When these systems become dysfunctional, people who were once highly motivated can become pathologically apathetic. Whereas previously they might have been curious, highly engaged and productive – at work, in their social lives and in their creative thinking – they can suddenly seem like the opposite. - The Guardian

All this infophilia raises an important question: if we like information so much, why don’t we seek out more of it? - Psyche

We are running out of intelligence tests that humans can pass reliably and AI models cannot. By those benchmarks, and if we accept that intelligence is essentially computational — the view held by most computational neuroscientists — we must accept that a working ‘simulation’ of intelligence actually is intelligence. - Nature

“Long before he became an unlikely political force, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani was just another 20-something trying to squeeze a laugh out of his Saturday improv class in Manhattan.” - The New York Times

“Nearly a year into a second Trump presidency and 50 years after Arendt’s death, she is still routinely invoked as the key to understanding our moment. It’s been a strange afterlife for an idiosyncratic thinker who believed that politics was inherently contingent and unpredictable.” - The New York Times

The suspicion that Americans are becoming more illiterate has long been irresistible to the educated class. In the present day, this happens to be objectively true. But across time and cultures, we hear the alarm of declinism. - The Atlantic

The Plaza Theatre had a star-studded opening in 1936, with the premiere of the Greta Garbo vehicle Camille. But it fell on hard times and closed in 2014. It has just reopened after a $34 million renovation and already has over 100 events scheduled, including classical, jazz, and film. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

At Lectures on Tap, “attendees hear thought-provoking talks from experts on wide-ranging topics such as Taylor Swift's use of storytelling in her music, how AI technology is being used to detect cardiovascular diseases, the psychology of deception and the quest for alien megastructures — all in a fun, low-stakes environment.” - Los Angeles Times...

“Dozens of Philadelphia artists across disciplines will present more than 30 original works, staged from late May to July 2026 in venues around Philadelphia, coinciding with the Fourth of July and FIFA World Cup matches as part of the city’s Semiquincentennial events.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

“Elon Musk responded with his trademark tact and professionalism by posting ‘Bullshit’ on X in response to the announcement.” Then “Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, accused the Commission of abusing an exploit to boost the reach of the announcement and responded by shutting down its ad account.” - The Verge

“What is the Kennedy Center now? For one thing, it’s getting a Trumpian revamp. He ordered new marble and the repainting of the exterior columns in austere white. Portraits of the first and second couples now hang in the center’s Hall of Nations.” - Washington Post (MSN)

Please, please, please, PLEASE do not screw this up, Netflix. We want HBO to be HBO, Warner Bros. to be Warner Bros. - and we need movie theatres. Cinemas. Big screens … maybe for your movies, Ted. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

I love to be surprised: to come across premieres and fresh interpretations that upend my expectations and open my mind to new possibilities. When I think about the past year, those are the moments that stuck with me most.  - The New York Times

Korea’s classical music market remains chronically constrained. In an ecosystem dominated by private presenters, major international orchestras often need to schedule at least three concerts per visit to break even -- a scale of economics that leaves little room for profit and even less for broad public access. - Korea Herald

More and more, the political noise around the Kennedy Center threatens to overwhelm the music within, and it’s unclear what, if anything, is being done to help. - Washington Post

I acknowledge that it is important to be able to honor great musicians in a very public way but I believe there is a better method for doing so that some prize-giving organizations currently employ. - Nightingale Sonata

“A major new study led by researchers at Monash University (in Melbourne) … found that daily musical engagement correlates with a marked reduction in dementia incidence.” - Limelight (Australia)

This one, which takes place next October, will involve the Hungarian Radio Symphony and Hungarian National Philharmonic and is being organized by Müpa, Budapest’s equivalent of Lincoln Center. - Bachtrack

The judges praised Nnena Kalu's brightly coloured sculptures - which are haphazardly wrapped in layers of ribbon, string, card and shiny VHS tape - and her drawings of swirling, tornado-like shapes. Kalu, 59, is an autistic, learning disabled artist with limited verbal communication. - BBC

When 100 of the restituted sculptures were exhibited last month in Benin City, there was no high-tech security and the labels were on paper stuck to the walls. Meanwhile, the flashy new Museum of West African Art, built to house the bronzes, isn’t permitted to have or show them. - The New York Times

“Kalu, an autistic artist with learning disabilities and limited verbal communication, … (won) for her colourful drawings and sculptures made from found fabric and VHS tape, becoming the first artist with a learning disability to take home the £25,000 ($33,300) prize.” - The Guardian

This extraordinarily rich design is certainly assertive throughout, but it is completely in synch with the nature of an institution that has been collecting for 255 years, one that inevitably reflects the sprawling curiosity and a worldliness—or lack thereof—among generations of Princetonians. - James Russell

“Between 300 and 400 works” were affected by the leak discovered on 26 November, the museum’s deputy administrator, Francis Steinbock, said, describing them as “Egyptology journals” and “scientific documentation” used by researchers. - The Guardian

Some 800 paintings have been taken from the collection since 1945, in one of the most devastating spates of art theft in Germany’s postwar history. Canvas by canvas, however, they are being filled in as the artworks are returned from around the world through a marathon exercise in detective work and cultural diplomacy. - The...

