Stories

Critics Pan Elon Musk’s AI Version Of “The Odyssey”

Xavier Collins, the co-founder of Wonder Studios, said the first episode was made in less than two weeks with a creative team of three, including the US-based director Dev Walker. It is understood to have cost tens of thousands of dollars.  - The Guardian

Why Does Music Feel So Fake Right Now?

"Is it real?" That's the most pressing question in music right now, and it's one that feels impossible to adequately answer, in almost any context. Mainstream pop, seemingly falling out of fashion though it still fills stadiums and streaming playlists, is riddled with stories of chicanery and poison artifice. - NPR

Meet ABT’s Youngest-Ever Choreographer

Brady Farrar, now 21, is still recognized by some fans from his six-week appearance on Dance Moms when he was 14. He entered ABT as an apprentice in 2024 and joined the corps last year but began choreographing at age 15. His Trio Élégiaque, commissioned by ABT, debuts this week. - The New York Times

Fort Worth Symphony CEO Keith Cerny To Depart In January

“Cerny, who has led the orchestra for eight years, will depart after a tenure that included the hiring of Music Director Robert Spano, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic without cutting musicians’ and staff members’ pay or benefits, and a major push to expand the orchestra’s board and donor base." - CultureMap Fort Worth

Shakespeare’s Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry To Step Down Late Next Year

“During her (decade) in the role, more than 2,000 actors will have worked with the organisation across 77 productions, which are expected to have been seen by more than 2.3 million people from over 190 countries by the end of her tenure.” - WhatsOnStage (UK)

Perot Museum Of Nature And Science Plans $185 Million Expansion

“Plans include a five-story parking garage, a new arrival pavilion, a dedicated area for school bus drop-offs, a pollinator garden and a paleontology garden. This will double the amount of square footage that the museum has dedicated to exhibits, but now outside the building.” - KERA (Dallas)

Center Theatre Group Partners With YMCA To Bring Theater All Over Los Angeles

The program, called “Every Age, Every Stage,” will include free workshops led by theater professionals at local Y branches, mentorship in stagecraft, design and production for young adult members, and free tickets to select mainstage performances. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Staffers At V&A Museums In London Suspend Strike Plans

“The strike was suspended on Monday pending last-minute talks with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, after the V&A management made an improved offer.” - The Guardian

Walter Koenig, Who Played Chekov On The Original “Star Trek,” Has Died At 90

“The son of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, Mr. Koenig was a journeyman on stage and TV who developed a specialty in ethnic parts. He was a Swedish businessman in the sitcom Gidget and a French resistance fighter on the drama series Jericho ... before he joined Star Trek in 1967.” - The Washington Post (MSN)

Streaming Music Is Dominated By Old Music. Why?

In the first half of 2026, almost two thirds of the music played (about 60%) was released five or more years ago. So, if we're stuck in a streaming rut, what's to blame? - BBC

Billionaire Tech Nerds And Their Investment In Ending Democracy

As Trump’s behaviour became increasingly authoritarian—openly defying laws, targeting his enemies with prosecutions, dispatching troops into Democratic cities, and turning US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) into a shock force to terrorize immigrant communities—many in Silicon Valley cashed in on the action. - The Walrus

Does The California Gold Rush Teach Us Anything About The Rush To AI?

In 1849 alone, more than forty thousand people travelled overland to California, while roughly the same number headed there by sea. - The New Yorker

Why The Broadway Musical Survives

Yet the Broadway musical persists, in its wholly impossible format, imposing eight big singing shows a week on its stars, which is, as any veteran will tell you, one of the most brutal workloads possible for a performer—and, when it occurs in long-running shows, mostly invisible as a personal triumph.  - The New Yorker

Has Substack “Fixed” Writing On The Internet?

The company is, in essence, a crowdfunding e-commerce site, belonging to the same category as Kickstarter, Patreon, Gumroad, and OnlyFans. But it has out-evolved its ancestors and bested its competitors in its relevance to public discourse and in its direct commodification of online parasocial relationships.  - The New Yorker

Wu-Tang Clan’s Historic Blunder Selling A Single Recording

The work was sold at auction for a reported $2 million to a then-anonymous American buyer, seemingly proving that music could sell at the level of Picasso and Warhol. It proved a Pyrrhic victory when the buyer was revealed to be the hated “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli. - ARTnews

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