Quote on the graphic reads "Criticism is an essential part of a functioning literary ecosystem, and it takes an enormous amount of time, effort, and care. We get the quality of criticism we pay for, and we should pay more for it" by Ed Yong. Illustration is by Colleen Tighe, showing a cartoon person in a green shirt that reads "The Prestige Mag" swiping a card; the card reader shows a big red X and a loaf of bread and two apples are nearby, implying that the person's card was declined while buying groceries. FSP-NWU Book Critics Working Group is noted at the bottom left

The muffling of critical voices compromises consumer choice. A dollar a word would help critics make a living wage. nwu.org/join

Illustration by @colleentie.bsky.social

TCA EOY Spotlight | @kaytiburt.bsky.social
"For this piece about Netflix docu-series 'Pop Star Academy: Katseye,' I spoke to director Nadia Hallgren about what it was like to get to know and follow the teen girls competing to be in one of the biggest musical acts of the year."

Ranking the Best K-Dramas of 2025 for TIME is a near impossible task, but I tried my best. Here are the 10 dramas that had me thinking, feeling, laughing, and crying—in the best cases, all at the same time—this past year.
time.com/7340988/best...

Can Fandom Make Us Better Tourists? — Fansplaining In an era of overtourism, South Korea’s Jeju Island and international BTS fans are building bridges of mutual respect.

"The best of fandom isn't transactional. It’s moments of unlikely connection between strangers or friends who might not have crossed paths, let alone traveled them together, if not for loving the same thing."

@kaytiburt.bsky.social on fan tourism—and how to make it collaborative, not extractive:

😂✌️

🫶

I continue to be grateful—as a writer, reader, lifelong fan—that Fansplaining exists as a space to properly wonder about how fandom shapes modern life. In this piece, I am wondering about how fandom can make us better and worse tourists, with the editorial guidance of @elizabethminkel.bsky.social.

Image of a BTS book being wrapped in bojagi—here, a silky cloth that's blue on one side and white on the reverse, with small floral patterns.

We're putting the finishing touches on the final Fansplaining article of the year, by the inimitable @kaytiburt.bsky.social! Out tomorrow—here's a sneak peak. 😘

This sucks SO HARD, and I am so sad to lose my criticism-writing home of nearly a decade. Solidarity to all my fellow Paste TV alumni!

Today, Paste Magazine shuttered all its non-music verticals, a choice I am both professionally and personally heartbroken about. Sadly, I am once again looking for a place that wants to let me write about Books and TV on the regular, so hit me up if that’s you or anyone you know.

thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.

now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.

I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.

certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.

Q&A with the production team of The First Night with the Duke Director Lee Woong-hee and screenwriter Jeon Sun-young answer our questions about the isekai web novel adaptation starring Taecyeon and Seohyun

We talk to the PD and writer of #TheFirstNightwiththeDuke about the challenges and pleasures of adaptation, why we’ve fallen in love with isekai stories lately, and what it’s like to work with stars Taecyeon and Seohyun: open.substack.com/pub/dramasov...

Highlights of the #KpopDemonHunters interview:

😈 👩‍🎤 Insight into Korean folklore that informed #SajaBoys & #Huntrix
⚔️🔪✨ A breakdown of Huntr/x's weapons and characters (yes, there was more Mira & Zoey backstory)
🚦Lorde's song that inspired "What It Sounds Like"
💞The inspiration for Romance Saja

'Squid Game' Season 3 Review: The Netflix hit gets a twisted, poetic ending (that also teases a new beginning) What Lee Jung-jae has accomplished this season, and throughout Squid Game’s entire run, is one of the greatest television performances of all-time.

I think I'm probably in the minority of really liking the third and final season of SQUID GAME, partially because I'm a sucker for the "Battle Royale" genre and partially because Lee Jung-jae's whole run as Gi-hun is one of the all-time great TV performances. decider.com/2025/06/27/s...

i love this show so much. i even started reading the light novels... and then stopped because i didn't want to spoil the show.

Assemble!

Its title? Teeth. 😅

He really seems like a cool guy/creator. I wonder how much Netflix had to pay him to do these second and third seasons (which are really just one season). He seemed to *really* not want to do another one. I hope he and his team were able to make a lot of money, and he can do something else next.

‘My journey to get aid in Gaza was like Squid Game’ Going to the US-backed aid distribution centre was the hardest day of my life. I’ve never felt humiliation like that

‘My journey to get aid in Gaza was like Squid Game’ - www.middleeasteye.net/news/my-journey-aid-gaza...

Breaking Down the Ending of ‘Squid Game’ Squid Game ends on a brutal but hopeful note with Season 3.

Also, and I may be in the minority on this, I thought the ending was pretty solid. There is no happy ending for us under capitalism. time.com/7298202/squi...

A screenshot of the article reads: For the Squid Game creator, the VIPs' more active Season 3 role stems from his real-world observations. “In the past, those that really controlled the system and maintained power, they were hidden behind the curtain, almost like this big unseen conspiracy. However, it's no longer the case, especially in America," Hwang says. "We talk a lot about oligarchy these days, but these so-called big tech owners, they step up, telling everyone who they're backing with their money. The people who really control the power and the system, they no longer hide behind a curtain. They willingly take their masks off, almost as if to declare, ‘We're the ones running everything. We're the ones in control.’"

If we were living in a better timeline, Hwang Dong-hyuk would have had less inspiration for the final seasons of Squid Game: time.com/7298235/squi...

Life goes on YouTube video by Kim Taeri - Topic

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g58G...

Netflix's Lost in Starlight: Korea Makes an Animated Sci-Fi Romance for Adults Netflix’s slice-of-life sci-fi love story is a visually stunning animation about human connection.

if you need me this weekend, i'll be listening to the lost in starlight ost. www.denofgeek.com/movies/netfl...

anyway here's the email I sent to jim bankoff last week. i'm still heartbroken. I have been insanely, destructively angry for weeks, and I think I will be for a long time.

That sucks, Sean. And you're right--ethical labor conditions cannot come down to individual choice or scenario, it needs to be systemic. Would you be up for chatting sometime? I'd like to hear about your experiences.

I've really been getting a lot out of these exit interviews Pete has been doing with the laid-off Polygon staff, including this piece, in which copy editor Kallie talks about the immense work and skill that goes into games/entertainment journalism.

<3

An integral part of the Doctor Who Fan Experience.

I celebrate!