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The Drift

@thedriftmag.com
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A magazine of culture and politics Pitch us at: pitches@thedriftmag.com

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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 8h
In the September installment of her advice column, Sophie Haigney responds to a reader who struggles to imagine digital technology finding a place in a compelling love story. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/can-the-ap...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
Can the apps appear in my love story?
The Drift’s advice column #7
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 29/09/2026
To mark the publication today of his new book “Man in the Mirror,” @anandwrites.bsky.social spoke with @madeleineebaker.bsky.social about Daniel Penny’s killing of Jordan Neely and the “chronic hum of dehumanization” that pervades our society. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-emotio...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
"The emotional inner life of an authoritarian age"
Anand Giridharadas in conversation with Madeleine Baker
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The Syllabus @the-syllabus.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Reporting from Budapest's Danube Institute as Viktor Orban's rule unravels, this piece traces how US and European conservatives treated Hungary as a model for using state power against liberal institutions. By @briankgoodman.bsky.social in @thedriftmag.com buff.ly/AeMVDS4
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The Last Days of the Danube Institute | A Report from Postliberal Budapest
By Brian Goodman. In the wake of Viktor Orbán’s defeat, Budapest’s postliberals face end times.
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 24/09/2026
“Today, it feels like the Muslim community has been seriously politically emboldened.” Read Krithika Varagur’s interview with Aber Kawas, poised to become the first Palestinian-American state senator in New York history. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/we-no-long...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
"We no longer feel like we need to hide"
A Q&A with 2026 New York State Senate candidate Aber Kawas
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The de Groot Foundation @degrootfoundation.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
OUT NOW! We're so excited to support the writers contributing Issue 18 of @thedriftmag.com! In it, you’ll find essays, biopics, and more, as well as new fiction, poetry, Mentions, anonymous Dispatches on A.I., and an interview with Marion Nestle. Learn more: degrootfoundation.org/the-drift-is...
Cover illustration for Issue 18 of The Drift Magazine. Cover design is of a woman shushing by a door knob, based on an illustration from The Liberator by Lydia Gibson (1920).
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 22/09/2026
The “postliberal” intellectual scene that thrived in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary has often been characterized as mere regime propaganda. But when @briankgoodman.bsky.social visited himself, he found something more complex — and more troubling. www.thedriftmag.com/the-last-day...
thedriftmag.com
The Last Days of the Danube Institute | A Report from Postliberal Budapest
By Brian Goodman. In the wake of Viktor Orbán’s defeat, Budapest’s postliberals face end times.
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David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This is good, and has an appropriately acid punchline. www.thedriftmag.com/the-last-day...
thedriftmag.com
The Last Days of the Danube Institute | A Report from Postliberal Budapest
By Brian Goodman. In the wake of Viktor Orbán’s defeat, Budapest’s postliberals face end times.
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Dan Sinykin @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Killer first graf from Brian Goodman in this essay on Hungary for @thedriftmag.com www.thedriftmag.com/the-last-day...
thedriftmag.com
The Last Days of the Danube Institute | A Report from Postliberal Budapest
By Brian Goodman. In the wake of Viktor Orbán’s defeat, Budapest’s postliberals face end times.
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Aaron Wistar @aaronwistar.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Unnamed literary agent in @thedriftmag.com's anonymous AI confessional. (love this format.)
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Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In the coming weeks we'll be spotlighting each contribution to Issue Eighteen of @thedriftmag.com. First up: anonymous Dispatches on A.I. www.thedriftmag.com/into-the-fun...
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Sam Cohen @samcohen.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Great piece
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 17/09/2026
In Issue Eighteen’s Dispatches section, a group of anonymous contributors — including novelists, academics, doctors, organizers, and more — report on how they are using, not using, or being pushed to use A.I. www.thedriftmag.com/into-the-fun...
thedriftmag.com
Into the Funhouse Mirror | Anonymous A.I. Confessional
Fourteen anonymous contributors share how they’re using, not using, or being forced to use A.I.
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 16/09/2026
Join us on October 8 at Tavern 29 starting at 7 p.m. to celebrate the launch of Issue Eighteen! Print subscribers get in free.
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Brian K Goodman @briankgoodman.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It turns out "infiltrating" the Danube Institute mostly requires filling out an online registration form. That, and eating a lot of dry pastries. The essay is finally out in @thedriftmag.com www.thedriftmag.com/the-last-day...
thedriftmag.com
The Last Days of the Danube Institute | A Report from Postliberal Budapest
By Brian Goodman. In the wake of Viktor Orbán’s defeat, Budapest’s postliberals face end times.
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Brian K Goodman @briankgoodman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
One of the stranger experiences of my life! Thanks to the wonderful editors @thedriftmag.com. Happy (and just a little scared) to finally share it...
