Music Reduces Pain—Even in Newborns
A two-day-old is apparently not too young to benefit from listening to the Moonlight Sonata.
Art
The Link Between Creativity and Emotional Intelligence
New research finds the ability to recognize and manage feelings is beneficial to the creative process.
Scott Hutchison and How to Mourn Tortured Artists
Suffering songwriters have long helped listeners feel less lonely. If only we could repay the favor.
How Might We Decolonize the Brooklyn Museum?
In refusing the restitution of stolen artifacts, museums ironically ask us to forget the crimes of the past while serving as custodians of history.
PS Picks: Geoff Dyer on the Photography of Garry Winogrand
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
PS Picks: Nigerian Creatives and the Art Scene in West Africa
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Hailu Mergia's Great Re-Appearing Act
Hailu Mergia, once among the most beloved musicians in Ethiopia, spent the past two decades working as a cab driver in Washington, D.C. But he never stopped playing, and he's back at it again with a new album.
New Research Shows That Neanderthals Were Artists
We always assumed humans were the only species to create art. It now seems we were wrong.
Viewfinder: A UNICEF Arts Exhibition in Beirut
People visit the exhibition "Haneen, a Collective Work of Lebanese and Syrian Artists on the Impact of War on Childhood," in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, on February 20th, 2018.
PS Picks: The 'Art in the Age of the Internet, 1989 to Today' Exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Future Physician, Heal Thyself: Get Thee to a Gallery
New research finds medical students who enjoy music and art have qualities that make them better, and less-stressed, doctors.
Perhaps Music Really Is a Universal Language
New research finds we can often identify a song's intended purpose, even when it's a product of a distant culture.
Musical Ability Is Attractive in a Potential Mate
New research suggests the ability to play an instrument well is surprisingly sexy.
Contrary to Cliché, Misery May Inhibit Creativity
New research finds visual artists do not do their best work during periods of bereavement.
What Makes a Poem Really Pop?
New research suggests vivid imagery is key to poetry's aesthetic appeal.
Exposure to Art Inspires Creativity at the Office
Reflecting on a painting or poem can inspire innovative solutions to business-related problems.
The Group Bringing LED Light to Activism
The Overpass Light Brigade first made social justice messages go viral in 2011—today, it continues to help activists realize their collective power.
A New Theory as to Why We Love Sad Music
New research finds it stimulates a pleasant form of mind-wandering.
Viewfinder: A Harvey Weinstein Effigy in England
Members of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society unveil an effigy of film producer Harvey Weinstein on November 1st, 2017, in Edenbridge, England.
Is That a Renoir, or an R2D2?
Humans are wary of computer-generated art, but new research suggests our views on the subject are malleable.
Medical Students Benefit From Studying Visual Art
New research finds observational skills learned at the museum can be easily applied to clinical work.
The Sound of 2017 Is Very, Very Male
A woman hasn't topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts in nearly a year—a streak unseen since the 1960s.
Look Up, See a Masterpiece
New research finds paintings are judged as aesthetically superior if they are hung above eye level.
Miso and the Art of Nuclear Trauma
The Ukrainian artist Miso captures the Chernobyl tragedy in millions of pinholes—creating maps of trauma that feel at once fragile and powerful, ephemeral and enduring.