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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Deaths in donation bins, the Hardy boys, MAGA slop, billionaire playgrounds, and nostalgia for the complicated.
Does reading do us any good?
Stripped of easy moralising, literature makes us relish the search for truth in an age when many believe truth to be dead - by Flora Champy Read on Aeon
Courage vs. excuses
There are more available excuses now than ever before. In just two letters, “AI” is a simple, brand-new, all-purpose excuse for laying people off, averaging things down, closing things up and generally finding an easier/quicker path. Courage, on the other hand, is the
An Ancient Philosophical Song Reconstructed and Played for the First Time in 1,000 Years
Above and below, you can watch musicians perform “Songs of Consolation,” a 1,000-year-old song set “to the poetic portions of Roman philosopher Boethius’ magnum opus The Consolation of Philosophy,” an influential medieval text written during the 6th century. According to
Wilderness, Solitude, and Creativity: Artist and Philosopher Rockwell Kent’s Century-Old Meditations on Art and Life During Seven Months on a Small Alaskan Island
"These are the times in life — when nothing happens — but in quietness the soul expands."
The Invention of Empathy: Rilke, Rodin, and the Art of “Inseeing”
How a doctor, a philosopher, a poet, and a sculptor co-created the modern concept of empathy.
Oliver Sacks on Gratitude, the Measure of Living, and the Dignity of Dying
"I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure."
Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed on the Michael...
Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed on the Michael biopic out in theaters right now : “How can you tell an authentic story about Michael Jackson without ever mentioning the fact that he was seriously accused of being a child molester?”
Twin Peaks × LCD Soundsystem: a video mashup of Dance...
Twin Peaks × LCD Soundsystem: a video mashup of Dance Yrself Clean and the Twin Peaks theme music . Perfect. A damn fine cup of coffee, even.
Art Movements: Meet the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s New Director
Plus: Turner Prize shortlist announced, Print Center New York's 2026 New Voices cohort, and a surprising acquisition backstory.
ProPublica explores what a future without vaccines would...
ProPublica explores what a future without vaccines would look like in the US . Hundreds of thousands of deaths, tens of thousands of children paralyzed, and many other children stricken with serious but easily preventable health issues.
Hyperallergic’s Guide to the 2026 Venice Biennale
Here’s what to see and do at this year’s edition, including national pavilions, collateral exhibitions, and notable events.
The earliest-known recordings of whale songs (from 1949)...
The earliest-known recordings of whale songs (from 1949) were recently discovered in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s archive . The scientists who recorded the audio didn’t even know what they were listening to.
Image of Family Torn by ICE Wins World Press Photo of the Year
“I hope it stirs people out of any sense of complacency,” said photojournalist Carol Guzy.
Ides Kihlen, Abstract Painter and Argentine Art Legend, Dies at 108
The beloved artist, who got her first solo show at age 85, was known for rhythmic compositions that balanced painterly form and textual matter.
Required Reading
This week, a museum as a site of motherhood, the amazing and terrible ways writers make their livings, Nara Smith as a performance artist? And more.
Eye Contact With a Humpback Whale
I’ve never seen anything like these photos before. In October 2024, Rachel Moore had a close encounter with a humpback whale in French Polynesia and took these photos of the whale’s eye. Moore wrote of the experience: This moment of eye contact was beyond my wildest dreams.
Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada–US Border
Works by five Indigenous artists respond to the legacy of the Northwest Boundary Survey (1857–62) in this exhibition at The Reach. On view through May 30.
Contrast Reigns in Austn Fischer’s Conspicuous Black-and-White Photos
Austn Fischer's work harnesses an exuberant sense of play, utilizing fashion and style to explore identity. 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
What Happens When a Globalized World Collapses: Archaeologist Eric Cline Explains How Bronze Age Civilizations Adapted, Survived or Vanished
We live, as we’re often told, in the era of globalization. In fact, we’ve been told it so often over the past few decades that it now hardly seems like an observation worth making. But however thoroughly our era is defined by connections between far-flung nations, societies,
Venice Biennale Awards Jury Won’t Consider Russia and Israel
The women-led jury said it will omit nations whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
Worried About Teens Today? So Were Adults in the 1920s....
Worried About Teens Today? So Were Adults in the 1920s. “A century ago, new technology and mobility reshaped what it meant to be young, linking rural life more closely to the city.”
Peak Cherry Blossoms
I got the chance to go to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with friends recently and it was magical, otherworldly, lovely. I think we hit peak blossom down to the second. It was cold and gray and windy, which kept the crowds down, provided the perfect photographic contrast, and made
Azerbaijan Destroys Armenian Holy Mother of God Church in Artsakh
Satellite imagery confirms that the regime demolished the church in Artsakh’s former capital city of Stepanakert.
If you want to surf elsewhere in the galaxy, it...
If you want to surf elsewhere in the galaxy, it doesn’t actually look that promising . “Surfing on Titan would likely be a surreal, slow-motion, and tenebrous experience.” Or there’s also a planet with a sulfuric acid ocean?
Water Samples from Around the World Melt into Dima Rebus’ Dreamy Paintings
The London-based artist incorporates water samples collected from strangers around the globe. 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 Water Samples from
Marianne Moore on the There Elements of Persuasive Writing
Several years ago, rummaging through the archives of the Academy of American Poets, I came upon a box labeled “Ballots 1950” — the record of the secret vote by the chancellors the year the Academy’s prestigious fellowship was awarded to E.E. Cummings, catapulting him into
Traitors to the Project of Patriarchy
On a recent mini-episode of the Becoming the People podcast , Prentis Hemphill talked about traitors to the patriarchy. Here’s a short excerpt : I only want to spend time with men who are traitors to that project, the project of patriarchy and patriarchal violence. I want to
I love the chutzpah of this: all 35 of...
I love the chutzpah of this: all 35 of Shakespeare’s plays ranked . Romeo & Juliet didn’t crack the top 20 but Macbeth, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night made the top 5. Worth it for the old photos of productions feat. Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench, Brian Cox…
Thousands of Strips of Silk Undulate in Kenny Nguyen’s ‘Deconstructed Paintings’
The North Carolina-based artist draws on his Vietnamese heritage and his background in fashion design. 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 Thousands of