Aja Romano

New York

Staff Writer at Vox

in training to become a swamp witch. actual twt @/topgallantry

Articles

Minecraft, A Minecraft Movie mayhem, and chicken jockey, explained

1 week ago | vox.com | Aja Romano

The biggest movie in the world right now sends its characters on a journey through a building-block world full of zombies, talking pigs, and magical artifacts. A Minecraft Movie has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars in theaters around the globe since it opened last weekend, not only outperforming expectations by double but smashing them like a bunch of pixelated wooden blocks in the videogame it’s based on.
Why some victims of the Long Island serial killer may never receive justice

2 weeks ago | vox.com | Aja Romano

Aja Romano writes about pop culture, media, and ethics. Before joining Vox in 2016, they were a staff reporter at the Daily Dot. A 2019 fellow of the National Critics Institute, they’re considered an authority on fandom, the internet, and the culture wars.
Are repressed memories real? A hit memoir clashes with the science.

2 weeks ago | vox.com | Aja Romano

What if something terrible happened to you, and you weren’t able to remember it? That’s one of the questions at the center of Amy Griffin’s memoir, The Tell, which is quickly becoming one of the year’s most talked-about books.
The messy science behind a hit memoir’s stunning revelations

2 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Aja Romano

What if something terrible happened to you, and you weren’t able to remember it? That’s one of the questions at the center of Amy Griffin’s memoir, The Tell, which is quickly becoming one of the year’s most talked-about books.
How should a man be? Bill Burr, of all people, has thoughts

4 weeks ago | vox.com | Aja Romano

What does a contrarian, grievance-happy comedian do when contrarianism and grievance become the norm? Bill Burr, long the poster child for a type of angry white male misanthrope, may be the last person you’d expect to embrace empathy in response to, well, everything — but that seems to be the case.
What happens when a grievance comedian turns to empathy?

4 weeks ago | flipboard.com | Aja Romano

3 hours agoSix new models join the starting grid Want more watch coverage? Get About Time, Esquire’s free newsletter, in your inbox every Sunday. Sign up here The thrill of racing comes from the adrenaline of uncertainty – weather, strategy, tyre wear, fuel, or those closing in from behind. While precariousness …
Natalia Grace, the orphan whose bizarre abandonment made her a reality star, explained

1 month ago | vox.com | Aja Romano

Late in Hulu’s new series Good American Family comes a moment of irony that’s become all too familiar in true crime docudramas. The fictionalized Natalia Grace Barnett — at this point in the story a teen, being played by the 27-year-old Imogen Faith Reid — glowingly reads supportive comments from random internet strangers.
Natalia Grace, the orphan whose bizarre abandonment made her a reality star, explained

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Aja Romano

Late in Hulu’s new series Good American Family comes a moment of irony that’s become all too familiar in true crime docudramas. The fictionalized Natalia Grace Barnett — at this point in the story a teen, being played by the 27-year-old Imogen Faith Reid — glowingly reads supportive comments from random internet strangers.
What makes an “American” true crime?

1 month ago | vox.com | Aja Romano

What makes something an “American” crime? It’s a question that’s inadvertently surfaced in true crime entertainment lately. The trend started with the twin pillars of O.J. Simpson television projects in 2016 — American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson, Ryan Murphy’s fictionalized account of the 1995 trial, and the documentary series O.J.: Made in America.
Crime Junkie: Ashley Flowers’s true crime podcast empire keeps growing - and courting controversy

1 month ago | vox.com | Aja Romano

By 2017, the true crime podcasting space might have already seemed crowded — but perhaps what it was missing was full body chills. That was the year Ashley Flowers and her pal Brit Prawat launched their true crime podcast Crime Junkie into an arena that already included pioneers like Serial (2014), Generation Why (2012), and My Favorite Murder (2016). The casual way Flowers narrated crimes to her friend, who responded with dramatic gasps and her trademark exclamation (“Full. Body.