AJ Four Ways: Text Only (by date) | headlines only
DANCE
IDEAS
- Fashion Week Just Wanted to Touch Grass
Good Morning,
Culture registers a shift before policy does. At New York Fashion Week, an unusual number of designers sent out clothes yearning for wilderness and open air — the runway as a collective request to log off (Washington Post). In at least 36 states, people aren’t waiting for city councils to regulate license-plate cameras; they’re taking them down themselves (The Conversation). Universities that spent three years pushing students toward AI now face studies suggesting it dulls thinking, and can’t decide which way to lean (The New York Times). Pull back, touch something real.
Philip Kennicott argues the “elite” caricature of the Kennedy Center gets it exactly backwards — it was the most authentically populist major arts center in the country (Washington Post). A federal judge has now ordered 30 days’ notice before anyone demolishes it (AP). Meanwhile the New Deal’s “Sistine Chapel,” the Cohen Building murals, may be rescued by a Freedom Caucus Republican (The New Republic). Buildings make strange allies.
San Francisco Opera and its orchestra reached a deal, ending the strike that darkened opening week (San Francisco Chronicle). And Duncan Sheik, who escaped MTV heartthrob status by writing Spring Awakening, has died at 56 (The New York Times).
All of our stories below.
- Prolific Theatre And Film Director Anthony Page Has Died At 90
He directed more than 35 titles for film and TV, including The Lady Vanishes and Middlemarch, but had even greater impact in theatre: he staged numerous classics in London and New York, notably by Beckett and Albee, and won a Tony for directing Janet McTeer in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. – Playbill
- NPR Has An Aggressive Plan For Its Digital Future
Katherine Maher said the organization is fundamentally reimagining its digital presence, looking for more ways to capitalize on its network of 243 newsrooms and member stations, and expanding its programming portfolio beyond what audiences traditionally associate with NPR. – Inside Radio
- Texas Ballet Theater Finds Its New Executive Director In Pittsburgh
Nicholas Dragga, currently executive director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, will take the same job at the Fort Worth-based company as of January 1. He succeeds Vanessa Logan, who stepped down in June 2025 to become managing director of Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. – Fort Worth Report
- As Studies Suggest Cognitive Decline With AI Use, Universities Are In A Bind
As A.I. leaders warn about the dangers of their own technology, the dissonance between optimism of university leaders and the fears of many students and professors may increase. Professors and students are often in a bind about what they should do: Use more A.I. to stay relevant, or dial back to preserve learning and thinking? – The New York Times
ISSUES
- Interesting: Fashion Week Suggests A Cohesive Theme For Our Times
Rarely does such a cohesive, poignant theme emerge from any given New York Fashion Week. But this September, a surprising number of designers showed work that seemed to yearn for a breath of fresh air, for the obliviating embrace of the wilderness and the natural world. – Washington Post
- “The Sistine Chapel Of The New Deal” Might Be Saved Thanks To A Republican Congressman
“The sponsor of the bill to save it is Representative Scott Perry, Republican of Pennsylvania and former chairman of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, whose mission statement expressing support for ‘limited government’ is the very antithesis of the social welfare programs celebrated in the Cohen building’s artworks.” – The New Republic
- Madrid Gets A New Stellar Museum
The real game-changer is a landmark donation of over 180 works worth more than €16 million ($18.5 million) from the Thyssen-Bornemisza family, plus a loan of 180 more, worth €10 million ($11.5 million). – Artnet
- AI Companies Are Destroying Books. What Does That Mean For Art?
