Now available: Sarah Murray on the New Books in Media podcast, discussing her new book, Powered by Smart: A Prehistory of Everyday AI.

newbooksnetwork.com/powered-by-s...

Now available on @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social: Miranda Banks and @kfortmueller.bsky.social discussing Boom to Bust: How Streaming Broke Hollywood Workers.

newbooksnetwork.com/boom-to-bust

Barbara Hall shout-out at the Oscars! Very cool -- and well-deserved!!

ASSASSINS (Encores!, 2017; Stephen Sondheim, John Weidman; Steven Pasquale) YouTube video by Erik Champney

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qFp...

Happy Sunday to the guy who showed up at the Congressional hearing over the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal dressed as Mr. Monopoly.

Some dummies say being an English major is a useless major, but I just corrected my wife's pronunciation of "Adrienne Rich," so... joke's on them.

Legendary. 💔

Very cool archival news.
www.hrc.utexas.edu/press/releas...

Matt Damon Says Netflix Wants Movies to Restate the ‘Plot Three or Four Times in the Dialogue’ Because Viewers are on ‘Their Phones While They’re Watching’ Matt Damon says Netflix wants movies to restate 'the plot three or four times in the dialogue' to account for viewers using their phones.

Sound familiar, media historians? 😉

variety.com/2026/film/ne...

Much love to the bee girl. 🐝👩❤️

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qVP...

The best moment in the new Netflix doc on Hollywood in '75 is when a young film critic very sincerely says it was the one time that film really showed us ourselves -- and then it cuts to a scene from The Bad News Bears where one kid kicks another kid in the crotch.

Genius editing. 10/10, no notes.

Boston University's Creative Writing Program is searching for a senior fiction writer to fill a chaired position, the Andrew W. Mellon Professorship in the Humanities. See the job listing here:

a man wearing a hat that says hds is standing in front of a glass door . ALT: a man wearing a hat that says hds is standing in front of a glass door .

the joy of completing IRB training modules as a humanities scholar and being repeatedly told your work isn't research

New podcast interview with @markdeuze.bsky.social for @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about his excellent new book, Well-Being and Creative Careers: What Makes You Happy Can Also Make You Sick. Well worth a read!

newbooksnetwork.com/well-being-a...

Really enjoyed talking with @anjirbaguette.bsky.social about Appropriated Tales: Race and the Disney Fairy-Tale Mode for the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast.

A must-read (and -listen) for scholars of Disney, animation, and adaptation!

newbooksnetwork.com/appropriated...

Hey academic humans, if you have a new book in film and media studies and want to do a podcast interview for the New Books Network about it, DM me.

Or if you want someone in your discipline to interview you, fill out this form:

newbooksnetwork.com/authors

I suppose the main difference now is I know it's not me, it's him, so maybe not as humbling as I thought?

There is a certain humbling comfort that comes with rereading an essay I first studied 19 years ago as a first-semester M.A. student and still -- two PhDs later -- having no idea what the !@#$ the author is talking about.

Same here. Danes! Go figure.

Film and media studies edition: do a shot when you accurately guess the voiceover actor.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/t...

This sounds brilliant, Eric. Hope I can catch it!

Dorothy Loudon - Sondheim Losing My Mind Medley YouTube video by BestArtsSondheim

Randomly jumping in out of nowhere to remind folks of Dorothy Loudon's brilliance.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQcU...

Woo hoo! Congrats, Jennifer!!

Need a briefing on current genAI copyright landscape, with some historical perspective? Pam Samuelson and Silicon Flatirons are here to help: siliconflatirons.org/wp-content/u... (there is video too!)

Today is the deadline!

CFP details available here! Deadline: November 1.

blackmedia.tulane.edu

Our keynotes for the Critical Approaches to Black Media Culture conference this February here in New Orleans:

Tiffany E. Barber (University of California, Los Angeles)
Racquel Gates (Columbia University)
Zaire Lanier (writer and narrative designer)
Kristen Warner (Cornell University)

Reminder: One week left to apply to the 2026 Critical Approaches to Black Media Culture Conference!

See our website for full CFP. Deadline is November 1.

blackmedia.tulane.edu

We've added another keynote to Critical Approaches to Black Media Culture:

Dr. Tiffany E. Barber (University of California, Los Angeles), author of Undesirability and Her Sisters: Black Women's Visual Work and the Ethics of Representation.

CFP below!