The Baltic nation’s submission this year is “Espresso Macchiato,” in which Estonian singer-rapper Tommy Cash (who bills himself as the “Kanye East” of Europe) piles the stereotypes high. Many Italians are angry at the mockery, but Estonia’s ambassador to Italy says he hears the song played there often enough. - BBC
The charitable tax deduction is distorting American philanthropy. It doesn’t just shape where dollars go; it also warps the way that nonprofits behave. Let’s find out what the Met Gala looks like without the federal government as a silent sponsor. - The New York Times
The well-regarded author, critic and biographer has been appointed dance critic for The Hudson Review, a quarterly journal focusing on literature and the arts. - Marina Harss/Dancing Around
The space of possible languages is vast, and full of exotic languages that are much weirder and stranger than any we have yet imagined. We should explore what those might be – and for more than intellectual curiosity alone. - Aeon
With the real-estate heir-turned-tabloid fixture-turned-reality TV star-turned-politician having taken over the Kennedy Center and now talking about what big-name musicals to present there, Jada Yuan looks at his 56-year relationship with New York’s theater, including a brief outing as an investor. - The Washington Post (MSN)
Sycophancy is a common feature of chatbots: A 2023 paper by researchers from Anthropic found that it was a “general behavior of state-of-the-art AI assistants,” and that large language models sometimes sacrifice “truthfulness” to align with a user’s views. - The Atlantic (MSN)
Today, international markets account for more than 70% of Hollywood’s box office revenue. Ironically, Hollywood is one of the few places where the US does not see one of Trump’s dreaded trade deficits. The industry enjoys a $15.3bn trade surplus, and with that surplus. - The Guardian
Every day Jambon spends a few hours compiling a list of gallery openings from websites such as Index Berlin and social media accounts. Then he begins hitting the galleries on his list, going from one to the next decked out in his vibrant outfit and bug-eye glasses. He calls it his “gallery project”. - The Guardian
The ACI is a mechanism, introduced to prevent foreign countries from using trade policy to interfere with European democracy, that gives the EU broad powers to retaliate against international companies, and could be used to restrict or block U.S. media companies access to European markets, including exploiting their IP rights here. - The Hollywood Reporter
“Traces of ink lettering visible in the X-ray images” — virtually unrolled and scanned for words by a specially-designed AI program — "revealed the text to be part of a multi-volume work, On Vices, written by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus in the first century BC.” - The Guardian
Rather than passively perceiving music, the brain physically embodies it, synchronizing with musical patterns to produce sensations of timing, musical pleasure, and even the impulse to move. - Earth.com
This year, the list includes not only buildings, but entire communities, such as a smattering of islands off Florida's northwest coast. Cedar Key was renowned for its Old Florida charm. A historic fishing village that bears its name was devastated by Hurricane Helene in 2024. - NPR
On Thursday, the theater company launched a $9 million emergency fundraising campaign, saying that unless it can raise the first part of the funds, $2.5 million, by Aug. 31, “the theater will cease operations.” - The Oregonian
“Chicago Public Schools officials on Wednesday announced a plan aimed at increasing the quality of arts instruction by establishing a comprehensive arts curriculum and a data-driven system to measure effectiveness of teaching.” - WBEZ (Chicago)
“Bey had a multiphase musical career, with peaks and valleys that had more to do with shifting tastes than any fluctuation in quality. But his style did trace an evolution, from churchified soul jazz to astral jazz-funk to smoky songbook reverie.” - WRTI (Philadelphia)
