What repeatedly surprises about the history of free speech is its incurably accidental nature – reforms undertaken for one set of reasons generate unforeseen and quite different consequences – and, also, the cobbled-together quality of the debate. - London Review of Books
Opinions differ in part because scientists cannot even agree on a way of defining human intelligence, arguing endlessly over the merits and flaws of I.Q. tests and other benchmarks. Comparing our own brains to machines is even more subjective. - The New York Times
The chief complaint was that some podcasters actually don’t want listeners to know how many people are listening to their podcast, because it might have the opposite effect: it could turn people off to know a show only has a few dozen plays. - The Verge
This is unusual because it’s coming from so many different places. That was not the case during the first Trump administration. It was not what I feel like this is: an all-out effort to take us out. The F.C.C., DOGE, I mean it’s just a whole different environment than anything I’ve seen before. - The New York Times
“We’re only reading one page at a time,” said Peter Quadrino, founder and organizer of the Finnegans Wake Reading Group of Austin, TX. Every other week, Quadrino hosts a Zoom call where people from around the world gather and attempt to understand one of the most infamous books in English literature. - Texas Standard
And now they’re hotter than ever, with miniature artists-in-residence at museums, TikToks going viral, and more. Why? “In our distraction-filled world, … getting to watch someone painstakingly craft the scenes is mesmerizing." - NPR
“It’s really not fair for people to think it’s hard to make a movie insofar as you need to know things before going into it. There are technical directors, but, Jesus Christ, you hire a crew. You just have a perspective and trust it.” - Seattle Times (AP)
“So it was that an old Broadway hand changed television forever by injecting a bit of kitchen-sink realism into the opening credits of a sitcom, of all things. You were solidly hooked.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
“Since PBS reaches an estimated 99% of the country’s broadcast viewers, that gives every child free access to high-quality educational content.” When that goes, rich kids in cities won’t be so hurt - but poorer and more rural kids sure will. - Salon
Trump adores her performance of “Memory” from 1982. She felt “a glimmer of hope that wouldn’t it be great if he could allow us, as theater artists, to share with him that which we know in storytelling to assist him to see things a bit differently.” - The New York Times
“Congress approved $65 million for these councils in the 2025 fiscal year, which means that DOGE or any other member of the executive branch spending that money on anything else is doing so under an illegal process called ‘impoundment.’” - Oregon ArtsWatch
“The Bristol Imax, boasting a 19 metre by 15 metre screen, was once regarded as the future of cinema in south-west England. The projector was the size of a small car and needed to be cooled with water pumped up from the harbour.” - The Guardian (UK)
The organizers say that even before the votes are counted, “they’ve already noticed more camaraderie at Abrams, which is a rare medium-sized publisher with around 150 employees.” - LitHub
