Usually you have to return books you get from a library. Today the New York Public Library will give books away — 1,000 books from its list of the best titles of 2025, chosen by more than 80 librarians from branches across the library’s system. If you get one, you won’t have to return it. - The New York Times
An exec at the firm Move AI insists that the combination of motion-capture and AI software isn’t to replace dance artists but to streamline the repetitive, tedious process of animation. (The dance artists are still nervous.) Meanwhile, other AI programs stand to make the work of dance historians and archivists easier. - Dance Magazine
The 71-by-51-inch painting, named after its subject, was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Tuesday evening for $236.4 million, including fees. It belonged to the private collection of Leonard Lauder, the cosmetics heir who died in June. - Washington Post
Many universities, not all, but many, were for a period of time deeply focused on identity diversity, and really not so focused on viewpoint diversity or belief diversity. I think there’s a danger of a pendulum swinging too far in the other direction. - The New York Times
Warners Brothers has had multiple owners over the decades. Three years ago, Warner Media, as it was called, merged with Discovery. And in June, the company announced it would split in two, with film, TV and streaming studios in one camp, and in the other, mostly legacy cable channels, including CNN. - NPR
The departments of English, classics, philosophy, world languages and Spanish and Latino studies, for example, will be grouped into the tentatively titled School of Human Narratives and Creative Expressions. - The New York Times
“Two more former employees of the soul music star Smokey Robinson, both male and female, have alleged he sexually assaulted them, which he denies. Robinson is already facing similar allegations from four other former employees, who filed a ($50 million) joint lawsuit in May.” - The Guardian
“Point AI, a startup with eight employees, (cranks) out 3,000 episodes a week covering everything from localized weather reports to a detailed account of Charlie Kirk's assassination and its cultural impact to a biography series on Anna Wintour. Its podcasting network has generated 12 million lifetime episode downloads and amassed 400,000 subscribers.” - TheWrap (MSN)
It’s not as simple as the museum not having enough money. An audit report indicates that there have been some very questionable accounting practices at PSAM — questionable enough that one of the eight board members who have resigned so far did so on the advice of his personal attorney. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Winners include Rabih Alameddine's Beirut-set The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) (Fiction), Omar El Akkad’s examination of the war in Gaza, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This (Nonfiction), and Daniel Nayeri’s The Teacher of Nomad Land, set in World War II-era Iran (Young People’s Literature). - NPR
“After the (NEA) canceled a large percentage of its awards in May, organizations across the country have decided they would rather find money elsewhere than be subject to federal restrictions. … It is a decision that they say prioritizes free speech and creative expression without fear of restrictions or retribution.” - The New York Times
Yes, the themed-museum-and-entertainment franchise Ripley’s Believe It or Not! was the purchaser of Cattelan’s America at Sotheby’s in New York this week. In its pun-filled announcement, Ripley’s proudly said that Cattelan’s conceptual artwork is the most expensive item in its collection. - Artnet
“The Venezuelan-born conductor — who became a naturalized US. citizen last year on the stage of the symphony’s Jacobs Music Center — began his tenure here with the orchestra in late 2019.” His contract term now extends through the 2028-29 season, with the new title of Music and Artistic Director. - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
The Galilee Chamber Orchestra, currently touring the US, is based in Nazareth (considered the cultural capital for Israel’s native Palestinians, about 20% of the country’s total population). It was formed 13 years ago as the first fully professional orchestra with equal numbers of Jewish and Arab musicians. - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)
“Modernity is a machine for destroying limits." This attack on limits is legible in a host of current phenomena, including mass immigration, free-market orthodoxy, the rise of AI, overseas labor exploitation, the clear-cutting of rainforests, and new ideas about gender. - The Atlantic
