Fired Brown University Conductor Files Racial Discrimination Complaint With State Panel

Brandon Keith Brown took up his position as conductor of the Brown University Orchestra in September of 2017; within six weeks, and shortly before his first scheduled concert leading the group, he was dismissed amid student complaints of intimidating and abusive behavior. Mr. Brown argues that the university fired him because he is black, and he has filed a case with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights. – Providence Journal

In 1975 Bas Jan Ader Set Out In A Tiny Boat As Part Of An Art Project And Was Never Heard From Again

In the years following Ader’s disappearance, rumors began to swirl that it was a deliberate act that was part of the artwork. But, Anderson Ader denies this. She said her husband was making plans for the future, for the work he would do when this piece was complete, and he had no intention of disappearing for good. – The Daily Beast

Inspired By ‘This American Life,’ A Chinese Podcast Shoots Up In Popularity And Acclaim

Gushi FM is a show that strains at the boundaries of acceptable in a highly censored society. “A worker for a Chinese construction company describes a harrowing escape from war in Libya in an episode titled ‘I Shot an AK-47 at Them.’ A young man recounts accompanying his ailing father to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide. A lesbian tells of her decision to enter a marriage of convenience to a gay man.” – The New York Times

There Are Many, Many, Many, Many Theories About Leonardo

Ah. Ouch: “We will be hearing a lot about Leonardo this year, the 500th anniversary of his death. … A wealth of Leonardo will be on display. Also on display—it never really stops—will be the musings of those who believe that they have finally solved some urgent Leonardo mystery, a mystery that might exist, like beauty, only in the mind of the beholder.” – The Atlantic