AI companies, after losing copyright lawsuits over using pirated books found in digital formats, found a way forward, since the law doesn’t prohibit them from buying physical books and destroying them. In another ironic twist, they are looking only for books printed before 2022, because they want books that definitely have not been produced using AI. – ARTnews
- Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum To Add A Second Location
Because of overcrowding in the main building’s galleries, the museum will acquire an additional space a few blocks away: the Ice and Automobile Palace, which has been vacant since 2007 and will undergo a €70 million ($81 million) renovation. When it opens, the new branch will display 21st-century works. – ARTnews
MEDIA
- Kennicott: The Cultural Significance Of the Kennedy Center
Although the president caricatured it as an elite institution, and slandered it as anti-American and a danger to youth, the Kennedy Center was perhaps the most authentically populist major arts center in the country. – Washington Post
- Study: LLMs Respond Differently To Harmful Prompts When AI Watermarking Is Present
New research shows that SynthID-Text can change not just word selection but also the tools a model invokes and the chances it will adhere to or disregard safety guardrails it has been trained to follow. – Ars Technica
- Plaintiffs In Kennedy Center Case Ask Judge To Consider Putting It In Receivership Or Replacing Board
A joint statement from the plaintiffs said, “If the current leadership of the Kennedy Center is unwilling or unable to exercise its fiduciary duty to protect the historic building and the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the court should consider appointing a receiver or replacing that leadership.” – ARTnews
- Judge Orders Trump Not To Tear Down Kennedy Center Without 30 Days’ Notice
“A federal judge on Thursday ordered the Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolishing it as President Donald Trump has threatened.” – AP
- Photogs Get Picture Of Trump Studying Headlines About Demolishing Kenned Center
Late Wednesday night, photojournalists captured images through the windows of Air Force One that showed President Trump reviewing a large poster board with what looked like a rendering of a construction site beneath three very visible words: “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.” – The New York Times
MUSIC
- PEN America Appoints New Leader After Internal Battles Of This Past Summer
“(The literature-and-human-rights advocacy group) has named Phil Klay as its new president. … Klay’s appointment comes after novelist Dinaw Mengestu resigned from his post as president in July following the organization’s report on cultural boycotts and the ‘rising isolation and exclusion’ of Israeli and Jewish writers.” – Publishers Weekly
- Singapore Is Paying Its People To Read Books
“Under the scheme, readers accrue points that can be redeemed for a few cents. People will have to log 50 daily reading sessions (of 15 minutes or more) on a government website to earn S$1 (80 cents US). … One reading session is allowed daily.” – The Guardian
- Barnes & Noble Buys Another Distressed Indie Bookseller
Joseph-Beth Booksellers, which has two locations in metro Cincinnati, is the third independent retail business that B&N has acquired in three years. The chain bought Denver’s Tattered Cover in 2024 and the Bay Area’s Books Inc. last year; both companies had filed for bankruptcy. – Publishers Weekly
- Bookstores Warn Of Threats To Publishers Of Left-Wing Literature
The criminalization of left-wing literature and those who publish or distribute it, the booksellers said, should also concern mainstream bookstores, which should be able to carry “a broad range of viewpoints without fear of government scrutiny or interference. – Publishers Weekly
- Writers Are Going To Extreme Lengths To Prove Their Work Is Human
As AI-generated writing floods the internet, more people are trying to detect which creators are using such tools to spin up copy. That means writers penning all their own work—and people who acknowledge using chatbots for help—are trying to master something they never worried about before: how to sound human. – The Wall Street Journal
PEOPLE
- Fashion Week Just Wanted to Touch Grass
Good Morning,
Culture registers a shift before policy does. At New York Fashion Week, an unusual number of designers sent out clothes yearning for wilderness and open air — the runway as a collective request to log off (Washington Post). In at least 36 states, people aren’t waiting for city councils to regulate license-plate cameras; they’re taking them down themselves (The Conversation). Universities that spent three years pushing students toward AI now face studies suggesting it dulls thinking, and can’t decide which way to lean (The New York Times). Pull back, touch something real.
Philip Kennicott argues the “elite” caricature of the Kennedy Center gets it exactly backwards — it was the most authentically populist major arts center in the country (Washington Post). A federal judge has now ordered 30 days’ notice before anyone demolishes it (AP). Meanwhile the New Deal’s “Sistine Chapel,” the Cohen Building murals, may be rescued by a Freedom Caucus Republican (The New Republic). Buildings make strange allies.
San Francisco Opera and its orchestra reached a deal, ending the strike that darkened opening week (San Francisco Chronicle). And Duncan Sheik, who escaped MTV heartthrob status by writing Spring Awakening, has died at 56 (The New York Times).
All of our stories below.
