Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library to Return Off-Broadway; Playbill, July 7, 2026

 Margaret Hall, Playbill ; Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library to Return Off-Broadway

"Off-Broadway's 59E59 Theaters has added Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library to its upcoming programming.

Presented by Luna Stage and Richard Jordan Productions with Traverse Theatre, the drama will run September 12-October 25 in Theater A...

Set in 1933 Berlin, with martial law in effect and political activism having become a capital crime, the production follows a young Gestapo officer who arrests a philosophy graduate student, whose interrogation will endanger them both. Inspired by the real life arrest of Hannah Arendt, Bader's play illuminates the struggle for human connection and perseverance in even the darkest of times."

Ann Patchett to Receive 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction; Library of Congress, June 23, 2026

 Library of Congress; Ann Patchett to Receive 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction

"The Library of Congress has announced that the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction will be awarded to Ann Patchett at the National Book Festival on Aug. 22.

The annual Prize for American Fiction, one of the Library’s most prestigious awards, honors an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished by its mastery of the art, as well as its originality of thought and imagination.

“Ann Patchett crafts moving, probing, tender novels. She has a talent for creating fiction that readers continually devour because she thinks deeply and writes evocatively about human connection,” said Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen. “I am thrilled that she is the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction recipient.”

The award seeks to recognize strong, unique, enduring voices that, throughout long and consistently accomplished careers, have told us something about the American experience.

“The Library of Congress is one of our nation’s noblest institutions, and it’s full of librarians, who I consider to be the very noblest of people. I am grateful for this award and honored by the association,” said Patchett.

Recipient of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the United Kingdom’s Women's Prize for Fiction and, most recently, the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, among other honors, Patchett is the author of 10 novels, including “The Dutch House” (Pulitzer Prize finalist), “The Patron Saint of Liars,” “Bel Canto,” “Commonwealth” and “Taft,” as well as nonfiction and children’s books. She was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and received the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. Her books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Nearly 15 years ago, Patchett opened Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee. She has since become an advocate for independent booksellers, championing books and bookstores. She was the inaugural ambassador for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation and founded the Parnassus Books Foundation, which gives books to children in Title I schools in Nashville.

Patchett will discuss her latest book, “Whistler,” most recently the New York Times No. 1 bestseller, at the 2026 National Book Festival. The novel tells the story of a chance reunion of a grown daughter and her long-lost former stepfather whom she knew briefly during her childhood. Despite the many years that have passed, their indelible bond is evident as they revisit and reflect on the unique trajectories of their lives, revealing the transformative power of reconnection.

For more information on the prize, including previous winners, visit https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/prizes/fiction-prize/."

Is Your Bot Becoming Your Balm?; Psychology Today, May 10, 2026

 Cornelia C. Walther Ph.D. , Psychology Today; Is Your Bot Becoming Your Balm?

• "Bots become companions through listening, which can secretly worsen loneliness. 
• Over-reliance on AI may reduce genuine human connection and social skill development. 
• AI comfort can damage autonomy; we must choose genuine human engagement."

From Hands to Heads to Hearts; New York Times, 1/4/17

Thomas L. Friedman, New York Times; From Hands to Heads to Hearts:

"Economies get labeled according to the predominant way people create value, pointed out Seidman, also author of the book “How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything.” So, the industrial economy, he noted, “was about hired hands. The knowledge economy was about hired heads. The technology revolution is thrusting us into ‘the human economy,’ which will be more about creating value with hired hearts — all the attributes that can’t be programmed into software, like passion, character and collaborative spirit.”

It’s no surprise that the French government began requiring French companies on Jan. 1 to guarantee their employees a “right to disconnect” from technology — when they are not at work — trying to combat the “always on” work culture.

Leaders, businesses and communities will still leverage technology to gain advantage, but those that put human connection at the center of everything they do — and how they do it — will be the enduring winners, insisted Seidman: “Machines can be programmed to do the next thing right. But only humans can do the next right thing.”"