Most elderly people would have flunked a human version of the team’s experiments. But all of the cuttlefish passed, “an incredibly complex thing for an animal to do.” - The Atlantic
Joshua Hammer (author of The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu) does a deep-dive into the royal gems stolen from the famous Green Vault, the Remmo clan accused of being the perps, and the likely (and worrisome) fate of the treasure. - GQ
Seven years ago, Amazon released Alexa, its voice assistant, and as the number of devices answering to that name has skyrocketed, its popularity with American parents has plummeted. - The Atlantic
"I'm hopeful that the Taliban learned that music is part of the cultural identity of any nation. And I hope that the Taliban also learned that a community, a society, or a nation that does not respect their own culture — that nation cannot exist." - Van
How a bored young rabbi named Yacov Moshe Maza became a Borscht Belt comic, came to Hollywood and got famous, alienated Ed Sullivan and got eclipsed, then came back to become Broadway's most proficient stand-up comedian. (The article skips his right-wing phase.) - Vulture
Social-media and streaming apps constantly change aspects of their “user experience,” which includes digital-interface design, to push users toward new features. - The New Yorker
"Videos teaching how to speak and write in Tut, and the history behind the language have flooded TikTok in recent months. … Now Tut speakers are teaching others through Google Classroom and Discord. Instagram pages have shared guides on writing and reading the Tut alphabet." - NBC News
"At stake is the future of how Hollywood stars negotiate their salaries, and how much they can command. … But the way the drama has unfolded … also reflects the bare-knuckles business environment that has emerged as the industry battles the tiring effect of whipsaw revamping." - Variety
Jesse Green says that Joshua William Gelb's Theater in Quarantine "offered the best argument by far for the artistic promise of streaming theater. So I wanted to see how they were made, and especially where." - The New York Times
He was hired in 2015 to revivify the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV and make Las Vegas a literary destination. He seemed to be succeeding — until the camera incident in February. Yet, staffers say, that was just one of many cases of bad behavior. - Los Angeles Times
Matt Hawn assigned his high schoolers in Blountville, in the state's northeast corner, Coates's "The First White President," which argues that Donald Trump was elected because of white grievance. He says he wanted the class to assess the essay critically; the school board wasn't having it. - The Atlantic
"The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities has dramatically reshaped the way it supports Washington's arts community by directing significant increases to the city's small and midsize arts organizations and making steep cuts to almost two dozen major institutions." - The Washington Post
When it controlled the country before 2001, the hardline Islamist group was infamous for banning music, TV, film, and most visual art — not to mention the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas. The Taliban say they've moderated since then, but many are doubtful — and scared. - The Week
“In the last few months, the requests for either virtual or digital performances from streaming have really dropped off dramatically. They’re still happening, but it’s maybe 10 percent of the requests that we get.” - The New York Times
