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- The new Commons
Good Morning,
The most radical institution in America right now may be the public library. Branches are lending power tools, musical instruments, even prom dresses alongside the books (The New York Times) — running on the premise that you should be able to borrow what you can’t afford to own. Essentially the new Commons.
Universal has started skipping the influencer screenings and is taking The Odyssey straight to the few remaining professional film critics (Wired), a bet that expertise still sells tickets. Meanwhile, the limited series, prestige TV’s darling, is collapsing under its own weight (Vulture), and Quibi turns out to have been right about microdrama, just half a decade early (The Seattle Times).
Two novelists made the same argument from opposite temperaments. Dave Eggers warns that once a machine writes for you, “you’re cooked as a species” (The Guardian); Margaret Atwood, more wryly, says the real AI problem is a very old one (Deadline).
And if you’re a George Washington reenactor, the semiquincentennial has made this your year (NPR).
All of our stories below.
- Despite Challenges And Bans, It’s A Golden Age For Queer Literature
A bookstore owner writes, “Queer literature has become one of the growth engines of the publishing industry. L.G.B.T.Q. fiction has never been more visible, more varied or better promoted.” Happy Pride! – The New York Times
- The Artists Who Painted Early Hollywood Into Existence
“‘In general, at the studios, they systematized the production design, so that it was fast,’ Kanjo said, describing the rigid process as militaristic. ‘Five artists at a time work day after day to get these things done.’” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- Dave Eggers Says If We Use AI The Wrong Way Humanity Is Cooked
“You’re one of one. … You’re unprecedented in the entire line of human history. Only you have your brain. Only you can think of what you can think of. Only you can tell a story in a particular way. Why would you cede that to a machine?” – The Guardian (UK)
- The Collapse Of The Limited Series
“Why do these shows feel so minor this year? Are we in a limited-series slump, or are viewers looking for a different storytelling vehicle in 2026?” – Vulture
- Universal Decides Skip The Influencers And Take The Odyssey Directly To Remaining Professional Movie Critics
“While it should be noted that any number of TikTok and YouTube content creators will still get to see the film ahead of its release along with the press, the decision to not directly court their buzz has proved widely popular—not least with the film critics themselves.” – Wired
- If You’re A George Washington Reenactor, This Is A Very Busy Year
One man “retired a year ago from his ‘regular job’ at an alternative energy company and is reenacting full time these days, while the heightened interest lasts. He and his horse recently set a personal best with three separate events in one weekend.” – NPR
- Ann Blyth, Oscar-Nominated For Her Role In Mildred Pierce, Has Died At 98
“Blyth was just 17 when she made Mildred Pierce, based on James M. Cain’s hard-boiled 1941 novel. She had begun her movie career in innocent-teen roles, and played sharply against type as the coddled, conceited Veda Pierce.” – The New York Times
- After Five Seasons, ‘The Bear’ Faces Closing Time
“So much of our show is shot so quickly, but then we really get to slow down with these choreographed pieces of kitchen ballet, and that’s also when we feel really strong as a group of performers, where we’re incredibly reliant on one another.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- Some Libraries Are Lending Power Tools, Musical Instruments, And Even Prom Dresses Alongside Books
After all, “Library of Things” doesn’t mean only tech things. – The New York Times
- Margaret Atwood Says The Problem With AI Is A Classic One
“The thing about AI is that it’s garbage in, garbage out,” she said at a book festival. – Deadline
- Tony Brown, Whose Advocacy And TV Show Changed The Face Of Public Television, Has Died At 93
“An intense and impeccably dressed former social worker with hardscrabble West Virginia roots who was blessed with a silken baritone, Mr. Brown acknowledged that he made programming decisions ‘on the basis of one thing — will it help Black people?’” – The New York Times
- Country Music Is Taking Over Music Stages
You’ve heard this one before, right? But: Country music is taking over … in the UK. Excuse us? – The Guardian (UK)
- The Real Story Of What Happened At Pace Gallery
Said one hastily removed artist, “They assured me many times — as recently as two days before the article in the New York Times came out — that there would be no public announcement. … It’s a callous breach of trust.” – Hyperallergic
- Arena Stage Boots Its Black, Woman Artistic Director On The Night One Of Her Championed New Musicals Opens
OK, Hana Sharif resigned under great pressure. She wrote: “The board and I arrived at a crossroads — one defined not by a lack of shared love for this institution, but by differing visions for how Arena Stage should meet the future.” – The New York Times
- Quibi Was Maybe Just A Few Years Before Its Microdrama Time
“With vertically shot episodes often running one to three minutes, microdramas have emerged as one of entertainment’s fastest-growing formats. That’s drawing interest from celebrities, creators and major media companies looking for new ways to reach audiences.” – Seattle Times (AP)
- If Reading Books Feels Hard Right Now, It Might Be Time To ‘Rewild’ Your Brain
“Reading a good book, I feel like a really hysterical chihuahua barking and trembling, and then someone picks me up, and then I just go limp. You know? Like I’m just calm. … And when I’m there, and when I can actually feel stillness.” – The Atlantic
- When The Curator Retires From A Weird But Cool, Isolated But Well-Trafficked, Museum Along The Columbia River
The Maryhill Museum of Art, on the Washington State side of the Columbia River Gorge, is 150 miles upriver from Portland. Its permanent collection is eclectic, to put it mildly. So how does it get exhibitions, or even help revitalize its own collection? – Oregon ArtsWatch
- Brent Ott talks about developing exhibits and programming to celebrate America 250
Brent Ott, Chief Operating Officer of The Henry Ford, talks about their historic exhibits and programming celebrating America 250.
