Required Reading

Debika Ray writes about the film that beloved Indian author Arundhati Roy made during her time as an architecture student for Apollo:

For the Los Angeles Review of Books, Abigail Susik considers how the Surrealist movement negotiated pessimism and hope in new translations of writing by André Breton:

Michelle Myles, who has been a tattoo artist for 35 years, shares a slice of New York City tattoo history with Gothamist's Sonia Rao:

Tamara Davison reports for Wired on a museum in the West Bank that launched a digital archive project, which carefully documents and preserves Palestinian culture:

Elise Taylor writes in Vanity Fair about two shows that highlight Paul R. Williams, a pioneering Black architect who left his mark across Los Angeles:

For Huck, Jack Burke takes a deep dive (get it?) into the six-decade history of the mermaid show at Weeki Wachee Springs, a relic of mid-century Florida:

The New Yorker's Joshua Rothman asks an age-old ethical question: Should we recline our airplane seats? It's a yes from me. Decide for yourself, dear reader:

This week in conservation, researchers identify a notably adorable new species of monkey in the Concolese rainforest. Yejin Lhee has the story for Science:

With racism in Argentina in the news thanks to the World Cup, Tess Garcia shines a light on the Indigenous and Black communities getting ignored in the discourse:

Wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen to the rescue with National Park Service pass sleeves:

Required Reading is published every Thursday afternoon and comprises a short list of art-related links to long-form articles, videos, blog posts, or photo essays worth a second look.