Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Playing Politics? Of Course – It’s The Parthenon Marbles!
For a large part of international public opinion the return seems only fair. For some, it is a matter of aesthetics: repatriating historic monuments...
A Foundation Decides To Accelerate Its Impact And Spend Down Its Resources
“We thought, 'What’s the point in us existing in perpetuity and just trickling out funds while saying no to more communities when we knew...
How To Tell Whether Research is Trustworthy
Lately, however, the social-science world has become mired in controversy. Researchers themselves have started to note that many famous experiments have been debunked—such as, indeed,...
Are We “Addicted” To Social Media? A New Study Puts The Notion To The...
A small but thoughtful new study in PLOS One calls into question whether addiction is the right term for heavy social media use, and suggests digital detox, at least...
The Limits Of AI In Creating Photographs
A.I. as photographer falls short because it can’t truly empathize with a subject. A camera, no matter how high-tech, can’t grasp the unspoken stories...
The Problems With AI Provisions In The SAG-AFTRA Contract
“It’s one thing to use to make a King Kong or a flying serpent (though this displaces many VFX/CGI artists), it is another...
Hunter College Reschedules Movie Critical Of Israel After Campus Protests
Hunter College has agreed to reschedule a screening of a documentary critical of Israel, following an outcry from faculty members and students who claimed that the...
Slave To The Machines – Have We Already Set Up A System Where Humanity...
A new book argues that the invention of states and corporations has something to teach us about A.I. But perhaps it’s the other way...
BBC Cuts Staff For Evening News – Audience Has Changed
"This is a discerning audience, and they are looking for added value, but they're listening to podcasts, their habits have changed." - BBC
$100M Botticelli Discovered In Italian House. Who Is The Owner?
The artwork was originally displayed in a small church in the Italian town of Santa Maria la Arita before being given to a local...
How “Frozen” Shifted Disney’s Focus From Male-Centric Stories
It set the stage for the rise of empowering culturally rich narratives in the decade that followed. Subsequent hits included the strongly female-centric Moana (2016), Encanto (2021), and Turning...
Iowa Families Sue To Block Law Prohibiting Mention Of LGBTQ In Schools
The law, which passed earlier this year via a majority Republican Legislature, forbids "any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to...
Hollywood Biopics Are In Again. What Happened?
All these movies are awards contenders, and each of them, in a different way, is enthralling. What they add up to is the glorious...
Google Caves, Agrees To Pay Canada’s Link Tax For News
The federal government had estimated earlier this year that Google's compensation should amount to about $172 million. Google estimated the value at $100 million. - CBC
Ticket Survey: Ticket Prices Outside London Are A Third Cheaper Than On The West...
The average top-end ticket outside of London comes in at £49.19, compared with £141.37 for West End shows, while the average cheapest ticket in...
Comedians Are Complaining About Cancel Culture. But Then, They Always Have
Social media “gives the impression that people are more irrational, humorless and overly sensitive than in the past,” but vintage letters to the editor...
The Damaged Music From Auschwitz, Heard In Public For The First Times
“Jews being held in concentration camps were unable to document what was happening to them by conventional means. Writing down or photographing this would...
British Library Hacked, User Data Offered On The Dark Web
The attack, which took place on 31 October, is continuing to affect its website, online systems and some onsite services, a statement said. The...
Music Genres Mean Little To Most Fans These Days
In the digital age, around 100,000 new tracks are uploaded to Spotify every day, and they're sorted into one of more than 6,000 genre classifications....
How AI Is Deciphering Ancient Languages
Because the technology works on the basis of image analysis, it is in theory applicable to any writing whatsoever, from Egyptian hieroglyphs to copperplate....
Morality In AI? Is That Even Possible?
Human moral judgment is rich and subtle, emerging through the complex interplay of reason and emotion—not the sort of thing that you’d expect a...
Our Notions Of What Constitutes An “Adult” Are Changing
Setting aside their feelings about being an adult, what did people say defined adulthood for them? They in fact tended to place little emphasis on the...
Iowa Public Radio Listeners Take Over Funding After State and University Slash Funds
The network is nearly entirely funded by listener donations after its budget was slashed by state lawmakers and the Iowa Board of Regents discontinued funding the station in...
Report: Israel Has Destroyed More Than 100 Cultural Sites In Gaza
Historic religious sites, museums, and archaeological sites have been destroyed, the report says, noting that Gaza has been a cultural hub for every civilization...
A Second Mona Lisa Goes On Display. Was It Really Painted By Leonardo?
“We have proved beyond reasonable doubt that Leonardo painted two Mona Lisas and this is the only candidate to be the second,” said Joël...