Jeff Bezos" width="635" height="478" data-caption='The billionaire is looking for tech-focused solutions to counter climate change. <span >KENA BETANCUR/Afp/AFP via Getty Images</span>'> Billionaire Jeff Bezos is looking for practitioners, researchers and innovators with ideas about combatting climate change with artificial intelligence. The Amazon (AMZN) founder’s Bezos Earth Fund will invest up to $100 million into solutions through the A.I. for Climate and Nature Grand Challenge, a new initiative urging applicants to propose ways to utilize emerging technologies for environme ..read more

For decades, a two-million-square-foot, building in New Jersey’s Holmdel township was the telecommunications innovation headquarters of the world. Researchers working for Bell Laboratories amassed nine Nobel Prizes, pioneering innovations in fiber optic systems, transistors, lasers and the Big Bang theory. Used by more than 6,000 employees working for AT&T’s research and development operations, the facility was designed in 1958 by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and operated continuously between the 1960s and 2007. But when holding company Alcatel-Lucent stopped using Bell Labs f ..read more

Though Universal’s attempt at a cinematic universe—a horror equivalent of the MCU—was buried with 2017’s The Mummy, the studio has been rapidly producing sideways remakes of its classic monster movies, with mixed results. Leigh Whannell’s 2020 reimagining of The Invisible Man was a riveting sci-fi thriller, while Chris McKay’s Renfield was a silly, underwhelming action-comedy. The studio’s latest legacy creature feature comes from Scream and Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, collectively known as Radio Silence. Free from any association with previous Dracula inte ..read more

NPR CEO Katherine Maher" width="970" height="647" data-caption='NPR CEO Katherine Maher has not yet made a public statement on Uri Berlinger&#8217;s resignation. <span >Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile for Web Summit Qatar via Getty Images</span>'> Newsrooms continue to be split by ideological differences among staffers. On Wednesday (April 17), NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner resigned from the organization following a critical essay he wrote in The Free Press earlier this month, claiming the publisher was too left-leaning and had lost its “viewpoint diversity.” Berliner made ..read more

This year’s Whitney Biennial is controversial but, frankly, I’m getting a little tired of typing those words every two years. The 2024 Whitney Biennial, “Even Better Than The Real Thing,” offers many hot takes and just as many cool aesthetics, plus a film in which Danny Huston plays Albert C. Barnes. So, what are people complaining about exactly? The Biennial, which runs through August 11, was curated by Chrissie Iles and Meg Onli, and Observer recently caught up with Onli to ask a few questions about how it all came together. How do you think your Whitney Biennial distinguishes itself from o ..read more

Len Cariou has amassed all manner of awards bric-a-brac in his 65-year career, including a Tony in 1979 as Broadway’s original Sweeney Todd. But Cariou’s collection does not include a Rosie—an oversight that will be remedied May 13 at the Baruch Performing Arts Center where Amas Musical Theater will present him and choreographer-director Patricia Birch with its annual award, nicknamed for Amas’ late founder, actress Rosetta LeNoire. Cariou — currently wrapping up a run in the two-man show Tuesdays with Morrie at the Sea Dog Theater — has crossed paths with Birch before, in 1973 when Birch was ..read more

Earlier this year, dancer Mor Mendel took the stage with Boston Dynamics’ Spot at 7×7, an annual symposium organized by the born-digital art and culture organization Rhizome, to perform a work choreographed by multidisciplinary techno artist Miriam Simun. Mendel ran, danced and romped with the robot (piloted by Hannah Rossi) to a soundtrack of Igor Tkachenko and DJ Dedein in front of an audience eager to witness collaboration between artists and scientists in action. Spot, as one might expect, stole the show, but there would have been no show without Simun, who conceived of the piece with que ..read more

Tesla will ask shareholders to ratify CEO Elon Musk’s record compensation package months after it was struck down in a Delaware court, according to a proxy statement filed on Wednesday (April 17). The electric vehicle maker will also ask shareholders to approve changing its incorporation from Delaware to Texas following the January ruling against Musk’s record pay package. The radical pay package, initially proposed in 2018 and worth more than $55 billion, would have given Musk the right to purchase up to 304 million shares of Tesla stock at a pre-ordained price of $23.34 as long as he m ..read more

Let’s be honest: however valuable or deeply emotional, World War II movies can be a slog. A game-changing global conflict which continues to impact descendants of those involved certainly warrants seriousness. But history doesn’t always have to require such intensity onscreen. Guy Ritchie and his collaborators on The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare understand this, crafting a World War II movie based on actual events with surprisingly buoyancy and high-octane energy—even if some of the story isn’t quite true.  THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE ★★★ (3/4 stars) Directed ..read more

When it comes to food cities in Europe, Dublin may not, at first, appear to hold a candle to its sought-after neighbors such as Paris or London, which rack up countless Michelin stars each year, but that’s about to change. The Irish city with a long-standing reputation for its nightlife and pub culture is finally starting to gain recognition for its burgeoning food scene. Both up-and-coming chefs and heavy hitters with global appeal such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten are also planting restaurant roots in Dublin, making it an even more appealing destination for food lovers. Historically, Ireland ..read more