AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Macmillan Introduced Its AI with a party, Then Killed It
Good Morning,
In January 2024 Macmillan welcomed an AI assistant called NOA with balloons; staff say it was “terrible,” and it was retired in October 2025. Bestselling authors tell Wired they are at “war” with their publishers over AI, and one could not get a single Big Five house to promise none would touch their books (Wired).
You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary, is already among the highest-grossing documentaries ever, yet no documentary has ever been nominated for Best Picture (Slate). Could this be the first? Errol Morris, who shot Theranos ads for Holmes, has two unedited hours of her interview and cannot get a screener (Variety).
Actors need $28,090 in on-screen earnings to keep SAG-AFTRA health insurance. Cheyenne Jackson, $6,000 short in 2025 until Kathy Bates got him four lines on Matlock, now posts other actors’ shortfalls on Instagram (The New York Times) in hopes of getting them work.
Oakland’s Crucible, the industrial arts school for welding and glassblowing, closed October 25 with no reopening date, months after its annual report described a rebuilt fundraising operation (San Francisco Chronicle).
All of today’s stories below.
- How Scientists Rank The Scariest Horror Movies Of All Time
“Since 2020, the (Science of Scare Project) has evaluated horror movies’ physiological effects on viewers by monitoring their heart rate and heart rate variability … as they watch a curated selection of English-language horror films considered among the most frightening.” And the winner is … ? – HuffPost
- The V&A’s Argument Against AI Slop
Why are humans so driven to make things? In our age of A.I. slop, the V. & A.’s devotion to physical objects is a tonic. And if two new buildings seem like overkill, think of all those data centers. – The New Yorker
- One Of Italy’s Largest Daily Papers Expands Into The US, In English
La Stampa, a nationally- and regionally-focused outlet headquartered in Turin, is opening La Stampa USA as an online publication aimed at an Italian-American readership. The newsroom currently has five employees in New York and two in Washington DC and plans to hire contributors around the country. – Press Gazette (UK)
- How To Defeat The Style Choices Your Algorithms Point You To
Rather than cycling through distinct eras sequentially as Laver predicted, social media feeds flatten time entirely. Decades of vintage subcultures and instant micro-aesthetics are collapsed into the same endless scroll, allowing a 1990s minimalist silhouette to coexist alongside a week-old “whimsymaxxing” viral trend. – The Conversation
ISSUES
- Plan For An Ambitious New Design Museum In The Bay Area
The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, the nonprofit established by the family of design and art pioneers Ray and Charles Eames, is set to file a master plan with the city of Novato that will transform the 85.5-acre site into a global design museum, attracting some 200,000 visitors a year. – San Francisco Chronicle (MSN)
- Bass Museum Of Art In Miami Beach Reveals Design For Its Planned Expansion
“California architecture studio Johnston Marklee has unveiled designs to expand the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach, including elevated galleries and courtyard spaces.” – Dezeen
- Check Out The Newest Memorial On The National Mall In DC
The Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial, honoring servicemembers who died during the 1990-91 war to end Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait, consists of two dune-shaped walls made of sand-colored granite, one with a 125-foot bas-relief by sculptor Emily Bedard and the other with inscriptions. – Smithsonian Magazine
- Scientists Figure Out How That Mysterious Ancient Roman Cup Changes Color
“Depending on where a light source is positioned, the Lycurgus Cup changes colour, from jade green under normal lighting to ruby red when lit from behind – a feat of optical engineering that has confounded historians and glassmakers for centuries. Now scientists from the University of Sheffield have replicated its optical behaviour.” – The Guardian
- Why Has The Bayeux Tapestry Become A Pop Culture Hit?
In the first hour that the second round of tickets to view the tapestry were available last Wednesday, payments from Monzo cardholders to the British Museum reached £14,100 and were 48 times that of a normal Wednesday morning. More than half (55%) of those buyers were aged under 35. – The Guardian
MEDIA
- Maine Banned Smartphones In Schools. It’s Changed Students’ Interactions
Students are connecting with each other more in the time between classes, staff across the state said. And during lunch, staff are hearing louder and more lively conversation in the cafeteria — a stark contrast from previous years when phone use stifled talking. – WBUR
- Oakland Arts School The Crucible Suddenly Closes
“The Crucible, a longtime West Oakland arts institution known for welding, blacksmithing, glassblowing and other hands-on classes as well as fire-related performances, has temporarily closed because of serious financial problems, leaving staff, faculty, students and artists uncertain about what comes next.” – San Francisco Chronicle (Yahoo!)
- Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Is A Juggernaut. So How Does It Work?
Things are going so well for the Trust that, in recent years, it has made some of the tinier theater spaces it owns and manages available free of charge to individual artists and small arts organizations. And yet, mentioning the Cultural Trust to some Pittsburgh artists can bring a wince. – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Perot Museum Of Nature And Science Plans $185 Million Expansion
“Plans include a five-story parking garage, a new arrival pavilion, a dedicated area for school bus drop-offs, a pollinator garden and a paleontology garden. This will double the amount of square footage that the museum has dedicated to exhibits, but now outside the building.” – KERA (Dallas)
- The Film Director Whose Impossible Class Struggle Movie Won At Venice
Lee Chang-Dong: “I constantly asked myself: am I worthy of telling this story? And if I am, how do I tell it? Do I stand close to the workers, or keep my distance?” – The Guardian (UK)
MUSIC
- One Of Italy’s Largest Daily Papers Expands Into The US, In English
La Stampa, a nationally- and regionally-focused outlet headquartered in Turin, is opening La Stampa USA as an online publication aimed at an Italian-American readership. The newsroom currently has five employees in New York and two in Washington DC and plans to hire contributors around the country. – Press Gazette (UK)
- How Politeness Has Shaped Our Language
Requests that were once directly stated as imperatives were now couched with indirectness as merely suggestions or questions: “Shut the window,” became “Could you please shut the window?” And, in addition to saying “thanks,” responding with an acknowledgment of that thanks, such as “you’re welcome,” became routine. – Time
- The Perils Of Voice-Acting Steamy Romance Books
The 45-year-old actor blames his upbringing for mispronunciations, like calling a “library” a “liberry.” Fans seized on the gaffe. “I was like, you know what? Touché,” Palmini said. “Even though you said you want to burn the book now because I said ‘liberry,’ I get it. Truly. Noted. ‘Library’ it is.” – The Wall Street Journal (MSN)
- Claim: AI Is Ruining Big Publishing
Multiple bestselling Big Five authors say they’ve gone to “war” with their publishers over AI and are considering abandoning traditional publishing altogether. – Wired
- First Word Of The Year For 2026 Is Here: Dictionary.Com Selects “Maxxing”
“’Maxxing” rose through the cultural lexicons of Gen Z and Gen Alpha quickly, ‘and now works as a noun, verb, adjective and adverb all at once. Leveling up your workout routine? ‘Gymmaxxing.’ Your personal care practices? ‘Healthmaxxing,’ an umbrella term that covers numerous subgenres, including ‘proteinmaxxing’ and ‘fibermaxxing.’” – CBS News
PEOPLE
- Macmillan Introduced Its AI with a party, Then Killed It
Good Morning,
In January 2024 Macmillan welcomed an AI assistant called NOA with balloons; staff say it was “terrible,” and it was retired in October 2025. Bestselling authors tell Wired they are at “war” with their publishers over AI, and one could not get a single Big Five house to promise none would touch their books (Wired).
You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary, is already among the highest-grossing documentaries ever, yet no documentary has ever been nominated for Best Picture (Slate). Could this be the first? Errol Morris, who shot Theranos ads for Holmes, has two unedited hours of her interview and cannot get a screener (Variety).
Actors need $28,090 in on-screen earnings to keep SAG-AFTRA health insurance. Cheyenne Jackson, $6,000 short in 2025 until Kathy Bates got him four lines on Matlock, now posts other actors’ shortfalls on Instagram (The New York Times) in hopes of getting them work.
Oakland’s Crucible, the industrial arts school for welding and glassblowing, closed October 25 with no reopening date, months after its annual report described a rebuilt fundraising operation (San Francisco Chronicle).
All of today’s stories below.
