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Defector

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils dunks the ball against the Houston Cougars in the first half during the Final Four round of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament at Alamodome on April 5, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas.

Crosswords

The Crossword, Oct. 6: I’m A Dead Man

Justin Ellis

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 05: Rico Dowdle #5 of the Carolina Panthers carries the ball during the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins in the game at Bank of America Stadium on October 05, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Rico Dowdle Tapped The Power Of The Pickle

Patrick Redford

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 18: The Free Press' Honestly with Bari Weiss (pictured) hosts Senator Ted Cruz presented by Uber and X on January 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press)

Journalismism

Bari Weiss Signs Huge Deal To Usher CBS News Into Its Vichy Era

Kathryn Xu

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays tosses his bat after hitting a grand slam.

The Blue Jays Are Trying To Mercy Rule The Yankees

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks on stage to military leaders at Marine Corps Base Quantico

College Football

Hegseth Delivers Inspiration, Pushups, To The Youth

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert speaks to the media ahead of Game One of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs finals between the Las Vegas Aces and the Phoenix Mercury at Michelob ULTRA Arena on October 03, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WNBA

The Hottest Ticket In Vegas? Cathy Engelbert’s Press Conference

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

Donald Trump makes a face in the Oval Office.

Politics

Treasury Department Has Plans To Mint Dollar Coin Featuring Donald Trump’s Likeness

Giri Nathan

Arts And Culture

Grim Visions Emerge From The Riyadh Comedy Festival

Israel Daramola

Ray Ratto

Does Anyone Know Which Teams Are Any Good?

ASHDOD, ISRAEL - OCTOBER 02: Some ships and activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla, illegally seized by Israel, are brought to the Port of Ashdod (Usdud) under escort of Israeli naval vessels in Ashdod, Israel, on October 02, 2025. Israeli naval forces attacked 21 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla since late Wednesday and detained at least 317 activists aboard, according to the official flotilla tracker. The detained activists are being transported to Israel's Ashdod Port, from which they will be deported to Europe, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israel Breaks International Law So That It Can Continue To Starve Gaza

Dylan Fugel

This Is So Stupid

Name A 28-Year-Old

Barry Petchesky

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 02: Cam Schlittler #31 of the New York Yankees celebrates during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox in game three of the American League Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium on October 02, 2025 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

Now You Know About Cam Schlittler

<p>Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 28: A man walks his dog in Central Park as the sun rises behind trees turning color on October 28, 2024, in New York City. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Jamboroo

October Is The Stuff Of Life

<p>Becky Ferreira is a science reporter based in Ithaca, N.Y. She writes <a href="https://www.404media.co/author/becky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.404media.co/author/becky/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1740083778769000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3_mk31dNhas5lklZb38a6k">The Abstract</a>, a weekly science column for 404 Media. Her book <em>First Contact</em>, about the search for alien life, <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/becky-ferreira/first-contact/9781523527755/">is available now.</a></p>


Becky Ferreira

National Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, New Mexico (Photo by: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Science

A Brief History Of Martian Ruckuses

Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers reacts during Game One of the American League Wild Card Series between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians.

Podcasts

Hunting For The Wettest Guys Of The MLB Playoffs, With Lauren Theisen

<div dir="auto">
<div dir="auto">Corbin Smith is a writer and photographer from Vancouver, Washington. His work has appeared in Deadspin, The Daily Beast, and <em>Rolling Stone</em>. He is also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pacific-northwest-insurance-corporation-moviefilm/id1712416222"><em>The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast,</em></a> a podcast about movies.</div>
</div>
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Corbin Smith

A booth at The Materials Show in Portland, Ore. in February of 2025. It's an empty couple of tables with a big banner behind it with the word BLOOM on it and some stuff about sustainability.

Capital

The Future Of The Sneaker Business First Requires A Future

CLEVELAND, OHIO - OCTOBER 01: Steven Kwan #38, Petey Halpin #0, and Daniel Schneemann #10 of the Cleveland Guardians celebrate after beating the Detroit Tigers 6-1 in game two of the American League Wild Card Series at Progressive Field on October 01, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)

Let’s Play Three

Lauren Theisen

Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees rounds third base to score a go-ahead run

Jazz Chisholm Flew

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 01: Freddy Fermin #54 and Mason Miller #22 of the San Diego Padres interact during Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series between the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

This Is As Close To Unhittable As A Pitch Gets

A Double Dose Of ‘Nothing But Respect,’ With Maitreyi Anantharaman And Max Wolf Friedlich

Kelsey McKinney

Food

The Not-So-Great Defector Bake Off Condemns The Atrocities Of Back-To-School Week

Chelsea Gray #12, A'ja Wilson #22, Megan Gustafson #17 and Jackie Young #0 of the Las Vegas Aces react as they are interviewed after the team's 107-98 overtime victory over the Indiana Fever in Game Five of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs semifinals at Michelob ULTRA Arena Michelob ULTRA Arena on September 30, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Aces won the series three games to two.

The Aces’ Superstar Trio Is The Reason To Watch

Samer Kalaf

Trent Grisham strikes out to end the game as the Yankees lose, 3-1

I Am Writing This Red Sox Blog Of My Own Free Will

Animals

Chunk Overcomes Murder Rap, Broken Jaw To Win Fat Bear Week

Bruce Bochy, manager of the Texas Rangers looks on before the game against the Houston Astros at Globe Life Field on September 7, 2025 in Arlington, Texas.