While the Nieman Lab shared predictions for journalism in 2026 (see item 1), The New York Times has some thoughts about lay in store for life in general in the year ahead, including the rise of dumb phones as status symbols and a growing popularity for old-fashioned pipe smoking. We will also be seeing a war on AI slop. “A.I. might be trained on human art, but it has its own house style: slick, almost too polished, bumps retouched, like a smooth-talking car salesman,” notes The Times.

The new year brings something special to celebrate: the 10th anniversary edition of DART’s continuing feature on NYC’s best indie booksellers. Back in the day, when the big box bookstores loomed large, the future was uncertain for many of our beloved neighborhood booksellers. One such loss, still felt today, was St. Marks Bookstore, opposite Cooper Union’s Foundation Building.   Above: Codex, 1 Bleecker Street, New York, NY The first feature on NYC&rsqu...