“A group of activists have been attempting to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism.” - The Guardian (UK)
"For many advocates, the right to repair is an environmental issue. People are less inclined to throw gear into landfills if they can fix it.” But throwing one thing away means buying a new one, so companies are resistant. - Wired
Benamor, by Pablo Luna, “featured cross-dressing characters and risqué humor that was largely tolerated during the Roaring Twenties in Madrid and premiered just months before a military coup that brought an end to the constitutional monarchy.” - The New York Times
“A producer wanted her to audition for The Exorcist. However, her mother, Janet Leigh, shut down the opportunity, protecting her then 12-year-old daughter from early fame and any potential trauma that came with starring in one of the scariest movies ever made.” - Variety
“Combining keen curiosity, dogged investigative skills and a gift for storytelling, he covered Hollywood, … presidential politics (capturing Richard M. Nixon’s first, albeit brief, public remarks after resigning as president) and contentious subjects like the Church of Scientology.” - The New York Times
Spoiler alert: “We are still calling it a love story – a great one! The greatest! It’s being released the day before Valentine’s Day! – when what actually happens is that Cathy rejects Heathcliff because she’s a snob, and he turns into a psychopath.” - The Guardian (UK)
Nataki Garrett Myers, former artistic director of Oregon Shakes: “Neutrality is an illusion. What the article actually offers is a case study in how comfort becomes policy — aesthetic, institutional, and ideological. That comfort has a look. It has a voice. And it has a conspicuous absence.” - Be A Ladder Leader
If you must blame anyone, blame the Boomers, and Gen-X. “One lesson of 2025 may be that only younger people – children in particular – can save cinemas from imminent annihilation.” - Irish Times
“In 1964 Mr. Graffman canceled a booking in Jackson, Miss., after learning that the house would be segregated, leading other prominent classical artists to publicly announce that they would no longer perform in segregated halls.” - The New York Times
Choosing only one post from these annual critic chats is a challenge, but this 10th in the series features the weirdly, deeply American Roofman (though for the sake of improving both brain and watchlist, read through the entire discussion). - Slate
“Does the Sad Art Dad regret his choices? Is making great art—which, in these films, has a capacious, allegorical quality—worth ruining your relationship with your kids?” - The Atlantic
Reading is down “thanks in large part to the number of digital distractions competing for our limited attention.” Ironically, these podcasts might help fix that. - The New York Times
