It may not inspire political campaign ads the way critical race theory does, but the debate over how to teach children to read — perhaps the foundational skill of all schooling — has been just as consuming for some parents, educators and policymakers. - The New York Times
"In a city that ... became used to wailing air-raid sirens and the thuds of artillery from the suburbs, the audience was instead treated to the frothy melodies of Rossini's The Barber of Seville." But they're limiting the audience to 300 people so they can evacuate quickly if necessary. - The Observer (UK)
"Interviews with more than a dozen museum professionals suggest that the Philadelphia History Museum ended up in (storage) far from the heart of the city because it was too diffuse, its vast collection too randomly accumulated, its many narratives unexplored, and its funding sparse and never assured." - MSN (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
"One word consistently used by virtually everyone when describing Langella's behavior" on set for Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher "was 'toxic' as they recalled (wildly) inappropriate comments and behavior. ... People who worked with Langella on the Netflix series provided more detail about some of the incidents." - Deadline
"Susan Jaffe, who recently turned 60, has in mind such steps as opening up artistic processes to the public and soliciting views from balletgoers and other stakeholders on the delicate task of updating thorny works from the classical canon. It's an audience-first approach." - MSN (The Washington Post)
"Prosecutors accused Philbrick of committing 'one of the most significant frauds in the art market's history,' describing his operation in a sentencing memorandum as 'Ponzi-like.' ... He is alleged to have sold shares totaling more than 100 percent in artworks he didn't own, falsified contracts, forged signatures, and invented fictitious clients." - Artnet
"Teasing a fake Louis Vuitton x Beeple collaboration, the hacker first tweeted out a raffle entry and then a link where followers could claim one of 200 free NFTs Beeple was supposedly offering, ... possibly resulting in the loss of over $438,000 worth of cryptocurrencies and NFTs." - ARTnews
Because the criminal case was overturned - though for reasons unrelated to Cosby's guilt or innocence - "the significance of Ms. Huth’s suit has risen in the minds of some of the many women who have accused Mr. Cosby of being a sexual predator." - The New York Times
Filmmakers from 44 countries submitted films to the competition, all between 30 seconds and three minutes in length. The top prize was shared between two directors... - The New York Times
You may not agree with everything Aristotle says, but consider his ideas, and see if you don’t think they’re as fresh and brilliant today as they were 2,000 years ago. - Aeon
Rather than the “death of the author” heralded by French novelist and philosopher Roland Barthes in the 1960s, are we now witnessing its counterpoint—a cultural sphere where nothing remains but a cult of celebrity being played out on digital platforms? - LitHub
This isn’t to say opera shouldn’t be political — though I’m thoroughly skeptical of its ability to tackle social issues in a way that isn’t preaching to the choir — but that there should be equilibrium and variety. Where’s the balance? Where’s the funny? - San Francisco Classical Voice
It’s called “frisson,” and it’s the reason why music from artists featured on a recently released, scientifically-backed playlist of songs that researchers claim are likely to give people “chills.” - Big Think
Live Nation as a parent company did not directly receive any money from the program, but the government relief to its subsidiaries still protected its investments and improved its long-term outlook, however slightly. - Washington Post
It’s hard to figure out how many people are making a middle-class living on music streaming, but I note that you don’t earn the minimum wage on Spotify until you generate more than 3 million streams per year. - Ted Gioia
