weekend links: Arrested Development, GDPR, Philip Roth

Photo courtesy of Wired

The New York Times sat down with the cast of Arrested Development for an interview ahead of the release of the show’s fifth season. The show has a devoted fanbase, and its original run was considered by many to be one of the best comedies of all time, but its luster waned when it moved to Netflix. Worse, star Jeffrey Tambor has been revealed to be an abusive castmate after getting fired from the show Transparent. In this deeply uncomfortable interview, fellow castmate Jessica Walter breaks down in tears as she recalls Tambor’s verbal abuse on set while her male colleagues gaslight her and downplay the situation. Unacceptable behavior from the cast of a formerly great TV show, and deeply disappointing. [The New York Times]

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law that dictates the collection and processing of personal data of all individuals within the EU. Before the regulations’ enforcement on May 25, companies must confirm compliance with those individuals who had shared personal information with them, like email. On Thursday, the emails came rushing in from Wagamama, the Labour Party, and various celebrities with email newsletters. However, these rules, which were written with large companies in mind, also impact the small art galleries and independent musicians who rely on these email campaigns and newsletters to survive. Before the deadline, these artists scramble to abide by these regulations, or else pay a fine. [Deutsche Welle]

First he walked across America, then he decided to walk every mile of New York City. Though he didn’t finish the walk, Matt Green’s trek through America’s largest city was filmed in 2015, and is currently circulating small film festivals after premiering at SXSW earlier this year. You can read 2,000 days of walking diaries on Green’s blog, which recently got updated after a three-year gap. [Hyperallergic]

Nikola Olic is a software designer in Dallas who spends his free time taking pictures of buildings. These photographs transform otherwise quotidian buildings into works of abstract art, collapsing the third dimension into a two-dimensional collage. Olic got his start with Frank Gehry's silver, 76-story apartment building in lower Manhattan, but his photography now takes him across the country. [Wired]

First I heard “laurel,” and then I heard “yanny,” then I heard the rage on Twitter. The Yanny/Laurel debate was a distracting and very uncomfortable ambiguity that a highly opinionated and divided public seemed incapable of accepting. Jane Dykema’s article demonstrates how this audio illusion can be used as an exercise in loving ambiguity. She discusses how we can accept and embrace the ambiguity as part of our public consciousness. [Electric Literature]

This week, we bade farewell to the writer Philip Roth, who died on Tuesday, May 22. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or a first-time reader, the staff at The Ringer put together a list of their favorite pieces by the American novelist. The list ranges from Roth’s earliest novel (The Ghost Writer) to his shorter, more experimental works (Sabbath’s Theater).  [The Ringer]

—Audrey Deng and Sean Redmond