John Jeremiah Sullivan Explores the World of Massage
For this weekend’s read, we’re in a throwback mood and recommending John Jeremiah Sullivan’s 2012 piece for the New York Times Magazine, “My Multiday Massage-a-thon.” In the piece, Sullivan, the author of the 2011 essay collection Pulphead and contributor to publications such as The Paris Review and GQ, first declares himself something of a massage...
Art Imitating Life: Drones Appearing on Afghan Rugs
Here at Broad Street we are fascinated with the ways art reflects life—sometimes in surprising forms. The Atlantic recently ran a piece that showcases one such example. Cosimo Bizzari writes about a recent trend taken by Afghan rug-weavers: When it comes to what to depict on rugs, Afghan weavers traditionally turn to what’s most familiar. So in...
Contemporary Art as Crime – Part 2
by Jamal Stone Contemporary art—art from the late 20th century to the present—often challenges preconceptions, stretching the boundaries of what is and is not art. But sometimes, definitions in the art world get too fuzzy—take, for instance, our understanding of art crime. Traditionally, art crime is simply crime committed against art, used to describe all sorts...
Typhoid Mary and the Public’s Right to Health
by Carla Dominguez Earlier this month, it was confirmed that there are more than 100 cases of measles in the United States—the largest outbreak in the post-vaccination era. An urban legend quickly circulated about a single unvaccinated woman who had traveled to Disneyland, spreading the disease. This misinformation fueled the dispute between those who choose to vaccinate themselves and their children...
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi’s “Findings” Offers a New Take on the Facts
This week’s recommended weekend reading is the latest installment of the “Findings” column, a staple of Harper’s Magazine, originated by Roger Hodge in 2003 during his tenure at that magazine and currently written by editor Rafil Kroll-Zaidi. In this ongoing project, Kroll-Zaidi mines the pages of each month’s issue of the magazine for hard facts—one imagines...
