Creators like Predictive History’s Jiang Xueqin and Sedo are ushering in a new era of scholarly consumption that trades brainrot for Plato. (SSENSE)
No Assholes Allowed: The World’s Most Exclusive Clubs Are Embracing a New Policy
Gatekeepers from Switzerland to Mexico have had it with their clientele’s entitlement: “Some behavior toward fellow human beings should simply never be dictated by someone’s wealth, or tolerated because of it.” (Vanity Fair)
If You Fired Your Agent...
Who would you complain about? (Dirt)
Maris Kreizman on the joy (and pain) of downsizing. (Lit Hub)
The must-have objects of specific periods speak volumes about their societies – just look to Victorian fossil mania or the 1990s frenzy for Beanie Babies. (Dwell)
All the Cool Kids Are Birding
A younger crowd is flocking to a hobby once dominated by retirees – and transforming it along the way. (The Atlantic)
Finding the Art in the Beautiful Game
LJ Rader is the person behind the wildly popular Art But Make It Sports social media accounts, where he uses photographs and screengrabs of pivotal or dynamic moments in sports and juxtaposes them against canonical paintings or statues. (CNN)
Zayy’s Music-Reaction Videos Are the Last Real Thing on Our Bankrupt Internet
The content creator talks to GQ columnist Chris Black about his hit video channel, discovering Gen X music as a Gen Z listener, and his newfound love of Wilco and Ministry. (GQ)
Reissue of the Week: Cat Power’s The Greatest
Stevie Chick gets to grips with a “miraculous” album, two decades after he first heard it. (The Quietus)
Alright, Still Turns 20 (Stereogum)
The History and Triumph of Jay-Z’s Yankee Stadium Three-Night Stand
The rap mogul convened his starriest collaborators, showed off his still-dazzling skills and made a convincing argument for his singular legacy. (NYT)
Where Rap’s Avant-Garde Takes Shape
The Brooklyn festival Young World spotlights emergent indie rappers and veteran artists. It was the brainchild of Mike, an artist and label head who has become a fulcrum of the alt-rap scene. (NYT)
Eat, Sleep, Rave ... Make Peace! DJ Yousuke Yukimatsu’s Mission to Change the World With Topless Raves
He beat brain cancer. Now your favourite DJ’s favourite DJ is on a UK tour, armed with experimental techno, Beastie Boys and Taylor Swift. (The Guardian)
Is Ambient Music Evil?
Darkness in the clouds. (Blackbird Spyplane)
Herb Sundays 194: Chanel Beads
Third Eye Blind / Playboy Carti / Ricki Lee Jones = Enigmatic music for long drives. (Herb Sundays)
The Lost Joy of Music Piracy
What.CD, Oink, and the banalities of streaming. (Pigeons & Planes)
MUBI Podcast – This Is England: Shane Meadows’ 2-Toned Look at Skins and Ska
We wrap our season on needle drops with a deep dive into the soundtrack and story behind the film that became a surprise UK franchise. (MUBI)
AnOther exclusively previews American Teen, a new book from Sofia Coppola’s Important Flowers imprint bringing together Joseph Szabo’s intimate photographs of teenage life, with texts by Coppola and Kim Gordon. (AnOther)
Tyrell Hampton’s Photos Capture the Freedom and Fantasy of NYC Nights
The legendary photographer’s new photo book, Last Call, documents some of the city’s cult icons and biggest stars. (Dazed)
Celebrating the African Diaspora: The Photography of Armet Francis
Hackney-based visual arts charity Autograph has received the entire photographic estate of Jamaican-British photographer Armet Francis – a major gift that brings more than 70,000 images into their permanent photography collection. (The Guardian)
Abstract Painting With Reginald Sylvester II
We get to know American painter Reginald Sylvester II as he opens his new exhibition in London. (Drake’s)
At Home With: Pierce Abernathy
Inside the 120+ year-old Brooklyn apartment of the chef, recipe developer and author. (Christopher Fenimore)
How Ina Garten, Everyone’s Favourite TV Chef, Learned to Trust Her Appetite
The Barefoot Contessa invites CULTURED inside her Hamptons home, where she has cultivated a sense of neighbourly warmth and abundance that's increasingly hard to find stateside. (CULTURED)
This Is TASTE 800: How Long Gone’s Jason Stewart on Erewhon Losing the Pizza Plot, Noma’s L.A. Adventure, and a Visit to Ballerina Farm
Jason Stewart, co-host of How Long Gone and one of food media’s sharpest outside voices, returns to the studio. (TASTE)
Anatomy of a Logo: Calvin Klein
A symbol of simplicity and sex appeal, the sans-serif logo has come to encapsulate contemporary American style. Here, we unpack the logo’s origins. (Calvin Klein)
A deep dive into one of the greatest shoes ever invented. (Sprezza)
Fit(s) For a Queen
The Serena Williams Fit-Dex is hands-down the best use of the internet. (Racquet)
Wide-legged and flowing, they are causing a storm on social media, with people posting videos of the fabric getting caught in escalators and causing painful trips. (The Guardian)