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
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 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 →
"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 – 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 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 →
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
"Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births–now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world."
Also: Is it ever too late to become an artist, and how do Philadelphians feel about their new Calder Gardens?
In a typical tournament, you don’t score any extra points for winning with the fewest number of moves. Quickly isn’t the point.
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
Every story we selected for the number one slot in our weekly newsletter, all in one place.
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
Ragú Unveils Sensory Deprivation Marinara Tank . “The detoxifying marinara is slowly simmered to the exact temperature of the user’s body, allowing the mind to drift freely into a meditative gravy state, just like Nonna used to make.”
Over his storied career, Steven Spielberg has made only four studio films about aliens: Close Encounters of the Third Kind, ET, War of the Worlds, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull — the outsized influence of the first two gives the impression that he’s
Seven Voting Laws Every Blue State Should Enact Right Now . “1. Enact a statutory right to vote for every eligible citizen. This may surprise you, but there is no general federal constitutional right to vote.”
A day in the life of Peter Hujar, a bungled museum heist, and Meredith Monk's six-decade career were the subjects of some of our favorite art films this year.
The husband-and-wife duo continue their exploration into the possibilities of paper and light. 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 Hari & Deepti
The Hit Hollywood Didn’t Want . “Sinners is a threat to a business model built only on regurgitation, on endless return trips to Jurassic World, on more Toy Stories and feature-length toy commercials.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Using an extreme form of chiaroscuro, Wright portrays the dramatic moment of intellectual or moral revelation in his paintings of scientific subjects.
This foundation offers annual grants to support sculptors and ceramic artists with funding, studio advancement, and opportunities for material exploration.
Meaning is slippery in the new Philadelphia institution dedicated to the modernist master Alexander Calder.
If we were all Japanese pond frogs, we’d have nothing to fear from murder hornets. “ When I watched the recorded videos in slow motion, the frogs were clearly stung multiple times yet showed no apparent injury or mortality .” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Marina Abramović is Zohran’s muse, the Whitney Biennial announces its exhibitors, the High Line replaces a giant pigeon with a huge Buddha, and more.
If you think age is an obstacle to your art career, Paddy Johnson wants you to think again.
Hmm, I really don’t know about this one : an animated adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm as a sort of Ice Age-ish comedy adventure? One commenter on YouTube says, “This movie is 100% gonna end with a random dance party scene with the pigs and humans dancing to something
Full funding is available for MFA students; MS students have scholarship and assistantship opportunities. The priority deadline for funding is January 15, 2026.
The Philadelphia-based artist taps into ancient Greek art and pop culture alike. 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 Historic Pottery Styles Meet Pop
“The Trump administration’s vision for the United States is one of a white Christian nation. And the path to accomplish it is through the exclusion and removal of all who do not fit that vision — in other words, through ethnic cleansing .”
The show's displays of juvenilia from established artists say little about adolescents today and make its message inscrutable.
Tiffany Calvert creates historically inspired still life paintings with an AI twist through a collaboration with engineers at Washington University in St. Louis.
A roundup of the words/phrases of the year for 2025 , including “rage bait”, “vibe coding”, “Mar-a-Lago face”, “chaos”, “performative male”, and “Kavanaugh stop”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →