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Banksy’s Heartbreaking Christmas Mural
Also: Messy Egyptian gods at The Met, the moral weight of nativity scenes, and the British Museum’s latest “decolonizing” stunt.
Random access
Under each post on my blog there’s a button that says RANDOM. I’ll confess that reading posts I wrote ten or twenty years ago is often a surprise. I wrote each one, but I have no recollection of doing so. We can no longer expect that others will experience an introduction to us
The Life and Work of Afrobeat Creator Fela Kuti Explored by Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad
When discussing a musician like Fela Kuti, many of our usual terms fail us. They fail us, that is, if we came of age in a musical culture in which artists and bands put out an album of ten or so lyrics-forward songs every two or three years, promoting it on tour while also
From Sight & Sound, a list of the best video essays of...
From Sight & Sound, a list of the best video essays of 2025 . I have barely seen or linked to or even heard of most of these. What am I even doing here, besides utterly failing you? (I wonder what would make my list…?) 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
The Egalitarian Vision of Nativity Scenes
In all its artistic iterations across millennia, the nativity remains inherently political in its depiction of God choosing to enter the world in marginalized circumstances.
Banksy’s Latest Mural Is a Heartbreaking Christmastime Message
The elusive street artist’s latest stencil may reference the tens of thousands of unhoused children living in London.
200,000 Years Of Human History In One Hour
From Kurzgesagt, an hour-long animated music video that shows all of human history in an hour. So here’s an experiment: every second, 2 generations or 50 years will pass. You are on a musical train ride looking out the window, as you watch our ancestors hunt large animals,
The Messy Family Drama of Ancient Egyptian Gods
We walk you through the incestuous, murderous, and surprisingly relatable world of Egyptian deities at The Met.
Why Japan’s internet looks weird — unless you live here. “Japanese customers...
Why Japan’s internet looks weird — unless you live here . “Japanese customers are used to seeing a lot of information packed into tiny spaces — consider how much text you can find on the label of an onigiri…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
White House Renews Threats to Smithsonian Institution
A letter to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch reiterates that federal funds are conditional on the organization turning over records, including exhibition drafts.
Underneath a Breaching Humpback Whale
Underwater photographer Álvaro Herrero positioned himself in the midst of a humpback whale pod and captured on video several of the whales breaching high out of the water, including one that landed incredibly close to him. Since he was floating in the water, you get to see the
American Classmates Having Difficulty Understanding Better Educated Foreign Exchange Student. “Kids say...
American Classmates Having Difficulty Understanding Better Educated Foreign Exchange Student. “Kids say it’s really hard to understand what he’s talking about due to his precise English diction and extensive vocabulary.”
British Museum Launches Farcical “Decolonizing” Loan Program
Long-term loans to former colonies are not restitution. They do not acknowledge historical wrongdoing, nor do they restore agency to source communities.
Trailer for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey
Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey is my #1 most anticipated film of 2026 and this trailer has got me revved up! Nolan’s trailers never reveal much, but still, it looks gooood. I am still skeptical of Matt Damon at Odysseus. Zendaya as Athena, Charlize Theron as
Artists Embrace an Affordable and Ubiquitous Material in ‘Cardboard: Infinite Possibilities’
A simple material blossoms into large-scale assemblages, narratives, and designs. 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 Artists Embrace an Affordable and
Runaway supermassive black hole? Did not know this could be a thing....
Runaway supermassive black hole? Did not know this could be a thing. It’s moving at 2.2M mph and “is pushing forward a literal galaxy-sized ‘bow-shock’ of matter in front of it, while simultaneously dragging a 200,000 light-year-long tail behind it”. 💬 Join the discussion on
After a Century, the Rockettes Are Still Kicking Their Way Into American Hearts
In 1925, the dance company got its start in St. Louis, and it has since grown to be a Christmas season staple
A full archive of The Hairpin (iykyk)....
A full archive of The Hairpin ( iykyk ). 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
A ‘Hybrid Habitat’ By Guto Requena Gives New Meaning to ‘Urban Jungle’ in São Paolo
Reimagining a 1962 modernist interior. 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 A ‘Hybrid Habitat’ By Guto Requena Gives New Meaning to ‘Urban Jungle’ in
What Pompeii Looked Like Hours Before Its Destruction: A Reconstruction
However celebrated by historians, scrutinized by archaeologists, and descended-upon by tourists it may be, Pompeii is not exceptional — not even in the fate of having been buried in ash by Mount Vesuvius in the year 76, which also happened to the nearby town of Herculaneum.