The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Kate Mossman, Luke Winkie, Lou Stoppard, Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne, and Rosa Lyster.
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Best of 2025: The Stories You Missed
In a year of exceptional reading, these overlooked stories refused to let us go.
Art Movements: New York City's 27-Foot Buddha
Tuan Andrew Nguyen tapped for High Line commission, PAIN's Megan Kapler heads to Housing Works, the Whitney Biennial, and more.
The Best Art Shows Around the World in 2025
Nan Goldin’s fearless photos, Noah Davis’s enchantments of ordinary life, Stan Douglas’s historical visions, and Yoko Ono’s musical mind were just some of our favorites.
Forks Out: A Benoit Blanc Sesame Street Mystery
For years now, the people have wanted only one thing: for Daniel Craig’s chicken-fried detective Benoit Blanc to feature in a Muppet movie (with Craig as the only human). Earlier this year, Netflix picked up the streaming rights for Sesame Street. That partnership has borne
Debt Plagues Artists Regardless of Career Stage, Survey Finds
Data compiled by artist mentor Paddy Johnson from over 1,000 respondents indicates that “artists across all levels struggle with a lot of the same things.”
Prepare to lose a few hours to these: Andy Baio’s top 10...
Prepare to lose a few hours to these: Andy Baio’s top 10 free browser games of 2025 . 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Just dropped: Lane 8’s Winter 2025 Mixtape....
Just dropped: Lane 8’s Winter 2025 Mixtape . 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Share a Year of Art with Someone You Love
The perfect last-minute gift for art enthusiasts, educators. and curious friends. 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 month. The article Share a Year of Art with Someone
This AI Vending Machine Was Tricked Into Giving Away Everything
Anthropic installed an AI-powered vending machine in the WSJ office. The LLM, named Claudius, was responsible for autonomously purchasing inventory from wholesalers, setting prices, tracking inventory, and generating a profit. The newsroom’s journalists could chat with Claudius
LACMA Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Unionize
A whopping 96% of staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art voted in favor of a union, calling for higher pay and “increased transparency.”
Indigenous Glass Art Takes Center Stage at the National Museum of the American Indian
“Clearly Indigenous: Native Visions Reimagined in Glass” celebrates culture, craft, and storytelling. Now on view in New York City.
Required Reading
Joan Mitchell and the written word, garments with passports, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” Christmas book-gifting in Iceland, toppled Lady Liberty, and more.
“Docs said I’d never walk, but I ran a marathon.” Logan Knowles...
“Docs said I’d never walk, but I ran a marathon.” Logan Knowles was born with cerebral palsy. This fall, he ran & completed the NYC marathon , his body fighting him the whole way. What a story. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
LSU School of Art Offers Highest MFA Stipends in the Southern US
With assistantships funded at $23,000, full tuition waivers, and generous health insurance, Louisiana State University helps students lay the groundwork for a successful lifelong art practice.
Making your own amaro at home. “…so long as the plants are...
Making your own amaro at home . “…so long as the plants are edible and the flavors appeal, a variety of contrasting and complementary elements will ultimately result in something complex and intriguing.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
A View From the Easel
“Every day I see more and more of my footprint in this small space.”
Entirely Too Many Thoughts About Wake Up Dead Man. An excellent, long...
Entirely Too Many Thoughts About Wake Up Dead Man . An excellent, long & close read of Wake Up Dead Man, particularly its focus on “religion, faith, and grace”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Supermarket Chain Intermarché’s Viral Holiday Ad Celebrates Creativity and Compassion
"Unloved" took a team of 80 people about a year to create. 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 month. The article Supermarket Chain Intermarché’s Viral Holiday Ad
On Kindness, Power, and Hypocrisy
Earlier this week, Vanity Fair published a two-part story about the Trump regime’s “inner circle”, including extensive interviews with his chief of staff, who was openly critical of the people that she works with, from Trump on down. The story caused a stir and so did the
A group of journalism students was able to track probable Russian spy...
A group of journalism students was able to track probable Russian spy drones launched from cargo ships to surveil European military bases . They even flew a drone of their own over one of the cargo ships: “we droned back”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Dig In to the Traditions Behind Two Holiday Dishes That Make the Season Even More Delicious
Two culinary traditions from two island nations reveal what glues communities and families together across time
The Woman Who Mapped Labrador and Revolutionized the Literature of Exploration
Nothing changes the history of the world more profoundly than changing the landscape of permission and possibility for people — what is possible and permissible for whom in a given culture. And no one has changed the history of the world more profoundly than the people who,
Island of the hornbills
Why the stunning rhinoceros hornbills are the farmers of the rainforest and a powerful avian symbol of regeneration - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
The Plight of Art Models
Also: the troubling trend of "Crusadercore," pet monkeys in Ancient Rome, and what's really going on in those Vanity Fair photos of Trump's top advisors?
Watch Julian Baumgartner’s Satisfying and Precise Process of Restoring a Historical Portrait
The Chicago-based fine art restorer reverses another botched restoration. 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 month. The article Watch Julian Baumgartner’s Satisfying and
Long live the aeonophiles!
The discovery of organisms that have been alive for many thousands of years requires a revolution in how we understand life - by Karen G Lloyd Read on Aeon