Ross Barkan is a journalist and novelist. His Substack newsletter Political Currents covers New York and national affairs, as well as the media, culture, and the tumult of this decade. His work has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including The New York Times Magazine and New York Magazine. In 2025, he co-founded The Metropolitan Review, a book review and culture magazine, and published his third novel, Glass Century. In 2018 Barkan ran in the Democratic Party State Senate primary; his campaign was managed by future New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani.