Thinking for yourself has never been easy, but the question of whether it is still possible at all is of some moment. The key ideals of liberal democracy—moral independence and intellectual autonomy—depend on it. - The Walrus
There are currently around three to four million podcasts internationally, but just over half of those have more than three episodes, with only 720,000 podcasts comprising more than 10 episodes. - BBC
A video posted on Twitter by a union “member and contractor coordinator” showed Teamsters and RISD students who were invited to attend the ratification vote applauding the results. - Boston Globe
"A new Florida bill would make local governments financially liable for removing public statues. The 'Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act' would allow civilians to sue for three times the memorial's repair or replacement cost." - Hyperallergic
AI has the potential to become a “digital teammate” that can encourage design literacy across the workplace. This technology is poised to expand everyone’s creative toolkit and will likely become a fixture in the modern workplace, as the way we communicate becomes increasingly reliant on visuals. - Fast Company
The Hong Kong Arts Development Council confirms that it withdrew HK$1 million ($127,000 US) from the projects, but it won't say what those projects are or why exactly they're being sanctioned. The council also modified its rules to withhold grants for projects it deems anti-government. - South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
Free thinkers and sceptics, they imagine themselves as emancipated from imprisoning beliefs. Yet most of what they, and you, know comes not from direct experience or through figuring it out for oneself, but from unknown others. - 3 Quarks Daily
Change Your Mind, by the collective Say Nothing and Leave, "fashions a psychological experiment. ... Answer some questions, take a 'pill' that looks suspiciously like a common candy, don some goggles and headphones, undergo a procedure, and poof! You can 'delete' the most noxious aspects of your personality." - San Francisco Chronicle
In the growing sector of the contemporary art world which focuses on environmental issues, participants in the art (artists, critics, and the general audience) disagree on the intention of each work of art: does it merit only aesthetic praise, or is it a successful work of climate activism? - 3 Quarks Daily
"Today, 16mm is no longer optimal for the amateur. Analog film is expensive, fewer labs can process it, and it doesn't allow the (flexibility) that video does. But even as it turns 100, 16mm still has a unique look that neither 35mm film nor video can rival." - The New York Times
"Duty managers are also equipped with bodycams, which – along with the training – often helps to lower the temperature when customer interactions become heated." - The Stage
"In a five-year renovation, Het Loo" — the hunting lodge built by King William III to rival Louis XIV's Versailles — "has been lifted several millimetres, its courtyard dug and drained 10 metres deep, and a new concrete basin poured in to provide another 5,000 m2 of exhibition space." - The Guardian
In 2004, the longtime ABT star was personally invited by President Saakashvili to direct the State Ballet of Georgia, which had fallen into late-Soviet and post-Soviet decay. Now she's leading a troupe full of dancers she trained herself on an international tour. - The New York Times
"(His) cartoons were an unmistakable fixture in The New Yorker and other magazines for more than 60 years. … He considered his work a form of doodling sociology. He was especially interested in people who were irony deficient." - MSN (The Washington Post)
"We value small businesses, yet we give too much of our business to the large and the powerful," says the award-winning author, "and often, increasingly, we have hardly any choice. … (I don't) believe corporations should have as much control over our lives as they do." - The Guardian
