Aruna D’Souza
@arunadsouza.bsky.social
Writer and critic, mostly contemporary art, sometimes food, always politics. New York Times and Hyperallergic, among other places. I’m surprisingly sweet. Live in NYC, originally from 🇨🇦
My latest for @hyperallergic.com: I spoke to the London-based artist Rana Begum about her perceptual mindf*ck of a show, up now in NYC. hyperallergic.com/rana-begum-s...
Rana Begum Sees What You Don’t
“Art became a tool to communicate, at first,” she told Hyperallergic. "Then it became an obsession.”
hyperallergic.com
I was supposed to be asleep in the back of the station wagon during the drive-in movie, but instead I secretly watched Westworld (the original with Yul Brynner). Freaked my 4 year-old self out
Sleepy Hollow Reviews 🎃@sleepingvillage.bsky.social · 3d agoIn honor of scary media month: what is the first piece of media you remember truly frightening you as a child?
This. And also, if they denied that what they did was sexual assault, and the college didn’t see what they did as sexual assault, what exactly were the essays about? How women can’t be raped if they get voluntarily drunk?
molly priddy@mollypriddy.bsky.social · 5d agoguarantee those rapists used AI to write their consequence essays
Like every mealy-mouthed CYA university administrator in this country, the Cornell press makes a statement that precludes barring frats, doesn’t walk back the college’s claim that it handled the case properly, and pretends that it doesn’t know how to prevent SA. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/n...
Cornell President Calls Rape Inquiry ‘Defining Moment’ for Campus (Gift Article)
Michael I. Kotlikoff said in a video the university would be more transparent, hold Greek groups accountable and improve sexual assault prevention.
nytimes.com
It would also seem important to mention failing to take sexual violence on campus seriously for literally ever.
Asheesh Kapur Siddique@asheeshks.org · 3d agoHigher ed leaders are doing "decline of public trust" discourse in order to avoid talking about all the things they've done to undermine their institutions, including exploiting contingent faculty labor, attacking student protest, and underfunding the humanities
I WISH they were getting rid of the weirdos because Hegseth would be right on top of that list.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 6d agoHegseth: "It's worth saying again so the fake news understands it. We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that -- no fatties no trannies no beardos no weirdos no wimps no radicals. Just warriors."
In case you’re wondering what to look at at the Armory Show, I’ve got a few suggestions. 12 Artists On the Rise at The Armory Show www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/a...
12 Artists On the Rise at The Armory Show (Gift Article)
Anchoring the city’s fall Art Week, the behemoth Armory Show at the Javits Center has nearly 250 contemporary art galleries, and a focus on the Caribbean.
nytimes.com
Whoever thought up this cross-branding promotion is a LITERAL GENIUS. Because who doesn’t immediately think of Hello Kitty when you pick up a can of low sodium Spam?
People in the admin literally don’t know how basic things work. And are legislating about those basic things anyway. (Also, is he worried that there are fake people paying insurance premiums in Florida and not using said insurance? Aka subsidizing public healthcare? THE SCANDAL.)
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w agoDr Oz: "There are 5 times more people in parts of Obamacare in Florida than live in the state. It's impossible More than a third of people on Obamacare have never used the insurance policy once. If you were gonna pay your hard-earned money to buy insurance, would you ever use it? The answer is yes"
“Worst” is such a strong word, but “Pavilions I was ambivalent about and some I thought were missed opportunities” was too long. Anyway @hrag.bsky.social and I offer our quick takes on the Venice Biennale for your reading pleasure in @hyperallergic.com hyperallergic.com/the-worst-na...
The Worst National Pavilions at the Venice Biennale
And some we're still ambivalent about.
hyperallergic.com
Liz Phair at Prospect Park tonight was so great. Warmed my Gen X heart.
I wrote about the ambitious and problematic Taryn Simon exhibition at the Guggenheim hyperallergic.com/no-one-is-ac...
No One Is Accountable in Taryn Simon’s Detective Story
In her ambitious exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, injustice seems purely systemic, not the result of individuals behaving badly.
hyperallergic.com
Hey! I wrote about a terrific show, “Imagining an Archipelago,” at the Colby Museum of Art
Sarah Emily Duff@sarahemilyduff.bsky.social · 3w ago‘archipelagic thinking asks us to consider the specific forms of relation and solidarity made possible by seeing the world from the perspective of archipelagoes’ @arunadsouza.bsky.social on the Colby Museum of Art’s wonderful new exhibition ‘Imagining an Archipelago’:
"i will shoot myself in the gut if you do not let me cut off my dick!!!"
