John Powers (born 1951) is an American writer, columnist, and film critic, best known for his work with LA Weekly , Vogue magazine, and (as of 2025 [update] ), as pop culture critic at public broadcaster NPR. He is also known for his 2004 book Sore Winners: (And the Rest of Us) in George Bush's America. He was formerly professor of English at Georgetown University.
John Powers was born in 1951. [1]
He received a B.A. from Oberlin College, a private college in Oberlin, Ohio, in 1973. He later earned a PhD at Stanford University in California, [1] for his thesis on the topic of "Modern Thought and Literature". [2]
Powers was appointed assistant professor of English at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1976, where he worked until 1985. [1]
In 1985 he became film critic for LA Weekly in Los Angeles, California. [2] In 1994 he was appointed film critic for Vogue, where he continued for six years before taking a break, returning to work for them in 2004. [1] From 2001 until 2005 he wrote a weekly media and politics column for LA Weekly, [2] and held the role of deputy editor of the magazine at some point. [1]
Powers was appointed film critic at NPR, in a role lasting six years, before becoming "pop culture and critic-at-large" on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, a role he retains as of November 2025 [update] . [3]
For a while Powers was food critic for Gourmet magazine. [1] He has also previously written pieces for Harper's Bazaar , The Nation , The Washington Post , and The New York Times , [3] and was a contributing editor for Vogue until around 2018. [4] He has also written for New York magazine's Vulture website, MusicOMH , and RaEL Film Guide. [5]
Powers' book Sore Winners (initially subtitled (And the Rest of Us) in George Bush's America, first published in 2004, [6] looks at American culture during the presidency of George W. Bush. [3] A reviewer in Kirkus Reviews wrote "Solid work from a cultural critic who merits a broader audience". [6] The book was also reviewed by Jonathan Yardley in Washington Post Book World , by Timothy Noah in The New York Times Book Review , and by several others in notable publications, mostly positively. [1]
It was published in paperback in 2005 without the subtitle. [7]
In 2016 he published WKW: The Cinema of Wong Kar Wai, which he co-wrote with Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai). [3]
Powers is an approved reviewer for review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. [5]
Powers married Sandi Tan, [1] and they were living in Pasadena, California, in 2023. [2]