Weekly Recap: Urgent Matter’s mold problem, NPR interview and new print edition

My apartment became infested with mold after a leak from a neighbor’s air conditioner. So the past month has been one of upheaval, endless trips to the laundromat and construction chaos that derailed our normal operations.

If you have emailed, texted or stood near me since mid-June, you have already heard about the expletive mold. This is my last rant about it, I promise. But that’s why this newsletter got deprioritized.

Anyway, a lot of stuff has happened in the last month. NPR aired its interview with us. Weekend Edition Sunday ran a segment on July 12 about Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, whose anti-ICE exhibition was shut down at the University of North Texas within days of opening.

The segment credits Urgent Matter’s public records reporting, which obtained the text messages showing a UNT administrator wanted the show taken down to manage “barking from our friends in Austin.” It runs about five minutes. Go listen.

We did not stop with the original story. Additional records we received since then produced two follow-ups: one showing UNT’s new interim provost had warned leadership that censorship “would damage the president,” and another showing faculty feared Wendy Red Star would cancel her campus visit in the fallout. Paid members can read the records themselves.

Since the last recap, we also launched our digital print edition for paid subscribers. The launch note had the highest click rate of any email we have sent, and artists have already been reaching out to participate in the recurring profile questionnaire.

Artists interested in being featured in a future issue can email me at adam@urgentmatter.press.

While I have you, I would like to know how Urgent Matter is doing for you. If you have feedback on the coverage, the newsletters, the print edition or anything else, email me at the same address.

We have kept releasing Urgent Matter: Cold Take, the podcast I host with my longtime friend Colton Crews. Eight episodes are out. Listenership is lower than we would like, so if you have not tried it yet, go listen to our unfiltered conversations about some of the biggest news stories in the art world.

If you would like to join us as a guest, reach out. We also promise to start using better microphones soon.

One more favor. Please consider adding Urgent Matter as a preferred source on Google. It takes a few seconds to click and helps our stories surface in search results.