“In our post-truth age of casual lies, fake news and alternative facts, society is under extraordinary pressure from those pushing potentially dangerous antiscientific propaganda – ranging from climate-change denial to the anti-vaxxer movement to homeopathic medicines. I, for one, prefer a science that is rational and based on evidence, a science that is concerned with theories and empirical facts, a science that promotes the search for truth, no matter how transient or contingent.” – Aeon
Blog
A Worldwide War On Books
Wherever authoritarian regimes are growing in strength, from Brazil, to Hungary, to the Philippines, literature that expresses any kind of political opposition is under a unique, renewed threat. Books that challenge normative values, especially those with L.G.B.T. themes, have been hit especially hard. – The New York Times
Addicted To Your Screens? It’s Your Own Fault!
“We talk about addiction, but when it comes to Candy Crush, really? Facebook? We’re not freebasing Facebook. We’re not injecting Instagram here,” Mr. Eyal said one morning over croissants at New York’s Bryant Park. “These are things we can do something about, but we love to think the technology is doing it to us.” – The New York Times
Are You An Absolutist On Free Speech? Maybe It’s Time To Rethink?
Even if you see social media platforms as something more akin to a public utility, not all speech is protected under the First Amendment anyway. Libel, incitement of violence and child pornography are all forms of speech. Yet we censor all of them, and no one calls it the death knell of the Enlightenment. – The New York Times
Why Hasn’t A Lauren Gunderson Play Been On Broadway Yet?
It’s a little weird – well, one might call it something other than weird, but it also is weird – that Lauren Gunderson, the most produced playwright in the U.S. aside from Shakespeare, hasn’t been on Broadway. As a matter of fact, she’s rarely produced in NY at all. So: “Is New York City ready for the rest of America’s favorite playwright?” – Slate
The Museum Where They Print Money
OK, where they printed money, a museum of the Mint – but not in the mint. Real estate is everything in San Francisco- San Francisco Chronicle
Looking Deeper Into The Lawsuit Against James Franco
What is a comfort zone, anyway? And how are the claims about Franco and his acting school exemplary of a certain kind of boundary-ignoring harassment that, yes, Harvey Weinstein also engaged in? – The Atlantic
The Secret To Successfully Shopping In Used Bookstores
There’s only one big rule: Stop expecting specific books; surrender to the stacks, and enjoy. – Literary Hub
Martin Scorsese Says Marvel Movies Aren’t Films; Sam Jackson Begs To Differ
Scorsese says Marvel movies aren’t cinema, but are more like theme parks. Jackson (who is, famously, Nick Fury in the Marvel Cinematic Universe): “That’s like saying, ‘Bugs Bunny ain’t funny. … Everybody’s got an opinion, so it’s OK. It’s not going to stop anyone from making movies.” – Los Angeles Times
Will Robert Indiana’s Home Ever Become The Museum He Envisioned?
The Maine island where Indiana found a home isn’t quite into it. “There are concerns here on the island about just what an Indiana museum might entail. Who would it attract? What sort of people would be running it? How might the character of the island, which already doubles in population when the ‘summer people’ arrive, be affected?” – The New York Times