We’re getting down to the wire for gifts to be shipped in...
We’re getting down to the wire for gifts to be shipped in time for Xmas. Take a look at the 2025 Kottke Holiday Gift Guide if you still need to shop for your fam & friends.
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“On January 1, 2026, thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 enter the...
“On January 1, 2026, thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1925 .” Includes Betty Boop, Blondie & Dagwood, and works by William Faulkner, Agatha Christie, and the Marx Brothers. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Art Models Struggle for a Living Wage and Recognition
The workers who pose for artists at historic organizations like the Art Students League say they are overworked and underpaid in a field that rarely values them.
Remembering Ceal Floyer, Michele Singer Reiner, and Christine Choy
This week, we honor a conceptualist who made the ordinary human, a wide-ranging photographer, and a filmmaker who made space for others.
The Trump Administration Looks Even Worse Up Close
Photographs by Chris Anderson for Vanity Fair reveal the cost of remaking yourself in Trump’s image.
Pet Monkeys Were Popular in Ancient Rome, Burials Reveal
The recent archaeological discovery also deepens our understanding of trade networks between India and the Roman Empire.
Machine With Concrete
Arthur Ganson is a kinetic sculptor who builds “Rube Goldberg machines with existential themes”. One of his works is called Machine with Concrete, which demonstrates the magic of gear ratios According to a piece in Make , the input shaft spins at 200 rpm, which is reduced by
Nevada Museum of Art Presents the 2026 Art + Environment Summit: Under Pressure
This three-day gathering features Kim Stanley Robinson, Jeffrey Gibson, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Rose B. Simpson, and many more. April 16–18, 2026.
Chef Saves 78-Year-Old Man’s Life After He Stopped Showing Up for His...
Chef Saves 78-Year-Old Man’s Life After He Stopped Showing Up for His Daily Dinners at Local Restaurant . “Mr. Hicks don’t miss no days. I knew, then, something was wrong.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
[Trailer] The Muppet Show is returning! It’s a one-time event, hosted by...
[Trailer] The Muppet Show is returning! It’s a one-time event, hosted by Sabrina Carpenter, to celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary. “It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Nature: The Best Science Images of 2025
Nature magazine has chosen its favorite science images of the year . I’ve featured a few of these on the site already — Skydiving the Sun , red sprites in the New Zealand sky — so I picked a couple of other favorites to share: The first was taken by Francisco Negroni of the
Alexis Rockman Traces the Unsettling Evolution of a Climate in Crisis
In 'Feedback Loop,' Alexis Rockman presents an inescapable cycle of climate disaster. 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 Alexis Rockman Traces the
Why We Should All Be Worried About "Crusadercore"
This online trend equips young, White men with a historically bastardized visual lexicon — one that gives new credence and religious authority to far-right bigotry.
Astronomy Picture of the Day for Dec 12: a red fox beneath...
Astronomy Picture of the Day for Dec 12: a red fox beneath a swirling aurora . “In a Finnish myth, when an arctic fox runs so fast that its bushy tail brushes the mountains, flaming sparks are cast into the heavens creating the northern lights.” 💬 Join the discussion on
The Devil You Know is an 8-part podcast series from the CBC...
The Devil You Know is an 8-part podcast series from the CBC and Sarah Marshall (host of You’re Wrong About…) about the Satanic Panic. “These thousands of alleged Satanists were nowhere to be found…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
The Lies and Falsifications of Oliver Sacks
In a recent bombshell piece for the New Yorker ( archive ), Rachel Aviv explored the personal journals of the celebrated neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks. What she found was shocking: he had fabricated and embellished some of his most well-known work — like Awakenings and
How Trump Impacted Arts and Culture in 2025
In 2025, Hyperallergic’s reporting exposed and chronicled funding cuts and threats to artistic freedom in the United States.
The Most Scathing Book Reviews of 2025. “Historians will study how bad...
The Most Scathing Book Reviews of 2025 . “Historians will study how bad this book is. English teachers will hold this book aloft at their students to remind them that literally anyone can write a book.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Reach New Creative Heights at SVA Continuing Education
The School of Visual Arts in NYC offers more than 200 in-person and online courses, along with 10+ artist residency programs.
He Wants a New Start. So He Is Taking the Hardest Driving Test in the World.
"In a world of GPS and car-hailing apps, some Londoners still want to drive a traditional black cab. First, they must memorize thousands of city streets."
Planning to Visit the US? Take It From This American Citizen –...
Planning to Visit the US? Take It From This American Citizen – Don’t. “If I were a tourist, though, I’d pick a less totalitarian place to travel.”
Matt Webb reports on going to algoraves. “There are special browser-based programming...
Matt Webb reports on going to algoraves . “There are special browser-based programming languages like strudel where you type code to define the beats and the sound, like mod synth in code, and it plays in a loop even while you’re coding.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
This Two-Inch Tunicate Salp Is a Swimming Smorgasbord
The Tunicate salp, commonly referred to as a salp, looks a bit like an elongated jellyfish—minus the tentacles. 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
The Birth Keepers
"Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births–now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world."
The Ten Best Children's Books of 2025 Feature a Story of Untrustworthy Fish and a Tribute to a Beloved Bus Driver
This year’s top titles run the gamut and include an adaption of a Korean folk tale, a highly entertaining question-and-answer book and much more
The Year in Art Films
Also: Is it ever too late to become an artist, and how do Philadelphians feel about their new Calder Gardens?
The thing about chess
In a typical tournament, you don’t score any extra points for winning with the fewest number of moves. Quickly isn’t the point.
The Evil Genius of Fascist Design: How Mussolini and Hitler Used Art & Architecture to Project Power
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they declared the beginning of a “Thousand-Year Reich” that ultimately came up about 988 years short. Fascism in Italy managed to hold on to power for a couple of decades, which was presumably still much less time than Benito Mussolini
Best of 2025: All Our Number One Story Picks
Every story we selected for the number one slot in our weekly newsletter, all in one place.
Why Coffee Makes You Go #2
James Hoffmann, the author of The World Atlas of Coffee and the creator of a coffee-centric YouTube channel, can tell you many things about coffee—from how to roast coffee, to the tools and techniques needed to make espresso, to the ultimate French Press technique. Then he can