TIL Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris (aka The Hunchback...
TIL Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris (aka The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) was written in part to help save the cathedral from demolition .
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The Incredible Journey of a Migratory Shorebird
"Godwits make the longest non-stop migration in the bird world. That might be the least of their marvels. Can they survive a changing planet?"
“The best next steps are the concrete ones: Big AI needs...
“ The best next steps are the concrete ones : Big AI needs to follow all current laws—just like everyone else. So far—they haven’t. When Big AI breaks those laws, they must face prosecution and penalties—just like everyone else. So far—they haven’t.”
Where Cities and Oceans Meet
"In New Orleans, water is coming. What should we do with the time we have left?"
Venice Pavilions That Missed the Mark
What we didn’t like at the Biennale, artists pulled out of documenta 16 over Gaza, visitors arrested for hanging paintings by Mona Lisa, and more.
Toadstools and toxins
When I found the mushroom Amanita muscaria being sold in candy wrappers, I uncovered legal loopholes, dangerous dosages and more - by Eric Leas Read on Aeon
Still On Its Way to Cleveland
Nine months, 25,000 miles, one phone cord, and the kindness of strangers.
Invitation to a KnotChat
I’ve built a simple website that facilitates the conversations that can help us get unstuck. In The Knot, I describe how we get entangled, hoping for two things to co-exist that cannot. We hide behind the entanglements, refusing to see them, and so our problems can feel
How Alan Turing and His Fellow Codebreakers Broke the Nazis’ “Unbreakable” Enigma Code
There was a time when you could just go out and buy an Enigma machine. In the early nineteen-twenties, any organization with a need to keep its communications secret could order a few of those brand-new devices from Germany and rest assured that any messages encoded using them
The Digital Dada Library: Discover the Archive That Preserves the Original Publications of the Experimental Anti-Art Movement Online
Critical theorists like Theodor Adorno may have overreached in claiming that all mass culture is mediocre, mechanized propaganda made to justify the status quo. But that doesn’t mean they were entirely wrong. Over and over we see even the most subversive art, literature, film,
Ed Sheeran tried to stay neutral on a moving train. “If...
Ed Sheeran tried to stay neutral on a moving train . “If [celebrities] remain neutral (silent), they won’t offend anyone and they will, hopefully, appeal to everyone. They use the facade of neutrality as shelter, as a place to take refuge.”
The Science of Waiting and the Art of Delay
Exploring the intersection of time and decision-making to shine a light on what it means to be human.
Monopoly as a metaphor for racial inequity. “During the...
Monopoly as a metaphor for racial inequity . “During the first half of the game, we said that Cas and I could buy property, but you could not, then halfway through the game, we say, ‘Now the rules are even. Now the rules are the same for everybody.’”
Poems for Alma Thomas
An excerpt from Alexis Pauline Gumbs’s book on the late painter, plus reviews of new titles by Sophie Lewis and Dana Mashoian Walrath.
Relationships are key to human happiness. “The top five...
Relationships are key to human happiness . “The top five [determinants of subjective well-being], ranked in order of impact, were romantic and familial relationships, financial situation, work, community and friends, and health.”
Cars, New York City (1974-1976)
In the 70s, photographer Langdon Clay took photos of cars parked on NYC streets at night and compiled them into a project: Cars, New York City | 1974-1976 . Using his Leica CL, Kodachrome 25, and a 40 millimeter lens, Clay traversed the streets of 1970’s Manhattan finding
France Celebrates the Bicentennial of Photography with Traveling Themed Exhibitions
In our era of digital screens and virtually endless images and videos, it's a challenge to imagine the time before photography existed. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7
Beer With a Painter: Barbara Takenaga
The Japanese-American artist talks about her place as a paint dot in the universe and embracing disruption in her canvases.
A Bushwick Kid at Bushwick Open Studios
During my first visit to the annual event, I found towering paintings that explore our inner child, diasporic tributes to Filipina culture, and light-filled portraits of an artist's trans community.
The Film Experience is a free online course from MIT...
The Film Experience is a free online course from MIT about movies & cinema. “This course concentrates on close analysis and criticism of a wide range of films, from the early silent period, classic Hollywood genres including musicals, thrillers…”
Photographer Nelson Garrido, Who Embraced an "Aesthetics of the Ugly," Dies at 73
The Venezuelan photographer interrogated power, religion, violence, and eroticism over a six-decade-long practice that faced relentless censorship from church and state authorities.
KnotChat! (Simone Giertz and Chip Conley)
All this week, to celebrate the launch of The Knot, I’ll be posting conversations I’ve had about problem-solving. Some are more focused on the structured approach built into the free tool I built (find it at theknot.chat ) while, others, like these two, are a bit looser. The
The Book of Alison Knowles
A retrospective traces the language of bookmaking in her expansive work and its radical influence on American art.
I didn’t know Beehiiv had a program to support...
I didn’t know Beehiiv had a program to support independent journalists . Members get access to tools, a health insurance stipend, legal protection, and waived hosting fees. Oh, and they don’t proudly host Nazis like Substack. ✌️
Naomi Beckwith Says She's "Not Afraid" of Pro-Palestine Protest at Documenta 16
“People have a right to protest and express their opinions,” the curator told Die Zeit, revealing that some artists have declined to participate in the exhibition over “Germany's position on the Gaza war.”
German Duo Arrested After Hanging Paintings Next to Mona Lisa
The two men told Paris police the stunt was just "for fun."
Steinbeck and the Difficult Art of the Friend Breakup
"I can’t consider you a friend when out of every contact there comes some intentionally wounding thing."
Imagine playing chess against a seven-year-old who’s...
Imagine playing chess against a seven-year-old who’s dancing around and barely paying attention to the board (bc it’s all in her head) and she just casually checkmates you like this . Oof.
On Not Being a Homeowner
"Generational wealth shapes our futures and friendships, whether we talk about it or not."
Lush Mixed-Media Collages by Clotilde Jiménez Piece Together an Artist’s Lineage
Through vivid collages layering fragments of paper and fiber, Clotilde Jiménez echoes his own mélange of experiences and histories. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per
Gorgeous Nerikomi Pottery
Oh my goodness, I love the look of these cups. They were made by Indonesian potter Nabila Nareswari using the nerikomi technique. From her about page: Nerikomi is a technique in pottery that creates decorative patterns by stacking, rolling, and slicing colored clay.
In Chicago, Mexican-American Altars Reimagine Home
As ICE increasingly targets migrant neighborhoods, carefully crafted altars to La Virgen de Guadalupe outside homes transform sidewalks into sites of community and protection.
In Prison, White Supremacist Literature Is Required...
In Prison, White Supremacist Literature Is Required Reading . “White supremacy welcomed his rage, and that made it irresistible.” Excerpted from Cast Out: A Call for a Forgiving Society in an Age of Incarceration by Joseph Margulies.
New Show at Pratt Manhattan Gallery Explores How Human Bodies Exist with Non-Human Objects
The internationally traveling exhibition shows the complexities and interconnectedness of these relationships. On view September 25 - December 19, 2026.
“Starring Genden Phuntsok, Tom Hiddleston, and Willem...
“Starring Genden Phuntsok, Tom Hiddleston, and Willem Dafoe, Tenzing follows the true story of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary’s historic first summit of Mount Everest. History remembers the summit, but not always the man who made it possible.”