Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
American College Theatre Festival Quits The Kennedy Center After 58 Years
The theater festival involves collegiate theater students from across the United States, and includes eight regional competitions that have long culminated in a week-long...
The Case For A National Theatre In The US
In the Abbey’s century-long history as a public institution lies a persuasive story about what a national theater could have done—or still might do—for...
The Psychology Of Fashion
Much of the sculptural, breathtaking artistry of haute couture finds a way to dramatize the friction between the composed selves we offer the world...
What The Arts Could Learn From The Data Revolution In Gambling
Not long ago, many online casino experiences were built around flashy graphics and simple luck-based mechanics. Today, game development has become a sophisticated data-informed...
Death Of The Dictionary?
Like the rest of the analog world, legacy dictionaries have had to adapt or perish. - The New Yorker
Is The Reason Our Culture Seems Stagnant Because… Lack Of Critics?
If someone has spent years of their life on a work, they deserve a serious, sustained response. Critics who write such reviews aren’t just...
Europe’s Approach To Developing AI Is Deeply Different
The differences between Europe and the United States when it comes to AI regulation aren’t so easy to fix; they’re rooted in deep cultural differences that have informed how the tech industries...
Might AI Help Us Unlock More Creative Ideas?
Generative AI will indeed make many tasks easier and quicker to perform, increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. But we think that one of the...
How Might One “Fix” Or Reinterpret Historically Racist Statues?
As some political leaders double down on the old memorial language, they ask: What if we thought of our memorials as works in progress,...
What If The Audience Prefers AI-Written Books?
I can write a book for my own reasons, but I can sell the book only if readers like it more than what they can get...
Broadway’s Record Box Office In 2025 Still Doesn’t Keep Up With Costs
“It’s just so difficult for (producers) to get their money back. These shows are now upwards of $25 million. Ten years ago, you could...
Trump Officials Threaten Smithsonian Funding Over Content Review
“Funds apportioned for the Smithsonian Institution are only available for use in a manner consistent with Executive Order 14253 ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to...
The Best Design And Architecture Of 2025
This year’s highlights include the remodeling of a Richard Seifert brutalist ‘corncob’ tower, a celebration of Japanese carpentry and a wearable hot-water bottle. -...
How Regulation Tamped Down Montreal’s Legendary Nightlife
The history of Montréal’s night-time regulation reveals how managing nightlife expanded police power and budgets — and how burdensome effects of these changes fell...
Why Music Needs Its Dissonance
Music has a variety of “jobs,” as the other arts do. It can calm, soothe, and delight. It can also provoke, disturb, bite. No...
Has The UK Fallen Out Of Love With Non-Fiction?
A recent report from NielsenIQ found that trade nonfiction sales have slipped sharply. In volume terms, the category is down 8.4% between last summer and the...
We Used To Have One Version Of History. Now It’s Messier
Unity, cohesion, and a sense of epic narrative have been lost. Freedom, pluralism, sensitivity, and a respect for difference have been gained, and, overall,...
Why Rational Behavior Might Not Be The Best Model
Behavioral economics has identified dozens of cognitive biases that stop us from acting ‘rationally’. But instead of building up a messier and messier picture...
Today’s Challenge For Writers: Don’t Write Like AI
Increasingly, both professional writers and everyone else is facing a new, unwelcome constrained writing challenge: don’t sound like AI. - ArtsHub
The Louvre Is In A Historic Crisis
Behind the walkout are not only frayed labor relations, but a building itself under strain, with crumbling parts of the aging former palace now...
Inside The Kennedy Center Renaming
“It was such a surprise to me when they said we’re going to rename it,” she recounted in a phone interview. “I said, ‘Oh...
How Did A Former Rapper Become The Recording Industry’s Favorite Influencer?
Rather than serve the public’s curiosities, he said, he wants to serve artists—to give them “a place for them to learn a little bit...
Kennedy Center Board Votes To Rename As Trump Kennedy Center
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced the "Trump-Kennedy Center" name changer earlier Thursday after a board that the president handpicked earlier this year voted unanimously...
How Did US Museum Design Get So Boring?
As trends go, one can only hope the style spreading through US museum design today will eventually fall out of fashion. All forms of...
2025 — The Year AI Slop Crossed The Rubicon
At first, slop was a widely derided format, the kind of clicky nonsense churned out by content farms or trolls. But, in September, with...
