"A number of marble tiles on the floor of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was turned back into a mosque in 2020 after serving as a historical museum for decades, have reportedly been cracked by heavy machinery used to clean the building last week." - Artnet
"Now that the law is on the verge of going into effect, thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court, the studios have gone quiet. ... For Hollywood in particular, Georgia's $1.2 billion tax credit for film and TV production may be too good to pass up." - Variety
"The collection of metal plaques and sculptures that decorated the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin ... that have found their way into 20 museums across Germany were mostly taken by British forces when they conquered, burned, and looted the city of Benin in 1897." - Deutsche Welle
"Funded by a $440 million bequest from Ruth DeYoung Kohler II, the Ruth Foundation for the Arts immediately enters the highest echelons of arts philanthropy. ... The foundation, based in Milwaukee, is planning to give away between $17 to $20 million a year." - The New York Times
"That is on top of the 2,500 closures since 2004 documented in earlier reports. The result is even more 'news deserts' in poorer and rural communities and a growing split between haves and have-nots in access to local news." - Poynter
It turns out that Francis Fukuyama doesn’t like what history’s end has wrought. Liberalism has been corrupted by bad actors on all sides who have lost faith in its tenets: free speech, universal tolerance, and human equality. - The Baffler
Countries—including Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Ireland, and Uruguay, and Bangladesh—had a net gain in tree cover, according to new data from researchers at the University of Maryland and the nonprofit World Resources Institute. Others, including the U.S., had a net loss. - Fast Company
The deal reduces the number of top agencies to three dominant players: CAA, WME and United Talent Agency. ICM is the fourth largest firm. The combination of the two companies will give the emerging entity the heft to better compete against Beverly Hills-based Endeavor. - Los Angeles Times
"For me, at least, fandom has started to feel like a phenomenon akin to cryptocurrency or economic populism—a history-shaping force that we’d be foolish to ignore." - The New Yorker
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) shared the clip on Twitter — and blasted the popular PBS/HBO children’s show for allowing Elmo to “aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5.” He added: “You cite ZERO scientific evidence for this.” - Washington Post
I do think the purpose of criticism is to make an assertive claim for what is there. When Toni Morrison speaks of the “Africanist presence” in Willa Cather, or Richard Dyer on “romanticism” in disco, these observations operate inquisitively yet still, “stake a claim.” - The Point
Probably not, says Education Through Music executive director Janice Weinman, and especially not this year. The state legislature just passed a law requiring the city to lower class sizes, even as the Mayor and City Council cut $200 million from the schools' budget. - New York Daily News
Most metropolises are overrun with ghosts; from New York to London, Mumbai to Shanghai, a simple Google search throws up an encyclopaedia’s worth of results about urban legends based on things that go bump in the dark. - Aeon
She wrote poetry regularly, though she never published any of it. Sure, she was no Marianne Moore, but there's real thought and feeling in her verse. As her friend Norman Rosten put it, "She had the instinct and reflexes of the poet, but she lacked the control." - The Paris Review
He was a Roman soldier martyred in the 3rd century CE, traditionally depicted tied to a tree, wearing only a loincloth, his bare torso pierced with arrows. Here's what we know about his life and why he became a gay icon. (It wasn't just the bare torso.) - Artnet
