"Since Saladin, however, there has been scant sign of comparable Arab achievement — consider Nobel prizes, or an absence of them. Colonialism cannot take all the blame." I mean, WOW. Such uniquely pungent British racism. This piece just made my eyes pop.

FT exclusive | Trump’s Board of Peace fund is empty #FTEdit ft.trib.al/aLZBcR7

I like how wikipedia could only get a freely licensed photo of the political editor of BBC News by cropping this UK government photo

Counterpoint: white people should never stop because this shit is hilarious

If you think you might object to the opera with the rollerskating naked nuns that also includes live sex, cannibalism and people hanging from hooks by their skin, maybe don't see a production directed by a director who is famous for shows with a lot of nudity, sex, violence and also cannibalism

“to cancel vast swathes of the operatic repertory in order to placate activists or mischief-makers would be utterly unacceptable” maybe white people should stop

$9-billion taxpayer transfer to a $5 trillion company for US spy agencies to go all in on AI. NYT doesn't include a single critical word from a privacy or civil liberties expert. Just a don't-worry-about-it assurance at the end. Also: Anthropic is not our friend. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/u...

🔥 @katewagner.wehwalt.net's new work at @flaminghydra.com left me speechless which is uh rare for me you must read it flaminghydra.com/issue-563/

"Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to make it easier to kill off endangered species, pollute waterways and endanger human health..." www.thestar.com/politics/pol...

"In overcrowded displacement camps, in shelters exposed to the elements, and in makeshift homes that barely offer protection, they persist—not out of choice, but because there is no alternative."

Pierre Bourdieu once argued that the question of whether something is art isn't answered by the artist's intention or even the object itself. Instead, the quality of being "art" is conferred by a community — curators, dealers, auction houses, audiences, etc. 🧵

Remember when y'all made this thread on Paulina Borsook go viral? Well, that resulted in her getting a deal to re-publish her book in the USA, the UK & Commonwealth, Belgium, France, and Switzerland! Coming Sept. 15—with a foreword by some guy named Gil Duran. Pre-order! www.cyberselfish.com

I find it incredibly telling when men like Dawkins are convinced that the LLMs are ‘intelligent’ because it ‘agrees’ with them or tells them how insightful or clever they are

My biggest conspiracy theory is that telling working class people that engagement in the arts is a middle / upper class thing and to do so makes you a class traitor is a psyop to make them disengaged with themselves and the world and the beauty of being human, so that they accept worse treatment.

Lots of deliciously dismaying details in this but nothing sums up the billionaire mindset like “attend one orchestra rehearsal as an audience member and believe as a result that you are being groomed to become its next music director”

the claude delusion

I recently reported that Botstein told staff he would be cleared by WilmerHale. But the Epstein files had raised a lot of questions about Botstein's activities. Botstein appears to have defended himself this way: ‘I would take money from Satan if it permitted me to do God’s work."

I wrote about AI, autotune, and Walter Benjamin for the Brooklyn Rail

My interview with Barbara Hannigan, for @parterrebox.bsky.social

On Luca Guadagnino’s Death of Klinghoffer, for @thetimes.com

The operatic event of the year

On Weimar, French chanson, and Anne Sofie von Otter’s long and varied career, for @bachtrack.com

On Susan Sontag, La Bohème, and the aestheticization of illness

went to check out the techno rave outside Parliament and I don't think I have the data allowance to share a video from it but let me tell you: there sure is a techno rave outside Parliament right now, celebrating Orban getting ousted

Viktor Orbán has ruthlessly clung to power since 2010. J. D. Vance just flew across the world to help make sure it stays that way. And yet, there's a real chance Orbán loses on Sunday. Then it becomes a question of whether he’ll accept defeat.

I can't stop laughing at this post. It's perfect.

Well at least things are more rational and just on the other side of the p-

A lovely tribute to Stephen Lewis, by @stephanienolen.bsky.social. Despite his years working in systems and institutions, Lewis never became lost to them. To the very end, he was fiercely passionate about justice for people www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/w...

My piece on navigating the Orientalism of Turandot, for @nytimes.com

Not a surprise—but an affirmation of solid, meaningful, and progressive leadership at my place of employment, @bambrooklyn.bsky.social.

Remembering the ancient ways

I’m finally watching the gay-ass “Importance of Being Earnest” and it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen

my favorite form of discourse is “auteur theory is bad unless the auteur has politics I can’t stand”

Beatrice Venezi's appointment as music director of La Fenice has been confirmed by the opera house's board of directors. Which brings us back to @kevinng.bsky.social's question: Is her conducting any good? van-magazine.com/mag/beatrice...

My thoughts on the Met’s new Tristan

My thoughts on the Met’s new Tristan

Tristan, at last

From The Archives:

new met tristan

clearly she was onto something seeing as how they fucking killed her

"...No nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits, or less dignity for doing lifesaving work. Our nurses have kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable.” —New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani

It’s out in German and will be soon in English: Jeff Brown and I considered the new Matthias Pintscher opera DAS KALTE HERZ at Staatsoper Berlin.

I went to see Hamnet and found it pretty tedious, though I may be allergic to this genus of weepy period piece:

BREAKING: Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife has made a “transformational” donation to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group. This large gift comes just months after the Trump administration shut down counseling services for queer youth. My latest for @wired.com:

Really saddened and shocked to hear of Andrew Clements' death. A wonderful critic, matchless on 20 and 21st century music, and a great colleague and friend to whom I owe an immense debt of gratitude for his role in giving me my own break as a critic. It's a huge loss. And he will be greatly missed.

we’re in the vet’s office waiting room and they just called for Agamemnon. we all looked at the Great Dane but it turns out Agamemnon is an orange kitten in a backpack that makes him look like an astronaut cheese puff

Immigration agents have shot at least nine people since September. All of them have been in cars.

If calling a state secret police agent a murderer for committing murder will lead to more murder by the state secret police, it sure seems like the problem is with the secret police

"In America, when a officer murders an innocent person, billionaires give them a cash bonus."