Duolingo says that building one new course historically has taken “years,” but the company was able to build this new suite of courses more quickly “through advances in generative AI, shared content systems, and internal tooling.” - The Verge
After a restitution settlement that would have addressed glaring gaps in the work’s provenance failed to go ahead, the painting’s anonymous buyer pulled out of the sale last month. - Artnet
What exactly is academic freedom? It is the freedom to express and debate ideas without fear of censorship or reprisal. It is the freedom to explore. It is the freedom to let the imagination wander. It is the freedom to exchange knowledge with colleagues and others. - The Atlantic
“Alice Coltrane, despite having been one of John’s pianists, is maneuvered into the margins by subgenre euphemisms like ‘spiritual jazz,’ by which many mean, music for hippies and poets, while mainstream jazz is for men who read Esquire and smoke performative cigars on business trips.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
“Today, some members, particularly in the Executive and Marketing and PR branches, simply press play on the Academy app to satisfy the system’s viewing requirement — then mute the audio or switch tabs. ‘The app only needs to see that you watched it,’ says one voter. ‘It doesn’t know if you’re sitting there.’” - Variety
Oh Mary!, Sunset Boulevard, John Proctor Is the Villain, George Clooney, Nicole Scherzinger and others are among the nominees. (Conspicuously missing are Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal for Othello.) And, of course, Audra is nominated for, and may well win, her seventh Tony. - TheWrap
For s start, it’s closed to the public, since the Chapel has been the site for the voting since 1492 and the cardinals are sequestered while deliberating. A stove and chimney for the smoke are installed, the marble mosaic floor is covered, porta-potties are installed in the next room, etc. - Artnet
Klein’s son, along with the corporation which owns Klein’s trademarks and rights to the color International Klein Blue, sued artist Stuart Semple for infringement over Semple’s creation and marketing of an ultramarine pigment he calls “Easy Klein — Incredibly Kleinish Blue.” - Artnet
Former British diplomat Claire Smith argues that, if you look carefully at correspondence from Pym’s wartime work as a censor, you’ll see evidence that she was secretly working for MI5. - The Guardian
“A BBC review has found no evidence of a ‘toxic culture’ but a ‘minority of people whose behavior is simply not acceptable,’ the U.K. public broadcaster said on Monday.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The Takacs thing. “They have always been one of the world’s pre-eminent string quartets, and they have a unique approach to the repertoire,” said John Gilhooly, the director of Wigmore Hall in London. “Whatever they have, they have it in abundance.” - The New York Times
It has to look like Peter Mattei, who’s singing John the Baptist, so they start by making a mold of his head. Then they have to get the mold off him. “We typically ask them to ... start making funny faces so that silicone starts releasing,” says (ahem) head master Tera Willis. - Vulture
Forty-two productions are eligible for Tony Award nominations this year – the announcements come Thursday morning – making many of the categories very, very competitive. - Deadline
“I’m as interested in an artificial voice as I am in an artificial author, which is to say not at all. … This is the thing: you think it won’t come for you – but it will. Luckily, I’ll be dead or retired by then.” - The Observer (UK)
Even when he was at the height of his literary powers, the title “businessman” might have suited Twain better than “author.” Not that avidity bred success. - The New Yorker
