “As these two repatriations underscore, questions linger about who should rightfully receive them — the state or the Oba — as well as what restitution looks like in practice.” - Artnet

The Radical 1960s Language Experiment That Left Students Unable To Spell

The Initial Teaching Alphabet was a radical, little-known educational experiment trialled in British schools (and in other English-speaking countries) during the 1960s and 70s. Billed as a way to help children learn to read faster by making spelling more phonetically intuitive, it radically rewrote the rules of literacy for tens of thousands of children....

No Translation? No Problem

Are you happy to watch Cormac McCarthy’s characters speak both English and Spanish, since they live on the border, or do you seek out translation? What about the Igbo in Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie’s books? Keep reading, maybe figure it out in context, or use Google Translate? - LitHub

What Human Audiobook Narrators Think About The Rise Of AI

They’re not fans. One: “'I’ve narrated really raunchy sex scenes – AI doesn’t know what an orgasm sounds like,’ she says. ‘Birth scenes as well – I’d love to know how they plan on getting around that.’” - The Guardian (UK)

Reading Aloud To Each Other Isn’t Just For Little Kids

It’s all a win for families (and sometimes adults as well): “Reading aloud engages kids in the story rather than their getting tangled up in the mechanics of reading. As a result, they can have deep discussions, build on current reading levels, and later have conversations with peers.” - Slate

Summer Reading, By NPR

There’s Prose to the People, "a kind of fun celebration of how bookstores in general operate as more than just, like, a place where you go and pay money for a book. They are something bigger, and they mean something more to a community.” - NPR

Did The Salt Path Seem Like A Good Story?

That’s because the “memoir” (and its sequels, not to mention the new movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs) was at least partly fiction, covering up theft, a criminal case, and land in France. - The Observer (UK)

Why Is Hollywood Stuck On Rerun?

Hollywood, it appears, is stuck on repeat, sucked with an ever-more deafening gurgle into a death cycle of creative bankruptcy desperately presented as comfort food. - The Guardian

Can Ken Burns Tell A Definitive Version Of American History?

Since his 1990 series “The Civil War” drew record viewership to PBS and crossed over into pop culture, Burns has proven time and again that there’s a robust market for interrogating history with the clear eyes of a journalist and the heart of a patriot. - The Wall Street Journal

Is Hollywood Inspired By The CIA, Or Is The CIA Inspired By Hollywood?

Wow, OK: “The agency is targeting professionals at the intersection of arts and technology for recruitment, CIA officers told The Times, and continues to cooperate with entertainment giants to inspire the next generation of creative spies.” - Los Angeles Times (AOL)

Netflix’s Animated K-Pop Band Is Beating Flesh And Blood Bands On Spotify

Perhaps this is not a surprise in a time of AI slop, but at least the villainous, fictional Saja Boys’s songs are performed by real-life musicians on the high-debuting soundtrack. - Vulture

How A Whole Team Creates The Anxiety Inducing Sounds Of The Bear

“The sound team has anxiety-heightening tricks. ‘Whether it’s some repetitive sound that starts speeding up, like some chopping or whatever. Just adding, adding, adding, adding.’” - Variety

Test Audiences In Arizona Didn’t Like Elio, So Pixar Cut Out All The Gay Elements

Then the (gay) director left; "a number of creatives working behind the scenes left,” and America Ferrera, originally supposed to be Elio’s mom, left the production because there was no longer “Latinx representation in the leadership.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Can Japan Build A National Fandom Around Home-Grown Ballet?

Fans are actually pretty dialed in, but to international touring companies. "The country has struggled to build world-class companies and hold on to the top talent it trains. The National Ballet of Japan wants to change that.” - Financial Times

The Revived London City Ballet: Director Christopher Marney Talks About Its Second Season

“It was fascinating to get to the end of year one and evaluate our successes and pitfalls. … We had a week of sold-out shows at the Joyce Theater in New York and then half-full houses at the Theatre Royal Windsor. It’s important to work out why that happened.” - Gramilano

Milwaukee Ballet Drops Live Orchestra For Two Of Next Season’s Productions, Including “Nutcracker”

Citing “operating costs (which) continue to rise while revenue earnings have not kept pace,” company management announced that it would use recorded music for The Nutcracker and ALICE (in wonderland) but that the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra will play for season opener Giselle. - Milwaukee Magazine

