THE BELIEVER 142 (SUMMER 2023)

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Named the best magazine of 2022 by Alta.

In issue 142 of The Believer, Amy Fusselman trawls the streets of New York for “everyday weirdos” with filmmaker John Wilson; Joshua Hunt treks to the peak of Japan’s “Mount Fear,” rumored portal to the underworld; and Ted McDermott meets a scientist who claims he doesn’t have a brain. There are also new interviews with Jim Jarmusch, Julie Otsuka, Gail Scott, and William Kentridge, as well as a comic by Chris Oliveros on the Front de libération du Québec. Plus, Patrick Martinez talks us through his process, and John Wray gives his perspective on a “love-it-or-loathe-it” documentary. Not to mention columns from our trusted experts Nick Hornby and Carrie Brownstein, book reviews, author trivia from Roxane Gay, a deep dive into the glorious world of unauthorized movie remakes, and more inside these freshly pressed pages waiting patiently for your reading pleasure.

Table of Contents:
Underway: Morgan Talty

Ask Carrie
by Carrie Brownstein

Resurrector: DWCII
by John Wray

The Process: Patrick Martinez
by Trina Calderón

Close Read: Lewis
by Benjamin Anastas

“How to Walk Around New York ”
by Amy Fusselman
Before he was fired and replaced by an unpaid high schooler, filmmaker John Wilson learned many things from his job at a private investigation firm.

Stuff I’ve Been Reading
by Nick Hornby

Julie Otsuka
interviewed by Courtney Zoffness

“Table of Men”
a new poem by Ama Codjoe

“Adaptive Fictions”
by Ted McDermott
Down the rabbit hole with Donald Hoffman, a cognitive scientist who is building a falsifiable case that reality is not real.

Algae: Kelp
by Jennifer Kabat

Jim Jarmusch
interviewed by Melissa Locker

Schema: Uncanny Video
by Justin Carder

“Mount Fear Diary”
by Joshua Hunt
Carrying the spirit of a dear uncle to the slopes of Japan’s Mount Osore, where according to Buddhist tradition, souls cross into the underworld.

“Boy with Thorn”
a new poem by Jesse Nathan

Place: Botswana Safari
by Lucy Corin

Gail Scott
interviewed by Dylan Byron

Object: Green Wooden Mask
by Diane Williams

“Are You Willing to Die for the Cause”
a new comic by Chris Oliveros

William Kentridge
interviewed by Natasha Boas

One-Page Reviews
Short reviews of small press books, featuring Sean McCoy on Ronald Johnson, Grace Byron on Christine Lai, and Rosa Boshier González on Ruth Madievsky.

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