Skip to Content
Defector home
Defector home
Log In
Subscribe to skip adsAdvertisement
An illustration showing a silhouette of a player in a Miami Sol jersey being grabbed by two silhouette of men in suits

The Miami Sol’s Needless Demise Provided A Familiar Lesson

33Comments
Kindergarten students sit and listen to their teacher in a classroom.

Should I Hold My Kid Back From School For A Year?

86Comments
A detailed view of a Nike NWSL ball prior to the NWSL match between Angel City FC and Gotham FC at BMO Stadium on August 23, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Docs: NWSL Received Eight Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, Or Retaliation Complaints This Year

22Comments

Blogs of Note

See The Algorithm’s Dark Gleam In The Hunter Biden-Andrew Callaghan Crypto Scam Email Whoopsie

LeBron James Wants Your Paycheck To Become His Paycheck, By Way Of Polymarket

Robert Kraft Now Decides Who Tours With Ed Sheeran

The U.S. Open Men’s Final Changed Nothing

The Far Right Had Its Biggest Electoral Win In Germany Since The Nazis. What Now?

A plate of seared scallops with potatoes, mushrooms and creme fraiche sauce with leeks.
Podcasts

Consider The Emotional Lives Of Scallops

5Comments
Arts And Culture

Massive Own-Goal Scored By Ed Sheeran

474Comments
Omar Marmoush of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Tottenham Hotspur and Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 12, 2026 in London, England.
Soccer

Tottenham’s Revamped Attack Is An Overpriced Calamity

75Comments
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 15: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles hits a solo home run in the ninth inning during the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Mets at Citi Field on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB

Pete Alonso Has Mets Fans Down Bad

109Comments

The last good website.

Arts And Culture

The cover of Observer over a black-and-white photo of the Nevada desert.

Nicholas Russell’s Debut Novel Gets Weird In The Desert

11Comments
Head coach Mike McDonald of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates with fans during the Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl LX victory celebration and parade at Lumen Field on February 11, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

How NFL Teams Avoid The Great Big Middle

24Comments
New yorkers throw garbage at the green goblin from the Queensboro bridge

How An Unsubtle 9/11 Tribute Was Added To Sam Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’

188Comments

Talking To Emily St. John Mandel About Revision, Timeline Corruption, And Living Without A Floor

Emily St. John Mandel, author of Exit Party

‘Furious’ Makes You Face It

Summer May Be Ending, But We’ll Always Have ‘Sterling Point’

Art Can Be What You Smell

Fernando Romero’s “El Sol” exhibition
US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaks during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 10, 2026. US Republicans are betting that putting President Donald Trump at the center of their campaign can rescue a party facing grim election forecasts, despite the president's negative approval ratings. A day earlier, on the first day of the midterm convention, he promised $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November. (Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP)
Death To The NCAA

The Protect College Sports Act Finally Has Its Suitably Off-Putting Mascot

192Comments

NFL

Jalen Hurts

Toward A Proper Definition Of “Overrated”

83Comments
An AI-generated map of the united states that has incorrect borders and puts Detroit in Canada.

The Jets May Want To Reconsider Being “AI-First”

171Comments

Something Is Wrong With The Green Bay Packers

Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers looks on after losing to the Minnesota Vikings 39-22 at U.S. Bank Stadium on September 13, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

A Whole Lot Changed In One Week For The Rams

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 11: Myles Garrett #95 of the Los Angeles Rams warms up prior to the NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Podcasts

Here is the logo of the Normal Gossip podcast

Normal Gossip

All Ball logo

All Ball

Try Hard

Only If You Get Caught

Nothing But Respect

Science

A feeder fish approaches a piece of seemingly submerged driftwood. Suddenly, the driftwood moves; it turns out to be a large, perfectly camouflaged frog that rises from the bottom and consumes the orange fish

Horrible Toad Very Good At What It Does

Philadelphia, USA - June 9, 2021 - The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas.

How The U.S.’s Oldest Natural History Museum Might Meet Its End

two cyborg cockroaches with little computer backpacks

You’re Trapped Under Rubble And These Guys Are Your EMTs. WYD?

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - AUGUST 30: (EDITOR'S NOTE: This Handout image was provided by a third-party organization and may not adhere to Getty Images' editorial policy.) In this NASA handout, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launches with NASA'S Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope onboard from Launch Complex 39A, on August 30, 2026, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Roman will investigate dark energy and dark matter, conduct a statistical census of planetary systems, and enable a broad range of additional astrophysics research. Launch occurred at 7:26 a.m. EDT. (Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images)

There’s A New Space Telescope On Its Way To Help Answer The Biggest Question In The Universe

Life's Rich Pageant

The Machines

A visual representation of the Navier Stokes proof

What Gets Left Out Of Math’s New Era?

