London’s Royal Ballet And Royal Opera Change Their Names (Barely)
That new name is The Royal Ballet and Opera. "'The Royal Opera House', as the company was previously known, did not make clear that...
Is Art Therapy?
In the same way that a run of the mill Netflix film tells us little about the human experience, the therapeutic language saturating contemporary...
Menand: Academic Freedom Under Attack
What kind of right is the right to academic freedom? Is it a legal right or a moral one? This question, long a subject...
Why Bands Can’t Make Money By Touring
“A headline tour usually comes out with a deficit. The only thing that we ever make any kind of profit on is festivals, because...
What’s Wrong With “Mid” TV
I’ve watched all of these shows. They’re not bad. They’re simply … mid. Which is what makes them, frustratingly, as emblematic of the current...
Can Improv Make A Comeback?
The pandemic hurt every live art, but arguably none more than improv. Not only did struggles force the sale of three of its biggest...
Time To Retire The Word “User” In Referring To Web Users?
The original use of “user” can be traced back to the mainframe computer days of the 1950s. - MIT Technology Review
How Music Therapy Is Helping Homeless Kids Process Life
“Music provides an opportunity for people to process trauma in a different mode of expression.” - The New York Times
2024 Presidential Candidates: Which Is Better For The Arts?
We have some indications of how the arts and culture will fare under each president because, for the first time, we have two candidates...
Repairing Musical Instruments That Have Been Damaged In War
Some instruments needed to be treated rather like field dressings for soldiers. - The Strad
Information Overload Is Nothing New. We’ve Long Struggled With It
Kings, popes, and doges all found themselves gasping for air under a deluge of memorandums and correspondence. Philip II of Spain was frequently driven...
Expect Some Musical Chaos At The Tony Award Nominations
Why? Well - there are a lot of eligible musicals, for one thing. And while Merrily We Roll Along is looking like a lock...
How Do We Fix The Concert Ticket System?
Hundreds of artists signed a letter objecting to the out of control secondary market for tickets, which is bad for fans. On the other...
Two Authors Withdraw From USC Commencement Ceremonies
C. Pam Zhang and Safiya Noble, who were scheduled to speak at the USC Rossier ceremony, have withdrawn. "Zhang and Noble condemned the college...
Los Angeles’ Taper Forum Will Reopen
And not just reopen, but “one of the first productions to play the Taper after its 16-month pause will be the world premiere of...
Natural History Museums Get A Redesign
In part, that’s meant to feature the “gateway drug to natural history” - the dinosaur skeletons. - The New York Times
PEN America May Not Survive The Israeli War In Gaza
"Can an organization that sees itself as above politics, that sees itself straightforwardly as a support system for an open society, be allowed to...
Netflix Is Still, Almost Unbelievably, Popular
Think brand loyalty - remember those DVD envelopes? - Boston Globe (MSN)
Wait, Wasn’t Hollywood So Finished With Sex?
Nobody tell Challengers (or Saltburn) that some theories say Gen-Z doesn’t like sex in movies. The movies’ box office numbers tell a different story....
The Weird History Of Not Letting Writers Take Credit For Their Work
Did you know Ernest Hemingway came up with the word for byline (though he spelled it by-line). "Signed articles could occasionally be found before...
Why, In A Digital World, Do We Still Use Postage Stamps?
Well, why not? People’s moods improve when they receive stamped letters - and “stamps provide 'an amazing body of material to study the history...
The Rebirth Of King’s Cross In London May Not Be Quite Complete
The changes since 2004 have been dramatic. "It has created, in its 50 new and restored buildings, about 1,700 homes, more than 40% of...
The Gender Divide In Reviews Of The New Cabaret
Young women, whose bodies are at risk in the post-Dobbs United States, get this version, where Sally "doesn’t sing, dance or exist to please...
China Has Thousands, If Not Millions, Of ‘Micro-Drama’ Series
But the country’s government wants to clamp down on these low-budget, few-minutes-at-a-time, mini-shows. - Time
How’s That AI Advertising Working Out For You, Meta?
It’s going fine, just fine: "Meta’s automated ad platform has been blowing through budgets and failing to deliver sales. Small businesses have seen their...
