We’re up – our episode about the art/aesthetics of the war on terror is now live on all your favorite streaming platforms. We recorded this weeks ago, so not intended as a commentary on current events, but highly relevant to the current moment.

Makes me think of all the Iraq War cheerleaders who failed upward, now helm major news outlets, and narrate the events unfolding today. Being wrong about WMDs, being on the wrong side of history, did not hurt them professionally, and probably helped.

A significant difference between Bush and Trump is that while both are clearly very invested in the aesthetics of warfare, Bush wanted a sanitized image of (false) technological precision. Trump revels in the bloodshed… a pure fascist spectacle

You may be interested to know that we have an episode coming out next week about art and war — it’s focused on the war on terror, so not about this exactly — (We try and fail to stay away from current events) But:

Damnit this is good writing, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social.

Oh the world is such a stupid place to live right now. But if you want to know more about Trump and neoclassical architecture, listen to our episodes on weird little architects (e06 and e08). Against my better judgement we may have to do one on the typeface wars. lol. Sigh.

If you enjoyed my "Good Riddance to The Best American Poetry" article, you'll dig the podcast "Bad Art"--about the politics of art in the 21st century--where I discuss more about BAP's genre management & canonization practices. Thanks to @jt24.bsky.social! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Do you want to know the backstory behind Stephen Miller's comments about beauty, modern art, and ugliness -- and what these had to do with the demolition of the East Wing? Listen to our episode on Trump's architecture program. tinyurl.com/badart08

We’ve reached that point of cultural illiteracy where people think robocop is a message of hope. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Oh wow. Amazing.

"Literary Theorists of the World, Rise Up!"-On the latest episode of Bad Art, we are joined by Nick Sturm, author of the Defector piece “Good Riddance to the Best American Poetry,” to discuss the reactionary politics of America’s most popular poetry anthology series. It’s a fun one. Hope you enjoy.

‘This is fascist America’: Anish Kapoor may sue after border agents pose by his sculpture

The latest Bad Art is my favorite so far. Its a deep dive into the NCAS, a conservative lobby org which writes Trump's architecture policy. We explore how they use art to advance Trump’s white supremacist, authoritarian goals, while also taking time to laugh at some of their weirder obsessions.

This isn’t even the first time it would happen - you can literally just go back to when Eric Adams first ran for mayor, and when he got into office, to see how the media manufactured a crime wave that helped push his pro-police agenda at the expense of every other city service.

New Pod: If you’re interested in the history of graffiti culture, you might enjoy this one: Mariel and I revisit the classic graffiti documentary “Style Wars” (1982) and ask what it can tell us about the politics of today. open.spotify.com/episode/10oY...

The recent ICE raid which emptied an entire apartment building was apparently at the request of Wells Fargo, which is trying to foreclose on the building.

Hey friends, I realize I haven't shared my new podcast on here yet, but we're up to 4 episodes and its pretty fun/interesting, IMO. Check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks! www.badartpod.com

If 'The Best American Poetry' captures “the zeitgeist of the current attitudes in American poetry,” we should be asking: Why are those attitudes so fucked up? defector.com/good-riddanc...

This is a fascinating essay bout the Afghan artist Aziz Hazara who works with trash left behind by the US occupation.