Why Alicia Graf Mack Left Juilliard To Run The Ailey Company

“I’ve always been aligned with the mission and values of Ailey. So when I heard they were searching for a new artistic director, given all the knowledge and experience I’ve gained, it almost felt like I would be doing myself and the organization a disservice not to try.” - Dance Magazine

A New Ballet Company For Venice, A City With A Glittering Dance History

A successful Irish barrister with a long dedication to the arts, she and co-founder and artistic director Alessio Carbone are on an ambitious mission to revitalise dance in Venice. “It was once the ballet capital of the world, and in the 18th century there were more ballet theatres than in any other city. -...

Julianne And Derek Hough’s New Kind Of Dance Competition

This fall, in partnership with the company DanceOne, they’re launching a dance tour called Ovation by DanceOne, which merges ballroom and commercial competition traditions into one event. - Dance Magazine

Denver’s Theatre By And For Disabled Actors Is Hit Hard By GOP Cuts

“I know some arts organizations and some nonprofits are taking their DEI statements off their websites because they're afraid. And if we do, then it's our entire mission.” - NPR

What Theatre Tickets Cost In 2025 London

Overall average cheapest ticket to a show in London’s Theatreland district now costs £30.55, up 24.29% from the year prior. In comparison, the overall average bottom price in 2024 was just £24.58. Meanwhile, the average most expensive ticket across West End shows in 2025 cost £162.61 – 5.2% up from the 2024 figure of £154.56. -...

In Defense Of Rachel Zegler’s Balcony Scene In The New West End “Evita”

Many people who paid exorbitant prices to see the show in person are miffed that they’re watching “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” on a screen as Zegler sings it to crowds on the street. Writer Ellise Shafer argues that “this divisiveness is exactly the point (director Jamie) Lloyd is trying to make.” - Variety

Report: Stressed UK Theatres Are Increasingly Playing It Safer

Local theatres are increasingly “playing safe” with their programming, resulting in more one-night events, fewer week-long runs and a significant drop in opera, ballet and contemporary dance, the findings of a new report reveal. - Arts Professional

Average Ticket Price In London’s West End Up By Nearly One-Quarter

What’s more, the difference between the shows with the highest and lowest average ticket prices is narrower than one year ago. - The Stage

In Wartime Ukraine, Shakespeare Is Booming

“A King Lear and two Othellos are in repertoire in major Kyiv theatres; there is also A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the capital, a Hamlet, a Macbeth and a Romeo and Juliet.” And there’s the Ukrainian Shakespeare Festival in Ivano-Frankivsk, which Guardian chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins went to visit. - The Guardian

Don’t Expect A Michael Douglas Comeback

“I’d been working pretty hard for almost 60 years, and I did not want to be one of those people who dropped dead on the set.” - The Guardian (UK)

Carla Maxwell, Who Figured Out How To Keep Modern Dance Companies Going, Has Died At 79

Maxwell took over the José Limón Dance Company after he died, but no one expected her to keep it going - much less for almost four decades. - The New York Times

Sandra Neels, Dancer, Choreographer, And Teacher Of Modern Dance, Has Died At 85

“On arriving in Manhattan, she found studio closed; he and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, which he founded in 1953, were on tour. So, on her own, she began exploring other aspects of the New York dance scene.” - The New York Times

How Sondheim’s Collection Came To The Library Of Congress

The Library announced this week that it has acquired more than 5,000 items from Sondheim's collection, which will be available to the public on July 1. - CBC

Study: What Makes A Person “Cool”?

A new study suggests that there are six specific traits that these people tend to have in common: Cool people are largely perceived to be extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open and autonomous. - The New York Times

Frederick M. Nicholas, L.A.’s “Mr. Downtown Culture,” Has Died At 105

“A war hero, attorney and real estate developer, … (he) led the design and development of major L.A. landmarks, including the Museum of Contemporary Art and Walt Disney Concert Hall, … (shepherding) the city out of a cultural stasis and turn(ing) it into a global cultural and architectural powerhouse.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

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Executive Director – Southeastern Theatre Conference

The Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC), the largest network of theatre practitioners in the US, seeks service-oriented & inclusive leader to serve as its Executive Director

RADAR Nonprofit Solutions seeks Remote Accounting Manager

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Vice President of Business Development, Dance & Performing Arts – Robbins...

