If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?
"Books are inefficient, and the internet is training us to expect optimized experiences."
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Not in Our Name
Nativity scenes as sites of resistance, the best London shows of the year, one of history's most notorious art thieves, and Beer With a Painter is back!
Can Jollibee Beat American Fast Food at Its Own Game?
"The U.S. introduced fast food to the Philippines. Now Jollibee is serving it back to America."
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As soon as we see that notice, the current model gets less good. It was fine yesterday, but simply being told that better is available seems to tarnish something that worked. Perhaps “compared to what” isn’t always the best question.
Was the Baghdad Battery Actually a Battery?: An Archaeologist Demystifies the 2,000-Year-Old Artifact
Image by Ironie, via Wikimedia Commons The average Open Culture reader may well be aware that there is such a thing as Archaeology YouTube. What could come as more of a surprise is how much back-and-forth there is within that world. Below, we have a video from the channel
A Year in Reading: When the Going Gets Tough
These are the stories I couldn't stop thinking about—the ones that ask us to sit with darkness and still find reasons to keep going.
Isaac Asimov Predicts the Future on The David Letterman Show (1980)
In 1980, Newsweek published a cantankerous and sadly on-the-nose diagnosis of the United States’ “cult of ignorance” — written by one Isaac Asimov, “professor of biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine” and “author of 212 books, most of them on various scientific
Artist Nnena Kalu Wins 2025 Turner Prize
She is the first artist with a learning disability to earn the coveted distinction.
The Lighthouse Keeper: A Tender Illustrated Meditation on What Saves Us
“I have always felt that a human being could only be saved by another human being,” James Baldwin wrote in one of his finest essays. “I am aware that we do not save each other very often. But I am also aware that we save each other some of the time.” It happens so rarely
The 10 Best London Art Shows of 2025
It was a year of surprising pairings and standout exhibitions by artists including Kerry James Marshall, Jenny Saville, and Leigh Bowery
Beer With a Painter: Melissa Joseph
Our series on painters and their practices is back, this time for an interview with the New York-based artist who creates “paintings in felt” to explore her Irish and Indian family history.
Museum Grants Terminated by Trump Reinstated After Court Order
But the ripple effects of the abrupt fund withdrawals are still being felt, organizations say.
New York: Best of 2025
Our favorite shows in the city all year, and the events we’ll be attending this week.
Anti-ICE Nativities Take a Stand Against Trump’s Cruelty
Despite pushback from right-wing leaders, nativity scenes with a humanitarian message are spreading across the country.
A Charlie Brown Christmas, Live
Listen to jazz trio The Commercialists play Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas live in a small club called The Estate in Milwaukee. That’s this afternoon’s chill work music sorted then. If you’re anywhere near Milwaukee this month, it looks like there are still tickets
Wifredo Lam No Longer Waits by the Coatroom
An overdue MoMA show reminds us that Lam pursued his own dialogue with African and Afro-diasporic visual cultures, even as the Parisian avant-garde exoticized his heritage.
The Best Books of 2025
Whether you're doing some holiday shopping or looking for your own next read, consider our thoughtfully curated lists.
We Asked Critics From Authoritarian Regimes What They Wish They’d Known Sooner....
We Asked Critics From Authoritarian Regimes What They Wish They’d Known Sooner . “You cannot make authoritarian leaders the center of your narrative. You have to make the people the center of your narrative, and you have to be passionate about it.”
The Ten Best Photography Books of 2025
Our favorite titles this year invite readers to take in the beauty of nature and our cultural rituals
What’s a UFO Show With No Flying Saucers?
The Drawing Center’s Voice of Space has vast potential, but a lack of strong focus and commanding imagery makes it more earthbound than cosmic.
The Rembrandt Thief Who Came Out On Top
Myles Connor is one of the very few people alive to have come out ahead after lifting an artwork from the wall of a museum, as Anthony M. Amore explores in his new book.
A “particularly inventive” Rube Goldberg marble run maze. Lots of elements doing...
A “particularly inventive” Rube Goldberg marble run maze . Lots of elements doing double duty. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Launch a Community-Centered Design Career with an MDes From the University of Arkansas
The two-year, tuition-free Master of Design in Communication Design program blends studio-driven research, community engagement, and advanced design practice.
Li Yi-Fan to Represent Taiwan at the 61st Venice Biennale
In the exhibition curated by Raphael Fonseca, Li Yi-Fan will continue his longstanding exploration of image-generation technology and improvisational narrative.
Trung Tran Studio Incorporates Mature Trees into a Warm Brick Home in Vietnam
A series of rooflines make room for mature trees, oriented around a courtyard. 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 Trung Tran Studio Incorporates
The 2025 Kottke Holiday Gift Guide
Since 2013, I’ve done a holiday gift guide that’s basically a curated roundup of stuff from the best gift guides I can find. I always do it a little bit differently from year to year, and last year I went with a simple list and it worked well. So I’m doing that again this year.
Colin Furze built a full-suspension bike using powerful magnets instead of shocks...
Colin Furze built a full-suspension bike using powerful magnets instead of shocks or springs. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
MoMA PS1 to Offer Free Admission Starting in 2026
The Queens museum will waive entry fees for three years to coincide with its 50th anniversary.
For ‘ÓST,’ Estúdio Capim Conjures a Retrofuturistic Candle Concept
A series of geometric candles with flutes, half-circles, and trapezoids merge the arcane and the contemporary. 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 For