Stories

How An Old Warehouse Furnished With Scavenged Everything Became London’s Coolest Theatre

The Yard opened in an old industrial estate in July 2011; it was supposed to be a three-month pop-up but stayed for 14 years, presenting edgy stagings of classics and new work — and occasionally sending a production on to the National Theatre. Now it’s reopening after a £7 million renovation. - The Nerve (UK)

Let’s Get Real: Intelligence Is About More Than Optimization

That slide from engineering model to human anthropology is easy to miss. We begin by saying: this is how machines work. Then, almost without noticing, we say: this is what intelligence is. And then, more dangerously still: perhaps this is what we are. - Aeon

Calder Sculpture (His Last Work) Is Restored To US Senate Office Building

The piece was the only one created by Calder to have a separate stabile and a mobile. Set against Hart’s white marble walls and filling nearly the entire nine-story atrium, it was the kind of avant-garde, modern sculpture that defined Calder’s final works. - The New York Times

Trump Explores Landmarking The Oval Office So Future Presidents Can’t Reverse His Changes

In the Time interview, the president said he was exploring the possibility of a new federal designation for the Oval Office, which he suggested could protect the office from being torn down and preserve his changes to it. - Washington Post

Here Are The 2026 Dance Magazine Award Recipients

“This year’s Dance Magazine Awards will honor Germaine Acogny; Ayodele Casel; Final Bow for Yellowface; Cleo Parker Robinson; and Alice Sheppard. The Lydia Joel Award — recognizing behind-the-scenes dance leaders — will go to Alicia Adams, formerly of the Kennedy Center.” - Dance Magazine

Is Writing Really The Best Way To Learn?

Writing can be useful cognitive scaffolding for memory and self-regulated learning, but the notion that it is the best process for developing thinking skills is a fairly recent idea, traceable to the 1970s writing-across-the-curriculum movement. - The New York Times

Seattle Public Library Program To Make Banned Books Available Anywhere Hits 1M Checkouts

Books Unbanned is designed to give young people multiple ways to access digital books regardless of where they live or what their local library can provide. The library said some participants sign up because their local libraries have been censored or underfunded. - KOMO Seattle

An Alternative Explanation Of Consciousness

Antonio Damasio argues, we “possess the celebrated gift of consciousness because of the continued presence and abundance of your homeostatic feelings.” According to Damasio, the conventional theories of consciousness have it backwards. - Undark

Wave Of Robberies Has Europe’s Museums Wondering What Is And Isn’t Worth Displaying

“Replicas have long been used by museums when originals are too fragile, valuable or difficult to travel, and the recent spate of thefts has encouraged some to consider this practice more widely. … Visitors are finding more stand-ins and, in some cases, an empty space where a treasure used to be.” - BBC (Yahoo!)

One Third Of Britain’s Arts Centres Have “No Financial Cushion”: Report

“Drawing on financial data and member surveys of more than 131 arts centres, the report concludes that … one third of arts centres across the UK have ‘little or no financial cushion’ with which to absorb further increases in costs, reductions in funding or unexpected expenditure.” - The Stage

And The Name Of The Merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Megastudio Will Be … Skydance

“David Ellison on Friday shared on X that once Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery combine, the new corporate brand will take the name of the studio he founded 20 years ago. But while that will be the corporate name, Paramount and Warner Bros. will serve as sub-brands.” - The Hollywood Reporter

After 11 Years, Spain’s Spectacular Royal Museums At El Escorial Have Reopened

El Escorial, the largest building erected anywhere during the Renaissance, was both a monastery and a royal palace; since the 1960s, the compound 45 miles northwest of Madrid has housed museums of painting and of architecture. In 2015 those museums were closed for updating; only now can the public visit again. - Art in Context

That French Novel With The Plagiarism Accusation? It’s Now Number One On France’s Bestseller List

Haitian-Canadian novelist Thélyson Orélien’s C’était ça ou mourir (It Was Either That Or Die) was France’s literary sensation of the fall when another author claimed that Orélien used AI to write the novel. The Prix Goncourt removed the book from contention, but nevertheless, it’s currently the bestselling novel in France. - Rolling Stone

What Librarians Want To Tell Their Fellow Americans About Libraries

“We spoke with dozens of librarians at the A.L.A. conference this summer. They came from rural towns and major cities, elementary schools and universities, local branches and big government agencies. … They want you to know about book bans and budget cuts, but also about career counseling and pop-up medical clinics.” - The New York Times

Kennedy Center Is Selling Off Its Pianos

This week movers were photographed carting off the complex’s Steinway pianos, and a staffer at Steinway’s showroom in Washington, DC told a reporter that it was selling those pianos because the Kennedy Center is “closed.” - AlterNet (MSN)

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