The Biggest American Wiener
A visit to the “Most American Pageant Ever!” and the story of a broken Jefferson statue’s quill.
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: loving a killer; GRASE under fire; the marvelous mundane; Texas on two wheels; and the man who would be T. rex king.
Signal then storm
Allan Basbaum has spent 50 years searching the nervous system for the places where pain begins – and where it can be stopped - by Stephani Sutherland Read on Aeon
A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out.
"An Instagram post turned one California student newspaper into a free-speech flash point. The students say they were just doing their homework."
First take/next take/last take
Nailing it in the first take is a sign of preparation and professionalism. No need for two tries if you are clear about what you’re doing and how. The next take is where hope lies. This one was pretty good, but next time, we’ll bring it. And the last take is good enough. That’s
Where Did Europe’s Countries—and the United Kingdom—Get Their Names?
The typical student traveling on a Eurail pass will stop in such lands as Österreich, Italia, Česko and Schweiz — also known as Suisse, Svizzera, and Svizra. If that student happens to hail from the English-speaking world, the names Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic (the
19th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints Creatively Illustrate the Inner Workings of the Human Body
Folks with a passing knowledge of ukiyo‑e, the Japanese woodblock print art form popular in the 17th through 19th centuries, will be familiar with its landscapes, as well as its portraits of courtesans and kabuki actors. But often these prints were educational, as demonstrated
New orca behavior unlocked. They’ve been known to sink...
New orca behavior unlocked. They’ve been known to sink boats and wear salmon for hats; now they’re ramming fish so hard they explode . “Orcas were observed to hold sunfish in their jaws while a second whale smashed into the target at high speed…”
It’s our ethical duty to understand large numbers ....
It’s our ethical duty to understand large numbers . “Our world is increasingly moving towards extreme values: Damages from climate change, deaths due to genocide, wealth that knows no bounds. We can’t tackle them if we can’t wrap our heads around [them].”
A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the...
A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out. “Once everyone was back at school on Tuesday, the high schoolers lawyered up during their lunch hour.”
132 New York Artists Receive $903,000 in Grants
The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship program awards each recipient $8,000 in unrestricted cash.
“A beloved, useful, free website, run carefully by...
“A beloved, useful, free website, run carefully by a competent, honest person for nearly thirty years, was crushed between two features of the new AI economy .” (AI bots and prediction market dipshits.)
Former V&A Academic Programs Head Accuses Museum of “Racist” Behavior
A recently shared letter from Yuko Kikuchi, who resigned from her post in January, asks the British institution to address its “culture of systemic racism.”
Playful Knitted Pillows by Donna Wilson Infuse Interiors with Whimsy and Joy
What's not to love about a pillow with personality? 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 Playful Knitted Pillows by Donna Wilson Infuse Interiors with
Meet the Curators of the Next “Made in LA”
Michael Wellen and José Luis Blondet get the nod, Tate names a new director, and the Immigrant Artist Biennial is back for another edition.
“In extreme cases, it can create a phantom...
“In extreme cases, it can create a phantom homeland, for the sake of which one is ready to die or kill. Unreflective nostalgia can breed monsters.” On the good and bad types of nostalgia .
Mayor Mamdani Should Reclaim the City’s Jefferson Statue
The fact that the quill of David d’Angers’s statue of the third US president broke during the nation’s 250th anniversary provides more than an irresistible symbolic trope.
Rebecca Solnit on the Tate brothers, The Odyssey, and...
Rebecca Solnit on the Tate brothers, The Odyssey, and the misogyny of classical literature & the contemporary world . “Classical culture is a lot of things including, literally, rape culture.”
Giant Wieners, Drag Queens, and Curtis Sliwa at “The Most American Pageant Ever!”
The absurdist performance art event at Times Square felt more like an elegy during this national moment.
Required Reading
This week: the Louvre reopens the room where it happens, a Texas artist’s outdoor collection, Nancy Drew in the public domain, Rachel Cusk and Natalie Portman have beef, and more.
What’s On the Sandwich Named After You at the Local Deli?
Following a prompt from Joanna at Cup of Jo … The local deli or sandwich shop names a sandwich after you. What would be on it? Perhaps another way of asking the question: what’s your favorite sandwich that’s a little bit unusual? I love a classic BLT, banh mi, or jambon
Why are American ambulances so expensive? In part...
Why are American ambulances so expensive? In part because Medicare pays only a fraction of the actual cost of an ambulance ride and the uninsured often don’t pay at all, so the privately insured get bills of $13,000 for a $2600 ride.
We’re Squandering LEDs’ Potential to Save Our Night...
We’re Squandering LEDs’ Potential to Save Our Night Skies . “Our main failure isn’t a technical one. It’s that we have yet to revise our thinking about lighting at night. We use LED technology just as we did the old sources of light.”
A Matter of Form (1984)
In addition to leading the animation studio at the National Film Board of Canada, René Jodoin made several animated films that explored geometric forms and motion, including the one above, A Matter of Form from 1984. Set to the rousing notes of Schubert’s Military March, this
Patrick Dougherty’s ‘Stickwork’ Installations Conjure Connections with Nature
For more than four decades, the artist has reimagined the technical and sculptural capabilities of one simple material: twigs. 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.
An online edition of all 85 of the Federalist Papers ,...
An online edition of all 85 of the Federalist Papers , presented as they were originally serialized in newspapers, with on eye on good typography and readability .
“ This map shows the predicted density of...
“ This map shows the predicted density of underground networks created by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. These networks form one of Earth’s circulatory systems, moving massive amounts of carbon, nutrients, and water across plant communities.”