- Prolific Theatre And Film Director Anthony Page Has Died At 90
He directed more than 35 titles for film and TV, including The Lady Vanishes and Middlemarch, but had even greater impact in theatre: he staged numerous classics in London and New York, notably by Beckett and Albee, and won a Tony for directing Janet McTeer in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. – Playbill
- NPR Has An Aggressive Plan For Its Digital Future
Katherine Maher said the organization is fundamentally reimagining its digital presence, looking for more ways to capitalize on its network of 243 newsrooms and member stations, and expanding its programming portfolio beyond what audiences traditionally associate with NPR. – Inside Radio
- Texas Ballet Theater Finds Its New Executive Director In Pittsburgh
Nicholas Dragga, currently executive director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, will take the same job at the Fort Worth-based company as of January 1. He succeeds Vanessa Logan, who stepped down in June 2025 to become managing director of Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. – Fort Worth Report
- As Studies Suggest Cognitive Decline With AI Use, Universities Are In A Bind
As A.I. leaders warn about the dangers of their own technology, the dissonance between optimism of university leaders and the fears of many students and professors may increase. Professors and students are often in a bind about what they should do: Use more A.I. to stay relevant, or dial back to preserve learning and thinking? – The New York Times
PEOPLE
- Fashion Week Just Wanted to Touch Grass
Good Morning,
Culture registers a shift before policy does. At New York Fashion Week, an unusual number of designers sent out clothes yearning for wilderness and open air — the runway as a collective request to log off (Washington Post). In at least 36 states, people aren’t waiting for city councils to regulate license-plate cameras; they’re taking them down themselves (The Conversation). Universities that spent three years pushing students toward AI now face studies suggesting it dulls thinking, and can’t decide which way to lean (The New York Times). Pull back, touch something real.
Philip Kennicott argues the “elite” caricature of the Kennedy Center gets it exactly backwards — it was the most authentically populist major arts center in the country (Washington Post). A federal judge has now ordered 30 days’ notice before anyone demolishes it (AP). Meanwhile the New Deal’s “Sistine Chapel,” the Cohen Building murals, may be rescued by a Freedom Caucus Republican (The New Republic). Buildings make strange allies.
San Francisco Opera and its orchestra reached a deal, ending the strike that darkened opening week (San Francisco Chronicle). And Duncan Sheik, who escaped MTV heartthrob status by writing Spring Awakening, has died at 56 (The New York Times).
All of our stories below.
- Prolific Theatre And Film Director Anthony Page Has Died At 90
He directed more than 35 titles for film and TV, including The Lady Vanishes and Middlemarch, but had even greater impact in theatre: he staged numerous classics in London and New York, notably by Beckett and Albee, and won a Tony for directing Janet McTeer in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. – Playbill
- NPR Has An Aggressive Plan For Its Digital Future
Katherine Maher said the organization is fundamentally reimagining its digital presence, looking for more ways to capitalize on its network of 243 newsrooms and member stations, and expanding its programming portfolio beyond what audiences traditionally associate with NPR. – Inside Radio
- Texas Ballet Theater Finds Its New Executive Director In Pittsburgh
Nicholas Dragga, currently executive director of Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, will take the same job at the Fort Worth-based company as of January 1. He succeeds Vanessa Logan, who stepped down in June 2025 to become managing director of Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut. – Fort Worth Report
- As Studies Suggest Cognitive Decline With AI Use, Universities Are In A Bind
As A.I. leaders warn about the dangers of their own technology, the dissonance between optimism of university leaders and the fears of many students and professors may increase. Professors and students are often in a bind about what they should do: Use more A.I. to stay relevant, or dial back to preserve learning and thinking? – The New York Times
THEATRE
VISUAL
- As Studies Suggest Cognitive Decline With AI Use, Universities Are In A Bind
As A.I. leaders warn about the dangers of their own technology, the dissonance between optimism of university leaders and the fears of many students and professors may increase. Professors and students are often in a bind about what they should do: Use more A.I. to stay relevant, or dial back to preserve learning and thinking? – The New York Times
- Rebellion Against Flock Camera Surveillance Has Become a Rallying Cry
In at least 36 states, opponents of the technology have taken matters into their own hands, destroying or impairing ALPRs rather than wait for local governments to step in. – The Conversation
- Doomsday Days: The Growing Awareness Of AI Dangers
Jacob Coxon, the engineer who recently resigned from Anthropic to protest its safety policies, says A.I. could “kill us all by the end of the decade.” But if A.I. is so outrageously dangerous, why should we accept modest proposals to “pace” its development? Why not call in the Turing cops, and pull the plug? – The New Yorker
- How Threats Of A Dismal Future Are Shaping Gen Z
Their perception is that jobs that feel meaningful are being slashed by government or stolen by AI. As a result, she reported, members of Gen Z may just need to find meaning in their hobbies and interests outside of work and pursue jobs that allow them to fully check out at the end of the day. – 3 Quarks Daily
- Why Italianness Is A State Of Mind
Descendants of Italian migrants generally express an intense pride in their heritage, and many continue to live by its sociocultural tenets in spite of decades, or more, of absence. It is as if time away from Italy, and geographical distance, only amplify a yearning for it. – Aeon