Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Voting for real life experiences (enthusiastically!)
Good Morning,
Two threads running through today's stories. First: the craft behind finished products keeps getting harder to see. Lit Hub argues that AI in...
A bend in the culture
This Week's Highlights:
The question running through this week's stories isn't whether cultural institutions are in trouble. It's who gets to decide what they're for....
AJ Chronicles: This Week — Perils of the Algorithmic Culture
The threat isn't that AI replaces artists. It's subtler and more coercive: that an algorithmically saturated environment erodes the capacity for the kind of thinking that we like to think art requires. Tolerance for ambiguity. Patience with difficulty. The willingness to be bored before a breakthrough.
English National Opera Gets A New Chief Exec
At Rambert, Helen Shute has led partnerships with The Royal Ballet and Manchester International Festival expanding Rambert’s international reach and developing new initiatives, including...
Has The Anecdotal Lede Outlived Its Journalistic Utility?
For many years, this tactic served us well, and it’s deeply embedded in the toolkits of generations of writers and editors. But I wonder...
Study: The Antidote To Mindless Phone Rot — A Surprising Finding
The results after doing so were eye-opening even to them: among a totally random population, levels of creativity for the people watching the experimental...
Yale Report: Universities Themselves Are To Blame For Lowered Trust Of Higher Ed
High costs, murky admissions practices, uneven academic standards and fears about free speech on campuses, the committee said, are among the reasons for widening...
Inside The Kennedy Center Dumpster Fire (OMG!)
Richard Grenell, told me to “get rid of everything” in the permanent collection because we needed all new art for the reopening. Although I...
AI’s Are Beginning To Get Emotional Intelligence
Emotions are the AI industry’s new fixation. Not only are growing numbers of start-ups such as Amotions AI promising tools that interpret feelings; the...
When AI Can Write Like Me
That a machine might use my writing not only to learn about my subject matter, but also to analyze and ultimately mimic my authorial...
The Only Path Forward For Struggling Theatres
Theatres facing financial difficulty can only prosper by “programming their way out of it”, according to the Young Vic artistic director, Nadia Fall, who...
What Happens Next In The LiveNation/Ticketmaster Case
The jury’s clean sweep, finding monopolization on every claim, gives the states significantly more leverage in the remedy phase than a mixed verdict would...
Trump’s Arts Commission Approves Preliminary Design Of Arch
The Commission of Fine Arts, which is filled with Mr. Trump’s appointees, has an advisory role on the design of the project, but no...
Artistic Director – Indianapolis Ballet working with Management Consultants for the Arts
Indianapolis Ballet (IB) seeks its next Artistic Director, who will carry the organization’s mission forward, embracing the history and future of classical ballet through dynamic
Helen DeWitt Declined A Prestigious $175,000 Prize. Is She Principled Or Crazy?
Opinions on her recent stance are strongly divided: some have praised her principled refusal to play the self-promotion game that takes so much out...
Connections Between Classical Music And Heavy Metal?
There’s more that connects metal and classical music than sets them apart. A love of volume, turning the noise up to 11? From Black...
What’s Behind Saudi Arabia’s Multi-Billion-Dollar Investment In Paramount’s Warner Deal
The Kingdom’s bet on entertainment at home has been matched by an equally ambitious push abroad — one that is rapidly reshaping Hollywood’s balance...
Trump’s Plan For A Supersized Arch Alienates Even Supporters
Trump’s push to build the giant arch — more than quadrupling its size from original plans — has alienated early proponents of the project,...
Court Moves To Examine Merger Of Two Local TV Conglomerates
The deal shatters several records: It gives Nexstar control of 265 local stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching 80% of...
The End Of The Internet As We Know It
Now, thanks to new A.I. tools, anyone can write code. Soon, bad actors could use those same tools to find out what’s wrong with...
NPR Announced Transformative Philanthropic Support
NPR today announced it has received philanthropic gifts totaling more than $110 million — including the largest by a living donor in NPR's history...
Spotify Partners With Local Music Venues
Under the partnership, Spotify will boost visibility for independent venues through existing features including venue pages and its Live Events Feed throughout 2026. The platform will also display...
An Autistic Man Wrote A Bestselling Book. Didn’t He?
"It is mysterious and confounding to see a severely autistic nonspeaker perform acts of scholarship and fiction writing if you don’t presume intelligence in...
Why Should We Indulge In Art In Difficult Times?
At a time of great suffering and upheaval, is it right to engage with art? Or are we using it as a way of...
The Pressure To Go Viral: These Days You Can’t Be An Artist Without It
All of a sudden, chefs, lawyers, podcasters, critics – all people with jobs once associated with an off-camera existence – are turning the lens...
