Vicky Osterweil

Vicky Osterweil is a writer, organizer, and brick-mason based in Philadelphia. Her first book, In Defense of Looting , was an account of historical struggles for liberation in the United States. She is currently the in-house film critic for AJ+, and cohosts a popular movie review podcast, Cerise and Vicky Rank the Movies . She has written about the intersections of film, politics and culture for a variety of outlets, including The Paris Review, Art in America, Al Jazeera America, The Baffler, Dissent, Lux Magazine , and The New Inquiry , where she was also a culture editor for many years. Her series on the political economy and cultural role of videogames, “Well Played,” which ran in Real Life Magazine from 2019-2020, won her the Blogger of the Year award from prestigious video game criticism outlet Critical Distance.