Handicapping The Oscars
Whatever happens on Oscar Sunday, I suspect that the two front-runners will share the spotlight in a spirit as companionable as it is competitive. -...
Simon & Schuster Hires Former Amazon Exec As New CEO
The choice of Greg Greeley marks the first time in memory that Simon & Schuster had hired a CEO from outside the company. The...
Yearning For The Meaning Of Consciousness
"What I find moving in these discussions is the intense yearning for a world that is more alive than secular scientists might think it...
Trump White House Is Releasing Video Mixes Of Iran War Footage With Video Games...
“The White House’s social media feed has issued a series of pumped-up videos that mix real Iran war explosions with movie action heroes, gaming footage and bone-crunching football...
The Collective Community Wound When Famous Buildings Burn
The fire will have obvious economic consequences for the city, particularly through the loss of businesses caught in and close to the fire. But...
Exodus Of Top Staff At The Art Gallery Of Ontario
Art Gallery of Ontario deputy director and chief curator Julian Cox will leave his post this April after eight years in the role, marking the latest departure...
Roblox Is Hugely Popular — But What Is It Teaching Our Kids?
Roblox burgeoned during the COVID-19 pandemic; many of my students told me that their most cherished remote-learning memories were actually ditching Zoom classes to play Roblox...
Is There Still Room For “Beautiful” Mathematics In An AI World?
GH Hardy believed there should be a strong aesthetic judgment in mathematics, drawing parallels with poetry, and argued that beauty is the first test of good...
Don’t Get Too Smug, Timothée. Movies Are In Crisis, Too.
“The medium is facing a host of issues informed by global technological shifts and the financial dynamics of mounting a production anywhere. But let’s...
Why The German Government Feels Threatened By Independent Bookshops
Independent bookshops are dangerous because they interrupt us. They do not optimise our curiosity. They derail it. Is that the reason why Germany’s culture...
Longtime Kennedy Center Patrons Contemplate A Shutdown
For many loyal patrons, the question has become how to fill the void left by the cancellations and the impending two-year closing. - The...
Broadway Is Now So Expensive That American Plays Are Debuting In London Instead
“The message I’m getting,” says the chief at one respected theatre in the British capital, “is that to come to London, hire a theater...
Nonfiction Book Sales Are Slipping — Except In This One Category
Sales of nonfiction books in the UK and Ireland in 2025 were down 6% from the previous year, with revenue at its lowest since...
Russia’s Return To Venice Biennale Sparks Huge Backlash
“The claim that ‘culture is above politics’ is never neutral,” reads one open letter in response to the Biennale’s announcement. “In the case of...
So Far, So Good: Washington National Opera Stages Its First Post-Kennedy Center Production
The show may not have been perfect, but it was a success: WNO has managed to get Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha onto a stage just...
Over Half Of National Museum Of Sudan’s Holdings Have Been Looted
“A statue of the Nubian god Apademak stands alone in the courtyard of Sudan’s National Museum, one of the few survivors of systematic looting...
Live Nation And U.S. Justice Dept. Announce Settlement, But Antitrust Case Isn’t Over Yet
“The Justice Department touted a tentative settlement of its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment on Monday as a victory for consumers...
Longtime Kennedy Center Patrons Mourn — And Make Other Plans
Regulars who feel that the complex has been politicized and are now staying away miss what the Kennedy Center offered. But they’re not all...
Should there be a tax deduction for donating to the nonprofit arts?
I was at a seminar yesterday given by Professor Philip Hackney of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, given (via web) at the Marxe School at Baruch College, on “Tax Policy Toward Arts Nonprofits: Democracy or Plutocracy?” It’s a good question! I won’t try to summarize what Professor Hackney
The Argument Against Optimizing
What you lose in optimizing morality is the same thing you lose in maximizing your airline-mile spend. In other words, nothing quantifiable—but precisely the...
Amazon Pulls Sponsorship Of Paris Bookfair After Accusations Of Promoting AI Books
The SLF has been sharply critical of Amazon, arguing that it destabilises the book trade. In a statement reported by the Bookseller, it accused the...
How Gen Z Is Hacking The High Cost Of Music Festivals
Enter Breakaway: a growing dance-music festival brand built on the premise of making concerts and festivals accessible and affordable again. - Fortune
How Does The Troubled Philadelphia Museum Of Art Get Its Swing Back? Here Are...
The museum today is focused on the fact that fewer visitors are coming now than before the pandemic, and the concern is legitimate. But...
Directors Are Mattering More In Hollywood
An emerging trend skews more classic Hollywood—directors, particularly those who might be considered auteurs for their well-defined aesthetic and storytelling style, have begun to...
How Hollywood Has Adjusted Its Messaging During The Second Trump Administration
The creators of some of the more politically compelling movies and TV shows of the past year have explored how being alive feels during...