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w agoTrump says he will cut off all trade entirely with "some nations" unless the Fed lowers interest rates
My latest for the @nytimes, an interview with the two unlikely curators of the upcoming Roy Lichtenstein exhibition, artist Alex Da Corte and curator Meg Onli. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/a...
Don’t Call Him Pop: A New, Improved Roy Lichtenstein Is at the Whitney (Gift Article)
The artist Alex Da Corte and the curator Meg Onli bring fresh eyes to a survey bridging high art and mass culture. Will Lichtenstein resonate with a young audience?
nytimes.com
This story is so heartbreaking. I grieve for her and her family. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/w...
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Hardest Story: How She Lost Her Son and Her Connection to Nigeria (Gift Article)
Adichie has moved countless readers with her novels about Nigerians at home and abroad. After the death in Lagos of her toddler son, her homeland no longer feels as much like home.
nytimes.com
9/11 and the War on Terror was formative for Tala Madani’s practice—the transformed the discourse into a loving but fierce critique of what men do in the name of patriarchy. Get to know her. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/a...
An Artist Inspired by Men Behaving Badly (Gift Article)
In a new show at David Kordansky Gallery, the Iranian American painter Tala Madani plumbs the lives of her characters with absurd humor and a strange tenderness.
nytimes.com
My latest for the @nytimes.com: Iranian American painter Tala Madani, most famous for her hilariously puerile paintings of men behaving badly, has a new show opening in LA. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/a...
An Artist Inspired by Men Behaving Badly (Gift Article)
In a new show at David Kordanky Gallery, the Iranian American painter Tala Madani plumbs the lives of her characters with absurd humor and a strange tenderness.
nytimes.com
AI is not being accused of making education “too easy” for students—it’s being accused of failing to educate students. Coming up with an answer is not education.
Aparna Nair@disabilitystor1.bsky.social · last mo.1. Students are being lied to about the harms of AI, and they ARE cheating, on scales never seen before and brushing past that is not going to hurt them and society is not great. 2. In some fields, banning AI is absolutely fine why are people outside of those fields insisting that we MUST use it?
I just hate this guy so much. And so does basically everyone else in the world, according to this article.
Jezebel@jezebeldotcom.bsky.social · last mo.Fetterman, clearly reviled by his entire staff, is the closest thing the Democrats have to a Trump www.jezebel.com/john-fetterm...
Outstanding and informative article—an argument against UCP’s vision for Alberta. Referendum voters: you know what to do.
Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦@senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social · last mo.My rallying cry. We must reject these nine noxious questions, which are cynically designed to incite discrimination and foment distrust in our courts, our county, and our fellow Canadians. Say no to the nine. And please read snd share. #ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #Canada #Alberta #notothenine
Can’t wait to read. I want a T-shirt that says “the university is the crisis.”
Canadian Dimension@canadiandimension.bsky.social · last mo."The university is not just in crisis. The university is the crisis." Rinaldo Walcott (@blacklikewho.bsky.social) argues that Jason Arday's death lays bare a broken academic system built on unequal power, gatekeeping, and the grinding machinery of institutional recognition.
Please follow my old deat friend Paula—an outstanding journalist turned Canadian senator, who will have important things to say about Alberta’s upcoming referendum on whether to separate from Canada (spoiler alert: stupidest idea ever).
Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦@senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social · last mo.I have NO regrets about leaving Musk’s site. But I wish I could extend my reach here, with Alberta’s referendum hard upon us. Don’t be shy. Please follow. Please recommend me to your friends. I post about Canadian politics, Alberta, Edmonton, and an absurd array of other topics! #cdnpoli
I’ve realized that my workdays (as a freelance writer) aren’t determined by hours worked or by words written, but by psychological intensity of tasks. I did two really stressful things so far today and I’m ready to clock out.
I question the use of “help” in this headline. He doesn’t want to help anyone. Antidepressants are life saving.
Mitchell Epner@mitchellepner.bsky.social · 5mo agoI take Lexapro. I have taken Lexapro for over two decades. The times that I have discontinued taking Lexapro have ended very badly for me. RFKJ is trying to kill millions of Americans like me. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/s...