“For the next fifty years, females of all ages both delighted and troubled him. He was not sure he ever understood them, but … he wrote about women time and time again.” - Literary Hub

What’s more, those fonts have been adapted for digital use. - Artnet

One of the more common doomsday scenarios about social media goes something like this: an internet-addicted public, hooked on the dopamine hits of engagement and the immediate satisfaction of short-form video, loses its ability to read books and gets stupider and more reactionary as a result. - The New Yorker

US diplomats have been ordered to return to using the Times New Roman typeface in official communications, with secretary of state Marco Rubio calling the Biden administration’s decision to adopt Calibri a “wasteful” diversity move, according to an internal department cable seen by Reuters. - The Guardian

“‘Those who are creating the modern composition authentically are naturally only of importance when they are dead,’ Stein once wrote. Accordingly, she spent a good portion of her life making arrangements for her afterlife.” - The New Republic

There’s a sense that big publishing has stopped investing in people, authors, and good writing, and is just producing huge amounts of product, which means a completely oversaturated market and overstuffed bookstores. - LitHub

So, how does the cinema experience fit into this time? Its key benefits are “immersion, spectacle, and shared experiences,” the Bain report highlights. “But this is at odds with people’s evolving consumption of media, which is increasingly short-form, interactive, and digital.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Presently, non-fiction filmmaking (in the form of docuseries) stands as a cornerstone of streaming economics, a format bolstered and degraded by an ever-growing demand for cheap, time-consuming content. - Stat Significant

Netflix’s movies don’t have to abide by any of the norms established over the history of cinema: they don’t have to be profitable, pretty, sexy, intelligent, funny, well-made, or anything else that pulls audiences into theater seats. - n+one

So, yes, for all intents and purposes, the Golden Globes are back. But regarding ethical practices, today’s for-profit Globes may well be worse than ever, crossing the line in ways that are more egregious than the shady maneuverings that put the awards on life support not so long ago. - Los Angeles Times

“The streamer has set new parameters for making content, providing rich upfront fees, but diminished profit participation or residuals for producers, directors, actors and their agents.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)

From a competition standpoint, Warner Bros. going to Netflix is sharp a step in the wrong direction. It’s turbocharging the runaway market leader, leaving the other studios’ streaming services to wither on the vine. - Slate

And he’s not going to be a rule-breaker, trying to revolutionize the art form: “There’s nothing wrong with organic movement. … There’s a reason why it’s attractive, in the way nature’s attractive. There’s an inbuilt idea of beauty, and you can play with that.” - The Guardian

Emotion was often the bedrock of the dances and dance artists who rose to the top this year. - The New York Times

How the landmark modern dance was created, whom it influenced, and why it’s still magical today. - The New York Times

Richard A. Freeman Jr. served on an interim basis for two seasons, including holding the company together through the turmoil following the firing of 10 dancers for attempting to unionize. - KERA (Dallas)

Jane Raleigh: “There was definitely an overarching feeling of waiting for the shoe to drop. I was committed to staying until I was removed, (but) I did believe from the beginning that everyone would be fired at some point. … Basically every payday Friday was mass firings day.” - Forward

Mack, who did two stints as a principal dancer with the company (and got a master’s degree in-between), says her vision is to balance between Alvin Ailey’s own “powerful, visceral” choreography and new pieces by Fredrick Earl Mosley, Matthew Neenan, Jamar Roberts, and Urban Bush Women founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. - NPR

“The legendary festival, known for experimental and boundary-pushing theater, previously offered year-round programming before the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. In recent years, it has seen record-breaking audience growth, prompting producing director Nell Bang-Jensen to expand beyond the month of September.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

“Nussbaum, a highly respected culture writer who received a Pulitzer Prize for her television criticism, has been a member of the New Yorker writing staff since 2011. She takes over the position from Helen Shaw, who has left The New Yorker after being appointed chief theatre critic at The New York Times.” - Playbill

These writers create an environment in which characters can enter or exit the main storyline as if from a magic door. Audiences are cognizant of this portal, but they are encouraged to forget its existence when the drama ramps up, thereby allowing them to have their cake and eat it too. - Los Angeles...

“Reggie D. White, whose résumé spans acting, directing and playwriting in addition to in-office leadership, will (succeed) Maria Manuela Goyanes, (who) announced her departure in March for New York’s Lincoln Center Theatre.” White will be only the third director in the company’s 45-year history. - The Washington Post (MSN)

To be fair, it’s a film - a “pro shot” - of the Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along. And “what ended up saving it was a superfan: actor and director Maria Friedman, who turned a role in a 1992 production of the play into a series of restagings.” - CBC

As part of its company-wide layoffs, the RSC will terminate its entire live music staff and switch to using recorded music. - The Stage (UK)

A Grammy-nominee (for Leonard Bernstein’s Mass conducted by Marin Alsop) who moved smoothly between classical, musical theater, and gospel, Sykes was found dead in his home following a 911 call from his wife reporting an assault. His 31-year-old son Micah is in custody as the suspect. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Christina Vassallo, 45, follows Paula Marincola, who retired in October after serving as the center’s first director, since 2008. After leaving the Fabric Workshop in 2023, Vassallo became director of the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. - Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

“The Tony-nominated playwright and actor (was) released after spending three weeks in custody on suspicion of attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country. … (A) spokesman declined to say whether Mr. Harris had been charged.” - The New York Times

“Michaels sold an estimated 150 million books, including bodice rippers, family dramas and mysteries, according to Kensington Publishing, her longtime publisher. Her work has been translated into 20 languages.” And she started in her 40s. - The New York Times

“In a country with a reverential approach to its artistic heritage, the flamboyant Mr. Cogeval — ‘deceptively reserved and genuinely eccentric,’ according to Le Figaro newspaper — was a subversive figure. He was unconcerned, even pleased, by the criticism.” - The New York Times

Youn Yuh-jung, Oscar winner for Minari, doesn’t want to be seen as an icon, however. “In Korea, they usually say, ‘Is there any message for the younger generation?’ So I usually say, I’m not the Pope, I don’t have any message.” - Variety