A magazine of culture and politics Pitch us at: pitches@thedriftmag.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mvpwncyz3k2gIn 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. https://www.thedriftmag.com/into-the-funhouse-mirror/17 Sep 2026 15:08 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvpwncyz3k2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mvnevcupis2wJoin us on October 8 at Tavern 29 starting at 7 p.m. to celebrate the launch of Issue Eighteen! Print subscribers get in free.16 Sep 2026 14:45 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvnevcupis2whttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mviqf5454k25Issue Eighteen is here! 🧵14 Sep 2026 18:27 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mviqf5454k25https://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mv6qsjdz7s2rReminder: our Labor Day sale is still running through Monday! Take advantage of 25% off subscriptions and 50% off back issues. www.thedriftmag.com/subscribe/ https://www.thedriftmag.com/subscribe/10 Sep 2026 19:08 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv6qsjdz7s2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mv6f2heqas2zRachel 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. https://newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/why-genre-matters10 Sep 2026 15:38 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv6f2heqas2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mv3rxkllws2x“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/ https://www.thedriftmag.com/unlike-things/09 Sep 2026 14:51 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mv3rxkllws2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3muzngi64ss27The 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. https://www.thedriftmag.com/everything-in-moderation/08 Sep 2026 18:24 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3muzngi64ss27https://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mupdscws2s2oDrift Labor Day sale! 🚨Now through September 14, get 25 percent off subscriptions and 50 percent off all back issues. shop.thedriftmag.com04 Sep 2026 16:05 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mupdscws2s2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mumtl3xiis2l“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. https://newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-movement-is-growing-in-both-numbers03 Sep 2026 16:09 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mumtl3xiis2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3muhqq2wd4s27“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. https://www.thedriftmag.com/brothers-in-arms/01 Sep 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3muhqq2wd4s27https://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mufclilmpk2nLionel 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 https://newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/the-passion-of-lionel-messi31 Aug 2026 16:17 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mufclilmpk2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mu35ll3fas2zThe 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/ https://www.thedriftmag.com/mentions/27 Aug 2026 15:21 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu35ll3fas2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/thedriftmag.com/post/3mtw2ehh4us25In 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. https://www.thedriftmag.com/socialists-in-office/25 Aug 2026 14:40 +0000at://did:plc:i2dbluwowwrtcxqhuix3cfd4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtw2ehh4us25