“Since January, when the US imposed a fuel blockade in a bid to upend the communist-run government, (Cubans) have had to contend with blackouts spanning days. … On a recent Friday evening, …candles flickered outside the theater hall, while the inside was lit by an array of rechargeable lights in all shapes and sizes.” - Reuters
A question that is turning us all into different kinds of readers—skeptical, antagonistic, and less willing to give our fellow humans the benefit of the doubt. Trying to figure out what AI writing looks like is turning writer and reader into adversaries. And I’m going to tell you why. - The Walrus
What if, like a thumb on the scales tipping debut novels toward more favourable outcomes, nonfiction’s bleaker fate was also a product of accumulated choices—choices about where the money goes and how the story of these books gets told? - The Walrus
Hadestown has already surpassed Hamilton for the highest grossing opening weekend for a live theatre film in North America, bringing in $10.2-million USD during its debut weekend. - ArtsHub
“PEN recorded nearly 12,000 instances of book banning affecting 7,370 unique titles across 114 U.S. school districts during the 2025-26 academic year, a record high since PEN began tracking literary censorship in American public schools in 2021.” The “vast majority” of the bans were in Texas and Florida. - Publishers Weekly
The episode felt somehow symbolic for this moment in the history of AI in Africa, where excitement over the technology’s transformative potential for the continent’s filmmakers often runs counter to the practical realities on the ground. - Variety
While the ACO is perhaps best known, outside Australia at least, for its championing of new music alongside the classics, at home it’s Tognetti’s openness to music from other genres, and the rich cross-fertilisation that results, for which he’s equally celebrated. - Gramophone
Two years ago, Adrian Danchig-Waring suffered a herniated disc which ended up completely dissolving into fluid, and an epidural injection led to a severe bacterial infection. He lost 25 pounds and the ability to walk. Then he made a deal with the universe ... - The New York Times
What matters most is how they made the case. They didn’t ask Seattle to support the arts because culture enriches a city. They asked the city to treat arts and culture as public safety infrastructure. - Return on Art (LinkedIn)
After abandoning a $3.7 billion merger with rival Shutterstock in late June over a regulatory roadblock, Getty Images now plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and go private in partnership with Charles Koch’s investment firm. - The Hollywood Reporter
Independent artists, Sahunta tells Rolling Stone, “are unfortunately the most powerless group in the music industry. And the irony is we comprise the majority of music on streaming, yet we’re so easily taken advantage of and screwed over by these companies that claim they are for independent artists… - Rolling Stone
Russell Parks, the board member who led the effort to deny funding to two Greenville-based LGBTQ+ performing arts groups, and board chair Flavia Harton (who didn't vote on the issue) are both leaving the Commission before their terms expire. Neither gave any reason other than time constraints. - The Post and Courier (Charleston) (Yahoo!)
PBS Network programming disappeared from the Pensacola-Fort Walton Beach area airwaves on July 1, when the licensee for local outlet WSRE, Pensacola State College, closed the station following loss of federal and state funding. As of November 1, new nonprofit Emerald Coast PBS will go live on WPAN channel 53. - NorthEscambia.com (Escambia County, Florida)
