“All these Palestinians told us that they thought the BBC would never run our film, and we really had to try and persuade them to talk to us because they didn’t and don’t trust the BBC.” The journalists were shocked to learn that the sources were correct. - Reveal
DOGE employees used ChatGPT to make their choices. “The prompt was simple: ‘Does the following relate at all to D.E.I.? Respond factually in less than 120 characters. Begin with ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’’ The results were sweeping, and sometimes bizarre.” - The New York Times
“‘For McAllen, mariachi is like the Friday Night Lights of high school,’ said Anthony Medrano, a prominent San Antonio mariachi musician. ‘There’s pride in it.’” - The New York Times
Many - most, even - of France's booksellers pulled out of . Then the organizers got Amazon to “mutually agree” to end its sponsorship. Who thought this was a good idea in the first place? - The Guardian (UK)
“The core problem has been ticket revenues, which were weakening even before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered its theater with a devastating financial impact. Box-office receipts last year were down $20 million from a decade earlier.” - The New York Times
“Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers returned her trophy, the president resigned and 16 members have quit — with more considering their position.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“Nelsons, 47, has become one of the most unfortunate symbols of all that is irresponsible about the overstretched, overtired, overindulged modern music director. It has been not only deeply frustrating, but genuinely sad, to witness his trajectory.” - The New York Times
Oh: “The push into artificial intelligence by Oracle creates a thirst for more insight into how people view news and entertainment and what products they buy online. The streaming channels and social media giant both offer greater and more granular information." - NPR
That is to say, people’s sweat had gotten all over Michelangelo’s masterpiece, and now it’s being cleaned off while the sweat accumulates on a screen. - Associated Press
“Construction is expected to continue for a decade or so, but The Guardian called it ‘nevertheless a day full of emotion for a city that has lived with Gaudí’s unfinished work for generations.’” - ART News
Wesley Morris: “Why wouldn’t I have wanted this? A six-episode show that’s exemplary as romance, as physical intimacy, as banter, as athlete psychology, as conversation, confession and comedy, as just good television that involves a few of my favorite things: sex, sports, men, ... So why? Let’s start with wariness.” - The New York Times
The broadcaster’s decision to end its long relationship with Lebrecht — the widely-read, controversial critic and blogger who has hosted several interview programs on Radio 3 over the years — comes after Wang made public a message from Lebrecht which she described as “derogatory misogynistic bullying.” - The Guardian
A group called Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian has taken photos of every wall text in the Institution’s museums before they were changed. Other organizations are scouring websites, signage, datasets and documents, treating them with the care of conservators as they resist the Trump administration’s efforts to recast the past. - The Washington Post (Yahoo!)
“I connect with both, these 17 years in Los Angeles has been amazing, I love it, the people, the community. But this is a completely different vibe. The vibe of this city is very, very alive. It’s very prestissimo: You know, it’s a very fast tempo.” - The New York Times
Looks like nothing except defend the jury’s independence — and say that “the announcement of the next laureate, which typically occurs in the first week of March, would be delayed slightly.” - The New York Times
In Ireland, despite how often the government uses Irish arts to market the country to tourists, "more than 56 per cent of artists and arts workers experience enforced deprivation (that’s three times the rate in the general population).” - Irish Times (Archive Today)
“These mythological creatures tap into our anxiety over what would happen if we became otherly human. … As the horror author Grady Hendrix put it: ‘Vampires are the only monster that looks like us.’” - The New York Times
“The move comes after the country’s right-wing culture minister Gayton McKenzie scrapped a pavilion proposal by artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo.” They said, “The space will remain empty: a space of erasure, cancellation, censure.” - Hyperallergic
It’s a design flaw, and it can be fixed. “We have been here before. Not just once, but repeatedly, in a pattern so consistent it reveals something essential about how cultural elites respond to changes in how knowledge moves through society.” - Aeon
“For more than four decades, he was a central figure in European opera, admired not for flamboyance but for integrity, stylistic intelligence, and a distinctive vocal timbre that combined gravity with warmth.” - Moto Perpetuo
