Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Los Angeles Is A Creative Place (But Its Arts Aren’t Very Equitable)
“Despite being the top per capita provider of arts in the nation, Los Angeles ranks 259th in government funding allocation,” the nonprofit’s CEO Gustavo...
Why Siri And Alexa Lost Out To ChatGPT
“These products never worked in the past because we never had human-level dialogue capabilities. Now we do.” - The New York Times
The Gift (and Curse) Of English As Our Universal Language
English may have become universal, but not everyone believes it is a gift. In fact, many hold diametrically opposite views. - Aeon
The Shocking Decline Of Reading, Thinking
What I (and everyone I know) is talking about now is a seismic shift in the preparedness, study skills, attention spans, and reading comprehension...
Even Machine Brains Need Sleep
Artificial neural networks are prone to a troublesome glitch known, evocatively, as catastrophic forgetting. These seemingly tireless networks can keep learning tasks day and...
Can We Build Successful Cities Again That Aren’t Centered Around Cars?
A 17-acre, $170 million project that’s been an urbanist obsession since it was announced in late 2019, Culdesac is being watched closely as a test case...
The Importance Of Artists’ Day Jobs
The exhibition blows through the polite separation between artwork and money work. Not only does it name, in wall label after wall label, what...
The Sound Of Climate Change (Musicians Are Recording Melting Glaciers)
“It gave people a different way into what I was talking about, other than just showing slides. The sound conveyed what it was like...
Who Are Wikipedia’s Editors (And Who Checks Them?)
The typical Wikipedia editor is a man (fewer than 10 per cent are women) who works in a desk job which involves being online...
“Democracy Dies In Darkness.” (How About Dance?)
The Washington Post laid off its Pulitzer-winning dance critic Sarah Kaufman. Kaufman talks about what that means. - MDTheatreGuide
22 Years Ago Orchestra Folk Debated The Role Of The Music Director
The frustration of conductors and orchestra musicians was at times quite palpable. One of the instrumentalists, a principal player from a major orchestra, recounted...
“Everywhere” Demonstrates Hollywood’s Move Toward Linguistic Realism
Increasing use of non-English languages and subtitles demonstrates both a trend toward linguistic realism in Hollywood and also broader acceptance of linguistic diversity in...
Why Are Miami’s Arthouse Theatres Disappearing?
“Art Basel, New World Symphony, the Miami Ballet — every single art discipline in Miami has grown and blossomed with the city. The only...
Just What Do “Sensitivity Readers” Do?
Sensitivity readers can become the implied “baddy” or “goody” (depending on where you stand) in such cases, their service seen as the reason that...
A University’s Decision To Sell Its Art And A Battle For The Soul Of...
What is the purpose of studying at a university beyond job training? How can schools like Valparaiso, which emphasize learning outside of vocational courses,...
The Ballerina That Captured Ismene Brown’s Heart
Lynn Seymour’s death last Wednesday undammed an outpouring of truly wrenching sadness from those whom this extraordinary ballerina injected with her poison - as...
What If We’re Thinking About The Culture Of Climate Change All Wrong?
Much of the reluctance to do what climate change requires comes from the assumption that it means trading abundance for austerity. But what if...
New Oscars Diversity Data Collection Rules Have Producers Troubled
The goal is to spur more inclusive hiring in the film business, but some producers who are trying to comply say the process is...
Grand Central Station Gets A New Transport Hub — Way Below
In the end, Grand Central Madison succeeds brilliantly in its mission of handling the flow of crowds. But this is merely directing traffic, and...
AI Will Make Us Question Everything We Think Is True
The advancement of generative artificial intelligence is not an advancement toward artificial personhood for a simple, absolute reason: There is no falsifiable thesis of...
Librarians Are Showing The Stress
As I puttered around the conference, I thought about the fact that although books don’t have feelings, the librarians forced to remove them from...
Defending The American Musical
My sense of musical theater in America is that we may undervalue that the higher forms of the Broadway musical are every bit the...
100-Year-Old BBC Choir Directors Decry “Toxic” Culture At The BBC
Among the damning claims levelled by BBC Singers Acting Co-Directors Jonathan Manners and Rob Johnston is that a “recurring narrative of toxic culture now exists...
Disney’s Oldest Animator
Burny Mattinson became a messenger at Disney, beginning a career that would eventually make him the longest-tenured employee of the company (just shy of...
A New Genre Of Pandemic Poetry Is Helping Process What Happened
Many established poets published lockdown poems offering their own perspective on the power of poetry to make sense of the catastrophe. Slowly but surely whole collections...