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Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Our new issue also contains a Mention from me
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Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
🚨ISSUE EIGHTEEN OF THE DRIFT IS NOW ONLINE🚨 www.thedriftmag.com/issue/issue-...
thedriftmag.com
Issue 18
Issue 18 of The Drift
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 14/09/2026
Issue Eighteen is here! 🧵
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 10/09/2026
Reminder: our Labor Day sale is still running through Monday! Take advantage of 25% off subscriptions and 50% off back issues. www.thedriftmag.com/subscribe/
thedriftmag.com
Subscribe
Choose a combination print & digital subscription to receive issues in the mail, or continue reading us right here with a digital-only subscription. We publish three print issues per year…
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Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Today in the newsletter: Colton Valentine in defense of Cusk's Life of M newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/why-genre-...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
Why genre matters
Colton Valentine on Rachel Cusk and the roman à clef
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 10/09/2026
Rachel Cusk’s new novel, “Life of M,” has garnered hostile reviews. But the most dismissive assessments, Colton Valentine argues in our newsletter today, fail to grapple adequately with the roman à clef as a genre. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/why-genre-...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
Why genre matters
Colton Valentine on Rachel Cusk and the roman à clef
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 09/09/2026
“A vague feeling somewhere between shame and pleasure held me for a moment.” In Henri Lipton’s Issue Eighteen story, an underemployed freelancer joins a secretive community of morbid gamblers on the Dark Web. www.thedriftmag.com/unlike-things/
thedriftmag.com
Unlike Things | Fiction
A short story by Henri Lipton from Issue Eighteen.
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 08/09/2026
The past few years have seen a spate of novels, films, and plays featuring content moderators, @lorakelley.bsky.social writes in a new Issue Eighteen preview. But many of these works give a misleading impression of how the tech industry actually functions. www.thedriftmag.com/everything-i...
thedriftmag.com
Everything in Moderation | Tech Fiction’s Discontents
By Lora Kelley. The recent slate of content moderation fiction might depict a world that no longer exists.
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Brian K Goodman @briankgoodman.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Do it! (And not just because I've got something "fun" coming out in this one...)
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 04/09/2026
Drift Labor Day sale! 🚨Now through September 14, get 25 percent off subscriptions and 50 percent off all back issues. shop.thedriftmag.com
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Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Today in the newsletter: I talk with @infinitejaz.bsky.social about West Bank settler violence newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-moveme...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
"The movement is growing in both numbers and strength"
A Q&A on West Bank settler violence with Jasper Nathaniel
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 03/09/2026
“Violent incursions and new outposts are becoming ubiquitous.” For our newsletter, @infinitejaz.bsky.social spoke with @madeleineebaker.bsky.social about the state of the West Bank settler movement. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-moveme...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
"The movement is growing in both numbers and strength"
A Q&A on West Bank settler violence with Jasper Nathaniel
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Séamus Malekafzali @seamus-malekafzali.com · 03/09/2026
I will be on @majorityreport.bsky.social at 12:30 PM ET to talk about this article, as well as my latest in @thedriftmag.com and the @versobooks.bsky.social Blog.
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 01/09/2026
“As much as the UAE would like to be an ‘Eastern Israel,’ there can only be one Israel in the American foreign policy imagination.” In a new Issue Eighteen preview, @seamus-malekafzali.com considers the paradoxes of the UAE’s efforts to court American patronage. www.thedriftmag.com/brothers-in-...
thedriftmag.com
Brothers in Arms
On the UAE’s Israel Model
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 31/08/2026
Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international play today. During this summer's World Cup, Andres Vaamonde wrote for our newsletter on Messi's emblematic place in Argentine culture. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-passion-of-lionel-messi
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
The Passion of Lionel Messi
Andres Vaamonde on the GOAT and Argentine culture
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Ivan Kreilkamp @ivan812.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
This (in @thedriftmag.com) is great- “Ethnic cleansing ordered with a lazy smirk; questions about human rights deflected with a mute shrug. The stultifying quality of the videos doesn’t just reflect the callousness of the politics — it is that callousness, distilled and refined”
thedriftmag.com
Agit-Slop
The White House’s Numbing Aesthetic
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 27/08/2026
The International Association of Exorcists, minor-key meshugaas, the Mets’s eleventh-straight loss, safer driving through song, and a coterie of volunteer arborists — read new Mentions by Daniel Yadin, Miranda Wollen, Nick Perkins, Ria Modak, and Caroline Magavern. www.thedriftmag.com/mentions/
thedriftmag.com
Mentions
Extremely abbreviated reviews
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The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 25/08/2026
In our first preview from Issue Eighteen, @psfrench.bsky.social examines NYC-DSA’s rise to power and asks what it means for socialists to govern. www.thedriftmag.com/socialists-i...
thedriftmag.com
Socialists in Office
NYC-DSA Is Put to the Test
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Tedra Osell @tedos.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Great piece
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Madeleine Baker @madeleineebaker.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Our tiny team so appreciates all the support for this story here. The best way to help us to continue to correct the record of The Atlantic and other corporate media giants is to subscribe to the magazine: thedriftmag.com/subscribe
thedriftmag.com
Subscribe
Choose a combination print & digital subscription to receive issues in the mail, or continue reading us right here with a digital-only subscription. We publish three print issues per year…
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Michael D. Green, PhD @michaeldgreen.phd · 20/08/2026
This was very compelling to me.
