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- 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
- 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)
- An Architecture Critic Looks At The Yard, London’s New Theatre Built Out Of Scavenged And Repurposed Materials
Oliver Wainwright: “It is a tour de force of how to do a lot with a little. It reads like a collage of its context: a shed clad with corrugated fibre-cement sheeting, rising from graffiti-covered warehouse walls on one side and framed by a new brick gable end on the other.” – The Guardian
- 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)
- Could “You Can See Everything” Make Movie History?
After less than two weeks in theaters, it’s already one of the highest-grossing documentaries of all time and, as it expanded into thousands of domestic theaters in its second weekend, came second only to a major studio comic-book movie. – Slate
- Helping Actors Keep Their Medical Insurance
For an actor to remain insured through SAG-AFTRA, they must typically make a minimum amount of money from on-screen work and residuals. Leveraging his Instagram following of almost 750,000, Cheyenne Jackson began posting headshots of performers, their biographies and how many dollars away each was from crossing that threshold, which this year is $28,090. – The New York Times
- Now That Choreographers Can Be Members Of SAG-AFTRA, What’s Changing For Them?
Well, for a start, they have negotiable rates, along with the pension and health contributions and the protected working conditions (such as guaranteed breaks) that dancers working in film and TV have had since 1992. – Dance Magazine
- 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
- 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
- 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!)
- Another Famous Documentary Filmmaker Has Footage Of Elizabeth Holmes In The Can
Errol Morris directed some commercials for Theranos back when it was flying high, and he has two hours of unedited Q&A footage of Holmes from that period which he thinks would make a good before-and-after comparison with You Can See Everything. (He also has two very entertaining anecdotes about unmade commercials.) – Variety
- Joe Hisaishi Gets Another Composer-In-Residence Gig, This Time With The L.A. Phil
The film composer, who has a large and devoted fan base, begins a five-year term next fall as the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s composer-in-residence for the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford. Hisaishi just started a two-season term as composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra. – Moto Perpetuo
- 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
- Want A Spot In A U.S. Orchestra? Better Brush Up On John Williams Film Scores As Well As On Mahler
“Orchestras have increased their programming of both popular film music and living classical composers, and auditions are evolving to match. More and more of those selections are appearing on excerpt lists.” – The New York Times
- Actress Susan Saint James Has Died At 80
“The Emmy-winning actress delighted TV viewers with her light-hearted turns on The Name of the Game, McMillan & Wife and Kate & Allie before quitting at the peak of her powers.” – The Hollywood Reporter
- The Telegraph’s New Owner Wants an “AI-Powered” Paper
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Axel Springer, the German publisher of Politico and Bild, told staff at London’s Telegraph on Friday that the paper will become “a global, AI-powered premium media and intelligence business.” Insiders expect up to 100 jobs to go, with the culture and sports desks hit hardest, and the new revenue list (video, audio, puzzles, events, licensing, commerce) names no arts coverage (The Guardian). It leads because a culture desk is being cut in the same announcement that promises AI.
Ann Powers argues that “Is it real?” has become music’s central question, from AI tracks flooding streaming services to country star Stella Lefty’s “Boston” borrowing the chorus of Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season.” Her historical point is that earlier fakery panics, from Ry Cooder’s digital 1979 album to Paula Abdul’s vocals, were ways of saying “stay out.” (NPR).
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has $45.5 million in cash and a projected $79 million budget, and owns most of Downtown’s theatres. It says it is “not a funder”. Meanwhile Pittsburgh Public Theater and Pittsburgh CLO have merged and the opera and ballet are cutting Downtown dates (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). It matters beyond Pittsburgh because it shows what a regional market gets when its biggest institution exists to bring people Downtown.
Michelle Terry leaves Shakespeare’s Globe at the end of 2027 after a decade of holding the £5 ticket, and calls theatre “the most necessary of AI-proof art forms” (What’s On Stage).
All of our stories below.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Lincoln In Opera — A Different Portrait
The composer Missy Mazzoli and the librettist Royce Vavrek, one of the hottest creative teams in opera, conjure a darker, more conflicted president in “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which premiered on Oct. 19 at the Metropolitan Opera. – The New York Times
- 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
- Layoffs At UK Newspaper The Telegraph As Owner Aims To Make It “AI-Powered Business”
“Staff were told the title would rely increasingly on technology, data and AI to ‘reinvent the reader experience’. Newsroom insiders said they expected as many as 100 people to lose their jobs.” The move comes four months after The Telegraph was acquired by German media conglomerate Axel Springer. – The Guardian
- Soprano Martina Arroyo, 90
Arroyo, who has died aged 90, was one of the generation of black American opera singers – others were Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Shirley Verrett and Grace Bumbry – who in their early careers faced institutionalised racial prejudice before achieving international recognition. – The Guardian
- The Elvis Estate Sues Anthropic For Copyright Violation
“The Elvis plaintiffs bring this action to enforce these exclusive rights against the defendant that has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before,” the lawsuit said. – The New York Times
- 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
- A Civil War Inside Netflix
“Increasingly, tensions have flared between the L.A.-based executives dedicated to movies and TV shows and its engineers and technologists in Silicon Valley. Internal disputes have erupted over how best to expand the business and promote content on the platform to boost audience engagement.” – Los Angeles Times (MSN)
- We’re Enhancing Real Life as a Cinematic Experience
The result is that cinematic, as a descriptor, now connotes not a break from regular life but an enhancement of it. – The Atlantic