76Comments
Filming at the BBC Ealing studios for Dr Who story call "Moonbase" which sees the return of the Cybermen. Our picture shows: The Cybermen building a weapon on the moons surface, 19th January 1967.

What If We Could Have A Future?

327Comments
Studious robot on an ocean liner cruising the North Sea.

With The Power Of AI, Information Can Pour Straight Through Your Skull And Onto The Ground Without Ever Slowing

357Comments
ILLUSTRATION - 17 May 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia, Cologne: A person works at a computer with an illustrative image generated by artificial intelligence on the screen, showing code from various programming languages and a neural network diagram. At the meeting of telecommunications ministers on May 21, the EU countries are expected to finally adopt the AI law in the EU. The European Parliament had already given the green light for the project beforehand. Photo: Oliver Berg/dpa (Photo by Oliver Berg/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Defector Also Investigating How Our Super Powerful AI Tool Broke Contain

Journalismism

Arch Manning

Arch Manning, Room Full Of Dipshits, Snicker About AI Video Of Steve Sarkisian Slapping Holly Rowe

249Comments
Britt McHenry

Famously Undiplomatic Britt McHenry Handed State Department Gig

179Comments
LA Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer at the Intuit Dome Steel Topping Out,

When All You Have Is A Hammer, Every Headline Looks Like A Nail

126Comments
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 4: Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Balmer cheers on his team before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Intuit Dome on February 4, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Wally Skalij/Getty Images) NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.

How Do We Make Sense Of ESPN Duffing Its Big Clippers Scoop?

116Comments

Crosswords

Lionel Messi #10 of Argentina interacts with Lamine Yamal #19 of Spain during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Crossword, Sept. 14: Miscalculation

45Comments
Ohio State Buckeyes goaltender Amanda Thiele (30) makes a save during the first period of the Women's Frozen Four Championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Wisconsin Badgers on March 23rd, 2025, at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, MN.

The Crossword, Sept. 7: Big Resemblance

Nicole Gosling #61 of the Montréal Victoire celebrates her goal with teammates on the bench during the third period against the Ottawa Charge in Game One of the PWHL Walter Cup Final at Place Bell on May 14, 2026 in Laval, Quebec, Canada.

The Crossword, Aug. 31: Prepare For Trouble, And Make It Double (Themeless)

Manager Terry Francona #77 of the Cincinnati Reds argues with umpire Chris Conroy #98 after being ejected from the game in the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on June 5, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

The Crossword, Aug. 24: Bat To Ball

More

Podcasts

We’re Still Living In The World Sam Bankman-Fried Made

46Comments
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 30: Andrew Ross Sorkin speaks with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried during the New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz At Lincoln Center on November 30, 2022 in New York City. The New York Times held its first in-person DealBook Summit since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with speakers from the worlds of financial services, technology, consumer goods, private investment, venture capital, banking, media, public relations, policy, government, and academia. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Funbag

What’s The Best Time To Start A Concert?

855Comments
An Oasis concert
Tennis

The Defector Tennis Desk Takes Stock Of The U.S. Open

Elena Rybakina R of Kazakhstan celebrates during the awarding ceremony for the women's singles final match between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan at the 2026 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Sept. 12, 2026. (Photo by Li Rui/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Boxing

Conor Benn Wasn’t Ready For Ryan Garcia

23Comments
Ryan Garcia punches Conor Benn while Benn is on the ropes
Soccer

The Premier League Has Its First VAR Disaster Of The Season

111Comments
Enzo Fernandez of Manchester City, Harry Maguire of Manchester United and Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United wait for Referee Michael Oliver to reveal the VAR decision for the goal scored by Erling Haaland of Manchester City during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on September 13, 2026 in Manchester, England.
NBA

Steve Ballmer Is Just Going To Have To Take It

98Comments
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Balmer before a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Intuit Dome on February 4, 2026 in Inglewood, California.
MLB

There’s Job Security In Putting Out Fires For The West Sacramento Arsonists

44Comments
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 12: Carlos Cortes #26 of the Athletics pitches during the top of the ninth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Sutter Health Park on September 12, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Photo by Scott Marshall/Getty Images)
NFL

They Don’t Come Much Cooler Than Chris Johnson

68Comments
NASHVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 24: Chris Johnson #28 of the Tennessee Titans is introduced before a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars during play at LP Field on December 24, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans won 23-17. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

See All Posts →

Advice

Minor Dilemmas

Should I Be Worried That My Kid Hasn’t Found A Best Friend?

Funbag

Should College Football Have An Age Limit?

Minor Dilemmas

How Can I Be A Good Parent If I’m Conflict-Avoidant?

Funbag

You Can Magically Ban One Sports Injury Forever. What Do You Pick?

Minor Dilemmas

What Do I Do About My Fragile Kid?

Subscribe to skip adsAdvertisement