Caelainn Hogan: “I am a freelance writer who, like most artists, has always had to work outside my creative focus to afford to live. ... As such, the basic income was life-changing. Only months into the scheme, I found out I was pregnant.” - The Guardian
The climate crisis has caused devastated cacao farming in West Africa, causing huge price spikes and volatility in the cocoa commodity market — leading companies like Hershey’s and Cadbury, which manufacture inexpensive chocolate products for ordinary consumers, to start using other ingredients. - The Guardian
Access Fringe program at the Melbourne Fringe Festival is a 10-year partnership with Arts Access Victoria supporting d/Deaf and disabled artists through commissions, mentorships and specialised development programs. The initiative shows how embedding access into every space and conversation can lead to change across the entire cultural sector. - ArtsHub
“It is the largest presentation of American artists in the history of the festival,” says director Nicola Benedetti. The program includes a residence by Wynton Marsalis (Benedetti’s husband). Theatre productions will explore the AIDS crisis and racist lynchings; Clown Show will present a ‘contemporary portrait of America as a falling-apart circus’.” - The Guardian
If your experience of Marseille is limited to certain multicultural central neighbourhoods then it might be easy to assume that this is – and always will be – a leftwing city, an outlier in the far-right bastion that is the wider south of France. But Marseille’s politics have always been contested. - The Guardian
The government of Oregon’s largest city has $8.5 million in money from its (unpopular) Art Tax that has never been spent; this was reported shortly after the city cut arts grants by nearly half. - Oregon ArtsWatch
For many loyal patrons, the question has become how to fill the void left by the cancellations and the impending two-year closing. - The New York Times
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 staying home, and other performing arts institutions in and around D.C. are benefiting. - The New York Times
“All these Palestinians told us that they thought the BBC would never run our film, and we really had to try and persuade them to talk to us because they didn’t and don’t trust the BBC.” The journalists were shocked to learn that the sources were correct. - Reveal
So says a new report, which “criticises the industry for failing to consider how it might adapt to better accommodate parents, with the result that many, in particular women, drop out.” - The Guardian (UK)
DOGE employees used ChatGPT to make their choices. “The prompt was simple: ‘Does the following relate at all to D.E.I.? Respond factually in less than 120 characters. Begin with ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’’ The results were sweeping, and sometimes bizarre.” - The New York Times
“The problem lies in a rotten, corporate family tree,” and the self-described nerds aren’t going to let anyone forget it. For instance, in one panel, “it’ll be much, much more about fascism than a steamy book panel usually would be.” - The Stranger (Seattle)
Gross: “Using Grammarly’s ‘Expert Review’ allows an approximation of Stephen King and Neil deGrasse Tyson to nitpick your work. While Tyson has the opportunity to say whether he’d like to be turned into a chatbot, other authors, like Carl Sagan, cannot because they are dead.” - AV Club
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) on Friday filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to block President Trump from closing the Kennedy Center after he announced last month that it would shut down to allow for renovations. - The Hill
That vintage striped coat commanding boutique prices? Turns out its colonial baggage is heavier than its wool. Fashion meets reckoning as shoppers discover their thrift store treasure carries more than just warmth. — The Walrus
