Required Reading

This week, a virtual tour of the Vermeer retrospective, an AI-written novel wins a prize, filling your fish tank with local water, a tribute to poet Refaat Alareer, and more.

This week, homeschooling’s seedy underbelly, penguins taking “microsleeps,” the history of hats, and why are TikTokers quitting vaping?

This week, a giant sand maze in Miami, how to free yourself from big tech, Eric Adams’s bad luck streak, the fringe benefits of near-sightedness, and more.

This week, Israel destroys Gaza’s main library; a queer, climate-conscious song from Yo-Yo Ma; a giant pottery wheel, Spotify Wrapped, and more.

This week, the movement to “decolonize” chocolate, Lorraine Hansberry’s little-known lesbian fiction, corporate accents, and much more.

This week, the oldest plant-based red paint, the stories of queer Palestinians in Gaza, why women’s clothes don’t have pockets, and more.

This week, unopened 18th-century love letters, an unsung female archaeologist, Indigenous artists on the meaning of home, cookie-cutter holiday rom-coms, and more.

This week, why Toni Morrison left publishing, the Artforum open letter debacle, Halloween costumes only New Yorkers will understand, and more.

This week, Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s enduring legacy, the “doyenne of Black horror,” the ultimate Jeff Koons Halloween costume, and why do cats meow?

This week, censorship of Palestinian journalists, early 2000s fashion’s healing powers, the uncertain future of Barcelona’s beaches, and why is there a sport called “conkers”?

This week, museums and mental health, Google aims for our wallets, the marketing psychology of floor designs, Crayola color theory, and much more.