- How Scientists Rank The Scariest Horror Movies Of All Time
“Since 2020, the (Science of Scare Project) has evaluated horror movies’ physiological effects on viewers by monitoring their heart rate and heart rate variability … as they watch a curated selection of English-language horror films considered among the most frightening.” And the winner is … ? – HuffPost
- The V&A’s Argument Against AI Slop
Why are humans so driven to make things? In our age of A.I. slop, the V. & A.’s devotion to physical objects is a tonic. And if two new buildings seem like overkill, think of all those data centers. – The New Yorker
- One Of Italy’s Largest Daily Papers Expands Into The US, In English
La Stampa, a nationally- and regionally-focused outlet headquartered in Turin, is opening La Stampa USA as an online publication aimed at an Italian-American readership. The newsroom currently has five employees in New York and two in Washington DC and plans to hire contributors around the country. – Press Gazette (UK)
- How To Defeat The Style Choices Your Algorithms Point You To
Rather than cycling through distinct eras sequentially as Laver predicted, social media feeds flatten time entirely. Decades of vintage subcultures and instant micro-aesthetics are collapsed into the same endless scroll, allowing a 1990s minimalist silhouette to coexist alongside a week-old “whimsymaxxing” viral trend. – The Conversation
PEOPLE
- Macmillan Introduced Its AI with a party, Then Killed It
Good Morning,
In January 2024 Macmillan welcomed an AI assistant called NOA with balloons; staff say it was “terrible,” and it was retired in October 2025. Bestselling authors tell Wired they are at “war” with their publishers over AI, and one could not get a single Big Five house to promise none would touch their books (Wired).
You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary, is already among the highest-grossing documentaries ever, yet no documentary has ever been nominated for Best Picture (Slate). Could this be the first? Errol Morris, who shot Theranos ads for Holmes, has two unedited hours of her interview and cannot get a screener (Variety).
Actors need $28,090 in on-screen earnings to keep SAG-AFTRA health insurance. Cheyenne Jackson, $6,000 short in 2025 until Kathy Bates got him four lines on Matlock, now posts other actors’ shortfalls on Instagram (The New York Times) in hopes of getting them work.
Oakland’s Crucible, the industrial arts school for welding and glassblowing, closed October 25 with no reopening date, months after its annual report described a rebuilt fundraising operation (San Francisco Chronicle).
All of today’s stories below.
- How Scientists Rank The Scariest Horror Movies Of All Time
“Since 2020, the (Science of Scare Project) has evaluated horror movies’ physiological effects on viewers by monitoring their heart rate and heart rate variability … as they watch a curated selection of English-language horror films considered among the most frightening.” And the winner is … ? – HuffPost
- The V&A’s Argument Against AI Slop
Why are humans so driven to make things? In our age of A.I. slop, the V. & A.’s devotion to physical objects is a tonic. And if two new buildings seem like overkill, think of all those data centers. – The New Yorker
- One Of Italy’s Largest Daily Papers Expands Into The US, In English
La Stampa, a nationally- and regionally-focused outlet headquartered in Turin, is opening La Stampa USA as an online publication aimed at an Italian-American readership. The newsroom currently has five employees in New York and two in Washington DC and plans to hire contributors around the country. – Press Gazette (UK)
- How To Defeat The Style Choices Your Algorithms Point You To
Rather than cycling through distinct eras sequentially as Laver predicted, social media feeds flatten time entirely. Decades of vintage subcultures and instant micro-aesthetics are collapsed into the same endless scroll, allowing a 1990s minimalist silhouette to coexist alongside a week-old “whimsymaxxing” viral trend. – The Conversation
THEATRE
VISUAL
- The V&A’s Argument Against AI Slop
Why are humans so driven to make things? In our age of A.I. slop, the V. & A.’s devotion to physical objects is a tonic. And if two new buildings seem like overkill, think of all those data centers. – The New Yorker
- How To Defeat The Style Choices Your Algorithms Point You To
Rather than cycling through distinct eras sequentially as Laver predicted, social media feeds flatten time entirely. Decades of vintage subcultures and instant micro-aesthetics are collapsed into the same endless scroll, allowing a 1990s minimalist silhouette to coexist alongside a week-old “whimsymaxxing” viral trend. – The Conversation
- Time To Let The Internet Die?
To be online, many now admit, is to be endlessly manipulated and exploited. In December, Oxford University Press declared rage bait to be the word of the year, noting that use of the term had tripled over the previous 12 months. – Wired
- AI Will Upend Culture. How Should AI Companies Be Regulated?
What should the government do? We asked a panel of experts to assess the risks A.I. presents and the tools of governance that could be adopted to address them. – The New York Times
- Study Upends Understanding Of How Language Works
A groundbreaking study challenges 70 years of assumptions about how human language works. By analyzing billions of word uses, scientists discovered that meaning is organized around power, danger, and order rather than emotion alone. – ScienceDaily