Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Why Has Gender Become So Contentious Worldwide?
The attacks on so-called “gender ideology” have grown in recent years throughout the world, dominating public debate stoked by electronic networks and backed by...
You’re Writing A Book. How Do Your Choose Names For Your Characters?
When it comes to writing, naming is one of the more fun problems of fiction, perhaps especially speculative fiction, where names can be as...
Museum Shows With A Moral Message? Yes, Actually
So it’s an exhibition with a pointed moral agenda. But it’s not preachy or obvious. It’s smart, it’s thoughtful, and it’s visually compelling. -...
Do Cars Belong In Art Museums?
There's a "danger of treating the car as an art object in itself. It may be art, but it’s a very different kind of...
How Conspiracy Theories Work
“In folklore, we have this law of self-correction. So if something doesn’t quite fit, you go back to the way you heard it from...
Is The Sitcom Dead?
There are a few reasons why the sitcom seems, if not comprehensively deceased, then at least less responsive than it has ever been. - The...
How The Russian Version Of “Married… With Children” Became A Cultural Phenomenon
So successful was the sitcom that they ended up running out of American scripts to adapt and they soon began writing their own. All told, Schastlivy Vmeste ran...
Who’s Listening To Podcasts
In the U.S., 40% of internet users listen to podcasts. In Canada a third (32.8%) listen and in Mexico a quarter do (25.8%). But...
Ron Mercer Collected 2000 Music Instruments. Why?
"I get bored or start counting the same thing twice, so I'd say probably close to 2,000." Two narrow walkways allow Mercer or his...
Why It’s So Important To Figure Out Who Gets To Own Our Data
Our problem today lies in finding a model of data ownership that recognizes the collective interest we have in how personal data is used,...
Journalism’s Obsession With Metrics Is Killing It. The Lessons Apply To Culture
Such dynamics incentivize journalists to craft their reporting according to clickbait criteria that emphasize controversy, conflict, sensationalism, and anything that prompts people to engage...
Orchestras And The Vaccine Requirement
“People are being forced to do this, not invited. I’ve already had COVID, and I had a terrible reaction to a vaccine in my...
Like Sports, Ideas Have To Be Played To Be Tested
Sport is fundamentally about what you do when the chips are down, not what you say or plan beforehand. What matters is how well...
Remembering Bernard Haitink
You went to a Haitink concert fully aware of what to expect, only for those expectations usually to be surpassed. Haitink was able to...
Who Can Speak With Authority On The Pandemic?
Presumably, it would be those of Dr. Anthony Fauci’s rank, or, in other direction, people completely outside of the medical world: artists documenting an...
Only Three Months After Brain Surgery, Michael Tilson Thomas Resumes Conducting
When he resumes activity, MTT will first lead the New York Philharmonic (Nov. 4–7) and then return to San Francisco (Nov. 12–14), where he is music director laureate,...
Contemporary Art At The Pyramids – Helps You See Them In A New Way
“For , it’s a site of antiquities, it’s heritage, but contemporary art is not appealing to them. We changed people’s mentality and now they...
Australian Artists’ Earnings Are Falling Behind…
The most recent data places the average gross annual income for an Australian artist at $48,400. When adjusted for inflation, average incomes have fallen...
20 Years Ago: How The iPod Changed Everything
The eureka moment was the click wheel that enabled nimble search and control without a keyboard. Jobs wanted it as small as possible, with...
Unlikely Path: From TickTok To Riverdance Dancer
Morgan Bullock: “Sometimes I’m like, ‘Am I being pranked? Is this real?’” she says. But her new journey with Riverdance is far from a...
Where Ya Going To Sell Picassos For $110 Million? Vegas, Of Course
Eleven Pablo Picasso artworks that have been on display at a Las Vegas hotel for more than two decades have sold at auction for...
How Joshua Vides Went From Graffiti Artist To Designing For Global Brands
His creations have turned the former scofflaw graffitist into an illustrator and visual artist sought after by a growing list of global brands, including...
Astonishing Growth In University Endowments Last Year — What To Do With It?
Washington University in St. Louis saw a 65 percent return. Duke, 56 percent. MIT, 55.5 percent (after completing a $6 billion capital campaign). Brown, 51.5 percent. Dartmouth, 46.5 percent. Yale,...
How To Fix Social Media (Lessons From History)
The arrival of broadcast media at the start of the last century set off an information revolution just as tumultuous as the one we...
Are You Ready For Our Real-Life Dystopia?
When you zoom out, it’s easy to see that American society is approaching a modern-day dystopia as the once sci-fi-worthy stories of environmental destruction,...