“The tour … was striking in its ambitions: 17 days, four countries, 10 performances and an army of 147 musicians, backup conductors, sound technicians, librarians, stagehands, donors, executives and a tour doctor. They traveled on trains, bus caravans, and chartered and commercial airplanes.” – The New York Times

“We will exceptionally be extending a 20 percent reduction on booth fees to all galleries that participated in the Paris fair, in recognition of the closure,” on October 24–25, Art Basel chief executive Noah Horowitz told ARTnews in an interview. – ARTnews

“The Anima Mundi, formerly the Ethnological Museum, (is) home to around 80,000 objects from across the globe, many of which were ‘gifted’ to the Catholic church in Rome by Indigenous peoples at a time when its missionaries were powerful, and sometimes dubious, figures in their far-flung communities.” – The Guardian

Above the chaos is a question: Why did this novel, thematically rote and stylistically bland as it is, receive such acclaim in the first place? – The Atlantic

Remember that the brain itself is merely another object in the world. To talk about it at all is to have already accepted a level of objective existence which cannot be reduced to sensory experience. – 3 Quarks Daily

On its face, biography is the genre of the integral subject—a person interacting with others but distinct from them, not dissolving in a sea of substance. For Carlisle, though, the “metaphysical selfishness” of a world composed of discrete human beings “reinforces moral selfishness, and vice versa.” – The New Yorker

Some of the first Black theater companies in the country were in South Side Chicago, and the scene flourished into the 1970s. Then, for economic and systemic reasons, the drama mostly dried up. Now, with some fresh talent and an influx of grant money, a revival is tentatively emerging. – WBEZ (Chicago)

Even Google may not be too big to fail, as pessimism mounts about the possibility of Search ever again working the way it used to. – The New Yorker

It’s increasingly clear to me that we will not survive as a society without some seismic intervention that separates us from our screens, our algorithms, and our little simulacra of social life. – The New Yorker

At CNN, according to two of these people, buyouts were offered to people who were in vice president roles or levels below and had more than 15 years of service. – Variety

“Fisketjon stayed with Knopf for 29 years, where he worked with many of the novelists who would come to define the American literary canon of the late 20th century” — among them Don DeLillo, Donna Tartt, Cormac McCarthy, Annie Dillard, Bret Easton Ellis, Patricia Highsmith, and Tobias Wolff. – Publishers Weekly

“Warner Bros film has underperformed this year and will weigh on Q4 results. We’ll apply the same playbook we did at Paramount: greenlighting more selectively, prioritizing profitable streaming growth over subscriber count, optimizing linear and driving efficiency through the cost structure.” – Deadline

Universities should go back to traditional exams and in-person presentations to grade students after lecturers complained that AI has made it “close to impossible” to assess coursework, according to an investigation by England’s higher education regulator. – The Guardian

This broadcast—the first of its kind for the Met on YouTube—will support the company’s $1.5 billion Make the Met Forever fundraising campaign. Beginning November 20, the recording will be available on Met Opera on Demand through a range of paid viewing options. – TheatreMania

“Nithya Raman’s connections to Hollywood were a key part of the coalition that fueled her upset victory. … Now, they and hundreds of thousands of entertainment workers and business owners that rely on the film-and-TV industry will look to Raman to find a way to stop the decline in employment opportunities.” – TheWrap (MSN)

The Missy Mazzoli/Royce Vavrek adaptation of the George Saunders novel sold out most of its run, including the final performance on November 14. That performance will be streamed live on the Met’s YouTube channel. The video will remain available on YouTube until midnight NYC time on Wednesday, November 18. – Playbill

“A federal judge in Manhattan has ordered the pirate site WeLib to pay 13 publishers $19.5 million in statutory damages. Judge Victor Marrero also directed the companies that register and host its domains to take it offline, after the site’s operators failed to respond to the publishers’ copyright infringement suit.” – Publishers Weekly

One historian announced his authentication of a previously unattributed painting at a conference this past Saturday, while another revealed on Sunday that the original of a painting known only from copies had been located. – Artnet

“Though he was considered a preeminent interpreter of Shakespeare and a favorite of such legendary directors as John Huston, Keach was indelibly linked with his take on the hard-boiled Mike Hammer, the fictitious TV private detective created by crime novelist Mickey Spillane.” – AP

“A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Kari Lake and other Trump administration officials unlawfully attempted to fire Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz, upholding a lower court decision that blocked his removal without approval from an independent oversight board.” – TheWrap

“The Company’s final year will feature Memory Palace, a retrospective project (beginning) with a two-week festival at New York Live Arts in March 2027, followed by a final tour through December 2027. Beyond the Company’s conclusion, Memory Palace will continue to evolve through exhibitions and the creation of a legacy film.” – BroadwayWorld

M John Harrison, 81, has won the Booker Prize for The End of Everything, a postapocalyptic novel set on the Kent coast. He is the prize’s oldest winner and the first from the science-fiction world, after decades of arguing that good SciFi is literary fiction (The Guardian).

A Desert Storm memorial opened last month just north of the Lincoln Memorial, and a Global War on Terrorism memorial is planned next to it. Philip Kennicott, the Post’s architecture critic, says a landscape meant to symbolize reconciliation after the Civil War is filling up with war (The Washington Post).

Near Moab, Utah, someone carved “Meru” and “Craig W” into rock art about 1,500 years old. Scrubbing the names off could destroy the images underneath (Outside).

Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles’s flagship nonprofit theater, booked a nonunion tour of Music Man, and the paper’s critic called it “community-theater-level.” Artistic director Snehal Desai says union tours had mostly gone to the commercial Pantages (Los Angeles Times).

Skydance, new owner of Warner Bros., has promised investors $6 billion in cuts. CEO David Ellison also told them that “in a world of AI slop,” handcrafted storytelling will command a premium (Los Angeles Times).

All of today’s stories below.