AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Good Morning
Big money dominates today’s headlines. Three media giants—Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast—are bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery (The New York Times), while a Frida Kahlo masterpiece sold for a record-breaking $54.7 million (The Wall Street Journal). But it’s not all profits: the BBC faces a $1 billion licensing shortfall (The Guardian), and the Louvre’s president is under fire amid mismanagement allegations (The New York Times).
Elsewhere, research suggests students learn less with AI (The Conversation), Superman flies to a $9.12 million Comic Book #1 auction record (The Guardian), and Hollywood’s UTA management agency signs a delicious new client: Parmigiano Reggiano (The Hollywood Reporter). Plus: Bach discoveries, political crosswords, and dance tech…
All of our stories below.
- Top Hollywood Agency Takes On New Client: Parmigiano Reggiano. No, Not Some Drag King, The Actual Cheese.
“The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium has revealed that United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed the governing body for ‘the king of cheeses’ to get the supermarket staple placement in films, TV shows and streaming projects around the globe.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Superman Comic No.1 Sells For Record Price
A copy of Superman No 1 that was discovered in an attic in California last year has become the world’s most expensive comic book after selling for US$9.12m (£6.96m, A$14.14m). – The Guardian
- How The New York Times Crossword Became Political
In an excerpt from his book Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle, crossword constructor and former Will Shortz assistant Natan Last describes not only how it happened, but why it was probably unavoidable. – The Nation
- BBC Is Now Losing $1 Billion/Year In Lost Licensing
The BBC is now losing more than £1bn a year from households either evading the licence fee or deciding they do not need one, according to a cross-party group of MPs who warned the corporation is under “severe pressure”. – The Guardian
ISSUES
- Louvre President, Under Fire, Defends The Museum
Some, including a prominent art critic, have said she should lose her job, and she has been called to testify twice before Parliament. The criticism is particularly charged given the tumultuous state of French politics. – The New York Times
- Frida Kahlo Painting Sells for $54.7 — Most Ever For A Woman Artist
The 1940 canvas, “The Dream (The Bed),” topped the previous record held by a $44.4 million Georgia O’Keeffe, “Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1” that sold to Walmart billionaire Alice Walton 11 years earlier. – The Wall Street Journal
- Secret To Code Of “Kryptos” Sculpture Sells For Almost $1 Million
“The long sought-after solution to the fourth passage of Kryptos, artist Jim Sanborn’s secret-code-bearing sculpture at CIA headquarters, sold at auction Thursday night for a final price of $962,500, blowing past its $300,000 to $500,0000 estimate and placing the 35-year-old enigma in new hands.” – The Washington Post (MSN)
- Frida Kahlo Self-Portrait Sets New Price Record For Female Artists
The 1940 self-portrait of the artist asleep in bed, titled El sueño (La cama) — in English, “The Dream (The Bed)” — sold for $54.7 million at Sotheby’s, surpassing the record held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, which sold for $44.4 million in 2014. – AP
- New $234M Record Sale For Modern Art
The 71-by-51-inch painting, named after its subject, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Tuesday evening for $236.4 million, including fees. It belonged to the private collection of Leonard Lauder, the cosmetics heir who died in June. – Washington Post
MEDIA
- Kennedy Center Boss Pushes Back Against NYT Story Of Gross Mismanagement
The NYT and the Senator’s letter writer are going to be embarrassed. We have a balanced budget, we’ve raised a whopping $117 MILLION under @realDonaldTrump – and FIFA has paid millions plus covered all expenses (the NYT made a gigantic mistake by assuming FIFA was a rental not a major Sponsor).” – The Daily Beast
- Data Backs Up The Stereotype: Visual And Performing Artists’ Lives In The US Are Very Precarious
“We all know the trope of the starving artist,” said researcher Gwendolyn Rugg, “But there’s actually surprisingly little reliable data out there to back this up.” Rugg helped gather and analyze the data from a new survey by the University of Chicago’s NORC and the Mellon Foundation. – NPR
- Kennedy Center Special Deals For Trump Allies Investigated By Senate Democrats
“Senate Democrats are investigating the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts over its spending practices and booking deals involving political allies, accusing its leadership, installed by President Donald Trump, of ‘self-dealing, favoritism, and waste’ amid programming shifts and plummeting ticket sales.’” – The Washington Post (MSN)
- America’s Leading Medical Museum To Get $27 Million Upgrade
“The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which runs the popular Mütter Museum, announced plans on Monday to expand its footprint at 22nd and Chestnut Streets with a new, accessible entrance, larger galleries, educational and event spaces, an upgraded gift shop, and a renovated core gallery for the museum.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
- Three University Leaders Discuss Challenges Facing Education
Many universities, not all, but many, were for a period of time deeply focused on identity diversity, and really not so focused on viewpoint diversity or belief diversity. I think there’s a danger of a pendulum swinging too far in the other direction. – The New York Times
MUSIC
- Superman Comic No.1 Sells For Record Price
A copy of Superman No 1 that was discovered in an attic in California last year has become the world’s most expensive comic book after selling for US$9.12m (£6.96m, A$14.14m). – The Guardian
- How The New York Times Crossword Became Political
In an excerpt from his book Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle, crossword constructor and former Will Shortz assistant Natan Last describes not only how it happened, but why it was probably unavoidable. – The Nation
- A Messy Crisis At France’s Leading Festival Of Graphic Novels And Comics
Bande dessinée (comic strip) is considered the “ninth art” in France, and the Festival international de la bande dessinée d’Angoulême is its pinnacle. But the culture ministry has withdrawn €200,000 in subsidy while graphic novelists and publishers are boycotting the event after a staffer who lodged a rape complaint was fired. – The Guardian
- What I Learned From The Difficult Book Club
None of us are academic philosophers, by any means; we have busy jobs and other pressing adult responsibilities. But the process has proved fruitful. A camaraderie emerges, I’ve found, when a group dedicates itself to a task that requires great effort. – The New York Times
- Why Is The New York Public Library Giving Away Books?
