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Aja Romano

Aja Romano

Former Senior Culture Writer

Aja Romano was a senior culture reporter for Vox, focusing on the ethics of culture, as well as criticism and commentary on internet culture, movies, TV, theater, and other media. After starting out in local news, they spent many years as a theater reviewer and freelancer. They joined the Daily Dot in 2012 as a staff reporter, where they were one of the first journalists to cover Gamergate and many adjacent aspects of internet culture, and the alt-right’s convergence with mainstream US politics. Since joining Vox in 2016, they’ve also become known as an authority on “cancel culture” after several definitive pieces outlining the origins and evolution of the concept.

Aja is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2019 fellow of the National Critics Institute. They’re a frequent guest on podcasts, panels, and news media, speaking to a broad range of topics, including internet and pop culture, fandom, online extremism, and probably whatever you’re arguing about on social media this week. Find them on Twitter @ajaromano.

Latest articles by Aja Romano

Explain It to Me
The one-sided intimacy of being a fanThe one-sided intimacy of being a fan
Explain It to Me

Parasocial relationships get a bad rap. How should you relate to your favorite celebrity?

By Aja Romano
Culture
Taylor and Travis are engaged. Congrats, America. Taylor and Travis are engaged. Congrats, America. 
Culture

Best wishes to the happy cultural phenomenon!

By Aja Romano
Culture
America has turned dancing into a culture warAmerica has turned dancing into a culture war
Culture

NFL dance squads and sorority rush dances have become the front lines of gender anxiety.

By Aja Romano
Culture
Marc Maron says the Rogansphere has ruined comedy. Is he right?Marc Maron says the Rogansphere has ruined comedy. Is he right?
Culture

The comedy forecast is bleak — but not as bleak as Marc Maron says it is.

By Aja Romano
Culture
The missing piece of Hulu’s strange new Amanda Knox docudramaThe missing piece of Hulu’s strange new Amanda Knox docudrama
Culture

If Amanda Knox’s tale is twisted, it’s worth asking who twisted it.

By Aja Romano
Culture
Will we ever know why Bryan Kohberger murdered the Idaho Four?Will we ever know why Bryan Kohberger murdered the Idaho Four?
Culture

Without a trial in the Idaho student murders, a wave of true crime media seeks to supply answers.

By Aja Romano
Culture
Everything we know about the Air India crash points to an uncomfortable truthEverything we know about the Air India crash points to an uncomfortable truth
Culture

Officials and pilots are discouraging speculation. The preliminary investigation, however, is stark.

By Aja Romano
Culture
How Christianity conquered the Hot 100How Christianity conquered the Hot 100
Culture

From Alex Warren to Jelly Roll, a new wave of faith-adjacent pop is finding God in laundromats and dive bars.

By Aja Romano
Culture
The Diddy verdict shows us what a post-Me Too trial looks likeThe Diddy verdict shows us what a post-Me Too trial looks like
Culture

The Diddy trial ended in (mostly) a win for the music mogul. How did that happen?

By Aja Romano and Constance Grady
Culture
The horrifying revelations of the Idaho student murdersThe horrifying revelations of the Idaho student murders
Culture

What the Idaho student murder investigation tells us about how criminal justice should work.

By Aja Romano