Consider the role of status in just about all human interactions. It begins at a primal level–every species cares about access to food and resources. We share a prehistoric history of status based on strength. But civilization is about awarding status on something other than
It was long ago that polytheism, as the story comes down to us, gave way to monotheism. Humanity used to have many gods, and now almost every religious believer acknowledges just one — though which god, exactly, does vary. Some popular theories of “big history” hold that, as
The people of Wilcox County, Alabama, remember a longtime sheriff as a god or a monster—it just depends on who you ask.
Are we truly in the midst of a human-caused sixth mass extinction, an era of “biological annihilation”? Many scientists and popular science writers say yes, using terms like “Holocene” or “Anthropocene” to describe what follows the Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and
"Billy Barr has braved the fourth season deep in the Rocky Mountains for more than 50 years, amassing an unrivaled record of climate data."
When Two Filmmakers Make the Same Movie — and One of Them Is Werner Herzog . A comparison of the two 2022 documentaries about volcanologists Maurice & Katia Krafft, Herzog’s The Fire Within, and Sara Dosa’s Fire of Love. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Forthcoming from Princeton University Press, the volume celebrates the global history of a timeless fiber art. 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
Artists and art workers in the diaspora shared a mix of emotions, from hope of a better future to anger over the unsanctioned intervention and fear of what’s to come.
Though it offers little in the way of Sargent’s artistic engagement with the city he called home for a decade, “Dazzling Paris” is a reminder of his uncommonly skillful brushwork.
From Book Riot’s Zero to Well-Read podcast: How to Read More (and Better) in 2026 . “They dig into when to push through, when to quit a book, how to choose books outside the algorithm, and how small shifts in attention can enrich your reading life.” 💬 Join the discussion on
This funded industrial residency enables artists to produce ambitious new works in vitreous china, cast iron, and brass. 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
Until the late 19th century, Japan’s relations with Europe were relatively limited. So when a pair of letters written by a Japanese man in the early 1600s were discovered in Venice, a mystery was born. Who was this man, why was he in Italy, and why was there little previous
The suspect reportedly climbed the bronze sculpture and broke off the French heroine’s weapon with a snap.
Olga de Amaral’s refined material spectrum, Marianne Vitale’s tainted minimalism, Marina Stern’s architectural precision, and much more.
From a single material, a Hyderabad-based design studio creates a wide range of site-specific installations and furnishings. 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.
A Year of Clean Energy Milestones . “Wind, solar, and electric vehicles made huge strides globally in 2025. For the first time, wind & solar supplied more power than coal worldwide, while plug-in vehicles accounted for more than 1/4 of new car sales.”
In August 1905, while Mina Hubbard was mapping Labrador in her pioneering expedition, the Brooklyn Eagle reported one of the most “remarkable exploits in Arctic work” — a relief expedition to rescue the American explorer Anthony Fiala and his crew, who had been stranded in the
Bill Rice’s depictions of New York’s Lower East Side are paradoxes of bleakness and sensuality, gloom and intrepid spirits.
The residency program awards 17 visual artists a year of rent-free studio space in New York City. Applications are due by January 15.
A number of studies show that various vaccines (shingles, RSV, flu) are associated with “off-target” benefits like reduced cardiovascular risk, lower rates of dementia, and lower Alzheimer’s risk for older people .
Joyce Kozloff’s tenacious spirit, Nina Katchadourian’s eccentric universe, Linda Mussmann’s political stance against passivity, and more.
Consider beginning the new year by subscribing to purple.space. It’s a private online discussion group that I started several years ago. A practice keeps a promise. A community of people who support, respect and encourage each other makes it far more likely we’ll find our way
Why I Left Substack . A combination of “a good deal of gross misogyny, transphobia, and hard-right stuff” plus Substack “trying to deny this responsibility [as a publisher], to pretend that their decisions weren’t decisions at all”.
In 2024, schoolteacher Ginny Robinson won the Best in Show award at a quilting convention for her quilt called What We Will Use as Weapons: A List of School Supplies . This is a protest quilt. It was made by an artist whose day job puts her on the front lines of one of the
"A century ago, an aspiring actress published a remarkable autobiography. She made up most of it."
In Chicago, Luftwerk harnesses the principles of color theory and space to elicit various sensory experiences. 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
M. Gessen on the new world order the Trump regime seems eager to bring about . “If Trump can take Venezuela and Putin can take Ukraine, surely President Xi Jinping of China can take Taiwan.”
The Media Refuses to Call Trump’s Venezuela Attack an Act of War . “Overwhelmingly, the US media and its purportedly straight reporters have adopted wholesale the White House’s pseudo-legalistic, limited framework of an ‘operation’ to ‘arrest’ Maduro.”
We Are the Bad Guys . “What do we call it when a stronger person decides to rob a weaker person because he can? It is just gangsterism. We are the most dangerous gangsters in the world today.”
Isaac Chotiner interviews Oona Hathaway , an expert in international law, about the “brazen illegality” of the Trump regime’s invasion of Venezuela to kidnap president Nicolás Maduro.