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Defector

<p>Joshua C. Kendall was born in New York City. An award-winning freelance journalist, he has written on history,<br />
politics, biography, health care, and neuroscience for many national magazines and newspapers. He is currently an associate fellow of Yale’s Trumbull College. His previous books include <em>First Dads</em>, <em>The Man Who Made Lists</em>, and <em>The Forgotten Founding Father</em>.</p>


Joshua Kendall

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

“Awfulness For Decades”: A Short History Of Trump And Doonesbury

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Janine Sonis of the Denver Summit FC celebrateds her second goal of the second half against the Orlando Pride with teammates Kaleigh Kurtz and Eva Gaetino.

Soccer

The Denver Summit May Not Be Good, But They Sure Are Fun

Defector Staff

A photo of a bunch of old-timey green barstools with the cover of the NYRB Classics edition of Robert Coover's Universal Baseball Association in the middle and the Defector Reads A Book logo at left.

Defector Reads A Book

There Is A Whole World In ‘The Universal Baseball Association, Inc. J. Henry Waugh, Prop.’

Kathryn Xu

Clementine the tuxedo cat looking like a snake.

Life's Rich Pageant

How I Became An Itinerant Cat Tutor

Billy Haisley

FC Barcelona players toss Alexia Putellas in the air at the end of the match between FC Barcelona Femeni and Real Sociedad Femenino.

Barcelona Wins The Crown But Loses The Queen

Ray Ratto

Claude Lemieux carries the torch in the opening ceremony of Game Three of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes at the Bell Centre on May 25, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The Tragedy Of Appreciating SOBs Too Late

Tom Ley

Journalismism

Bari Weiss Hires Credulous Dope To Run ’60 Minutes’


<p>charismatic megafauna (they/them)</p>


Sabrina Imbler

The dead whale lies bloated off the Danish island of Anholt. It is the humpback whale known as Timmy, which first beached off Timmendorfer Strand at the end of March and was transported to the North Sea around a month later

Creaturefector

The Long, Sad, And Totally Fucked-Up Tale Of Timmy The Whale’s Trip To Germany

Albert Burneko

Spurs Deliver An Ass-Kicking And Force Game 7

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton #44 and Pauline Astier #18 of the New York Liberty celebrate after a timeout during the fourth quarter against the Phoenix Mercury at Barclays Center on May 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

WNBA

Don’t Think Too Hard About The New York Liberty

David Roth

The New York Knicks celebrate with the Bob Cousy Trophy after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 in Game Four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Rocket Arena on May 25, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Podcasts

The Lost City Of Bing Bong, With David Grann

Giri Nathan

Jannik Sinner bent over in pain during his French Open match

Tennis

Jannik Sinner Gets Too Close To The Sun, Falls Early In French Open

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


Chris Thompson

James Wood is drenched in water after a Nationals win.

James Wood Will Mightily Thwap The Baseball In Whichever Direction He Pleases

Jets owner Woody Johnson and Wyc Grousbeck are seen at Met Life Stadium on September 7, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The New York Jets Will Now Try Being “AI-First”

Dave McKenna

The Girl In The White Dress, from Heavy Metal Parking Lot

After 40 Years, The Guys Who Made ‘Heavy Metal Parking Lot’ Are Almost Famous

MONTREAL, CANADA - MAY 27: Joe Veleno #90, Jakub Dobes #75, and Mike Matheson #8 of the Montreal Canadiens look on from the bench during the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes at Bell Centre on May 27, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Canadiens Have A Weird Fetish For Not Shooting The Puck And They’re Making It Everybody’s Problem

James Webster

Arts And Culture

‘The Vivisectors’ Is A Brilliant Novel In Any Reality

Samer Kalaf

Ryan Fournier speaks to the crowd during the SAVE AMERICA TOUR

Politics

Students For Trump Co-Founder Arrested On Domestic Violence Charges, Allegedly Yelled “Do You Want To Die Today?”

A father with twins sits on a swing in a playground while a another child swings alone nearby.

Minor Dilemmas

How Do I Talk About Parenting If My Baby Has Been Pretty Chill So Far?

Patrick Redford

25 Mar 1997: Vancouver Grizzlies guard Greg Anthony (left) and teammate center Bryant Reeves look on during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers won the game, 110-104. Mandatory

Getting Kicked Out Of The Comedian Run, With Gavin Matts

Science

And They Were Tomb Mates!

A basketball game broadcast from a stupid angle

Enough With This Stupid Camera Angle

Lauren Theisen

Colorado Avalanche players react after a 2-1 loss against the Vegas Golden Knights

That Was Embarrassing

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 26: Mitch Marner #93 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 2-1in Game Four of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 26, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena on May 26, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)

Vegas Is Built For Springtime

The New York Knicks celebrate with the Bob Cousy Trophy after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 in Game Four of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals

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