Speaking as the other token black male professor who chose to leave both Bates and academia rather than going up for tenure, I agree with Harper that, like many of its peers, Bates was "deeply, incorrigibly racist." But Harper's analysis of the problem is wildly off base. He is right that, during our stint on campus, white administrators exploited workers and students (of color and otherwise) while implementing half-baked DEI policies as marketing tools. They no doubt believed they were doing good, but they too often ignored those who had the most at stake in the conversation. Harper misses, however, the ways that workers and students (of color and otherwise) countered exploitation by acting in solidarity to leverage the institution's public commitments in fights to achieve labor and racial justice. On our campus, as in the nation and the world, these uphill battles were inextricably intertwined.The acclaim that has greeted Harper's article suggests that the market for token black intellectuals is even more bullish outside academia than within it these days, but its products are different. The DEI hires of Woke 1.0 are being cast aside for the DEI deniers of Trump 2.0, but some things never change. The machine still commodifies black identities and rewards the few black writers who pitch themselves cleverly enough to reach a wide audience. And it is always looking for bold new voices to spin a good tale.
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Nicholas Danforth @nicholasdanfort.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Reading both pieces together actually offers a surprisingly coherent story about how resource shortages and bad institutional incentives channeled important calls for reform into administrative policies that no one was happy with
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Well worth a read, especially if you read the Harper piece. Lot's to digest but this struck me this week
Harper has since moved on to memorializing Jason Arday, in a piece that strikes a very different tone than the Atlantic staffer had taken on X ten days before. When Arday, then still alive, resigned in the face of a social media lynch mob, saying he had “reached the limits of what any person should reasonably be expected to endure,” Harper, who had been posting prolifically about the whole saga, responded: “Look, if you’re going to be a turbo-fraudulent serial fabulist whose crime spree has discredited one of the world’s oldest academic institutions, then you should at least have the decency to be funny. And this, my friends, is funny. We’ll miss him when he’s gone.”

Now Arday is gone. Harper farmed over a thousand likes mocking him when he was in agony. This week he is presenting himself as a sage of the whole sordid tragedy. Just like the DEI mania he witnessed in academia, the hypocrisy of “the online hive mind” is apparently unbearable to someone like Harper with such a clear-eyed view of the real problem. “The same platform that loosed an algorithmically accelerated torrent of abuse is now dominated by kind remembrances and mawkishness. I find the whole pageantry grotesque.” His own grotesque role in the pageant is downplayed significantly; his many X posts are alluded to only obliquely.
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SN Désirée Cha @sndesireecha.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
“The author is curiously uninterested in considering an obvious alternative — the myriad and sophisticated ways that Black students and faculty members have, for many decades, collectively resisted degradation”
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Laura Clawson @lauraclawson.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Such a powerful response to That Article.
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Caroline Luce @lucecaroline.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
well worth your time
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Jeanne Reames @mathetria.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This line really struck me: "The DEI hires of Woke 1.0 are being cast aside for the DEI deniers of Trump 2.0, but some things never change."
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James Ryan @jdryan08.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
“Rather than allowing the institution to coerce more unseen labor from our peers, CWG decided to force the issue with our colleagues: if you value DEI like you say you do, put in sweat equity.” Pounding the table on this point (and many others in this excellent Fisking if Harper’s article).
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no thrones on arakko @profponton.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Excellent.
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Eric Blair @protecttruth.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
”[Bates admin] submitted a counterproposal to force the added workload back into our program. Africana faculty responded by threatening not to cooperate. Harper casts this as a racial tantrum, missing what it really was: hard bargaining, institutional intransigence met withthreat of a labor strike.”
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Lynn Roseberry, LL.M, Ph.D. @lynnroseberry.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
“Harper portrays the [Curriculum Working Group]… as a wild outlier spawned by an entitled and newly empowered DEI elite. It was the opposite. Our strategy was shaped by students and scholars of color with hard-won institutional knowledge.” Great piece. Definitely worth reading.
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Marktropolis @marktropolis.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Kind of assumed *someone* with Bates experience would have something to say. And it's a Word.
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Minkah Makalani @minkmak.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
As a black academic, I noticed basic problems with TAH’s argument ands flaws in his logic. Great to see someone who was there call out his BS and make clear what many of us know.
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Robin L Turner @robinlturnerphd.blacksky.app · 20/08/2026
“Harper is appalled by one of the sample courses…: “Mathematics for Social Justice.” It was pitched by a tenured mathematics professor .. who later won a major national award for teaching excellence. She was better positioned …to assess the feasibility and curricular value of the class”👇🏽
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Karen Kusiak @kkusiak.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Here is more about the Bates DEI “exposée.”
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