Usually you have to return books you get from a library. Today the New York Public Library will give books away — 1,000 books from its list of the best titles of 2025, chosen by more than 80 librarians from branches across the library’s system. If you get one, you won’t have to return it. – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
Big money dominates today’s headlines. Three media giants—Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast—are bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery (The New York Times), while a Frida Kahlo masterpiece sold for a record-breaking $54.7 million (The Wall Street Journal). But it’s not all profits: the BBC faces a $1 billion licensing shortfall (The Guardian), and the Louvre’s president is under fire amid mismanagement allegations (The New York Times).
Elsewhere, research suggests students learn less with AI (The Conversation), Superman flies to a $9.12 million Comic Book #1 auction record (The Guardian), and Hollywood’s UTA management agency signs a delicious new client: Parmigiano Reggiano (The Hollywood Reporter). Plus: Bach discoveries, political crosswords, and dance tech…
All of our stories below.
- Top Hollywood Agency Takes On New Client: Parmigiano Reggiano. No, Not Some Drag King, The Actual Cheese.
“The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium has revealed that United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed the governing body for ‘the king of cheeses’ to get the supermarket staple placement in films, TV shows and streaming projects around the globe.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Superman Comic No.1 Sells For Record Price
A copy of Superman No 1 that was discovered in an attic in California last year has become the world’s most expensive comic book after selling for US$9.12m (£6.96m, A$14.14m). – The Guardian
- How The New York Times Crossword Became Political
In an excerpt from his book Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle, crossword constructor and former Will Shortz assistant Natan Last describes not only how it happened, but why it was probably unavoidable. – The Nation
- BBC Is Now Losing $1 Billion/Year In Lost Licensing
The BBC is now losing more than £1bn a year from households either evading the licence fee or deciding they do not need one, according to a cross-party group of MPs who warned the corporation is under “severe pressure”. – The Guardian
PEOPLE
- Good Morning
Big money dominates today’s headlines. Three media giants—Netflix, Paramount, and Comcast—are bidding for Warner Bros. Discovery (The New York Times), while a Frida Kahlo masterpiece sold for a record-breaking $54.7 million (The Wall Street Journal). But it’s not all profits: the BBC faces a $1 billion licensing shortfall (The Guardian), and the Louvre’s president is under fire amid mismanagement allegations (The New York Times).
Elsewhere, research suggests students learn less with AI (The Conversation), Superman flies to a $9.12 million Comic Book #1 auction record (The Guardian), and Hollywood’s UTA management agency signs a delicious new client: Parmigiano Reggiano (The Hollywood Reporter). Plus: Bach discoveries, political crosswords, and dance tech…
All of our stories below.
- Top Hollywood Agency Takes On New Client: Parmigiano Reggiano. No, Not Some Drag King, The Actual Cheese.
“The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium has revealed that United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed the governing body for ‘the king of cheeses’ to get the supermarket staple placement in films, TV shows and streaming projects around the globe.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- Superman Comic No.1 Sells For Record Price
A copy of Superman No 1 that was discovered in an attic in California last year has become the world’s most expensive comic book after selling for US$9.12m (£6.96m, A$14.14m). – The Guardian
- How The New York Times Crossword Became Political
In an excerpt from his book Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle, crossword constructor and former Will Shortz assistant Natan Last describes not only how it happened, but why it was probably unavoidable. – The Nation
- BBC Is Now Losing $1 Billion/Year In Lost Licensing
The BBC is now losing more than £1bn a year from households either evading the licence fee or deciding they do not need one, according to a cross-party group of MPs who warned the corporation is under “severe pressure”. – The Guardian
THEATRE
VISUAL
- Research: Students Learning With AI Say They Learn Less
The data revealed a consistent pattern: People who learned about a topic through an LLM versus web search felt that they learned less, invested less effort in subsequently writing their advice, and ultimately wrote advice that was shorter, less factual and more generic. – The Conversation
- The Surveillance Workplace Is Coming For Us
For many workers, both remote and in person, the workplace has quietly shifted into a site of constant measurement—where every pause can trigger scrutiny and where productivity is no longer just about results but continuous presence. – The Walrus
- So What Is Progress, Really? Some Limits Are Good
“Modernity is a machine for destroying limits.” This attack on limits is legible in a host of current phenomena, including mass immigration, free-market orthodoxy, the rise of AI, overseas labor exploitation, the clear-cutting of rainforests, and new ideas about gender. – The Atlantic
- For A Long Time Artists Have Been On The Leading Edge Of Culture. Maybe Its Time To Give Up That Role?
What about all the painting, sculpture, photography, video, and performance that people still love to make and see? They’re not going away, but it’s become harder to create fine art in those media while remaining on cultural discourse’s cutting edge. – Art in America
- The GLP-1 Era Is Changing How We Think About Self Control
Although scientists are just beginning to study food noise as a concept, individuals who have taken a GLP-1 drug often report that it significantly reduces this distracting, ruminative thinking about food – a near-constant background hum of unwanted food-related thoughts, feelings and desires that may contribute to making poor food choices. – Psyche