- Why Ballet Is A Natural Subject For Horror Movies
“Anyone who spends even a day with a professional dancer or a ballet troupe could likely come away and already have the core of a body horror flick ready just from seeing all the injuries strapped up and ignored, or hearing the stories of cut-throat auditions.” – Far Out
- A New Print-On-Demand Books Program For Libraries
Ingram Library Services and Penguin Random House have announced a print-on-demand program designed to supply libraries with popular backlist titles. – Publishers Weekly
- How A24 Blew Its Cool Factor With One Corporate Announcement
The indie movie studio was, for a sizable set of Americans under 40 or so, about as cool as a studio could get. (You never saw anyone wearing a Focus Features hoodie, right?) Then A24 announced a $75 million deal with Google’s AI venture, DeepMind. The fan base is furious. – The Hollywood Reporter
- Crystal Bridges Gets a New Chief Curator
Courtenay Finn is currently chief curator and director of programs at the Orange County Museum of Art, which merged with the University of California, Irvine last year. She has previously served as the chief curator at moCa Cleveland in Ohio, senior curator at the Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, and curator at Art in General in New York.
- Mel Brooks At 100
“I wanted to keep the party going. I wanted to keep the happiness and joy and explosions of laughter going into a dour part of our lives, not our childhood anymore,” Brooks recalled. “ – AP News
- Why “Music You Can See” May Be The Future
I playfully ask them, “Why do you have to see it?” But I know why. They have grown up seeing music as much as hearing it. With iPhones steeping the modern human being in images 24/7, listening to extended forms of music without visual illustration will appeal ever less. – The New York Times
- After 83 Years, Norman Rockwell’s White House Painting Is Finally On Public View
In 1943, Rockwell painted a four-panel portrait of people waiting to see President Roosevelt. The artwork, called So You Want to See the President!, spent 40 years hanging in the West Wing; last year the White House Historical Association purchased the piece, which is now in a nearby museum. – USA Today
- HBO’s “The Pitt” Gives Hollywood Production Hope
The Emmy Award-winning drama has also become an urgently needed Hollywood success story at a time when much of the local film and TV industry has left California for other states and countries. – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- Report: Chicago’s Creative Sector Is The City’s Third-Largest Industry
The creative sector is Chicago’s third-largest industry and accounts for nearly 213,000 jobs, according to a new economic impact study released Thursday by Arts Alliance Illinois, a statewide advocacy organization. – WBEZ
- The Thinking Style That’s Susceptible To Extremism
I’ve found that some of the most rigid thinkers describe themselves as spectacularly flexible while the most flexible people are often unaware of their own adaptability. This is why, instead of relying on asking people how rigid they think they are, I began studying people’s unconscious thinking styles. – Psyche
- Broadway’s Most Famous Restaurant Has Been Bought By Broadway’s Biggest Theater Owner
After almost a century as a small private business, Sardi’s was officially acquired this week by the company that was already the restaurant’s landlord — the Shubert Organization, owner of 17 Broadway theaters. The legendary eatery has now closed for renovations and is expected to reopen in November. – Eater
- Getting Back To When Music Induced Physical Reaction In Your Body
Bettina Varwig’s research focuses on how 17th and 18th-century listeners responded to music. “When you read about how music affected listeners in Bach’s time, their testimonies are striking in their bodily intensity. Music contracted their innards and made their hearts leap.” – The Guardian
- Suno Offers “Incubator” Program For Artists Using AI For Music
The new program, called Spark, will include grants, mentorship and marketing support, Suno said, as the company said it’s looking to “help more artists turn ideas into finished projects, connect those projects with fans, and build new opportunities to grow their careers both on and beyond Suno.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- New Festival Redefines Lincoln Center Dance
For years, there has been too much ballet at Lincoln Center, which I say as someone who loves the form. Modern dance is part of the center’s history, too, and now it is finally being given a stage. – The New York Times
- Actress Ann Blyth, The Dastardly Veda In “Mildred Pierce,” Is Dead At 98
A former child actor who trained as an operatic soprano, Blyth had a busy career in Hollywood through the 1940s and ‘50s and worked in television in the ‘70s. She’s best remembered for her Oscar-nominated performance as the “cheap and horrible” daughter of Joan Crawford’s character in Mildred Pierce. – The Hollywood Reporter
- Unpublished Sacred Music By Donizetti Discovered In Archive
A researcher cataloguing the music collections of the Diocese of Bergamo discovered a four-page setting of the Vespers psalm Dixit Dominus, scored for three male voices a cappella, written by the young Donizetti sometime between 1818 and 1821. – Gramilano (Milan)
