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- Angela Duckworth Takes On Will Power
High-profile authors are obviously under pressure to offer novel frameworks, but rarely do these second acts feel like an about-face. Duckworth insists that “Situated” is not a reversal but an expansion of her earlier research; as an account of individual success, grit is “necessary but not sufficient,” and must be complemented by the larger picture. – The New Yorker
- George Lucas’ New Temple To Storytelling
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, which opens this month in Exposition Park, just south of downtown Los Angeles, is a swooping, brain-beggaring, super-sexy, twin-bodied leviathan of a megastructure, white as the gown of Princess Leia, half spaceship, half cetacean, all curves, Shangri-la for skateboarders if they could ever get inside. – The Atlantic
- David Salle On Museum Politics
Is it possible to make qualitative judgements in an unbiased way? Maybe not. Some people feel that the whole idea of making judgements is just another form of cultural oppression. On one level, aesthetic preferences are all cultural. Take for one example the preference for consonant music over dissonant—it’s cultural, not intrinsic. – Artnet
- What Is Poetry? ‘A glimpse of sun.’ — Jim Harrison<a href="https://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2026/09/what-is-poetry-a-glimpse-of-sun-jim-harrison.html" title="What Is Poetry? ‘A glimpse of sun.’ —
- The Art Of Being Jeff Koons
Koons the pop culture figure is often at odds with Koons the artist, causing some deep ambivalence among the art establishment. He’s at once an esoteric conceptualist and a marketing genius rivaled only by Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí. – The New York Times
- “The Odyssey” Was Shot On Film. Only One Company Makes The Film
Beyond specific formats, Nolan and “The Odyssey” are part of a broader revival of physical film after the digital revolution seemed to have left it for dead. – The New York Times
- Restored Giotto Frescoes Unveiled
The newly vibrant “Stories of St. Francis” were shown to the public last week in the Basilica of Santa Croce, just in time for the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death on Oct. 4. – AP News
- Four Million Books Were Published In The US Last Year. 3.5M Of Them Were Self-Published
U.S. title output reached roughly four million in 2025, up about 32 percent in a single year, and around 3.5 million of those were self-published titles with ISBNs, up nearly 39 percent on the year before. Self-published books outnumbered traditionally published ones by more than five to one. – Rachel Alterberry
- More Dance Clubs Prohibit Cameras And Smart Glasses
That desire to disconnect comes as technology has fundamentally changed what it means to go out. In the 1990s rave scene, there was no smartphone in your pocket and no expectation that a night out would be documented and shared online. – CBC
- Desecrating DC To Own The Libs
The Trump Arch is just the latest in a series of architectural and visual crimes committed on the capital city. – The Guardian (UK)
- Streaming Is Murdering Real Comedy, And For Some Reason, We’re Applauding That Death
“Broadcast TV wants you to watch a show and then, after you’re done, watch a different show on the same channel. Streamers have a different agenda: … They want you never to leave.” – The New York Times
- What Hollywood Has Done To Our Ideas Of Sex In Ancient Egypt
A lot of sexual positions are “practically only for the gods,” not for regular people, or even non-deified monarchs. – El País English
- That Time A BBC Strike Derailed Doctor Who
Thus, we’ve never gotten to see Tom Baker punting down the River Cam. – BBC
- The Current US President May Be Winning His War On The Smithsonian’s Independence
Director Lonnie G. Bunch III “realized that — one way or another — he was probably not going to last through this administration, that the White House was intent on taking over the Smithsonian.” So he resigned, in part to save the institutions. – The New York Times
- Los Angeles Was Supposed To Have A Music Fest On The Beach
Then an offshore hurricane hit. According to the festival: “Storm surf and runoff [have] caused significant beach erosion and the festival can no longer be safely held as planned.” – Los Angeles Times
- Opera Is In Trouble
Perhaps it’s time to ask WWTD: What would Toscanini do? – The New York Times
- It Seems A Little Too On Point, But Justin Trudeau Is Launching A Production Company
Like the Obamas’ turn to entertainment post-presidency, the former Canadian PM is interested in “great storytelling,” or so the press release says. “The company will produce scripted and unscripted content, including documentaries and docuseries, as well as television series and feature films.” – CBC
- The Martha Graham Company Gets Its Permanent Home
“Physical bodies and physical space. As an art form, dance requires little else, but in New York, the latter is especially hard to come by — even for the oldest dance troupe in the country.” No longer. – The New York Times
- The Venice Film Festival’s Prize Choices Were, Actually, Pretty Bold
Including the special prize for NAZA and the Volpi Cup for John Malkovich, the prizes provided “a good end to what had seemed a slightly under-par Venice.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Inside ‘The Uprising’ And Its Not So Secret Ties To Robin Hood
“I’m afraid I can only offer you a handful of facts and a lot of speculation.” – Reactor
- Why Celine Dion Chose Paris For Her Big Comeback Concerts
It’s rather simple: She speaks French. “She is bilingual and bicultural, as if she were two stars in one, with distinct careers that complement each other.” And French-speaking fans know her songs in both languages. – The New York Times
- Who Should Win The Rest Of The Emmys?
