“Two non-Equity national theatrical tours – Mrs. Doubtfire and Chicago – are on the 2026 schedule of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., marking a major shift in Kennedy Center policy that comes just two months after President Donald Trump complained about union costs.” - Deadline
Dropping “HBO,” a label linked to award-winning dramas for decades, removed a trusted shortcut and left viewers asking whether the service had changed its focus. - The Conversation
The House tax bill increases taxes on philanthropies. It was news to me that philanthropies pay any taxes at all; I always thought nonprofit status shielded these groups entirely from taxation. That’s not correct. - The New Republic
Without the NEA, today’s most treasured literary organizations might not have survived their infancy as far back as the 1960s. Without these endowments, what holes will be torn in the fabric of American culture? - LA Review of Books
What repeatedly surprises about the history of free speech is its incurably accidental nature – reforms undertaken for one set of reasons generate unforeseen and quite different consequences – and, also, the cobbled-together quality of the debate. - London Review of Books
Opinions differ in part because scientists cannot even agree on a way of defining human intelligence, arguing endlessly over the merits and flaws of I.Q. tests and other benchmarks. Comparing our own brains to machines is even more subjective. - The New York Times
The chief complaint was that some podcasters actually don’t want listeners to know how many people are listening to their podcast, because it might have the opposite effect: it could turn people off to know a show only has a few dozen plays. - The Verge
This is unusual because it’s coming from so many different places. That was not the case during the first Trump administration. It was not what I feel like this is: an all-out effort to take us out. The F.C.C., DOGE, I mean it’s just a whole different environment than anything I’ve seen before. - The New York Times
“We’re only reading one page at a time,” said Peter Quadrino, founder and organizer of the Finnegans Wake Reading Group of Austin, TX. Every other week, Quadrino hosts a Zoom call where people from around the world gather and attempt to understand one of the most infamous books in English literature. - Texas Standard
And now they’re hotter than ever, with miniature artists-in-residence at museums, TikToks going viral, and more. Why? “In our distraction-filled world, … getting to watch someone painstakingly craft the scenes is mesmerizing." - NPR
“It’s really not fair for people to think it’s hard to make a movie insofar as you need to know things before going into it. There are technical directors, but, Jesus Christ, you hire a crew. You just have a perspective and trust it.” - Seattle Times (AP)
“So it was that an old Broadway hand changed television forever by injecting a bit of kitchen-sink realism into the opening credits of a sitcom, of all things. You were solidly hooked.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
“Since PBS reaches an estimated 99% of the country’s broadcast viewers, that gives every child free access to high-quality educational content.” When that goes, rich kids in cities won’t be so hurt - but poorer and more rural kids sure will. - Salon
Trump adores her performance of “Memory” from 1982. She felt “a glimmer of hope that wouldn’t it be great if he could allow us, as theater artists, to share with him that which we know in storytelling to assist him to see things a bit differently.” - The New York Times
“Congress approved $65 million for these councils in the 2025 fiscal year, which means that DOGE or any other member of the executive branch spending that money on anything else is doing so under an illegal process called ‘impoundment.’” - Oregon ArtsWatch
