6 min 0 Arts Rap ‘beef’ as public spectacle is a dangerous game that artists rarely win The shooting of a security guard near the Toronto home of Drake is the latest… Read More
7 min 0 Arts How the manosphere found its way into the Black community In the summer of 2023, I read that YouTube had demonetized a podcast called “Fresh… Read More
5 min 0 Arts Newsrooms are experimenting with generative AI, warts and all The journalism industry has been under immense economic pressure over the past two decades, so… Read More
4 min 0 Arts How a British military march became the distinctive sound of American graduations Graduations throughout the United States erupt with some familiar sounds every year: the passionate cheering… Read More
5 min 0 Arts Was Beethoven truly the greatest? On May 7, 1824, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna, Austria. On its… Read More
7 min 0 Arts How Detroit techno is preserving the city’s beating heart in the face of gentrification For over two decades, Detroit has celebrated its status as the birthplace of techno with… Read More
7 min 0 Arts How the 18th-century ‘probability revolution’ fueled the casino gambling craze The first commercial gambling operations emerged, coincidentally or not, at the same time as the… Read More
6 min 0 Arts What QAnon supporters, butthole sunners and New Age spiritualists have in common After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, former NBA player Royce White became… Read More
6 min 0 Arts Drake’s beef with Kendrick Lamar isn’t nearly as important as his tiff with Tupac Shakur’s estate over using the dead rapper’s voice In April 2023, a song titled “Heart on My Sleeve,” written and produced by a… Read More
6 min 0 Arts ‘Born in the USA’ turns 40 − and still remains one of Bruce Springsteen’s most misunderstood songs Elton John, Adele and R.E.M. did it. So did Rihanna and the Rolling Stones. If… Read More