Robbins Dance Floors seeks a driven sales-oriented leader to fill the role of Vice President of Business Development, Dance & Performing Arts.

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CANADIAN STAGE is seeking a creative and energetic individual to serve as its next Director of Marketing & Communications.

The Bruce Museum, Inc. Seeks Chief Operating Officer

The Bruce Museum, Inc. (the Bruce) is an American Alliance of Museums accredited institution that highlights art, science, and natural history in numerous exhibitions.

PRESIDENT & CEO, South Arts

South Arts is searching for a bold, visionary leader with a proven ability to shape strategy, inspire collaboration, and drive impact across complex, evolving landscapes.

General Director – Pittsburgh Opera

As it looks forward to its 87th season, Pittsburgh Opera—one of America’s most artistically respected opera companies—invites recommendations/applications for the position of General Director

George Street Playhouse: Director of Advancement, New Brunswick, NJ

George Street Playhouse, Central NJ’s premier producing theater, seeks experienced Director of Advancement to lead ambitious fundraising program that supports GSP’s vision next 50 years.

Brad Pitt Is Fooling You

“The cumulative effect of F1 and its press tour have been a carefully tuned charm offensive meant to obscure, if not outright bury, the alleged violent particulars of his behavior toward ex-wife Angelina Jolie.” - Vulture (Internet Archive)

A Strad That Disappeared At The End Of WWII May Have Resurfaced

“The case of the Mendelssohn Stradivarius highlights the opaque trade for rare instruments, in which details about provenance, or the history of previous ownership, are often not well documented or, in some cases, intentionally obscured.” - The New York Times

Did The Salt Path Seem Like A Good Story?

That’s because the “memoir” (and its sequels, not to mention the new movie starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs) was at least partly fiction, covering up theft, a criminal case, and land in France. - The Observer (UK)

Museums Are Collecting People’s Goals And Hopes For The 250th Birthday Of The United States

And it’s weirdly hopeful, deeply compelling stuff. “People were especially motivated to share their input when they were told that their contributions would be archived for posterity” (assuming the country & institutions, ah, survive). - Hyperallergic

Documentary Makers Fear Being Turned Into Criminals By A Harsh New British Law

"We are being advised that the curtailing of Palestine Action could have a major knock-on effect for us as it could become not only illegal for others to voice support for them but also for us, as film-makers, to distribute this film.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Backlash Against Generated AI Is Gaining Steam

Why? "Unlike the dawn of the internet where democratized access to information empowered everyday people in unique, surprising ways, the generative AI era has been defined by half-baked software releases and threats of AI replacing human workers.” - Wired

The Artist Who Got Catfished By A Fake Lady Gaga

“Needless to say, this was not a situation Webster expected to encounter as an up and coming artist.” - The New York Times

How A Music Librarian Convinced Sondheim To Leave His Smoke-Singed Papers To The Nation

A personalized tour of the Library of Congress “included original manuscripts from composers Béla Bartók, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Igor Stravinsky and Johannes Brahms. … But it was American composer George Gershwin's manuscript for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess that moved Sondheim to tears." - CBC

There’s No One In Charge At The US Copyright Office

Thanks to Elon Musk and DOGE, of course - and no one knows when that might improve. - Wired

One Of The World’s First Gay Anthems Was Born 100 Years Ago In Chicago

The police bust of an all-women party she hosted in 1925 was the subject of Ma Rainey’s 1928 record “Prove It on Me Blues.” Rainey and her contralto voice were part of a wider lesbian blues counterculture that included Gladys Bentley, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Alberta Hunter. - BBC

There Are Dozens Of Nonprofits Concerned With Frank Lloyd Wright. Only One Helps Out People Who Live In Wright Houses.

“Owning a Wright original — the architecture buff’s equivalent of owning a Picasso — comes with headaches as manifold as they are esoteric. … To address these hurdles … the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy has created an ecosystem in which its 730 members can swap advice, trade stories and build community.” - The...

Seattle’s Low-Income Artspace Seems To Be Falling Apart

“Artspace, the Minneapolis nonprofit that owns the lofts, sold the city on a vision: affordable housing that would help retain Seattle’s creative soul as redevelopment and rising costs were driving out artists. But the dream shattered.” - Seattle Times

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