This week’s Highlights: The mass-market paperback, a century-old staple of democratic reading, is set to vanish from the U.S. market by the end of 2025 (Publishers Weekly), while the art world reckons with a year defined by gallery closures and downsizing, signaling the end of an era of easy expansion (ARTnews).
In entertainment, the industry is obsessed with two very different, highly specific projects: a fierce bidding war has erupted for the TV rights to an unpublished novel about 1960s “Tupperware erotica” (The Guardian), while the Hallmark Channel is stripping down its wholesome image with a reality competition featuring ten shirtless men vying to become the network’s next Christmas movie star (The Washington Post (Yahoo!)).
High culture is attempting a radical pivot. The Metropolitan Opera is actively courting TikTok influencers to bring “delight and surprise” to Lincoln Center, a strategy that is proving surprisingly effective (The New York Times). We also get a look under the hood of a massive creative feat: how a linguist constructed the entire Na’vi language for the Avatar films from scratch (Deutsche Welle).
New research suggests that music can actually change the taste of food, with heavier cutlery and specific sounds enhancing flavor (Nautilus). But some sensory experiences are under threat: the world’s supply of frankincense is running low due to climate change and overharvesting (BBC), and Rome is about to start charging tourists to visit the Trevi Fountain (Euronews).
All our stories, organized by topic, below.
