Anastasia Tsioulcas

Thanks, Anastasia. One of my students asked today how the war will effect the arts. Your list shows that artists have been making relevant verge-of-war, facing oppression work for years.

I made a point of only using work from the past few years. (So: no Persepolis. No Reading Lolita in Tehran.)

Facing a mental health crisis, an NJ school pulled a beloved novel from English class Junot Díaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao was removed from an English class at the public school. PEN America says it's part of a trend of scrubbing literature dealing with uncomfortable topic...

Facing a student mental health crisis, a New Jersey school district’s first step was to pull a Junot Díaz novel from a class. PEN America says it’s part of a trend of scrubbing literature about uncomfortable topics. My @npr.org report:

www.npr.org/2026/02/20/n...

Internal memo details cosmetic changes and facility repairs to Kennedy Center Trump announced his plans to close the Kennedy Center entirely for two years "for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding." The announcement came after many prominent artists canceled ex...

Our exclusive report: an internal Kennedy Center memo details planned renovations -- which are far more modest than the "complete rebuilding" promised by President Trump. What we don't know is if this is the full extent of the planned changes. www.npr.org/2026/02/19/n...

A few hours ago I was in Michigan and now I am at Carnegie Hall and I think it is colder inside Stern than it was outside in Detroit please send some kind of help

Come study with me: How a virtual buddy might help you get things done In an age of constant digital distraction, people are turning their study and work sprints into virtual grind sessions on YouTube — and getting tens of millions of views.

Is actually pretty good for my personal productivity. 10/10 would recommend. www.npr.org/2024/07/25/n... 2/2

A while ago, I did a piece on body doubling and ADHD... and now I hold office hours for my students via Zoom (bc I mostly teach remotely). Honestly? Having a camera on while I plug away at my to-dos, anticipating the possibility of having folks drop in on me at any moment (which they DO, hooray) 1/

Trump says he's closing the Kennedy Center for renovations. We have questions After President Trump announced plans for a "Complete Rebuilding" of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., what exactly did he mean, and what does it mean for the arts?

Trump says he is closing the Kennedy Center on July 4th for two years of renovations/"Complete Rebuilding." We have so many questions. www.npr.org/2026/02/02/n...

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) After a one year review of The Trump Kennedy Center, that has taken place with Contractors, Musical Experts, Art Institutions, and other Advisors and Consultants, deciding between either Construction ...

BREAKING: President Trump just announced plans to CLOSE the Kennedy Center for two years as of July 4 to "begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex."

More coming very soon.

truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...

Today is the Smithsonian's deadline to give thousands of documents to the White House The White House says the Smithsonian Institution must submit materials about current and upcoming exhibitions and events for a review that will determine whether they express "improper ideology."

Today is the deadline for the Smithsonian to file thousands of documents to the White House for a review that will determine whether they express "improper ideology." Our @npr.org story:

www.npr.org/2026/01/13/n...

11!

Once a copy editor, always a copy editor… 😂

He already does take lessons! And he has fantastic ear. His last self-imposed project was working out the inner voices in Barber’s Adagio for Strings…so I suppose I can’t complain too much about Europe.

@noahmsimon.bsky.social NOAH. I put headphones on so this wouldn’t give him any more ideas

WHAT NO

Me: "HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW THAT SONG" Him: [crickets]

What sin have I committed that my child is picking out the tune to "The Final Countdown" on our piano

Fela Kuti: Fear No Man Check out this great listen on Audible.com. In a world that’s on fire, what is the role of art? What can music actually…do? Can a song save a life? Change a law? Topple a president? Get you killed? In...

Unsolicited very strong recommendation of the day for the Jad Abumrad-led podcast on Fela Kuti. An absolute masterclass on how to tell a story — many stories — in audio. (And, of course, I adore Fela, as complicated and problematic as he is.) www.audible.com/pd/B0FRCQHHX...

ICYMI

I suggest reading to get the full statement that DHS gave me today re Bad Bunny. (But also broadcast today on All Things Considered.)

Four Democratic senators urge Smithsonian to resist White House attempts to 'bully the institution' Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and three other Democrats are reminding the Smithsonian's secretary that the institution "is the responsibility of Congress."

An @npr.org exclusive: four Democratic senators are urging the Smithsonian to resist White House attempts to “bully” the institution. Our report:

Today is one of those days I am happy to have studied Russian (with the dashed hopes of reading all the greats in their original language).

My favorite letter continues to be Щ, as in the composer Щедрин — Shchedrin — whose name I wrote out in phonetics for our Newscast team as <<sh-cheh-DREEN>>.

Conductor Julian Wachner charged with possession of child sex abuse material Once a prominent musician in New York City, Wachner was working as a grade school teacher in Indiana. Prosecutors have accused him of possessing sexual abuse imagery of young children.

ICYMI: Once a prominent musician in New York City, Julian Wachner was working as a grade school teacher in Indiana. Prosecutors have accused him of possessing abuse imagery of young children.

www.npr.org/2025/08/28/n...

Kennedy Center names new director of dance programming, days after former staff firings Stephen Nakagawa, a former Washington Ballet dancer, will be the new director of dance programming. The announcement comes five days after the Kennedy Center's previous chief was dismissed.

The Kennedy Center has announced its new head of dance programming, Stephen Nakagawa. Per his bio, he does not seem to have any experience as a curator or arts administrator.

His predecessor believes she was fired bc she supported unionization efforts. My reporting:

A small tip to publicists: I’m sure the idea of putting black text against a dark brown background seemed like it would give your pitch a cool, dark academia vibe. But it was unreadable and I do not have time for nonsense

Trump vows to expand his review of U.S. museums. Can he do that? The White House said that after the administration eliminates "woke" culture from the Smithsonian, it would expand to other museums around the country. Would that be possible?

The White House said that after the administration eliminates "woke" culture from the Smithsonian, it would expand to other museums around the country. Would that be possible? By @anastasiat.bsky.social

Recession-era recipes flourish on TikTok Influencers on TikTok and other social media platforms are going back to recession-era recipes for nutritious and filling food — and building new communities online.

At a time when a majority of U.S. adults say that they are concerned about the cost of food, a new generation of home cooks on social media are teaching cheap, easy and filling recipes -- folks like Your Barefoot Neighbor & Kiki, aka the Recession Recipes Lady. More on @npr.org Morning Edition

Best typo (?) or faulty auto-correct (?) or neologism (?) I’ve come across in a long time:

Hors d’oeuvres ➡️ hour-devours

He Put Vivaldi ‘in a Mixmaster’ and Is Serious About Classical Humor

A great pleasure to reconnect with composer Michael Abels to talk about his music-making, from orchestral works to opera to those Jordan Peele scores like “Get Out.” www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/a...

Adopt A Station - Rescue Public Media Help preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a public media station. Congress has voted to rescind public media's funding.

Thank you to the many folks who have, especially in recent months and weeks, expressed support for public media in the US.

If you'd like esp to support stations that have lost more than 50% of their revenue due to the federal cuts, please look at this fabulous resource.

adoptastation.org