How identity, creativity and communities evolve.
Explore the people, ideas and cultural shifts changing how we see ourselves and one another. Our coverage connects arts, media and identity to the institutions and communities shaping their direction.
A new national survey finds that negative media scrutiny, political gatekeeping and the threat of AI-generated fake images are discouraging women from seeking office. The technology is adding new risks to a political system that already imposes substantial personal costs on female candidates.
A shoving allegation at Madison Square Garden is the newest entry in a record that runs from a 2003 harassment plea to a 2024 retaliation lawsuit. Through all of it, the station has said almost nothing.
A new Pew Research Center analysis finds that men’s employment rises as jobs become more exposed to AI while women’s stays flat. For women without a bachelor’s degree, it falls.
From the G-Unit G6 to Baby Phat, Apple Bottoms and VIBE in print, the brands of the early 2000s are back. True Religion shows what a real comeback takes, and Reebok still has to prove it can sell more than memories.
A quiet lyric swap during Cardi B’s NPR Tiny Desk set reopened a feud that one leaked phone call started and a public apology hasn’t closed.
YouTube Music is introducing labels that tell listeners when artificial intelligence helped create a song. A new music startup wants to go further by compensating the artists whose work trains the technology. Together, the developments expose an unresolved problem in the streaming economy: knowing how music was made is not the same as knowing who deserves to profit from it.
In an open letter, Nas said the music industry “forgets or doesn’t compensate the foundation.” From Robert Johnson’s three possible graves to Big Mama Thornton’s $500 for “Hound Dog,” the record supports his point.
Social media has helped turn an exaggerated hourglass figure into a coveted beauty standard. Behind the transformation videos is a surgical procedure with potentially fatal risks—and a growing industry selling the results.
Netflix is facing slower engagement growth and fierce competition from YouTube. Behind the streaming industry’s financial math is another measure of success: whether the people who write, film, build and produce entertainment can still make a living doing it.
Across India’s advertising industry, campaigns featuring interfaith families, changing gender roles and cultural inclusion have drawn boycotts and public anger. The bigger story may be what happens before those ads ever reach an audience.
After seven years helping shape the NFL’s biggest musical stage, the Roc Nation founder may finally be stepping onto it himself. The reported decision raises a question worth asking: what happens when the person choosing the talent becomes the talent?
At 60, Janet Jackson continues to draw admiration for her style and presence. But renewed attention to her appearance reveals how Black women in entertainment are still judged by their looks, even when their cultural achievements have reshaped entire industries.
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