In Maria van Lieshout’s “Song of a Blackbird,” a graphic novel for readers ages 14 to 18, a set of art prints provides the clues that will help uncover a long-buried family secret.

The designs seem to work really well, but there’s a catch: no one really knows why they work so well. “Humans cannot understand them, but they can work better,” said Kaushik Sengupta ...

Part of the reason Amano-Dolan leaned into Blackbird was “discovery,” he said. “Customer acquisition is expensive.” With the app, bar-goers visiting a neighboring establishment can see ...

In the literary world, this year is shaping up to be a good one for fans of cultural criticism: There are new books about Better ... doesn’t approve of their cross-cultural relationship.