Culture
Books, art, museums, and the ideas shaping contemporary life. Critical essays and cultural commentary from working critics.
40 articles
Paying Artists for AI Training: A Band-Aid on a Bullet Wound
The Verge explores AI companies paying artists for training data, but cash can't fix the real problem: the wholesale theft of creative careers. A hard-hitting look at why money is a band-aid on a bullet wound.
AI's Ancient Roots: The Medieval 'Instant Knowledge' Spell We Keep Recasting
Medieval monks had a magic spell for instant knowledge. We've just rebranded it as AI. Same promise, same failure, different century.
Nerd Culture Has Killed the Intellectual — And We Helped
Nerd culture has replaced genuine intellectualism with fandom trivia. It's time to stop mistaking consumption for thought and reclaim the messy, uncomfortable act of thinking.
Patti Smith Met the Pope and He Knew Her Song — Punk Rock Meets the Vatican
When Patti Smith met Pope Leo XIV, he surprised her by knowing her song “Wave.” A punk rock moment in the Vatican that proves music knows no borders.
The Owl Who Owned New York: 'Wild Inside' and Our Desperate Need for Wildness
A documentary about Flaco the owl reveals our own cages — and what it truly means to be free in a city that never lets go.
Anime UIs Are Watching You: Why Every Fictional Screen Screams for Real Design
Anime UIs are the most effective, emotionally intelligent interfaces ever drawn—and real-world designers are finally stealing them. Here's what they're getting right.
Angela Nissel's Grief Memoir: Why Laughing at Death Isn't Macabre, It's Survival
Angela Nissel's new memoir turns grief on its head, using gallows humor to tackle her mother's death. It's a radical, honest, and laugh-out-loud take on loss that will make you rethink everything you thought about mourning.
Fonts In Use: The Digital Detective Work That Designers Actually Need
Fonts In Use is a quiet rebellion against algorithmic everything. No AI, no hype — just a human-curated archive of where typefaces live in the real world. Designers need it. You might too.
10 Pounds of 3D Printer Waste Becomes a Stunning Koi Pond Mosaic
One maker turned 10 pounds of failed 3D prints into a stunning koi pond mosaic. Here's how they did it—and why it matters.
How a food delivery rider just won China's top literary prize
Wang Jibing, a food delivery rider, just won the Mao Dun Literature Prize, China's top literary award. His novel, written on a phone between orders, is a gritty hymn to the gig economy — and it's sparking a blue-collar literary revolution.
'Mexodus' Review: Two-Man Musical Rides the Underground Railroad South with 'Hamilton'-Level Grit
Pasadena Playhouse's 'Mexodus' uses just two actors to tell the story of enslaved people fleeing south to Mexico. It's a lean, mean, two-man 'Hamilton' that proves you don't need a big cast to make a big impact.
Why judging books by their first pages is the smartest way to read
Stop feeling guilty about abandoning books. Judging a book by its first page isn't shallow — it's the most efficient way to find what's worth your time.