Predictions from NPR, or rather, preferences. – NPR
- Solving Divisions On The Mall Or Campus With, Maybe, Architecture?
“In recent decades, debates over the architecture of the American college and university campus have been nearly as fraught as battles over the National Mall.” – The New York Times
- Trump’s Kennedy Center Appointees Say The Way To Avoid Bankruptcy And Closure Is To Put His Name On The Building
“Center officials say they could be unable to make payroll or pay routine maintenance contracts ‘within a matter of weeks’ and argue that publicly recognizing Trump could secure his help raising enough money to keep the institution afloat.” – Washington Post (Yahoo)
- Culture Diplomacy like in Olden Days
Good Morning,
France is lending Britain the Bayeux Tapestry, and the interesting question isn’t conservation but motive. A thousand-year-old cloth stitched about a conquest is now the material argument for a relationship — proof, fiber by fiber, that England and the continent were never separable (The New York Times). Culture as diplomacy. Like in olden times.
That’s one way of deciding what heritage is for. Another: the president posting on Truth Social that the Smithsonian should install a colossus of George Washington — a request only in the sense that it isn’t yet an order (The Guardian). Meanwhile France’s actual custodians are less worried about symbolism than about crowbars: gangs are hitting small museums in daylight, and nobody is sure the country can protect what it owns (The New York Times).
The Music Hall of Williamsburg is closing, which prompts the question: what does a city lose when it loses a cheap room (The New York Times)? Not headliners — the place where people became headliners. And on YouTube, anime reaction creators say a copyright enforcer is wielding takedowns as a weapon rather than a shield (The Verge).
Finally, a labor story for the ages: 121 years ago, Russian printers went on strike because they were paid by the letter and punctuation didn’t count (LitHub). Every comma is somebody’s work.
All of our stories below.
- Anime Reaction YouTubers Are At War With Their Platform
You see, reaction videos are based on copyrighted material. You’d think that fair use applied here, and, well, yes, but some reaction vid makers say “the way Remove Your Media has been going after creators is abusive and unrelated to any legitimate interest in protecting copyrighted IP.” – The Verge
- A MacArthur Genius Leaves New York For Paris, But Can’t Resist A Return
Justin Vivian Bond “came back to see not only friends, but also her fans, who are increasingly Gen Z. ‘They’re learning about their queer elders, and their trans elders are really showing up for them.’” – The New York Times
- Do We Really Need A Four-Hour Documentary On Elon Musk?
“The penchant for treating founders as god-kings whose companies are mere extensions of their visionary genius is a large part of the story underlying Musk’s (and others’) precipitous rise, but it’s not only a credulous media and easily swayed investors who are to blame.” – Slate
- At The Venice Film Fest, ‘Woman Unknown’ Wins Big
“The film, a period drama set in Denmark, follows a servant about to marry her factory-owner employer in the uneasy years after World War II.” – The New York Times
- How, Exactly, Will AI Transform Capitalism?
We know AI is going to change everything, but how? “We face a choice: delay and obstruct AI adoption in the name of social justice, or embrace it in a radically altered form.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Jonathan Cooper, One Of The Rare Fine Violin-Makers In The US, Has Died At 76
Cooper was “a luthier who crafted violins of such supple tone and exquisite range that they allowed players to bridge the gap between classical and American fiddle instrumentation, making him a favorite of musicians like Mark O’Connor and Alison Krauss.” – The New York Times
- The Musician And Artist Behind The World Of Meadowlark
“Meadowlark’s kids transmit messages of bravery and courage and celebrate childlike wonder in a world determined to stamp it out. Ósk’s folkloric storytelling has created a deeply parasocial fandom, attracting followers who find solace in this outsider world.” – The Guardian (UK)
- Turns Out That ‘Call My Agent’ Was Barely Even A Satire
When the series began, or even during financing, “There was scepticism about whether anyone in France, let alone audiences around the world, had any interest in a dramedy that pulled back the veil on the Gallic film industry.” Er … very, very wrong. – Irish Times
- Every Real City Needs A Cheap Music Venue
As the Music Hall of Williamsburg closes, one fan wonders what will happen next. – The New York Times
- Parents, Children Sue Meta Over Their Images Being Used For AI Facial Recognition
“The proposed class action alleges that Meta violated Illinois and California privacy laws by extracting biometric information from people’s photos without notice or consent” for training smart glasses – and generative AI images. – Wired