Is Nepotism In The Arts Good Or Bad?

There are few issues that lead to such widespread feelings of anger and frustration as the idea of nepotism, especially in an artistic or literary context. For many would-be writers or actors, in particular, the suspicion remains that both industries operate as essentially a closed shop, and entry can only be obtained to the glamorous and well-remunerated professions through having a famous name or similarly high-profile connections. – The Critic

Social Media Has Become Toxic. So Why Do We Stay On?

Liberal and left-wing tech critics like to suggest that we post, even against our own self-interest, thanks to nefarious software design that has been built in service of a multibillion-dollar advertising industry. The right wing has a tendency to blame the incentives encouraged by a hardwired social hierarchy, in which “blue checks” “virtue-signal” to improve their standing within social platforms, even to the point of self-sabotage. Neither answer seems particularly satisfying.BookForum

How A Washington State Choir Changed The Course Of COVID Research

Along with new data at the time on the virus’s potential for asymptomatic spread—cases when infected people are less likely to spew heavy droplets through coughing—the report out of Skagit Valley further intensified the transmission discourse: If COVID-19 could spread so thoroughly and quickly through a choir, did that mean the coronavirus was airborne? And if the primary route for the disease’s spread was through the air, had our initial response been woefully misguided? – Slate

How To Remake American Theater In The Wake Of COVID? Five New York Times Critics Offer Their Ideas

“Things clearly had to change — and with the enforced pause of the pandemic, the opportunity has now arrived in the nick of time. If ever there was a need, and a moment, to fix the theater, this is it. So for the six-month anniversary of the shutdown, The New York Times asked its theater critics … what those fixes might look like.” – The New York Times