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Term Feature Four - Books

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Term Feature Four - Movies

Term Feature Four - Music

Term Feature Four - TV

CULTURE

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SPORTS

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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Maitreyi Anantharaman

Angel Reese #5 defends as DeWanna Bonner #24 of the Atlanta Dream steals the ball from Jonquel Jones #35 of the New York Liberty during the fourth quarter of game one of the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs at State Farm Arena on October 04, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.

WNBA

The Atlanta Dream Can Poke And Prod You To Death

Kelsey McKinney

dark painting of the moon shining through some clouds

Arts And Culture

Phoebe Bridgers Showed Us How To See In The Dark

Israel Daramola

Bryce Young #9 of the Carolina Panthers celebrates after a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during an NFL football game at Bank of America Stadium on October 4, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Patience Is Paying Off For Bryce Young

Alex Sujong Laughlin

Korean students study in an auditorium in Seoul's Songshin Women's University.

Books

The Case Against Exceptionalism

Ray Ratto

Didier Fuentes of the Atlanta Braves reacts to a play during Game Two of the National League Division Series. Positively, at that. He's in profile, pumping his fist.

Atlanta’s Least Heralded Relievers Did The Most

Lucy Yu stands in front of her bookstore, Yu & Me Books

Podcasts

How Lucy Yu Learned To Ask For Help

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


Sabrina Imbler

Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk holding up a shoe with a pen

Mr. Monk And The Unfinished Book

Michael Waters

Nation Of Bondholders

Lauren Theisen

a small green bridge with a road for cars and a walking path

Book Excerpts That Don't Suck

A Search For Movie History In Upstate New York

Sophie Abromowitz

Defector At The Movies

Accept The Expanding Ball Of Infected Corpses You Cannot Change

Sarah Hagi

Finally, A Shitty Movie Where Muslims Are The Bad Guys

<p>Nicholas Russell is a writer from Las Vegas.</p>


Nicholas Russell

Interviews

China Miéville On The “Completely Defining” Book It Took 20 Years To Write

David Roth

Giri Nathan

Annie Dillard receiving her 2014 National Humanities Medal

Annie Dillard Gave It All

<p>Grace Byron is a critic, reporter, and novelist based in Queens. Her writing has appeared in <em>The New Yorker</em>, <em>Granta</em>, <em>Bookforum</em>, and elsewhere. Her debut novel <em>Herculine</em> is out now.</p>


Grace Byron

A New Book Examines The Wickedness Of Trump. Sort Of.

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


Chris Thompson

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

Nicholas Russell’s Debut Novel Gets Weird In The Desert

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<p>Robert Rubsam writes fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in the NYT Magazine, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, the Baffler, and Liberties. He is a contributing writer for Commonweal Magazine.</p>
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Robert Rubsam

Two Indie Action Films, One Clear Winner


<p><a href="http://Feldman.cool" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Feldman</a> is a software engineer living in Brooklyn.</p>


Brian Feldman

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’

Vikram Murthi

‘It Ends’ Is The Gen Z Horror Movie Of The Year


<p><a href="mailto:tara@taraariano.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tara Ariano</a> co-hosts the podcasts <a href="https://www.extrahotgreat.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Extra Hot Great</a>, <a href="https://listentosassy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Listen To Sassy</a>, and <a href="https://www.againwiththis90210.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Again With This</a>. She is also the co-author, with Sarah D. Bunting, of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Very-Special-90210-Book-Absolutely/dp/1419747460?tag=decider08-20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Very Special 90210 Book: 93 Absolutely Essential Episodes From TV’s Most Notorious Zip Code</em></a>. Her byline has appeared in the <em>New York Times Magazine</em>, <em>GQ</em>, <em>Vanity Fair</em>, <em>New York</em>, <em>Slate</em>, Vulture, Salon, and The Awl, among many others. She lives in Austin.</p>
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It's a photo of Tara Ariano. She has big sunglasses on.

Tara Ariano

Reds Week

The Cozy-Looking Sweaters In ‘Reds,’ Ranked

Samer Kalaf

Even The Weather Hates Ed Sheeran

Taylor Swift in a strapless dress on a red carpet for the Songwriters Hall of Fame with the album art for The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore superimposed next to her.

Music

This Is A Cry For Help

Revisiting Weezer’s Cringe Masterpiece At 30

Ed Sheeran crying at his Philadelphia concert

Ed Sheeran Delivers Pointless Statement Then Cries During Latest Concert

Justin Ellis

Brandy Jensen

Alan Ritchson's Jack Reacher character glowers at a screaming man with his hand stuck in an industrial shredder during an episode from season four of Amazon's "Reacher." Reacher is wearing a t-shirt that says "Get Cracked In Philadelphia," and is huge.

He’ll Take The Elevator: Defector Reacher Creatures On ‘Reacher’ Season 4

Becca Young

‘Furious’ Makes You Face It

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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

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

A screenshot of the Starbug's bridge from an episode of Red Dwarf, with the Reds Week logo at lower right.

‘Red Dwarf’ Became A Sci-Fi Classic By Rejecting Every Sci-Fi Convention

Arts and Culture