"Over the past two decades, she has become one of Turkish literature’s most attacked authors. … Shafak’s case is part of a wider trend in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 'new Turkey,' which has been marked by the arrests of academics and a systematic clampdown on press freedom." - The Dial
"The plan would include auctioning off CBS, cable channels like MTV and the Paramount Plus streaming service, said (sources). Paramount Pictures … would be combined with Sony’s (movie studio) business," and the new owners would likely keep Paramount's library of films and TV programs. - The New York Times
The soon-to-be-renamed venue "will now boast significantly improved acoustics, state-of-the-art new audio, visual and lighting systems, new aisles and seats angled to face the stage — plus an array of other key new design elements — while retaining much of the hall's historic essence." - The San Diego Union-Tribune (MSN)
John McWhorter makes the case for Raisin — a 1973 adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun with book by her former husband, Robert Nemiroff (with Charlotte Zaltzberg), music by Judd Woldin and lyrics by Robert Brittan — and suggests a plausible explanation for why it was forgotten. - The New York Times
For years, the numbers of fully-employed faculty have fallen as universities use poorly-paid adjunct professors instead. Yet tuition prices keep soaring. Why? Because the number of paid administrators keeps soaring, too. Maybe students and faculty should be eliminated so universities can be run by and for their bureaucrats? - The Atlantic (MSN)
"(Eden Golan) was one of 10 acts who made it through Thursday’s semifinal, which was decided by votes from Eurovision viewers around the world. … Bookmakers say she is likely to finish in the top half of the final competition, decided by a mix of public votes and national music-industry juries." - AP
This time it's Southern California Public Radio, the entity that combines KPCC and the website LAist. All full- and part-time staffers in the newsroom who work at least 24 hours per week are eligible for the voluntary buyouts. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
At least among one audience, books are dying. Alarmingly, it’s the exact audience whose departure from reading might actually presage a catastrophe for the publishing industry—and for the entire concept of pleasure reading as a common pursuit. - Slate
This will be one the first occasions, if not the first, that all of Bach's works have been performed live and in-person in a complete cycle. A project like this is possible in Worcester because of its unique musical resources and traditions, organizers said. - Worcester Magazine
Chair of the inquiry, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, said there was “compelling evidence” that the government needed to intercede to stem the rising cost of overheads music festivals organisers were facing, which has led to a slew of cancellations in the past 12 months. - The Guardian
The L.A. Phil has had an uncharacteristic amount of worry, and Gustavo Dudamel has been at the center of it. Little has seemed right since his announcement last year that he would exchange the L.A. Phil for New York’s Philharmonic at the end of the 2025-26 season. - Los Angeles Times
A distributor is legally required to ask for a new rating when it rereleases a movie that was classified before the introduction of the modern ratings in 1982. The B.B.F.C. said that about half of the theatrical releases it rerated in the past two years were mandatory submissions. - The New York Times
He argues that LLMs demonstrate a wide range of powerful language abilities and disprove foundational assumptions underpinning Noam Chomsky’s theories and, as a consequence, negate parts of modern Linguistics. - Slator
At 75, César Aira has written more than 100 books, has been translated into 37 languages, and has lately been tipped for a Nobel Prize. He accepts no money for his books within Argentina, won't talk to local media, and rarely leaves his Buenos Aires neighborhood, let alone the country. - The Guardian
"Museums have historically maintained strict, narrow ranges of temperatures and relative humidity since the British Museum created the standards around 100 years ago. New research and international art conservation guidelines suggest that a wider range of climate controls can be safe for artwork (while cutting) energy use." - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
