Talk Fuse

    Topic: Art

    Sport and screen adaptations aside, the art world moves at its own pace, and this hub is where that pace is tracked. Coverage ranges across exhibitions, artists, galleries and the wider creative economy, taking in everything from major shows and acquisitions to the market forces and controversies that shape what gets made, shown and collected.

    Art rarely sits apart from the events around it, and stories here often intersect with culture, politics, technology and business, whether that means a work sparking public debate, a new tool reshaping how art is produced, or funding and institutional decisions affecting who gets to create. Following this topic offers a way to keep pace with how creative expression is evolving and being contested.

    For readers with an interest in culture beyond the headlines of the day, this is a place to see how ideas take visual form, how institutions respond to them, and how art continues to reflect and challenge the world it's made in.

    • Peacock renews The Five Star Weekend for second season after record viewership

      Peacock has renewed “The Five Star Weekend” for a second season, after the drama became the streamer’s most-watched scripted series ever in terms of overall reach. Based on Elin Hilderbrand’s 2023 novel, the series stars Jennifer Garner as a grieving cook and author who invites friends from different stages of her life to her Nantucket…

    • 3 Incredible Live Performances That Completely Saved Artists’ Careers

      Three landmark live performances are credited with turning around artists’ careers, showing how a single unforgettable show can transform a struggling act’s fortunes. In each case, an artist facing commercial disappointment or declining fortunes delivered a set so acclaimed that it reignited public and critical interest, leading directly to renewed success. Bruce Springsteen’s 9 May…

    • Progressive-moderate rift deepens as Sanders defends Hasan Piker

      Senator Bernie Sanders publicly backed left-wing streamer Hasan Piker’s place in the Democratic Party, telling strategist James Carville he could “start his own party” if he disagreed, in a Tuesday interview that laid bare a widening rift between the party’s progressive and moderate wings. Carville and other centrists have warned that embracing further-left figures risks…

    • How to start the Bubbly Basin DLC in Pokémon Pokopia

      Polygon has published a guide explaining how players can begin the Bubbly Basin downloadable content (DLC) in Pokémon Pokopia, a paid expansion that lets players help Ditto establish a new underwater Pokémon community. The DLC follows on from an earlier expansion set in the Withered Wasteland, and adds a fresh environment for players to explore…

    • Soriot should explain the curious case of AstraZeneca’s non-deal

      AstraZeneca’s rumoured $400bn (£300bn) takeover of US rival Bristol Myers Squibb appears to have been dropped almost as quickly as it emerged, leaving shareholders none the wiser about what was actually discussed. Neither company has explained the talks, so it’s unclear whether this was a tentative approach or a more serious plan abandoned partly due…

    • Rod Stewart Postpones Concert Hours Before Showtime, Cites “Mechanical Fault”

      Rod Stewart postponed his concert at the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Canada, just hours before he was due on stage on Tuesday, citing a mechanical fault with his aircraft’s landing gear. The 81-year-old singer said via an Instagram Stories statement that he was “deeply disappointed” and apologised to fans for the inconvenience caused…

    • Selena Gomez calls time on Alex Russo role after finale

      Selena Gomez has described herself as “done playing” Alex Russo, the character she has portrayed since 2007, following the release of the four-part finale of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” on Disney+ on 4 August. The finale draws a line under a role that began on the original “Wizards of Waverly Place”, which ran for four…

    • Uber CEO brushes off reports of a Waymo break-up

      Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has dismissed speculation that the company’s partnership with Waymo is collapsing, insisting on an earnings call that the relationship remains “very strong” despite recent friction. The reassurance follows the end of the Uber-Waymo partnership in Phoenix earlier this year and comes amid signs of tension, including remarks from Uber’s CTO about…

    • ‘This is basically a crib-sheet on how to cross the English Channel safely’: Lee Anderson leads Reform’s second day on tour of migrant beaches in France… and he’s not happy

      Reform UK’s chief whip Lee Anderson led a second day of the party’s tour of northern French beaches used by migrants attempting Channel crossings, expressing anger at what he described as clear evidence of people-smuggling networks operating openly. Anderson likened material found at the sites to a “crib-sheet” instructing migrants on how to cross the…

    • Sabato Crystal Ball shifts Kansas Senate race in Democrats favor

      Election handicapper Sabato’s Crystal Ball on Tuesday night shifted the Kansas Senate race from a safe Republican race to likely Republican following megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton’s Democratic primary win. Sabato’s Crystal Ball says a Hamilton win is a “longshot” but highlighted his $3.09 million fundraising advantage over incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) last quarter as…